Best New York Comedy

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Brilliant, quirky comedic storyteller Chris Gethard

and

Champion comedic storyteller Leslie Goshko

Tonight’s recommendations for the best in New York City comedy (in chronological order, with top picks marked by brackets) include:

[TOP PICK] a wonderful networking event mixing folks from the NYC theatre and comedy scenes—with free wine and snacks!—followed by a full-blown comedy show with superb comics TJ Miller (David Letterman, co-star of ABC’s Carpoolers), Kumail Nanjiani (Comedy Central rising star), Leslie Goshko (stellar storyteller & 2008 Manhattan Monologue Slam Champion), Jacqueline Novak (Comedy Central Live Tour), and more—hosted by the lovely & hilarious Margie Kment at Hold for the Laughs (6:30 pm party/networking, 8:00 pm show),

[TOP PICK] one of the most razor-sharp, oddball, and uproariously funny storytellers in the country debuting his one-man show in Chris Gethard’s Magic Box of Stories (8:00 pm),

a comedic holiday celebration from a YouTube star: John Roberts’ Holiday Show (8:00 pm),

Wyatt Cenac (correspondent for The Daily Show), Hannibal Buress (Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson), Brent Sullivan, and Patrick Borelli & Matt Hall (as wizards!), plus a gala after-party, at the holiday edition of this free weekly Brooklyn show hosted by Gabe Liedman & Max Silvestri: Big Terrific (8:15ish pm),

[TOP PICK] Dave Hill demonstrating he’s one of the sharpest, freshest, funniest comics around—accompanied this evening by star musician A. C. Newman—at The Dave Hill Explosion (9:30 pm),

[TOP PICK] and the phenomenal Ben Rodgers pitting his solo improv skills against troupe Bastion as they compete for audience laughs & votes at the raucous Cage Match (11:00 pm).

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

Saturday Night Live's Bobby Moynihan

Tonight’s recommendations for the best in New York City comedy (in chronological order, with top picks marked by brackets) include:

five free hours of improvisation in The PIT’s Super Free Wednesday (7:00 pm-midnight),

[TOP PICK] stellar comic Patrick Borelli (Conan O’Brien, Comedy Central) sharing highlights and inside stories about his fascinating new humor book on aspiring actors and their primary marketing tool: Holy Headshot! (8:00 pm),

[TOP PICK] some of most razor-sharp and uproariously funny storytellers in the country—Chris Gethard, Bobby Moynihan, John Flynn, Noah Garfinkel, and Dave Martin—performing a “Year in Review” at one of the finest shows in NYC, The Nights of Our Lives (9:30 pm),

a comedic holiday celebration from a YouTube star: John Roberts’ Holiday Show (9:30 pm),

[TOP PICK] and a free, laid-back, and occasionally magical variety show where virtually anything can happen on a School Night (11:00).

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

God's Pottery

Tonight’s recommendations for the best in New York City comedy (in chronological order, with top picks marked by brackets) include:

the perfect show for short attention spans—open-mic stand-up with 4½ minutes per set and 25 comics crammed into 2½ hours, who tonight include Amy Beckerman, Chelsea White, Chris Conway, Gilad Foss, Aalap Patel, and Matteson Perry—at John Morrison’s Broadway Motel (6:00 pm),

[TOP PICK] Timmy Williams (member of star sketch troupe & IFC TV show Whitest Kids U’ Know), Eliza Skinner (half of genius musical improv duo I Eat Pandas), and MC Chris (popular comedic white nerd rapper) joining in on a lively & hilarious discussion about comic books at Comic Book Club (8:00 pm),

[TOP PICK] four full hours of improv for only five bucks—tonight featuring all eight UCBT Harold house troupes—at the gala extra-long holiday edition of Harold Night (8:00 pm),

terrific stand-ups Eric André, Becky Donohue, Nick Turner, Sean O’Connor, Matt Goldich, and Pat Dixon at VH1’s biweekly live comedy show VH to the One Comedy Showcase (8:00 pm),

[TOP PICK] and hilarious star comics Jessi Klein (Comedy Central, VH1, NBC, CNN), God’s Pottery (standouts on this past summer’s Last Comic Standing), and Andres du Bouchet (Conan O’Brien, Comedy Central, FOX) at the wonderful Seth Herzog’s Sweet (9:00 pm).

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

Glennis McMurray & Eliza Skinner

Tonight’s recommendations for the best in New York City comedy (in chronological order, with top picks marked by brackets) include:

the perfect show for short attention spans—open-mic stand-up with 4½ minutes per set and 25 comics crammed into 2½ hours, tonight including Joe DeVito, Amy Beckerman, Margot Leitman, Chelsea White, Karen Batista, Josh Comers, Myq Kaplan, Blaine Perry, Sean Donnelly, Aalap Patel, Matteson Perry, and John Morrison.—at John Morrison’s Ochi’s Motel (6:30 pm & 9:00 pm),

[TOP PICK] a comedic excavation of teen angst artifacts (journals, letters, poems, and more) as shared by their original authors in the hit storytelling show Mortified (8:00 pm),

Jamie Lee and other sharp NYC stand-ups at the biweekly Comedy Central at Crash Mansion (8:00 pm),

[TOP PICK] a blowout holiday event with stellar comics Dave Hill (HBO, VH1, Spike TV, The New York Times), Chelsea Peretti (Comedy Central, Variety SHAC), Jon Friedman (The Rejection Show), Joselyn Hughes & Brooke Van Poppelen (sketch duo Macho!), and more at a free weekly comedy show in Brooklyn hosted by the razor-sharp Jena Friedman: Entertaining the Bartender (8:30 pm),

[TOP PICK] an entirely improvised musical from a genius improv duo (and among Eliza Skinner’s final NYC performances before moving to LA), and an improvised soap opera, in the double-bill I Eat Pandas and Hot Lather: As the Diamond Burns (9:30 pm),

[TOP PICK] and a free weekly show featuring some of the finest comics in the country—Anthony Jeselnik (Conan O’Brien, HBO, Comedy Central), Pete Holmes (VH1, Comedy Central), and Wyatt Cenac (correspondent for The Daily Show)—hosted by the wonderful Leo Allen (Saturday Night Live, Comedy Central) at Whiplash (11:00 pm).

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

Kate McKinnon

Tonight’s recommendations for the best in New York City comedy (in chronological order, with top picks marked by brackets) include:

[TOP PICK] UCBT’s playground for celebrities and ace improvisors, ASSSSCAT 3000 (7:30 pm and 9:30 pm),

[TOP PICK] typically stellar stand-ups at one of the funniest productions in NYC—and winner of the 2008 ECNY Award for Best Variety Show—President Johnson (8:00 pm),

terrific NYC comics Tom McCaffrey (Comedy Central, VH1, The Onion) and Zach Sims at Vince Averill’s & Jesse Popp’s free show Beauty Bar Comedy (9:00 pm),

sharp NYC comics at a free stand-up comedy show hosted by star sketch/improv troupe Derrick in Queens’ Long Island City: This Is New York (9:30 pm),

[TOP PICK] and superb stand-up comics Corey Kahaney (HBO, Last Comic Standing), Kate McKinnon (stellar cast member of Logo TV’s The Big Gay Sketch Show), Carmen Lynch (Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central), and Paul Case (MTV) at a free gay-themed show hosted by Brad Loekle: Electro Shock Therapy Comedy Hour (10:00 pm).

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

Sara Benincasa

Tonight’s recommendations for the best in New York City comedy (in chronological order, with top picks marked by brackets) include:

[TOP PICK] clever wordplay, conceptual comedy, and relentless silliness from sketch troupe Elephant Larry (7:00 pm),

[TOP PICK] star improvisation from writers & performers at 30 Rock, The Colbert Report, and The Daily Show who joyously declare Let’s Have a Ball (7:30 pm),

the host of Comedy Central’s Chocolate News performing a headlining set at Comix: David Alan Grier (8:00 pm & 10:30 pm),

absurdist cult fave sketch comedy troupe Spurn (8:00 pm),

[TOP PICK] one of my all-time favorite improv troupes—which this season broke the Cage Match record for winning streaks with 18 triumphs in a row, and has now taken over UCBT’s prestigious prime-time Saturday night slot—the brilliant and daring members of Death by Roo Roo (9:00 pm),

a small mob of talented comics telling funny, poignant, and at times unforgettable tales about their relatives at the gorgeous Sara Benincasa’s Family Hour (9:00 pm),

organic & energetic improv by the four guys of 4 Track! (9:00 pm),

[TOP PICK] inventive & hilarious sketch comedy from The Harvard Sailing Team (9:30 pm),

[TOP PICK] improvised TV shows about audience members via world-class troupe Reuben Williams (10:30 pm),

[TOP PICK] Ted Greenberg (Emmy-winning David Letterman writer) performing a fun, quick-paced theatrical comedy show: The Complete Performer (10:30 pm),

[TOP PICK] a monthly party celebrating Gossip Girl, the TV teen drama sensation of the year, hosted by Sara Benincasa (MTV, Family Hour, star Sarah Palin impersonator), and including a small mob of NYC comics, Emmy-winning writers, and other very smart fans having enthusiastic fun at the Gossip Girl Summit (11:00),

and exceptionally sharp comics Kumail Nanjiani (Comedy Central) and Thomas Middleditch (genius improv troupe Baby Wants Candy) proving themselves to also be nerds by hosting this fun show about the video game industry: Game Bros. Live! (midnight).

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

David Alan Grier

Tonight’s recommendations for the best in New York City comedy (in chronological order, with top picks marked by brackets) include:

the host of Comedy Central’s Chocolate News performing a headlining set at Comix tonight and Saturday night: David Alan Grier (8:00 pm & 10:30 pm),

absurdist cult fave sketch comedy troupe Spurn (8:00 pm),

a gay-themed stand-up comedy show hosted by Jenny Rubin: The Back Room (9:00 pm),

[TOP PICK] some of the finest improv in NYC from the comedy genius members of The Stepfathers (9:30 pm),

singing improvisors who use an interview with an audience member to craft The Made-Up Musical (10:00 pm),

a sketch show (with some improv thrown in) from the superb stars of Derrick (11:00 pm),

and a free opportunity for you to perform sketch on the UCBT stage at Liquid Courage (12:20ish am).

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

Violet Krumbein

Tonight’s recommendations for the best in New York City comedy (in chronological order, with top picks marked by brackets) include:

[TOP PICK] Violet Krumbein demonstrating she’s one of the most darkly funny talents in NYC, and 30 Rock actor Anthony Atamanuik performing a very funny autobiographical show, in the deliciously oddball double-bill Human Painkiller and Pissing My Pants on Vine (8:00 pm),

absurdist cult fave sketch comedy troupe Spurn (8:00 pm),

[TOP PICK] Jon Fisch (Comedy Central), Jacqueline Novak (CollegeHumor.com), and Wendy Ho (kinetic risque singer) as guests on the best sexy storytelling comedy show in NYC: Margot Leitman’s & Giulia Rozzi’s Stripped Stories (9:30),

[TOP PICK] master sketch comic and talented storyteller Kurt Braunohler in his new one-man show Back to Kurt (9:30 pm), and

[TOP PICK] two superb improv troupes, The Stepfathers and Fat Penguin, competing for audience laughs & votes at the raucous Cage Match (11:00 pm).

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

Tonight’s recommendations for the best in New York City comedy (in chronological order, with top picks marked by brackets) include:

five free hours of improvisation in The PIT’s Super Free Wednesday (7:00 pm-midnight),

[TOP PICK] sharp NYC writer/comics including Kevin Allison (legendary sketch troupe The State), Christian Finnegan (Comedy Central, VH1, MSNBC), Joselyn Hughes (Sirius Radio, Macho!), and Max Silvestri (VH1, Big Terrific) telling very funny tales of woe about their material being turned down at the wonderful Jon Friedman’s The Rejection Show (8:00 pm),

[TOP PICK] and a free, laid-back, and occasionally magical variety show where virtually anything can happen on a School Night (11:00).

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

John Oliver

Tonight’s recommendations for the best in New York City comedy (in chronological order, with top picks marked by brackets) include:

the perfect show for short attention spans—open-mic stand-up with 4½ minutes per set and 25 comics crammed into 2½ hours, who tonight include Joe DeVito, Lisa Kaplan, Doug Adler, Luke Cunningham, and Phil O’Reilly—at John Morrison’s Broadway Motel (6:00 pm),

[TOP PICK] Marvel Comics editors Jordan D. White, Lauren Sankovich, and Charlie Beckerman joining in on a lively & hilarious discussion about comic books at Comic Book Club (8:00 pm),

three full hours of improv for only five bucks—tonight featuring UCBT house troupes The F*cking Kennedys, Law Firm, Ragnaröck, Bastian, and The Scam—at Harold Night (8:00 pm),

[TOP PICK] comedy giants John Oliver (star correspondent of The Daily Show) and Marc Maron (one of the most passionate and dedicated stand-ups in the counry), plus Eddie Brill (famed long-time David Letterman booker), Liam McEneaney (host of Tell Your Friends), and more at a blowout 5th Anniversary edition of John Morrison’s Morrison Motel (8:30 pm),

[TOP PICK] and the brilliant and hard-working John Oliver racing over from Morrison Motel (see directly above), plus stand-up Nick Stevens (VH1), burlesque performer Legs Malone, and actor Josh Charles (HBO’s In Treatment) in a late-evening edition of the wonderful Seth Herzog’s Sweet (10:30ish pm).

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.