Best New York Comedy

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

For Hy’s coverage of the spectacular FringeNYC 2010 Festival, please click here.

One of the very finest stand-ups in the biz headlines tonight and Saturday at Carolines: John Oliver

Tonight’s recommendations for the best in New York City comedy (in chronological order, with top picks noted and shows over $12 marked with $) include:

7:00 pm ($8): “Where there is a stage and a piano, she will be there. Where there are strangers with embarrassing stories, she will be there. Where there is a group of people willing to sit and watch someone make up songs, she will be there. A one-woman musical improv journey through the lives of the audience. You tell the story, Rebecca Vigil sings the soundtrack:” The Vigilante

[TOP PICK] [$] 7:30 pm & 10:00 pm ($35 & 2-drink min.): A comedy genius who’s a star correspondent on The Daily Show; and one of the very finest—and nicest—stand-ups in the biz, headlining tonight and Saturday at Carolines: John Oliver

[TOP PICK] [$] [DISCOUNTED] 7:30 pm & 10:00 pm ($19.33 online if you use code VIPAUG, plus 2-item minimum): Performers, writers, and others connected to one of the most beloved comedy shows in TV history: Saturday Night Live Showcase

[TOP PICK] 7:30 pm ($10): A delightful tale of heartbreak by Leslie Meisel—who manages the impressive feat of being adorable, sexy, and hilarious all at the same time, and is a sharp comedic talent very much worth keeping an eye on—quite ably abetted by co-writer Megan Neuringer in one of the smartest theatrical shows to grace UCBT this year: Love Can Suck a Dick…and So Can I

The other half of this double-bill is a one-man show that walks a challenging line between gay confessional and comic nerd celebration…and unfortunately ends up falling short on both sides. For example, I adored the name-dropping of my favorite Superman artist Wayne Boring, yet not a moment was spent following it to explain what made him so special. Plus who wants to see a show about someone “liking” Superman? If you aren’t passionately in love with the fiction—and committed to saying so, and to clearly articulating why—what’s the point? The production is nonetheless a laudable try at mixing the worlds of mainstream and genre; and if you’re not ascomics-obsessed as I am, maybe the skim-the-surface approach won’t be an issue for you at So I Like Superman: A One-Nerd Show

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($10): A groundbreaking and surreal improv/sketch troupe performing with new guests each Friday and making a valid complaint: Centralia: We Were Supposed To Have Flying Cars By Now

[TOP PICK] [$] [DISCOUNTED] 8:00 pm Tuesday-Saturday ($39.50 online or at the box office using discount code PPBBOX): This is a show for which I have enormous affection; although my joy came from watching not only what occurred on stage, but the faces of the women in the audience turning stonier and stonier as they visibly projected the thought, “Dick tricks? This entire show really consists of dick tricks? All my suspicions about men have just been confirmed…” If you cherish bravery in performers, go forth to the 45 Bleecker Theatre (right next to the #6 subway’s Bleecker Street stop) and experience Puppetry of the Penis

[FREE] 8:00: NYC stand-ups Matt McCarthy, Aparna Nancherla, Yannis Pappas, Dean Masello, and David Cope performing at O’Hanlon’s (14th Street off 1st Avenue), hosted by Mark Normand: Hot Soup

[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($10): Some of the finest improv in NYC from the comedy genius members of The Stepfathers

[TOP PICK] ($12) 9:00 pm: Todd Barry (HBO, David Letterman, Conan O’Brien, Comedy Central Presents, The Sarah Silverman Program, Adult Swim, feature films The Wrestler and Pete Smalls is Dead), Joe Mande (Comedy Central, VH1; co-host of Totally J/K; author of book Look at This F*cking Hipster), Jesse Popp, Brent Sullivan, and more performing at this free weekly comedy show at Brooklyn’s Music Hall of Williamsburg hosted by Jenny Slate, Gabe Liedman, and Max Silvestri:Big Terrific

[TOP PICK] [$] 9:00 pm ($20): Four world-class writer/performers tell personal stories. Three of them are true…but one is a pack of lies. Then the audience asks questions to try to figure out who’s fibbing. Tonight’s yarn-spinners are Ophira Eisenberg (sharp stand-up and brilliant storyteller; Comedy Central, VH1, Showtime), Leslie Goshko (Manhattan Monologue Champion, host ofSideshow Goshko), Peter Aguero (Moth Grandslam Champion), and wonderful host Andy Christie (The New York Times, Moth GrandSlam Champion) performing at the Park Avenue Lounge in Freehold, New Jersey at The Liar Show

10:00 pm ($7): Singing improvisors who use an interview with an audience member to craft The Made-Up Musical

[TOP PICK] 10:30 pm ($10): Thomas Middleditch, Jonathan Gabrus, Sue Galloway, and other superb improvisors make up scenes about an audience member’s legal dispute at The Law Firm: Law & Disorder

11:30 ($5): Improvisors Brigid Boyle, Emily Bryan, Nicole Cascio, Caroline Ficksman, and Alexis Saarela parodying The View in a show self-described as “Hey, Darlings! Come sit down with a cup of coffee (or perhaps a martini) and join the panel of five of New York’s most talkative and opinionated women as they discuss the week’s events, and interview alluring guests from the worlds of literature, politics, comedy, and more. Let’s talk about issues, over drinks!” This show will keep you in Focus

Midnight ($5): Sketch comedy troupes Mike Duffy vs. Boat compete for audience laughs and votes in Backyard Brawl

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

For Hy’s coverage of the spectacular FringeNYC 2010 Festival, please click here.