Janeane Garofalo | Best New York Comedy

NYC Top Comedy Choices for Thursday 4/22/10

April 22, 2010

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

Comedy stars Janeane Garofalo and Wyatt Cenac headline tonight at Comedy Below Canal

Tonight’s recommendations for the best in New York City comedy (in chronological order, with top picks noted and shows over $10 marked with $) include:

[TOP PICK] [$] 7:00 pm ($15): Top comics and comedic storytellers—who tonight are Eliza Skinner (I Eat Pandas, The BEATdown), Leslie Goshko (Sideshow Goshko), Martin Dockery (The Surprise), Cyndi Freeman (Stories at the Creek), and Ryan Paulson (Pentecostal Wisconsin)—joining brilliant sketch comic and storyteller Kevin Allison (The State) to share tales on tonight’s theme “The End: When Something, Anything, Is Over” at one of the finest storytelling shows in the country: Risk!

7:30 pm ($5): Sharp improvisors directed by James Eason “take an audience suggestion and break it into a million funny pieces,” and veteran improvisors play with “elements of monoscene, deconstruction, and La Ronde,” in the double-bill The Deconstruction and Sleepover

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): Brilliantly funny writer/singer Jessica Delfino (enjoys singing songs about her vagina, as demonstrated by her CD Dirty Folk Rock; created the hilarious and wildly popular YouTube animated short film I Wanna Be Famous; has a cool MySpace page, and an even cooler blog; to get a feel for Jessica’s amazing range and talent, please click here) invites her best friends to perform with her—who tonight include superb comics and musicians Livia Scott, Andrea Rosen, Ben Lerman, Diane O’Debra, Frank Peffercorn, and Juliet Jeske—at a rock ‘n roll party of a show at The Slipper Room that’s likely to be a blast: Besties

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): The Emmy-winning writers of The Colbert Report gather on stage to perform an all-improvised show at Seize the Mustard

[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($12): TV & movie comedy stars Janeane Garofalo and Wyatt Cenac, plus Elliott Kalan (The Daily Show), and musical guests Spec Boogie and DJ Brainchild, performing at 92Y Tribeca: Comedy Below Canal

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): If you’re a fan of CollegeHumor.com, you can see the folks behind it on stage—along with superb stand-ups Kumail Nanjiani, Thomas Middleditch, Matt McCarthy, and more—at CollegeHumor Live

[TOP PICK] 11:00 pm ($5): Vibrant improv troupes Reuben Williams and The Stamp & Coin Club compete for audience laughs and votes at the raucous Cage Match

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

Leave a Comment » | Best New York Live Comedy Shows | Tagged: Carolines, Carolines Comedy Club, Carolines on Broadway, Cheap Comedy, Comedian, Comedians, Comedic Storytelling, Comedy, Comedy Below Canal, Comedy Clubs, Comic, Comics, Comix, Comix Comedy Club, Free Comedy, Fun NYC, Funny, Improv, Improvisation, Janeane Garofalo, Just Folks, New York City Comedy, New York Comedy, New York Comedy Clubs, NY Comedy, NYC Comedy, NYC Fun, Ochi’s Lounge, Sketch Comedy, Stand-Up Comedy, Standup Comedy, Storytelling, The Magnet, The Peoples Improv Theatre, The PIT, UCB, UCBT, Upright Citizens Brigade, Wyatt Cenac | Permalink
Posted by hybender

NYC Top Comedy Choices for Sunday 2/7/10

February 7, 2010

For the best of John Oliver’s New York Stand-Up Show, please click here.

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

If you're not a football fan, don't forget today's TV alternative that's a Janeane Garofalo fave:

The Puppy Bowl

Tonight’s recommendations for the best in New York City comedy (in chronological order, with top picks noted and shows over $10 marked with $) include:

[TOP PICK] [$] 3:00 pm ($18): One of the highlights of FringeNYC 2008 was Allen Warnock and Andrea Alton (members of sketch troupe Freedumb) teaming up to create hilarious characters in a very silly and fun show—for my review, please click here. The production has now been revived for a commercial run, which begins tonight: Carl & Shelly: Best Friends Forever

[TOP PICK] 5:00 pm ($18): One of the highlights of FringeNYC 2008 was Hot Cripple, a superb and heartfelt one-woman show by Hogan Gorman about her experiences with the US health care system, legal system, and government programs for the down-but-not-out. (The performance I attended was especially memorable because a small fire broke out on the second floor of the venue. Hogan had to stop two-thirds into her monologue so the building could be evacuated; and she did so with a wry smile, telling a comforting audience member “Oh, I’ve been though a whole lot worse than this.” Three fire trucks and 30 minutes later, the fire was out…and Hogan made a quick joke about the Hot in her show’s title and then resumed performing as if nothing had happened…) Running through February, come see it uninterrupted: Hot Cripple

[TOP PICK] 7:30 pm ($10) and 9:30 pm [FREE]: UCBT’s signature improv comedy extravaganza, which typically includes stars in the improv world, and sometimes even TV & movie stars such as Amy Poehler and Horatio Sanz: ASSSCAT 3000

[$] 8:00 pm ($31.25 & 2-drink min.) A provocative comedy star who’s written for Richard Pryor, Red Foxx, and Saturday Night Live, and performed on Chappelle’s Show and David Letterman, headlining through Sunday at Carolines: Paul Mooney

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 10:00 pm: Ophira Eisenberg (brilliant comedic storyteller and superb stand-up; Comedy Central, The Moth, The Liar Show), Liz Miele (Comedy Central), and Edison Apple (Logo’s Laughing Matters) performing at a free weekly gay-themed show at Therapy hosted by Brad Loekle: Electro Shock Therapy Comedy Hour

For the best of John Oliver’s New York Stand-Up Show, please click here.

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

Leave a Comment » | Best New York Live Comedy Shows | Tagged: Baby Puppies, Carolines, Carolines Comedy Club, Carolines on Broadway, Cheap Comedy, Comedian, Comedians, Comedic Storytelling, Comedy, Comedy Clubs, Comic, Comics, Comix, Comix Comedy Club, Cute Puppies, Free Comedy, Fun NYC, Funny, Improv, Improvisation, Janeane Garofalo, New York City Comedy, New York Comedy, New York Comedy Clubs, NY Comedy, NYC Comedy, NYC Fun, Ochi’s Lounge, Puppies, Sketch Comedy, Stand-Up Comedy, Standup Comedy, Storytelling, Super Cute Puppies, The Magnet, The Peoples Improv Theatre, The PIT, The Puppy Bowl, UCB, UCBT, Upright Citizens Brigade | Permalink
Posted by hybender

NYC Top Comedy Choices for Monday 1/25/10

January 25, 2010

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

Some of the finest TV & film comedy stars in the country—including Janeane Garofalo, Kristen Schaal, Lewis Black, Todd Barry, Wyatt Cenac, and Fred Armisen—perform stand-up to raise funds for Doctors Without Borders tonight at Tell Your Friends: Haiti Relief Edition

Tonight’s recommendations for the best in New York City comedy (in chronological order, with top picks noted and shows over $10 marked with $) include:

6:30 pm (no cover, 1-item min.): The perfect show for short attention spans—open-mic stand-up with 4½ minutes per set and 25 comics crammed into 2½ hours—at John Morrison’s Ochi’s Motel

[FREE] 7:45 pm: NYC stand-ups Mark Normand, Dan Mahoney, John Clark, Vlad Caamano, and Matt Maragno performing at a free weekly show in the Manchester Pub hosted by Phoebe Robinson: Case of the Mondays Comedy

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($10): A blowout gathering of top TV & film comedy talent—including Janeane Garofalo, Kristen Schaal, Lewis Black, Todd Barry, Wyatt Cenac, Fred Armisen, Victor Varnado, and producer Liam McEneaney—for this fundraiser for Doctors Without Borders at the Lolita Bar: Tell Your Friends: Haiti Relief Edition

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): Saturday Night Live star Jason Sudeikis, and Broadway & off-Broadway stars Jennifer Grace (Theatre World Award Winner for Our Town), Jonathan Kaplan (Tony nominee for Falsettos, Diary of Anne Frank), Kevin Kelly (Shakespeare In The Park: Twelfth Night), and Julie Sharbutt (Shakespeare In The Park: Twelfth Night), mixing it up with some of the best improvisors in the world—Scott Adsit, Becky Drysdale, Anthony King, Thomas Middleditch, and Tami Sagher —as they crash improv into classic theatre scenes at actor/director Stephen Ruddy’s Gravid Water

9:30 pm ($5): Wonderful comic Jon Friedman (Jimmy Fallon, The Rejection Show), and improvisors making up a feature film in 30 minutes at Big Ass Movie, auditioning for a spot on the UCBT lineup in tonight’s double-bill of tryout show Spank

9:30 pm ($5): Superb stand-up comic Carmen Lynch (Comedy Central) debuting a one-woman show, and Leah Bonnema debuting a one-woman show about waiting for her comatose mom to wake up, in Fishy and Mom in a Coma

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 11:00 pm: Some of the finest comics in the country—tonight including lightning-fast & thoroughly hilarious Pete Holmes (Comedy Central Presents, The Daily Show, John Oliver and Friends, VH1’s Best Week Ever, The New Yorker, host of hit shows Punch Up Your Life and Gutbucket), razor-sharp rising star Sean Patton (Comedy Central, ComedyJuice), Ireland comedy star Des Bishop (Desfunctional), and Louis Katz (Carson Daly)—hosted by the wonderful Leo Allen (Saturday Night Live, Conan O’Brien, HBO, Comedy Central) at Whiplash

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

Leave a Comment » | Best New York Live Comedy Shows | Tagged: Carolines, Carolines Comedy Club, Carolines on Broadway, Cheap Comedy, Comedian, Comedians, Comedic Storytelling, Comedy, Comedy Clubs, Comic, Comics, Comix, Comix Comedy Club, Doctors Without Borders, Fred Armisen, Free Comedy, Fun NYC, Funny, Haiti Disaster Relief, Haiti Disaster Relief Fundraiser, Haiti Fundraiser, Haiti Relief, Improv, Improvisation, Janeane Garofalo, Kristen Schaal, Lewis Black, Liam McEneaney, New York City Comedy, New York Comedy, New York Comedy Clubs, NY Comedy, NYC Comedy, NYC Fun, Ochi’s Lounge, Sketch Comedy, Stand-Up Comedy, Standup Comedy, Storytelling, Tell Your Friends, The Magnet, The Peoples Improv Theatre, The PIT, Todd Barry, UCB, UCBT, Upright Citizens Brigade, Victor Varnado, Wyatt Cenac | Permalink
Posted by hybender

NYC Top Comedy Choices for Thursday 12/24/09

December 24, 2009

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

Brilliant comedy stars Janeane Garofalo and Todd Barry headline a superb lineup of comics at The 12th Night of Chanukah

Most comedy venues are dark tonight for Christmas Eve (or to celebrate Senate passage of the health bill); but here’s one show of special note:

[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($12): Comedy stars Janeane Garofalo and Todd Barry, plus brilliant comics Sean Patton, Jon Glaser, Joe Mande, and Rob Paravonian, perform stand-up at 92Y Tribeca’s Comedy Below Canal for a show with a playful attitude: The 12th Night of Chanukah

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

Leave a Comment » | Best New York Live Comedy Shows | Tagged: 92Y Tribeca, Cheap Comedy, Comedian, Comedians, Comedic Storytelling, Comedy, Comedy Below Canal, Comic, Comics, Fun NYC, Funny, Janeane Garofalo, New York City Comedy, New York Comedy, NY Comedy, NYC Comedy, NYC Fun, Stand-Up Comedy, Standup Comedy, Storytelling, The 12th Night of Chanukah, Todd Barry | Permalink
Posted by hybender

NYC Top Comedy Choices for Tuesday 12/15/09

December 15, 2009

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

Janeane Garofalo will bewitch audience members with laughter tonight at the final 2009 edition of superb free comedy show Punch Up Your Life

Tonight’s recommendations for the best in New York City comedy (in chronological order, with top picks noted and shows over $10 marked with $) include:

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): Comics creator Greg Pak (The Incredible Hulk) and Fred Van Lente (The Incredible Herc) joining in on a lively & hilarious discussion about four-color pop culture—which tonight is the show’s third anniversary, and promises lots of surprises and prizes—at Comic Book Club

8:00 pm to midnight ($5): Five full hours of improv for only five bucks—tonight featuring every single Harold UCBT house troupe: Scootch, DeCoster, Robber Baron, Ragnaröck, Penthouse Riot, Bastian, People People, Badman, The Law Firm, and The Bishop—all at The Longest Harold Night of the Year

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 8:30 pm: TV & movie comedy superstar Janeane Garofalo, Joe DeRosa (Comedy Central, Carson Daly), Andrea Rosen (Stella, Variety SHAC), and Chris Fleming (HBO Comedy Fest) performing stand-up at the Housingworks Bookstore Cafe for a free weekly show typically hosted by brilliant stand-ups Pete Holmes and Jessi Klein—and which is the last edition for 2009: Punch Up Your Life

[TOP PICK] 8:30 pm ($5; plus 2-item min. if you sit): A musical improv comedy genius (2009 ECNY Award for Best Musical Comedy Act and the 2007 Andy Kaufman Award; cast member of the new Electric Company; Jimmy Fallon) performing tonight at Le Poisson Rouge (158 Bleecker Street, off Thompson Street): Reggie Watts

[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($5): Stellar stand-ups Leo Allen, Jeff Ross, and Craig Baldo; circus acrobat Rudi MacAggi; and lots of surprises at The Slipper Room for this special holiday edition of the LES weekly show hosted by the wonderful Seth Herzog (Jimmy Fallon, VH1): Sweet

[FREE] 11:00 pm: Free open-mic stand-up show that’s seldom much fun for audience members but is a nice opportunity if you want 4-5 minutes to test out your comedy material on stage: Bring It

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

Leave a Comment » | Best New York Live Comedy Shows | Tagged: Carolines, Carolines Comedy Club, Carolines on Broadway, Cheap Comedy, Comedian, Comedians, Comedic Storytelling, Comedy, Comedy Clubs, Comic, Comics, Comix, Comix Comedy Club, Free Comedy, Fun NYC, Funny, Improv, Improvisation, Janeane Garofalo, New York City Comedy, New York Comedy, New York Comedy Clubs, NY Comedy, NYC Comedy, NYC Fun, Ochi’s Lounge, Sketch Comedy, Stand-Up Comedy, Standup Comedy, Storytelling, The Magnet, The Peoples Improv Theatre, The PIT, UCB, UCBT, Upright Citizens Brigade | Permalink
Posted by hybender

NYC Top Comedy Choices for Wed. 11/25/09

November 25, 2009

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

Janeane Garofalo performs with such comedy giants as Nick Kroll and Anthony Jeselnik tonight at ComedyJuice

Tonight’s recommendations for the best in New York City comedy (in chronological order, with top picks noted and shows over $10 marked with $) include:

[FREE] 6:00 pm to midnight: Six free hours of improvisation in The PIT’s Super Free Wednesday

[TOP PICK] 7:00 pm ($5): A hilarious comedic performer trying out her new one-woman show: Jill Donnelly

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($10): Brilliant character performer Kate McKinnon (co-star of Logo’s Big Gay Sketch Show) plays five very different actresses waiting to hear which of them won an Oscar (keep an eye out for the old lady, who’s one of the funniest characters you’ll see this year, anywhere); and foreign-born Greg Tuculescu (member of stellar sketch troupes Quiet Library and Stone Cold Fox, and superb improv troupe The Law Firm) performs a one-man show, in the double-bill Best Actress and F@#&ing Foreigners!

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): A small army of UCBT performers—well, 18 of them, including such stellar talents as Jeff Hiller, Gil Ozeri, and Jill Donnelly—performing an annual improv tradition: The Macy’s Day Before Thanksgiving Day Parade

[TOP PICK] [$] [DISCOUNTED] 10:00 pm ($15 online using code LAFF, plus 2-item min.): A blowout monthly gathering of top comedy talent—tonight featuring thoroughly wonderful stand-ups Janeane Garofalo, Nick Kroll, Anthony Jeselnik, Kumail Nanjiani, and host Sean Patton—all performing at ComedyJuice

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

Leave a Comment » | Best New York Live Comedy Shows | Tagged: Anthony Jeselnik, Carolines, Carolines Comedy ClubCheap Comedy, Carolines on Broadway, Comedian, Comedians, Comedy, Comedy Clubs, ComedyJuice, Comic, Comics, Comix, Comix Comedy Club, Free Comedy, Fun NYC, Funny, Improv, Janeane Garofalo, New York Comedy, New York Comedy Clubs, Nick Kroll, NY Comedy, NYC Comedy, NYC Fun, Ochi’s Lounge, Sketch Comedy, Stand-Up Comedy, Standup Comedy, Storytelling, The Magnet, The Peoples Improv Theatre, The PIT, UCB, UCBT, Upright Citizens Brigade | Permalink
Posted by hybender

NYC Top Comedy Choices for Monday 11/23/09

November 23, 2009

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

Thoroughly wonderful comedy superstar Janeane Garofalo performs stand-up tonight at Tell Your Friends

Tonight’s recommendations for the best in New York City comedy (in chronological order, with top picks noted and shows over $10 marked with $) include:

6:30 pm & 9:00 pm (no cover, 1-item min.): The perfect show for short attention spans—open-mic stand-up with 4½ minutes per set and 25 comics crammed into 2½ hours—at John Morrison’s Ochi’s Motel

[FREE] 7:00 pm: Stand-ups Pat Stango, Blaine Perry, Ray Marshall, Travis Irvine, Julia Lundy, and Aalap Patel performing at a free weekly show in the Manchester Pub hosted by Phoebe Robinson: Case of the Mondays Comedy

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($10): A spectacular and unforgettable demonstration of the artful power of mime when combined with a wickedly sharp modern sensibility, executed with great wit and style. Street performers have given mime a bad rep; but if you think about it, what mime does is boil a situation down to its essential elements, and then express those elements in a manner that’s instantly and universally understood. That’s really what art is all about; and that’s also what Billy the Mime does, often brilliantly. (For my review of his FringeNYC show in 2006, please click here.) Don’t miss this special event at UCBT: Billy the Mime

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): Movie & TV comedy superstar Janeane Garofalo, The Daily Show’s Wyatt Cenac, guitar comic Rob Paravonian, and more performing in the Lolita Bar with producer Liam McEneaney at Tell Your Friends

9:30 pm ($5): “A parody jukebox musical that gives new life to the most popular songs of Tupac Shakur. Join us for a romp through all the themes held most dear to Tupac’s heart: economic oppression, dreams deferred, and mall food courts” and ” Characters! Impressions! Breaking News! Audience Interactions (the classy kind)! Stephen Soroka and Mamrie Hart are Best of Friends, and they are taking their hit Web series to the stage” in 2Pac: The Musical and BoF in This Old Thing

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 11:00 pm: A blowout gathering of some of the most brilliant and hilarious stand-ups in the country—Nick Kroll, Andy Blitz, Pete Holmes, Brooke Van Poppelen, and Sean Patton—hosted by the wonderful Leo Allen (Saturday Night Live, Conan O’Brien, HBO, Comedy Central) at Whiplash

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

Leave a Comment » | Best New York Live Comedy Shows | Tagged: Carolines, Carolines Comedy ClubCheap Comedy, Carolines on Broadway, Comedian, Comedians, Comedic Storytelling, Comedy, Comedy Clubs, Comic, Comics, Comix, Comix Comedy Club, Free Comedy, Fun NYC, Funny, Improv, Improvisation, Janeane Garofalo, New York City Comedy, New York Comedy, New York Comedy Clubs, NY Comedy, NYC Comedy, NYC Fun, Ochi’s Lounge, Sketch Comedy, Stand-Up Comedy, Standup Comedy, Storytelling, The Magnet, The Peoples Improv Theatre, The PIT, UCB, UCBT, Upright Citizens Brigade | Permalink
Posted by hybender

NYC Top Comedy Choices for Wednesday 11/4/09

November 4, 2009

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

Janeane Garofalo and other brilliant comedic storytellers perform tonight at Risk!

Tonight’s recommendations for the best in New York City comedy (in chronological order, with top picks noted and shows over $10 marked with $) include:

[TOP PICK] [$] 7:30 pm ($12 ticket; plus two-drink or $12 food min. if you sit at a table): World-class comics and comedic storytellers—who tonight are TV & movie superstar Janeane Garofalo, bestselling author Elna Baker (for a Q&A about Elna’s book, please click here), brilliant stand-up Leo Allen (HBO, Conan O’Brien, SNL, Comedy Central), and Kenny Mellman (Kiki and Herb)—join brilliant sketch comic and storyteller Kevin Allison (The State) in Joe’s Pub to share tales on the theme “Sneaky Choices” at the exciting new weekly storytelling event Risk!

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($10): Some of the finest comedic singer/songwriters in NYC—Adira Amram, Stuckey & Murray, God’s Pottery (Wilson Hall & Krister Johnson), Snakes (Adam Lustick & Billy Scafuri), and Thin Skin Johnny—joining wonderful hosts Anthony King and Scott Brown at this spectacular one-night-only event: Your Favorite Band Sucks…at Comedy

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): Two top NYC sketch troupes, Murderfist and Skinny Bitch Jesus Meeting, perform intense comedy in the intimate East Village Red Room theatre: The Last Murderfist Show

8:00 pm ($7): Sharp NYC stand-ups Caroline Rhea, Becky Donohue, Liam McEneaney, and Costaki Economopoulos performing at Dan Allen’s & Ray Devito’s monthly comedy showcase ¡Sacapuntas!

[FREE] 8:00: Sharp NYC storytellers and stand-ups Leslie Goshko, John Flynn, Claire Titelman, Lisa Haim, Anthony Spinner, and Hollywood Beach Brian performing at this free weekly show hosted by Sharon Spell: Shrink

[FREE] 8:30 pm: Jordan Carlos (The Colbert Report), Claire Titelman (Veronica Mars), Robert Buscemi (designated “Best Comedian 2009” by Chicago Reader), Rich Juzwiack, and “a special secret showbiz guest we aren’t allowed to announce because he or she has another fancy gig in town this week” performing at a free weekly comedy show at Brooklyn’s Cameo (behind Lovin’ Cup) hosted by Gabe Liedman and Max Silvestri: Big Terrific

9:30 pm ($5): Two one-man shows—about having cancer and being gay—for a mere five bucks in the double-bill Nick Ross: Highly Evolved Human and Brent Sullivan: Fag Life

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 11:00 pm: Host Justin Purnell (The Colbert Report) providing as many as a dozen guests packed into 75 minutes performing stand-up, improv, sketch, and occasionally acts that defy categorization. The level of talent can vary wildly, but for some (like me), that’s part of the laid-back fun; and this is often one of the most amazing comedy shows in town. Come support the experimentation, and periodic magical surprises, that this uniquely organic rollercoaster of a show makes possible—and don’t forget to toss $1 in the bucket on your way out: School Night

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

Leave a Comment » | Best New York Live Comedy Shows | Tagged: Carolines, Carolines Comedy ClubCheap Comedy, Carolines on Broadway, Comedian, Comedians, Comedic Storytelling, Comedy, Comedy Clubs, Comic, Comics, Comix, Comix Comedy Club, Free Comedy, Fun NYC, Funny, Improv, Improvisation, Janeane Garofalo, Kevin Allison, New York City Comedy, New York Comedy, New York Comedy Clubs, NY Comedy, NYC Comedy, NYC Fun, Ochi’s Lounge, Risk, Sketch Comedy, Stand-Up Comedy, Standup Comedy, Storytelling, The Magnet, The Peoples Improv Theatre, The PIT, UCB, UCBT, Upright Citizens Brigade | Permalink
Posted by hybender

NYC Top Comedy Choices for Wednesday 9/30/09

September 30, 2009

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

John Oliver and Janeane Garofalo

Tonight’s recommendations for the best in New York City comedy (in chronological order, with top picks noted and shows over $10 marked with $) include:

[FREE] 6:00 pm to midnight: Six free hours of improvisation in The PIT’s Super Free Wednesday

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): John Oliver (star correspondent of The Daily Show and genius stand-up comic), Ali Wong (human dynamo stand-up; The Onion), and Jesse Pop (Comedy Central, co-host of Beauty Bar Comedy) joining hilarious hosts Joe Mande and Noah Garfinkel at Totally J/K

[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm ($15 online using code ABLAST, plus 2-item min.): Movie & TV comedy superstar Janeane Garofalo, brilliant Daily Show star John Oliver, Daily Show Executive Producer Rory Albanese, Daily Show Supervising Producer Adam Lowitt, and former Daily Show writer Scott Jacobson performing stand-up at this monthly event: The Daily Show & Friends

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 8:00: Uniformly wonderful stand-ups Baron Vaughn, Sarah Schaefer, Eric Andre, Ali Waller, and Claudia Cogan performing at a free weekly comedy show at Rodeo Bar hosted by Matt Maragno: Now We’re Talking

[FREE] 8:00: Sharp NYC comics Ray Devito, Ilana Glazer, Bruce Cherry, Mo Diggs, Jacqueline Kabat, and Erik Bergstrom at a free weekly show hosted by Sharon “Mama” Spell: Shrink

[FREE] 8:30 pm: Superb stand-ups Baron Vaughn (red-hot rising star; Comedy Central, MTV, VH1, Shoot the Messenger, Awkward Kings of Comedy), Hari Kondadbolu (Comedy Central, Jimmy Kimmel), Tom McCaffrey (Comedy Central, The Onion), and Eliot Glazer (co-host of High School Talent Show and New York Shitty) at a free weekly comedy show at Brooklyn’s Cameo (behind Lovin’ Cup) hosted by Gabe Liedman, Max Silvestri, and sometimes SNL’s Jenny Slate: Big Terrific

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): One of the finest comedic storytelling shows in the country, tonight featuring brilliant writer/performers Adam Wade (two-time Moth GrandSlam Storytelling Champion and record-breaking 10-time StorySlam Champion; The New York Times Magazine; host of Real Tales of College), John Flynn, Cecilia Lederer, Tami Sagher, and wonderful host David Martin telling tales that are brutally honest and utterly hilarious, with tonight’s theme “Weddings:” The Nights of Our Lives

[TOP PICK] [$] 10:00 pm ($15 online using code ABLAST, plus 2-item min.): A blowout monthly gathering of top comedy talent from around the country—tonight featuring lightning-fast & thoroughly hilarious Pete Holmes (one of the very best stand-ups in the biz; Comedy Central, The Daily Show, VH1’s Best Week Ever, The New Yorker, co-host of hit show Punch Up Your Life); a superstar comedy guest I can’t announce, but let’s just say he’s even whiter than Pete Holmes; Wyatt Cenac (correspondent for The Daily Show), Hannibal Burress (writer for Saturday Night Live; Comedy Central, Craig Ferguson, concert film The Awkward Kings of Comedy), Robert Kelly (HBO, Comedy Central, Jimmy Kimmel, VH1, MTV), and Steve Hofstetter (Craig Ferguson, Showtime, VH1, ESPN)—all performing at ComedyJuice

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

Leave a Comment » | Best New York Live Comedy Shows | Tagged: Carolines, Carolines Comedy ClubCheap Comedy, Carolines on Broadway, Comedian, Comedians, Comedic Storytelling, Comedy, Comedy Clubs, Comic, Comics, Comix, Comix Comedy Club, Free Comedy, Fun NYC, Funny, Improv, Improvisation, Janeane Garofalo, John Oliver, New York City Comedy, New York Comedy, New York Comedy Clubs, NY Comedy, NYC Comedy, NYC Fun, Ochi’s Lounge, Sketch Comedy, Stand-Up Comedy, Standup Comedy, Storytelling, The Daily Show, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, The Magnet, The Peoples Improv Theatre, The PIT, UCB, UCBT, Upright Citizens Brigade | Permalink
Posted by hybender

NYC Top Comedy Choices for Monday August 24 – Friday August 28, 2009

August 24, 2009

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

For comprehensive FringeNYC 2009 coverage, please click here.

Janeane Garofalo performs on Wednesday at Totally J/K

Recommendations for the best in New York City comedy for August 24- 27, 2009 (in chronological order, with top picks noted and shows over $10 marked with $) include:

Monday 8/24 at 6:30 pm & 9:00 pm (no cover, 1-item min.): The perfect show for short attention spans—open-mic stand-up with 4½ minutes per set and 25 comics crammed into 2½ hours—at John Morrison’s Ochi’s Motel

[TOP PICK] Monday 8/24 at 8:00 pm ($5): Superb stand-ups Christian Finnegan ((three Comedy Central specials, commentator on MNBC’s Countdown with Keith Oberman and VH1’s Best Week Ever; Chappelle’s Show, The Today Show), Lizz Winstead (co-creator of The Daily Show, commentator on MNBC, creator/star of Shoot the Messenger), Ritch Duncan, Gilad Foss, and more at performing at Lolita Bar in Liam McEneaney’s Tell Your Friends

Monday 8/24 at 8:00 pm ($5): UCBT house comedy troupes High Treason and Slow Burn try out their newest sketch material at Maude Night

Monday 8/24 at 9:30 pm ($5): Superb comics Peter Grosz (writer for The Colbert Report, star of over 100 Sonic fast-food commercials, co-writer & co-star of UCBT sketch show The Steve Miller Band and Other Annoying Monsters) and John Lutz (writer & occasional actor on SNL since 2004; recurring character on 30 Rock) perform two-man improv in 2 Square

[TOP PICK] [FREE] Monday 8/24 at 11:00 pm: A gathering of some of the finest comics in the country—tonight including two of my favorite stand-ups ever, comedy giants Pete Holmes and Anthony Jeselnik—hosted by the wonderful Leo Allen (Saturday Night Live, HBO, Comedy Central) at Whiplash

[TOP PICK] Tuesday 8/25 at 8:00 pm ($5): Comics writer Marc Bernardin (Monster Attack Network, Genius, The Authority) and comics writer/artist Porter Mason (Bassist Wanted) joining in on a lively & hilarious discussion about four-color pop culture at Comic Book Club

Tuesday 8/25 from 8:00 pm to midnight ($5): Four full hours of improv for only five bucks—tonight featuring UCBT house troupes Scootch, Ragnaröck, Penthouse Riot, Law Firm, and The Bishop—followed by UCBT students at the top 600 level performing improv as citizens of Tiny Town, all at Harold Night

[FREE] Tuesday 8/25 at 8:00 pm: Dan St. Germain and Sean Donnelly host a free stand-up show at the Legion Bar in Brooklyn with terrific guests Kumail Nanjiani, Ali Wong, Kevin McCaffrey, Mike Drucker, and Jesse Pop: Sean and Dan Need Your Help

Tuesday 8/25 at 9:00 pm (no cover, 1-item min.): Delightful stand-up comics Jackie Monahan, Leah Dubie, Amy Beckerman, and Gloria Bigelow performing and hosting guest comics Ophira Eisenberg, Kendra Cunningham, and Shawn Hollenbach in Ochi’s Lounge at Dykes on Mics

[FREE] Wednesday 8/26 from 6:00 pm to midnight: six free hours of improvisation in The PIT’s Super Free Wednesday

[TOP PICK] Wednesday 8/26 at 8:00 pm ($5): Movie & TV comedy superstar Janeane Garofalo and movie & Daily Show star Wyatt Cenac perform stand-up at an extravaganza hosted by the hilarious Joe Mande and Noah Garfinkel: Totally J/K

[FREE] Wednesday 8/26 at 8:00: Sharp NYC stand-ups at a free weekly stand-up comedy show at Rodeo Bar hosted by the luminous Margie Kment & Matt Maragno: Now We’re Talking

[FREE] Wednesday 8/26 at 8:00: Sharp NYC comics John Flynn, Chelsea White, Manson Family Singers, Rich Brooks, Rocco Supreme, and Michele Carlo at a free weekly show hosted by Sharon “Mama” Spell: Shrink

[TOP PICK] [FREE] Wednesday 8/26 at 8:30 pm: Typically superb stand-ups at a free weekly comedy show at Brooklyn’s Cameo (behind Lovin’ Cup) hosted by Gabe Liedman & Max Silvestri: Big Terrific

[TOP PICK] Wednesday 8/26 at 9:30 pm ($5): One of the finest comedic storytelling shows in the country, in which brilliant writer/performers Curtis Gwinn, Anthony Atamanuik, John Flynn, John Gabrus, and wonderful host David Martin tell tales that are brutally honest and utterly hilarious, with tonight’s theme “Summer Jobs:” The Nights of Our Lives

[MEGA-TOP PICK] [$] Wednesday 8/26 at 10:00 pm ($15 online if you order before day of show, plus 2-item min.): A gathering of some of the most brilliant and hilarious stand-up comics in the country—with the lineup to be posted here as soon as it’s available—performing at this monthly comedy event that should not be missed: ComedyJuice

[TOP PICK] [FREE] Wednesday 8/26 at 11:00 pm: Host Justin Purnell (The Colbert Report) provides a mix of guests who perform stand-up, improv, sketch, and occasionally acts that defy categorization. The level of talent can vary wildly—but for some (like me), that’s part of the laid-back fun. Come support the experimentation, and periodic magical surprises, that this uniquely organic rollercoaster of a show makes possible: School Night

Thursday 8/27 at 8:00 pm ($5): Sharp improvisors directed by James Eason “take an audience suggestion and break it into a million funny pieces” in The Deconstruction

Thursday 8/20 at 8:00 pm ($8): Clever wordplay, conceptual comedy, and relentless silliness—applied to a parody of the already-goofy film Con Air—from sketch troupe Elephant Larry

[TOP PICK] Thursday 8/27 at 11:00 pm ($5): The most winning improv troupe in UCBT history, Death by Roo Roo, tonight defends its championship against troupe Dead Presidents in a competition for audience votes and laughs: Cage Match

[TOP PICK] Friday 8/28 at 9:30 pm ($10): Some of the finest improv in NYC from the comedy genius members of The Stepfathers

Friday 8/28 at 10:00 pm ($5): Singing improvisors who use an interview with an audience member to craft The Made-Up Musical

[TOP PICK] Friday 8/28 at 11:00 pm ($5): Stellar comics—Jon Gabrus, Sue Galloway, Thomas Middleditch, Ben Rodgers, Gavin Speiller, Andree Vermeulen, and Zach Woods—perform fresh sketch comedy from razor-sharp writers Neil Casey, John Frusciante, Dan Gregor, Dan Gurewitch, Anthony King, Craig Rowin, Eric Scott, Nate Smith, Caitlin Tegart, and Greg Tuculescu at a show directed by Will Hines and hosted tonight by superb stand-up Hannibal Burress: Beneath Gristedes

[FREE] Saturday 8/29 at 12:20ish am: Your opportunity to perform on the UCBT stage with improv veterans, hosted by stellar troupe The Law Firm: Jammin’ with Ralph

[$] Saturday 8/29 at 12:30 am ($31.25 & 2-drink min.) A provocative comedy star who’s written for Richard Pryor, Red Foxx, and Saturday Night Live, and performed on Chappelle’s Show and David Letterman, headlining through Sunday at Carolines: Paul Mooney

More broadly, to check all comedy shows in the major low-cost NYC comedy venues, please visit these Web sites:

Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre

The Peoples Improv Theater

Ochi’s Lounge at Comix

The Magnet

The Creek and the Cave (Queens LIC)

Union Hall (Brooklyn)

And for comedy clubs, please visit:

Comix

Carolines

HyReviews.com Comedy Club Discounts

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

For comprehensive FringeNYC 2009 coverage, please click here.

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