NYC Top Comedy Choices for Thursday 7/21/11

July 21, 2011

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

If you know anyone who might have a thyroid problem, please tell them about my new book: The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Thyroid Disease.

Andrea Rosen

UCBT is the place to be tonight, with four incredible shows in a row:
Andrea “Might Give Birth Any Second” Rosen’s Ding Dong Meow

Amy Heidt

Amy Heidt’s & Jeff Hiller’s The Last Resort

John Lutz

…improv genius John Lutz with Meagan O’Brien in Just One Scene

Fran Gillespie

…and sole improvisor (and reigning champ) Fran Gillespie vs. stellar musical improv troupe Diamond Lion at Cage Match

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: Open-mic stand-up with comics drawing names from a bucket, with each chosen one receiving three minutes at The Creek’s upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City: Corby Haas

[MEGA-TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): Two of the finest comedic actors in NYC, Amy Heidt and Jeff Hiller, debut a one-act comedy about love and murder that you don’t want to miss (and schedule permitting, I’ll be there too): The Last Resort 

…and the second half of this double-bill features one of the very best shows at UCBT. Andrea Rosen is already famed as a comic—in fact, she won the prestigious 2011 ECNY Award for Best Stand-Up—but what’s not as well-known is that Andrea’s among the finest comedic storytellers in the country. This one-woman show should fix that. It offers smart, fearless, hilarious material ranging from fast food you should avoid to the medicinal power of a boyfriend’s penis. It also provides one of the sharpest comedic performances that will grace NYC this year (for which kudos are also deserved by the show’s superb director, John Flynn). Plus if you sit in the first few rows, expect free home-baked cookies. Don’t miss Andrea’s unique blend of dark comedy and silliness: Ding Dong Meow

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($8): Wonderful comic Kurt Braunohler “relates how he destroyed a 13-year relationship in the dumbest, most complicated way possible, with bar fights, naked men, walruses, and an audition for Sasha Baron Cohen” in the one-man show The Amish Guide to Fucking

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($7): Some of the Magnet Theatre’s finest improvisors make up theatrical plays on the spot: Playhouse

8:00 pm ($5): David Foster (HBO, Showtime, MTV), Jamie Lee (VH1, Last Comic Standing), and Damien Lemon, and more performing stand-up at The PIT’s downstairs lounge hosted by comedic rapper Andrew Singer and the delightful Abbi Crutchfield: Positively Awesome

[FREE] 9:00ish pm: Typically terrific NYC stand-ups performing on this weekly show at the Kabin Bar and Lounge hosted by Chesley Calloway and comedy genius Sean Patton: Comedy as a Second Language

[MEGA-TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): John Lutz co-stars on 30 Rock, and previously spent six years as a staff writer for Saturday Night Live; but what’s most important to know for this show is John’s one of the most hilarious improvisors alive. Tonight he teams with Meagan O’Brien to focus on Just One Scene

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm (no cover, 1-item min.): Movie star Janeane Garofalo, Molly Knefel (Naked in a Fishbowl, John & Molly Get Along), Nick Rutherford, and more performing stand-up at Luca Lounge (222 Avenue B off 14th Street) for Sean Crespo’s & Carol Hartsell’s weekly comedy show Lasers in the Jungle

9:30 pm ($5): Improvisors (not announced) make up one-act plays on the spot at The PIT’s basement lounger for The Scene

[$] 10:00 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

[MEGA-TOP PICK] 11:00 pm ($5): In a squeaker, superb improv troupe Doppleganger was toppled by audience votes of 74 to 62 for a lone performer: Fran Gillespie. Tonight Fran attempts to repeat her remarkable feat against one of the finest musical improv troupes in the country, DIamond Lion. This is a show you don’t want to miss, as brilliant improviors fight for audience laughs and votes at the raucous Cage Match

11:00 pm ($5): NYC stand-ups (not announced) performing at The PIT for this comedy club-style (i.e., long set) weekly show hosted by Harrison Greenbaum: The Big One

11:00 pm ($5): Magnet improv troupes Listen, Kid! and Brick compete for audience laughs and votes—yes, like UCBT’s Cage Match, but with a game-like challenge component—at Inspirado

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

If you know anyone who might have a thyroid problem, please tell them about my new book: The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Thyroid Disease.


NYC Top Comedy Choices for Monday 6/13/11

June 13, 2011

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

If you know anyone who might have a thyroid problem, please tell them about my new book: The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Thyroid Disease.

Chris Gethard

Tonight features comedy geniuses Chris Gethard (at The Magnet's "Deep Traffic")...

Scott Adsit and John Lutz

...John Lutz & Scott Adsit as UCBT improv super-duo "John & Scott"

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:

7:00 pm ($5): Any show ballsy enough to begin its description with “Have you ever loved a mop? Susan-Kate Heaney has…” is worth exploring. This one-woman show is happening at The PIT: Confessions of a Mop-oholic

7:00 pm ($5): Duo improv from team Snazzle Dazzle; and improv revolving around “the anticipation, the fall-out, that fragile moment when love blooms or dies” in Double Date

7:00 pm & 9:30 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—with an early show hosted by Sean Donnelly & Blaine Perry at 7:00 pm, and an entirely different group of stand-ups hosted by Dan Cartwright & Dave Greek at 9:30 pm—at the Luca Lounge (222 Avenue B off 14th Street) for John Morrison’s Motel Luca

[FREE] 7:30 pm: NYC stand-ups Roger Hailes (Comedy Central, Fuse TV), Dan Soder (Comedy Central), Mike Pomeranz (Comedy Central), Jermaine Fowler, Travis Irvine, Tracy Marhal, and Karl Hess performing at a free weekly show in the Manchester Pub hosted by Phoebe Robinson: Case of the Mondays Comedy

[MEGA-TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): Scott Adsit (cast member of 30 Rock, and co-writer/director/producer & cast member of Adult Swim’s awesome & Emmy-winning Moral Orel) teaming up with fellow 30 Rock actor John Lutz (who previously spent six years as a staff writer forSaturday Night Live) to form a super-smart and hilarious star improv duo who should not be missed: John & Scott

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($6.50 online or $8 at the door): Todd Barry (David Letterman, Conan O’Brien, Comedy Central Presents, FX’s Louie, HBO’s Flight of the Conchords and Bored to Death, Adult Swim, feature films The Wrestler and Pete Smalls is Dead), Rob Cantrell (organic and delightful pothead stand-up), Mindy Raf (hilarious singer/songwriter playing her feminist character Leibya Rogers)—and for all of June, as house band the super-amazing Adira Amram and the Experience (winner of the 2011 ECNY Award for Best Musical Act)—performing at Brooklyn’s Littlefield (622 Degraw Street) with sketches and more from a duo who between them won four 2011 ECNY Awards—including Best Variety Show and Best Hosts—Kristen Schaal and Kurt Braunohler: Hot Tub Variety

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($10): My #1 pick for the 2007 FringeNYC Festival, this wonderful group of actresses/improvisors portray characters as if they were in a play, but improvise everything they say and do. The luminous performers include Katharine Heller, Brenna Palughi, Lynne Rosenberg, Lauren Seikaly, and Molly Knefel, each of whom is immensely appealing and quick-witted. Further, they have an intimate, lovely chemistry with each other; and they’ve all committed to baring their personal lives, thinly disguised via their characters (hence the title’s Naked). As a result, this is one of the most honest & nuanced improvised shows you’ll ever see. This show was previously a wonderful theatrical event that cost $18 and up. Don’t miss this run at The PIT that allows you to catch the gals for a mere $10: Naked in a Fishbowl

[TOP PICK] 8:30 pm ($5): Chris Gethard (brilliant improvisor and comedic storyteller; star of Comedy Central sitcom Big Lake and UCBT’s The Chris Gethard ShowMagic Box of Stories, The Stepfathers, The Nights of Our Lives, author of book Weird New York; winner of 2011 ECNY Award for Best Tweeter), Jon Friedman (Jimmy Fallon, The Rejection Show), Kurt Metzger (Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central Presents, Comedy Central’s Ugly Americans), and Amazing Amy performing at theMagnet Theatre for Adam Lerman’s and Willy Appleman’s Deep Traffic

[FREE] 8:30ish pm: Sara Schaefer (inventive, luminous comic; Emmy-nominated staff writer forJimmy Fallon; VH1’s Best Week Ever), superb singer/songwriters Stucky & Murray, Greg Barris (host of Heart of Darkness), Leah Dubie (co-host of Dykes on Mics), Yannis Pappas (host of Ditch Comedy), and Andy Haynes performing at Brooklyn’s Freddy’s Bar (627 Fifth Avenue; take R subway to Prospect Avenue) for this free weekly show hosted by Brooke Van Poppelen (brilliant stand-up, writer, and storyteller; TLC, blogger for trutV; for stand-up videos about overindulging at 30 and impersonating Morrisey, please click here and here) and tonight’s guest-host Mara Herron: Dive Comedy

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): Two of UCBT’s fine house sketch comedy troupes, Gramp’s (Kate McKinnon’s group, which was outstanding at last week’s SketchFest NYC) and Onassis (with Sue Galloway), trying out new bits at Maude Night

9:30 pm ($5): “A drama written by teen Jerome McDonough that teaches teens about the evils of alcohol abuse. A talented and twistedly funny group of adults (the Marumsco Valley Players) will present the hard-hitting play, stage directions and all, while under the influence: Alky

[FREE] 9:30 pm: Adi Blotman, Carolina Hidalgo, Justin Murray, Chris Laker, Minday Raf, Jason Kantner, Juliana Forlano, and Matt Nagin performing stand-up at Pat O’Shea’s and Troy Bynum’s free weekly Brooklyn showcase at Freddy’s Backroom (627 5th Avenue): Ed Sullivan on Acid

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 11:00 pm: Some of the finest comics in the world—who haven’t been announced yet, but you can check for updates by clicking here—hosted by the wonderful Leo Allen (HBO, Saturday Night LiveConan O’Brien, Comedy Central) at Whiplash

[FREE] 11:00 pm: If you’re an audience member who loves stand-up, Monday at 11 should beWhiplash! night (see listing above). If you’re a comic who couldn’t get booked on UCBT’s all-star show, though, you can opt to instead practice your skills at this stand-up open-mic hosted by Michelle Wolf and the hilarious Erin Lennox (for a sample of Erin’s dynamite Seriously Sports show, please click here): Fresh

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

If you know anyone who might have a thyroid problem, please tell them about my new book: The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Thyroid Disease.


NYC Top Comedy Choices for Wednesday 2/16/11

February 16, 2011

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

If you have a thyroid, or know someone with a thyroid, please consider buying my latest book The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Thyroid Disease.

Scott Adsit and John Lutz

30 Rock stars John Lutz & Scott Adsit continue to blow the roof off UCBT as razor-sharp improv duo "John & Scott"

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 at The PIT’s Super Free Wednesday

7:00 pm ($5): Rob Lathan performs an oddball (even for Rob) sketch show about a guy whose face is stuck at the point of orgasm, ably abetted by sketch genius Kate McKinnon, at Permanent Nutface Gary

[$] 7:30 pm ($16.50 & 2-drink min.)  A long-time staff writer for Saturday Night Live headlining one night only at the Carolines Comedy Club: Colin Jost

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): Pamela Murphy’s autobiographical show is the best-scripted one-act to grace UCBT in the past year, performed with wit, grace, and pitch-perfect comedic timing (for video samples of Pam’s work, please click here). Don’t miss Jane Borden of Time Out New York‘s pick forBest Solo Show of 2010Pamela Murphy: The C Word

…and for the other half of this double-bill, sketch troupe Bleak! performs a show about internal strife: Stomachtown

[TOP PICK] [$] [DISCOUNTED] 8:00 pm ($16.50 in advance by following instructions here): An acclaimed UK-based sketch comedy duo kicking off a four-night run at Brooklyn’s St. Ann’s Warehouse (38 Water Street): The Pajama Men

8:00 pm ($5): NYC stand-ups Pat Dixon, Molly Knefel, Rob Pavaronian, Alison Castillo, Brendan McLaughlin, and Lance Weiss performing at Brooklyn’s Hank’s Rootin’ Tootin’ Saloon (46 Third Avenue at Atlantic) for this free weekly show hosted by Brooke Van Poppelen (brilliant stand-up, writer, and storyteller; TLC, blogger for trutV; for stand-up videos about overindulging at 30 and impersonating Morrisey, please click here and here) and Giulia Rozzi (VH1, Playgirl Magazine, co-host of Stripped Stories): Dive Comedy

[FREE] 8:30 pm: NYC stand-ups Andrea Rosen (HBO, Variety SHAC), Dan Soder (VH1), Pat O’Shea (E!), George Gordon (Comedy Central), and Asie Montarez (MTV)—plus musical guests Myq Kaplan & Micah Sherman—performing at the East Village’s Angels and Kings for this free weekly show hosted by delightful dark humor comic Jena Friedman: Entertaining the Bartender

[FREE] 9:00 pm: Music from The Bitter Poet, plus NYC stand-ups Katie Healy-Wurzburg, Jacqueline Kabat, Boris Khaykin, and Paul Case performing at this free weekly show at Luca Bar(119 St. Marks Place) hosted by Sharon Spell: Shrink

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): Scott Adsit (cast member of 30 Rock, and co-director & cast member of Adult Swim’s awesome & Emmy-winning Moral Orel) teaming up with fellow 30 Rock actor John Lutz (who previously spent six years as a staff writer for Saturday Night Live) to form a super-smart and hilarious new improv duo who should not be missed: John & Scott

[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.

If you have a thyroid, or know someone with a thyroid, please consider buying my latest book The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Thyroid Disease.


February 9, 2011

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

If you have a thyroid, or know someone with a thyroid, please consider buying my latest book The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Thyroid Disease.

Scott Adsit and John Lutz

30 Rock stars Scott Adsit & John Lutz are one of the hottest tickets at UCBT as razor-sharp improv duo John & Scott

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 at The PIT’s Super Free Wednesday

[MEGA-TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): Pamela Murphy’s autobiographical show is the best-scripted one-act to grace UCBT in the past year, performed with wit, grace, and pitch-perfect comedic timing (for video samples of Pam’s work, please click here). Don’t miss Jane Borden of Time Out New York‘s pick for Best Solo Show of 2010Pamela Murphy: The C Word

…and for the other half of this A-List double-bill, 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: Love Can Suck a Dick…and So Can I

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): Ray Devito, Carmen Lynch, Ophira Eisenberg, John Knefel, Charlie Kasov, and more performing at Brooklyn’s Hank’s Rootin’ Tootin’ Saloon (46 Third Avenue at Atlantic) for this free weekly show hosted by Brooke Van Poppelen (brilliant stand-up, writer, and storyteller; TLC, blogger for trutV; for stand-up videos about overindulging at 30 and impersonating Morrisey, please click here and here) and Giulia Rozzi (VH1, Playgirl Magazine, co-host of Stripped Stories): Dive Comedy

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 8:00 pm:Leslie Goshko (delightful storyteller/stand-up; Sirius XM, host ofSideshow Goshko), John Flynn (stellar storyteller of The Nights of Our Lives), Aaron Glaser (Jimmy Fallon), Rob Crean, and Pat Galante performing at this free weekly show at Luca Bar (119 St. Marks Place) hosted by Sharon Spell: Shrink

[FREE] 8:30 pm: Typically fine NYC stand-ups (not yet announced) performing at the East Village’sAngels and Kings for this free weekly show hosted by delightful dark humor comic Jena Friedman: Entertaining the Bartender

9:00 pm ($5 with password Derek Walcott, otherwise $8): Sketch troupes Chris & Paul, American Candy, By the Numbers, and Jay Franklin Films, plus stand-up Calvin Cato, performing at UNDER St. Marks with host Naomi Ekperigin: Sketch Block

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): Scott Adsit (cast member of 30 Rock, and co-director & cast member of Adult Swim’s awesome & Emmy-winning Moral Orel) teaming up with fellow 30 Rock actor John Lutz (who previously spent six years as a staff writer for Saturday Night Live) to form a super-smart and hilarious new improv duo who should not be missed: John & Scott

[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.

If you have a thyroid, or know someone with a thyroid, please consider buying my latest book The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Thyroid Disease.


NYC Top Comedy Choices for Wed. 12/8/10

December 8, 2010

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

Scott Adsit and John Lutz

"30 Rock" stars Scott Adsit & John Lutz perform tonight as exciting new improv duo John & Scott...

Dan St Germain and Jared Logan

...and razor-sharp comedy duo Dan St. Germain & Jared Logan debut their sketch show "They Hated Each Other"

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 ($5): Justin Tyler, Matt Fisher, and Alden Ford performing their favorite sketches (for a sample, please click here) as comedy troupe Sidecar: The Immaculate Collection

[TOP PICK] 7:30ish pm ($10 at the door or $12.75 online): Top storytellers telling a personal tale that in some way incorporates a lesson learned at college (for a write-up of the amazing debut, please click here)—with tonight’s lineup consisting of host Ophira Eisenberg (Comedy Central, VH1, Showtime, The Liar Show), Carter Edwards, Katherine Wessling, Peter Aguero, and Michele Carlo—performing at Brooklyn’s Union Hall for producer Adam Magazine’s You Went to College For That?

[TOP PICK] [$] 7:30 pm ($20 & 2-drink min.): A finalist on this summer’s Last Comic Standing, and who’s also performed on Jay Leno and his own Comedy Central Presents half-hour special, headlining tonight at Carolines: Myq Kaplan

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): Very smart and very funny comics Dan St. Germain (MTV; quick-witted rising star) and Jared Logan (Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central, co-host of Righteous Kill) teaming up to debut a two-man sketch show about history’s most infamous rivalries; and an indescribable multimedia sketch show from Peter Blomquist and Jeff Wiens, in the double-bill They Hated Each Other and Franco & Billy: Diamonds of Fire

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 8:00 pm: Delightful comedic singing/songwriting duo Tim Ellis and Matthew Park performing their best songs for an hour at music venue National Underground (159 East Houston Street, between Eldridge & Allen Streets): Ellis & Park

8:00 pm ($5): Brooke Van Poppelen (brilliant stand-up, writer, and storyteller; blogger for trutV; TLC; popular blogs NYisretarded.blogspot.com and RockBottom; for stand-up videos about overindulging at 30 and impersonating Morrisey, please click here and here) and Giulia Rozzi (VH1,Playgirl Magazine, co-host of Stripped Stories) hosting this free weekly NYC stand-up comedy show (lineup not yet announced) at Brooklyn’s Hank’s Rootin’ Tootin’ Saloon (46 Third Avenue at Atlantic): Dive Comedy

8:00 pm ($5; includes copious homemade treats): Mindy Raf (brilliant musical & sketch comic), Nick Vatterot (Jimmy Fallon), Sean Donnelly (host of Lil’ Seany Boy), Evan Jacobs, and Mara Herron performing stand-up at at Karma Lounge (51 First Avenue, off 3rd Street) with hosts Aalap Patel and the delightful Chelsea White (MTV, College Humor) at It’s Not That Serious

[FREE] 8:00 pm: NYC stand-ups Sean Crespo, Sue Funke, Jarret Berenstein, Kara Klenk, Peter de Giglio, and Nate Min performing at this free weekly show hosted by Sharon Spell: Shrink

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 8:30 pm: Larry Murphy (genius voiceover/character comic; Adult Swim’sDelocated, Assy McGee, Bob’s Burgers), Ali Wong (fearless, razor-sharp, hilarious comedy dynamo; MTV, Comedy Central), and Greg Johnson (Sirius Radio) performing at this free weekly comedy show at Brooklyn’s Cameo (behind Lovin’ Cup) hosted by Gabe Liedman and Max Silvestri: Big Terrific

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): Adsit & Gausas have virtually become legends as one of the most brilliant and passionate duos in improv comedy for making up theatrical scenes on the spot with breathtaking skill. They recently decided to refresh their palettes via other couplings; for example, Christina Gausas last month paired with Becky Drysdale, and will likely do so again early next year (keep an eye on the UCBT schedule). Meanwhile, Scott Adsit (cast member of 30 Rock, and co-director & cast member of Adult Swim’s awesome & Emmy-winning Moral Orel) tonight buddies up with fellow 30 Rock actor John Lutz (who previously spent six years as a staff writer for Saturday Night Live), forming what’s likely to be another magical improv pair: John & Scott

[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.