Best New York Comedy

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Ted Alexandro co-headlines one last night with Janeane Garofalo at Eastville; Jessi Klein headlines at If You Build It…

…and very special filmmaker John Waters performs one last night at City Winery

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] 4:00 pm: An unusually early weekly open-mic stand-up show (“starts late enough to sleep off that hangover but ends just in time to begin a new one”) at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City hosted by Jhoel Walkowski & Evan Davis: The Amateur Hour

6:00 pm ($5): Improv troupes Johnny Velvet, Human Pyramid, and GCA at The Magnet kicking off your Saturday evening: The Rundown

[TOP PICK] 7:00 pm ($5): What I’m assuming is a sketch show at UCB East based on this fun premise: “For fans of great TV shows, the end of a beloved series is the beginning of a painful mourning period. Knowing you’ll never see those characters again, watch them overcome new obstacles or learn what happened with unresolved plot points is hard to accept. Thankfully, a team of TV executives have heard your cries and are willing to explore these lost treasures one series at a time. They will tie up loose ends, catch up with the characters, and most importantly provide catharsis so the healing process can finally begin:” Executive Decision: Twin Peaks

[TOP PICK] 7:30 pm ($10): Charlie Todd, Jim Santangeli, D’Arcy Carden, Chelsea Clarke, and/or other stellar improvisors at UCB Chelsea interview an audience member about where he or she grew up and then “turn that town’s tourist attractions, landmarks, hangouts, local celebrities, urban legends, and more into a hilarious show made up on the spot:” The Curfew: Not From Around Here

8:30 pm ($5): At The Magnet, Kevin Cobbs & Alessandro King perform sketch or improv set in old-time Hollywood: Listen, Kid!

[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm ($45 and up): A film parody icon performs a one-man show about his career at the City Winery (155 Varick Street): John Waters

[$] 8:00 pm & 10:30 pm ($32.75 & 2-drink min.): A stand-up who’s hosted MTV’s Numbnuts andMoney From Strangers, and starred in a Comedy Central Presents special, headlining through Sunday at the Carolines Comedy Club: Jeff Dye

[$] 8:00 pm & 10:00 pm & 11:45 pm ($25 & 2-drink min.): A stand-up who’s performed on Last Comic Standing, Jay Leno, Comedy Central, and more headlining at the Gotham Comedy Club: Jessica Kirson

8:00 pm ($10): Two of the most respected PIT improv troupes performing on this weekly double-bill—and occasionally with comedy giants Kristen Schaal and/or Kurt Braunohler participating: Big Black Car and The Baldwins

[TOP PICK] 8:30 pm ($10): Jessi Klein (fresh, unique, deliciously organic comic who’s one of the best stand-ups in the country; former staff writer for Saturday Night Live; Comedy Central, VH1, NBC, CNN, Adult Swim), Dan St. Germain (quick-witted & enormously likeable rising star; Jimmy Fallon, The Electric Company, MTV, VH1), Jesse Joyce (Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central), singing duo Myq & Micah, and Kat Radley performing at UCB East hosted by Kara Klenk: If You Build It

[TOP PICK] 8:30 pm ($10): Sketch duo Chris & Paul perform at The PIT downstairs lounge before taking their new show to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival: The Chris & Paul Show

[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($10): One of the gutsiest and most hilarious troupes in comedy history—with honors including being Cage Match Champion for three years in a row, and winning the 2011 ECNY Award for Best Improv Group—UCB Chelsea’s genius improvisors Death by Roo Roo

[TOP PICK] [$] [DISCOUNTED] 9:00 pm & 11:00 pm (FREE TICKETS if you reserve in advance by calling (212) 260-2445 and mention HyReviews.com, but there’s still a 2-drink min. per person): Ted Alexandro (one of the very finest stand-ups in the country; David Letterman, Conan O’Brien, Jimmy Kimmel, two Comedy Central Presents half-hour specials; frequently opens for Louis C.K.; might be 9:00 pm only), TV & movie star Janeane Garofalo (9:00 pm only), DC Benny (Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central), and more performing stand-up at the only comedy club in the East Village: Eastville Comedy Club

[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($7): A sharp musical improv troupe at The Magnet makes up stories with song and dance based on an audience suggestion: Choral Rage

9:30 pm ($15): “A cabaret of darkly funny songs and topical sketch comedy about culture and politics,” following sold out shows at Joe’s Pub and now enjoying a long run at The PIT upstairs theatre: Political Subversities

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 9:00 pm: The comics of a popular podcast celebrate its Second Year Anniversary at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City: The Roundtable Of Gentlemen Live: Two Years of Chaos and Horror

[TOP PICK] 10:00 pm ($11.34 online; or $10 at the door—but this show typically sells out in advance): Erik Bergstrom (cartoonist/author of Grimmer Tales, The New Yorker, Comedy Central’sIndecision 2012), Gary Vider (hilarious writer & deadpan stand-up; for sample jokes, please clickhere), Kevin Barnett (Comedy Central, MTV, College Humor), Meg Cupernall, Ashley Brooke Roberts, Tim Homayoon, Jeff Wesselschmidt, Eli Sairs, Zach Sims, Brad Austin, Jason Burke, and more performing for this show in which stand-up and burlesque are weirdly blended together based on the reasoning “The nude female form is truly a work of art. That’s why people the world over like to jerk off to it. Who are we to disagree with the world?”at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City hosted by Pat Dixon (Comedy Central Presents): Pat Dixon’s (Nearly) Naked Lady Hour: Now with Bacon Bar

[TOP PICK] [$] 10:00 pm ($15): Ted Greenberg (Emmy-winning David Letterman writer) performing a fun, fast-paced theatrical comedy show—complete with audience interaction and audience rides home!—at The Complete Performer

[TOP PICK] 10:30 pm ($10): Improv troupe Grandma’s Ashes—which includes stellar talents Ryan Karels, Morgan Grace Jarrett, Brandon Scott Jones, and more—promises to “take your stories of the tragic and depraved and scatter them into laughter” at this newest UCB Chelsea show to be honored with a weekend time slot: Grandma’s Ashes Gets Dark

[TOP PICK] 10:30 pm ($10): UCBT improv troupe Airwolf—which includes such talents as John Frusciante, Molly Lloyd, Tim Martin, and Emily Axford, and has so far crushed 10 improv groups in a row at Cage Match, entirely owns the UCB East stage tonight at Airwolf: Let’s Go Back to Your Place

[TOP PICK] 10:30 pm ($7): Given that this new Magnet show is described as “a very special movie night with Ed Herbstman, Chet Siegel, Woody Fu, Alex Marino, and Christian Paluck,” I’m guessing Ed—who is a master improvisor—and his friends will be making up a movie on the spot. But if not, anything with Ed in it is going to be good regardless: The Movie

[TOP PICK] 11:00 pm ($8): “Jack Dishel is best known as a songwriter and musician, touring all over the world performing as Only Son and also playing lead guitar in The Moldy Peaches. This year he’s exploded onto the comedy scene, doing a two-month run of hour-long shows at the Sidewalk Cafe—without ever repeating material. It’s sometimes hilarious, sometimes dark, but always interesting. Whether speaking as one of his many characters or in his own voice, his ideas come through loud and clear, and it’s a fast hour. Let’s see what happens when Dishel brings the drunken night club insanity into The PIT upstairs theatre:” Jack Dishel: And Then Things Got Weird

[TOP PICK] 10:00 ($5): Superb NYC stand-ups Jared Logan (rising star; Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central, host of ComedyJuice), Erin Lennox (co-host of The Orphanage), Annie Lederman (Comedy Central, co-host of Pirate Party), Jordan Carlos (The Colbert Report, MTV, VH1), and Danny Jolles celebrate the 35th birthday of a singer/songwriter/surfer at The PIT downstairs lounge hosted by Peggy O’Leary & Michael Antonucci: Happy Birthday, Jason Mraz

Midnight ($5): Two relatively obscure sketch troupes, Dinner For One and Coker & Stratton, competing for audience laughs and votes at UCB Chelsea hosted by sketch troupe Sidecar: Backyard Brawl

Midnight ($5): Keisha Zollar (Doppelganger) and Poupak Sepehri (runs UCB’s Difference Blog) host a variety show at UCB East that’s a mix of stand-up, sketch, improv, dance, music, and video: The Soul Glo Project

Midnight ($10): Typically disturbing and semi-obscene sketches at The PIT downstairs lounge from troupe FUCT

[FREE] Midnight: A weekly chance for you to shine at The Magnet, as students and veteran improvisors share the stage to form “rare and wonderful one-night-only teams,” with sign-up starting at 11:30 pm: Magnet Mixer

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