Best New York Comedy

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Jon Glaser (Delocated) is on the hot seat at Brooklyn’s “The Interview Show”…

…and Brandon Gulya preps with his legions of fans for “Brandon Gulya Will Be Famous Soon”

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] [FREE] 6:00 pm: Kevin Allison (legendary MTV sketch series The State, HBO, Comedy Central, VH1, host of award-winning storytelling show Risk!) is tonight’s guest at this weekly open-mic storytelling show, with each performer given a whopping eight minutes to captivate & impress, at UCB East hosted by John Flynn: Oh, Hey Guys!

[FREE] 6:00 pm: Open-mic stand-up with comics’ names drawn from a bucket and each chosen one receiving three minutes at The Creek’s upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City: Corby Haas

[FREE] 6:00 pm:Veteran musical improvisors at The PIT mix with novices on-stage at Pitch

6:30 pm ($5): Two shows I know nothing about, The Unbreakable Gun and Profiles In Cowardice, audition for a spot on the schedule of the prestigious UCB Chelsea stage: Spank

[TOP PICK] 7:00 pm ($5): One of my favorite writer/actress/improvisors, the brilliant and luminous Lauren Olson, teams with Jon Bander and Karsten Cross at The PIT upstairs theatre to perform at improv trio Mr. Gorsky

7:00 pm ($5): Two singing improv troupes make up entire musicals on the spot in this double-bill atThe PIT downstairs lounge: Hot Diner and THEM

[FREE] 7:00 pm: In this free Magnet show, audience members (signing in at 6:00) can join in with improv troupe Junior Varsity to make up scenes on the spot: Magnet Mixer

7:30 pm ($5): A sketch comedy radio show/podcast live on the UCB East stage, with tonight’s guests John Flynn (The Nights of Our Lives, host of storytelling show Oh, Hey Guys!), John Milhiser (sketch troupes Serious Lunch and Dweeb), and Eric Gersen, plus regulars Adam Bozarth, Dan Chamberlain, Matt Little, Taylor Moore, and Anna Rubanova: Left Handed Radio

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($8 at the door or $10.70 online): Jon Glaser (creator & star of Adult Swim’sDelocated; author of My Dead Dad Was In ZZ Top), Chuck Klosterman (author of bestselling booksSex, Drugs, and Cocaine Puffs; The Visible Man; and Eating the Dinosaur), and Em & Lo (sex & relationship columnists; authors of Sex: How to Do Everything) interviewed at Brooklyn’s Union Hall by host Mark Bazer, plus music by Nova Social: The Interview Show

8:00 pm ($5): A parody of The Bachelor written by UCB Chelsea faves Caitlin Bitzegaio (MTV, PBS, ESPN, writer or director of numerous UCBT sketch shows) and Leila Cohan-Miccio (Stone Cold Fox, Pig: A Restaurant), and worth catching if only to experience the delicious comedic performances of standouts Morgan Grace Jarrett (Big Fish, Love Liza, Buffy fan) and Nicole Byer (Doppelganger)—who are especially fun when they turn into an unlikely a comedy duo…: The Bachelor: Romance, Roses, and Romance…

…plus in the other half of this double-bill, a one-man show by George Kareman: Incredibly Extreme and Extremely Incredible

8:00 pm ($8): “An evening of disquieting scenes and considerations” in this sketch comedy show Sarah Nowak & Kevin Townley at The PIT upstairs theatre: Dark Teen Poetry

8:00 pm ($5): Two singing improv troupes make up entire musicals on the spot in this double-bill atThe PIT downstairs lounge: Frogmen and Harvey

8:00 pm-MIdnight ($7 for the entire evening): The Magnet house improv troupes Hello Laser, Junior Varsity, The Boss, and Phooka performing improv for two hours, followed at 10:00 pm by Christina Gausas directing The Subject (improvised scenes that focus on one character who never leaves the stage, while other characters from the past, present, and future come and go), and then at 11:00 improv competition Inspirado (like UCBT’s Cage Match, but with a game-like challenge component) with troupe Theory of Everything battling troupe Upstate for laughs & votes: The Magnet’s Night Out

[FREE] 8:00 pm: “A stand-up comedy showcase and baking competition—come to eat or come to compete” at The Creek’s upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City hosted by Cody Hess & Jessica Gross: Cookies!

[$] [DISCOUNTED] 8:00 pm ($15 [vs. $25] online or at the box office using discount code BBOX): Telly Savalas returns to life to entertain you and provide life guidance in this 50-minute show that was a hit at FringeNYC 2011 and is now enjoying an open-ended Friday night run at the Soho Playhouse’s downstairs Huron Club. The script is at times very smart, especially in its choices of hilarious video clips and music tracks from the real Savalas…who, in his more intense moments, apparently rivaled William Shatner at his silliest. But even when Hunter Nelson’s writing isn’t consistent, actor Tom DiMenna—who is a professional comic with great timing and skill at engaging an audience—will keep you entertained: Who Loves You, Baby?

[$] 8:00 pm ($35 & 2-drink min.) Two members of Broken Lizard headlining tonight through Sunday at the Carolines Comedy Club: Steve Lemme & Kevin Heffernan

[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($5): Dan Martin (comedy writer/performer, and husband of Arden Myrin), Retta (NBC’s Parks and Recreation), and more performing stand-up at UCB East with best bud hosts Noah Garfinkel & Joe Mande (author of Look At This F*cking Hipster) at Totally J/K

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 9:00ish pm: Terrific NYC stand-ups (the lineup is typically announced around 3:00 pm; for an update, please click here) performing on this free weekly show at the Kabin Bar and Lounge hosted by Chesley Calloway and comedy genius Sean Patton: Comedy as a Second Language

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($10): At The PIT upstairs theatre, the worlds of “magic, mind-reading, and mutilation” are explored by Matthew Holtzclaw & Prakash Puru in Strange Things

9:30 pm ($5): Unique and relentlessly silly performer Brandon Gulya does a one-man sketch show at UCB Chelsea that’s at times hilarious (the restaurant bit, which is an instant classic) , and at other times less so, in the hope that Brandon Gulya Will Be Famous Soon…

…plus in the other half of this double-bill, “Matt Hobby & Mary Grill have a love deeper than one thousand really deep oceans. Through storytelling and sketch comedy, Matt & Mary show you the characters who helped them on their journey from fiancés to newlyweds:” Tying the Knot

9:30 pm ($5): Improvisors make up one-act plays on the spot at The PIT downstairs lounge, produced by Dan Hodapp & Micah Sherman: The Scene

[FREE] 9:30 pm: Sharp improvisors from UCBT, The Magnet, The PIT, and/or more try their hand at stand-up at The Creek downstairs lounge in Queens’ Long Island City: Improvisers Standing Up

[TOP PICK] 11:00 pm ($5): Improv troupe Airwolf last week exorcised group Spooky Ghost entirely out of the Chelsea theatre (and back to UCB East’s Lloyd Night) via a win of 89-48, claiming its sixth consecutive victory. Tonight’s fresh meat for this winged predator is Harold Night team The Regulars. Come see if Airwolf can create another highly irregular victory as it competes for audience laughs and votes at UCB Chelsea for the raucous Cage Match

[TOP PICK] 11:00 pm ($5): Corinne Fisher, Anna Roisman, and Cammi Climaco telling comedic tales at UCB East hosted by Caitlin Brodnick and Erin Barker: Shut Up: An All-Female Storytelling Show

11:30 pm ($5): Improvisors at The PIT downstairs lounge make up stories about the characters in the Star Wars cantina in anticipation of tomorrow’s ST holiday: May the 4th Be With You

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