NYC Top Comedy Choices for Thursday 1/26/12

January 26, 2012

For more, please visit HyReviews.com.

For my favorite stand-up jokes, please click here.

Julie Klausner

Julie Klausner and other stellar comics tell stories at Risk!...

Kurt Braunohler

...and Kurt Braunohler tapes an episode of his IFC game show Bunk

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: Brad Lawrence (Moth GrandSlam Champion, FringeNYC, co-host of The Standard Issues) 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

6:30 pm ($5): Two shows about which I know nothing audition for a regular spot on the prestigiousUCB Chelsea schedule: MC Harold and The HOB Conference. These might be great or awful; but at $2.50 per show, you can’t go far wrong either way. That’s part of the fun of Spank

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 7:00 pm: NYC treasure Kurt Braunohler is the producer and host of this comedic “anti-game-show” game show that will soon be a TV series on IFC. It  involves three comedic contestants being asked ridiculous questions so they can provide even more ridiculous answers. The winner, judged by Kurt, is then awarded points—which are meaningless, because no one ultimately wins and there are no prizes. Being taped tonight at The PIT downstairs lounge, it’sBunk

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

[TOP PICK] 7:30 pm ($5): “If you were alive in the 70’s, you may have attended some ‘Key Parties’ where you were randomly paired with someone to go home with and engage in free spirited coitus. (Today we either stay at home alone or congregate at an improv theater.) Key Party combines the 70’s arrangement with modern anxiety, exploring the rich moments leading up to that act of coupling and the fallout that follows” at UCB East with stellar comics Jordan Klepper, Laura Grey (delightful old-time radio style theatrical podcast Horrorgasm), and guest improvisors: Key Party; plus in the second half of this double-bill, improv based on the iPods, CDs, and mp3 players provided by audience members, executed by superb performers Fran Gillespie, Ryan Karels, Megan Neuringer, Jesse Falcon, Silvija Ozols, Doug Moe, Lou Perez, Sue Galloway, and Emily Axford: Soundtrack USA

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): At UCB Chelsea, a troupe specializing in meta-comedy—that is, comedy about the process of making comedy—performs their most meta show yet, which is billed as a “best of” show but actually is a series of internal spats that delay any of the promised sketches from being performed. It’s smart and clever, and all four members of the group are highly appealing. But it’s such a purely “from the head, not the heart” show that it feels increasingly repetitive and one-note as it goes on. I wish the guys had been less concerned with the purity of their one-joke idea and more with creating an emotional rollercoaster experience for the audience. (The reason their best sketch ever is a spelling bee for fart jokes is because it’s a perfect blend of their conceptual approach with laugh-out-loud funny. Sadly, no such sketch is in this show…) If you like concept comedy, though, these guys are great at it; and you’re likely to enjoy at least the first 10 minutes before the novelty wears off from Pangea 3000: 12 Years of Hard Work…

…and in the second half of this double-bill, a witty and ultimately exhilarating exploration of baring it all by fabulous long-time nudist Julia Wiedeman (who I had the great fortune of seeing about a decade ago as she walked around with zero clothing, like a glorious tigress, in broad daylight on the streets of the East Village): Naked People

8:00 pm ($5): Desiree Nash wrote and co-stars in a sketch show revolving around the comedic travails of dating: Check Please!

[FREE] 8:00 pm: NYC stand-ups (for tonight’s lineup, please click here) performing at The Creek’supstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City accompanied by banjo music from Doug Goldstein and hosted by Andy Kleinman: Happy Sounds Comedy

8:00 pm-MIdnight ($7 for the entire evening): The Magnet co-owner helming The Armando Diaz Experience, plus house troupes The Boss, Hello Laser, Phooka, and Junior Varsity performing improv, followed by improv competition Inspirado (like UCBT’s Cage Match, but with a game-like challenge component) with Leviathan and The Wrath competing at 11:00 pm: The Magnet’s Night Out

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 9:00ish pm: Terrific NYC stand-ups (the lineup is typically announced by 3:00 pm; for an update, please click here) 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

[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($5): Typically superb comics (not yet announced) performing at UCB Eastwith best bud hosts Noah Garfinkel & Joe Mande (author of Look At This F*cking Hipster): Totally J/K

9:00 pm (no cover, 1-item min.): Erik Bergstrom (cartoonist/author of Grimmer Tales, The New Yorker), Dave Rosinsky, Rae Sanni, Jeff Maurer and more performing stand-up at Luca Lounge(222 Avenue B off 14th Street) for this weekly comedy show hosted by Sean Crespo & Dan Wilbur and produced by Carol Hartsell: Lasers in the Jungle

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($10): Top comics and comedic storytellers—who tonight are Judy Gold (The Judy Gold Show: My Life as a Sitcom), Julie Klausner (author of I Don’t Care About Your Brand), Jeff Simmermon (NPR’s This American Life), and Rob Cantrell (Last Comic Standing, Keep On The Grass)—performing at The PIT upstairs theatre to share tales on tonight’s theme A Time When Things Were New at one of the finest storytelling shows in the country: Risk!

9:30 pm ($5): If you’re a fan of CollegeHumor.com, you can see the folks behind it on the UCB Weststage—along with stand-ups Patrick Cassels, Boris Khaykin, Jamie Lee, and Jermaine Fowler, plus nerd rapper MC Chris—at CollegeHumor Live

9:30 pm ($5): Improvisors (not announced) make up one-act plays on the spot at The PITdownstairs lounge for The Scene

[MEGA-TOP PICK] 11:00 pm ($5): One of the quickest and sharpest minds in comedy plays around with the audience in ways only he can at UCB East while developing new material for an international stand-up tour: Daniel Kitson: Work in Progress

[TOP PICK] 11:00 pm ($5): Two vibrant improv troupes, Fuck That Shit and Creature, compete for audience laughs and votes at UCB Chelsea for the raucous Cage Match

11:15 pm ($5): NYC stand-ups (not announced) bringing their A-game—because their sets are captured at this new monthly show as audition tapes—performing at The PIT downstairs lounge:The Grass Route

For more, please visit HyReviews.com.

For my favorite stand-up jokes, please click here.

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NYC Top Comedy Choices for Monday 12/19/11

December 19, 2011

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

John Oliver

Comedy genius John Oliver performs tonight at both the Morrison Motel and Whiplash...

Julie Klausner and Michael Showalter

...Julie Klausner and Michael Showalter (above), Andrea Rosen, and more perform at The Moon Show...

Reggie Watts

...and Reggie Watts makes unique music at Comedy Central Corporate Retreat

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:

[FREE] 6:00 pm: An open-mic stand-up show running about 90 minutes at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City with host Chris Gaynor: Open Mic Mondays

[TOP PICK] 7:00 pm ($5): World-class storyteller Adam Wade (two-time Moth GrandSlam Storytelling Champion (2006 & 2009) and record-breaking 17-time StorySlam Champion; The New York Times Magazine; host of The Adam Wade Show; for Adam’s award-winning tale of being an NBC page on Conan O’Brien, please click here) hosts a show at The Magnet that’s “like watching the characters of The Wonder Years and Freaks & Geeks all grown up and telling coming-of-age tales of love, lost, regret, and redemption,” with tonight’s guests Dale Davidson (invaluable FringeNYC staffer & Magnet improvisor), Matt Sheerfek, and John Brennan: Adam Wade’sWhatever Happened to the Nerds?

[FREE] 7:00 pm: NYC stand-ups Calvin S. Cato, Patrick J. Mitchell, Kate Hendricks, Joe Larson, and Asie Mohtarez performing at a free weekly show in the Manchester Pub hosted by Phoebe Robinson: Case of the Mondays Comedy

7:00 pm & 9:00 pm (no cover, 1-item min.): The perfect show for short attention spans—open-mic stand-up with 4 minutes per set and 25 comics crammed into 2 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 9:00 pm—at the Luca Lounge (222 Avenue B off 14th Street) for John Morrison’s Motel Luca

[FREE] 7:30 pm: Four improvisers form teams with comics they’ve never performed with before atThe Creek upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City: The Kaleidoscope

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($12): Michael Showalter (MTV’s The State, comedy troupe Stella, writer/star of feature films The Baxter and Wet Hot American Summer and Comedy Central’s Michael & MIchael Have Issues; author of bestselling book Mr. Funny Pants), Julie Klausner (razor-sharp comic & storyteller, and author of I Don’t Care About Your Band), Andrea Rosen (brilliant stand-up & storyteller; HBO’s Flight of the Conchords, Comedy Central’s Stella, Variety SHAC, The Nights of Our Lives, Ding Dong Meow, winner of the 2011 ECNY Award for Best Stand-Up), and more performing at 92Y Tribeca, along with sketches from Moon regulars such as co-producer Jordan Clifford,  the delightful Camille Harris, and hosts Nat Towsen & Bob Walles at this special edition of The Moon Show

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($14.83 online or $12 at the door): Hannibal Buress (staff writer for 30 Rock, Saturday Night Live; David Letterman, Jimmy Fallon, Louie, upcoming one-hour Comedy Central special), Jon Glaser (creator/star of Adult Swim’s Delocated, long-time writer & sketch performer forConan O’Brien, voiceover actor for Comedy Central and Adult Swim), “Adam the Real Man,” and musical guest River City Extension 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 with Kurt & Kristen

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): A top comedy musical night featuring Reggie Watts (musical improv comedy genius; Comedy Central special; Jimmy Fallon; Electric Company; Conan O’Brien’sLegally Prohibited tour; for video samples, please click here), Tom Shillue’s barbershop quartet Scollay Square, Buckwheat Groats, and more performing at UCB East hosted by Max Silvestri (co-host of Big Terrific): Comedy Central Corporate Retreat

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 8:00 pm: Joe DeRosa (HBO’s Bored to Death and Down and Dirty, Comedy Central Presents, co-host of Righteous Kill, comedy CD The Depression Auction), Andy Haynes (Jimmy Fallon, Last Comic Standing), Alice Wetterlund (College Humor), John F. O’Donnell (Comedy Central, co-host of 50 First Jokes), Robbie Collier, and “a special guest” performing at the One and One Bar (1st Street & First Avenue) for this new weekly stand-up show hosted by Louis Katz, Tim Dimond, and J. F. Harris: Raw Guts

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): A silly holiday sketch/character comedy tradition at UCB Chelsea that makes fun of all things preppy, tonight featuring such talents as Violet Krumbein, Will Hines, Rob Lathan, Craig Rowin, Katie Schorr, and many more, hosted by Alex Scordelis and Chris Schell: The Brooks Brothers Christmas Clambake

8:30 pm ($5): Improv at The Magnet revolving around “the anticipation, the fall-out, that fragile moment when love blooms or dies” in Double Date, plus improv from troupe Honey

[TOP PICK] 8:30 pm doors, 9:00 pm show ($20, which includes 1 drink; please note this show hassold out, but there’s a small chance of getting in via a stand-by line if folks who made reservations don’t show up): A killer lineup of John Oliver, Myq Kaplan, Hannibal Buress, Carmen Lynch, Lee Camp, Liz Miele, and Steve Rosso performing stand-up at the Cornelia Street Cafe for John Morrison’s Morrison Motel

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 9:00 pm: PIT owner Ali Farahnakian and the school’s razor-sharp instructors perform improv at The PIT downstairs lounge in The Faculty Part 2: Electric Boogaloo; plus improv troupe Technicolor

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): One of the most respected and influential improv troupes of all time that was legendary for its lightning-fast reactions is reunited for one night only at UCB Chelsea with members Andy Secunda, Sean Conroy, and Michael Delaney: The Swarm

[FREE] 9:30 pm: Pat O’Shea (host of Ed Sullivan on Acid) and Brooke Van Popplen & Giulia Rozzi (hosts of Dive Comedy), who normally alternate their biweekly shows at the same time and location, join forces tonight by welcoming NYC stand-ups Carla Rhodes, Kara Klenk, Jessimae Peluso, Stone and Stone, John F. O’Donnell, and more at Brooklyn’s Freddy’s Backroom (627 5th Avenue): Ed Sullivan on Acid & Dive Comedy Join Forces Spectacular

[FREE] 9:30 pm: “In moments of exhaustion, in the space of a hesitation, when a faltering spirit looms large, the sixth man comes off the bench and sparks a revolt against complacency and routine. The sixth man powers the team and washes over that faltering spirit with a cleansing energy. A show in which awesome teams are made even greater with the addition of a special guest improviser. Tag-ins, walk-ons, lay-ons, swinging doors, all manner of support work is allowed and encouraged” at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City hosted by Andy Beckerman and Cory Palmer: Sixth Man

10:00 pm ($5): Improv is dominated by guys, so this is a rare treat—a dozen female improvisors “for an evening of comedy that will delight men, women, babies, and kittens” at The Magnet hosted by Megan Gray: We Might Just Kiss

10:00 pm ($5): Improv veterans Brandon Gardner, Chelsea Clarke, and Phillip Jackson hosting & performing in a show at UCB East with guest improvisors: Improv Nerds

[FREE] 10:30 pm: Improv students are welcomed onto the stage at The PIT downstairs lounge for this weekly open access show hosted by Gary DeNoia & Keith Huang: Base Jam

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 11:00 pm: Some of the finest comics in the world—with tonight’s guests John Oliver (star correspondent of The Daily Show, co-star of NBC’s Community, star of Comedy Central’s New York Stand-Up Show, screenwriter, and genius stand-up comic), star storyteller Tom Shillue (Conan O’Brien, The Daily Show, Comedy Central Presents, 2011 ECNY Award for Best Storyteller), Sean Conroy (Conan O’Brien, Comedy Central, legendary improv troupe The Swarm), Nick Turner (Jimmy Fallon; co-host of Too Cool For School and If You Bu=ild It), Sean O’Connor, and Zach Sherwin—performing at UCB Chelsea with wonderful Sean Patton (killer sets on Jimmy Fallon and Conan O’Brien, Comedy Central, VH1; co-host of Comedy as a Second Language): 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 at The PITupstairs theatre 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 latest book: The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Thyroid Disease.

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NYC Top Comedy Choices for Monday 11/21/11

November 21, 2011

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

Julie Klausner

Julie Klausner brings her special brand of sunshine to "Comedy Central Corporate Retreat"...

The Birdmann - Trent Baumann

...while Australian comic The Birdmann (a.k.a. Trent Baumann) demonstrates his own way to enjoy beverages at "Hot Tub Variety"

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: An open-mic stand-up show running about 90 minutes at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City with host Chris Gaynor: Open Mic Mondays

[TOP PICK] [$] 7:00 pm ($15): 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. Tonight is the next-to-last show of the season at the elegant Cherry Lane Theatre (38 Commerce Street, near the #1 subway’s Christopher Street stop): Naked in a Fishbowl

[FREE] 7:00 pm: NYC stand-ups Liz Miele (Conan O’Brien, Comedy Central), Chris Lamberth, Phillip Burke, Jim VanBlaricum, Dan Frigolette, and Nathan Macintosh performing at a free weekly show in the Manchester Pub hosted by Phoebe Robinson: Case of the Mondays Comedy

7:00 pm ($5): A long-form improv troupe spawned at Yale in 1985 that tours the country—and will be performing for one night only at The Magnet: Purple Crayon

7:00 pm & 9:00 pm (no cover, 1-item min.): The perfect show for short attention spans—open-mic stand-up with 4 minutes per set and 25 comics crammed into 2 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 9:00 pm—at the Luca Lounge (222 Avenue B off 14th Street) for John Morrison’s Motel Luca

[FREE] 7:30 pm: Four improvisers form teams with comics they’ve never performed with before atThe Creek upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City: The Kaleidoscope

8:00 pm ($5): Improv troupe Grandma’s Ashes promises to “take your stories of the tragic and depraved and scatter them into laughter” as this UCB Chelsea show: Grandma’s Ashes Get Dark

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): Top comics Julie Klausner (razor-sharp sketch writer/performer & storyteller, and author of I Don’t Care About Your Band), Gabe & Jenny (SNL’s Jenny Slate & Gabe Liedman), Leo Allen (former writer for Saturday Night Live; Comedy Central Presents, Conan O’Brien, HBO’s Funny or Die, director/co-writer of Comedy Central’s Jon Benjamin Has a Van, host of top NYC comedy show Whiplash), Mike Lawrence (shrewdly funny curmudgeon; Comedy Central), and Hari Kondabolu (Comedy Central Presents, Jimmy Kimmel) performing at UCB Eastfor this biweekly show whose lineups have the official Comedy Central seal of approval: Comedy Central Corporate Retreat

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($8.50 online or $8 at the door): The Birdmann (surreal & silly Australian comic Trent Baumann, who was a huge hit at the Glastonbury Festival), Griffen Newman (College Humor), Max Silvestri (The Onion’s AV Club, co-host of BIg Terrific), and musical guest Brittain Ashford 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 (unless Kristen doesn’t get back to NYC in time) and Kurt Braunohler (for sure): Hot Tub Variety with Kurt & Kristen

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 8:00 pm: Sean Patton (red-hot rising star; killer set on Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central, VH1; co-host of Comedy as a Second Language, frequent guest-host of Whiplash), Harrison Greenbaum (writer for Mad Magazine; head writer of Tu Nite con Lorenzo Parro on NBCU/Telemundo), Kate Hendricks (Bravo TV), and Brendan Eyre performing at the One and One Bar (1st Street & First Avenue) for this brand new weekly stand-up show hosted by Louis Katz, Tim Dimond, and J. F. Harris: Raw Guts

8:00 pm ($10): Twins Todd & Adam Stone perform stand-up and more at this monthly show at The PIT, along with comedy guests (not announced): Stone and Stone Show

[TOP PICK] [DISCOUNTED] 8:30 pm ($15, which includes 1 drink, if you mention HyReviews.com[otherwise $20]; call 212.989.9319 to reserve seats because this will sell out): Todd Barry (David Letterman, Conan O’Brien, Comedy Central Presents, FX’s Louie, HBO’s Flight of the Conchordsand Bored to Death, Adult Swim, feature films The Wrestler and Pete Smalls is Dead), Leo Allen (former writer for Saturday Night Live; Comedy Central Presents, Conan O’Brien, HBO’s Funny or Die, director/co-writer of Comedy Central’s Jon Benjamin Has a Van, host of top NYC comedy showWhiplash), Dan St. Germain (quick-witted & enormously likeable rising star; Jimmy Fallon, MTV, VH1; for reenactment of Dan’s breakup, please click here), Mike Lawrence (shrewdly funny curmudgeon; Comedy Central), Helen Hong (Comedy Central, TLC), and John Knefel (co-host ofJohn & Molly Get Along) performing stand-up at the Cornelia Street Cafe for John Morrison’s Morrison Motel

[TOP PICK] [$] 8:30 pm ($18): The winning team that created Pope!: An Epic Musical (a big hit at last year’s FringeNYC) and The Spidey Project (a media sensation) is now developing a pirate musical at The Magnet about “the dashing young hero Declan as he seeks out the vicious Martin La Foe, the second most famous pirate ever,” with book and lyrics by Justin Moran & Jon Roufaeal, and music by Adam & Matt Podd: Nightfall on Mirango Island

[$] 8:30 pm ($21.78, plus 2-drink min. or $20 unlimited nonalcoholic drinks): Marina Franklin (developing into one of the finest stand-ups in the country, with an uncommonly gentle, graceful style that’s pure joy; Last Comic Standing, Chappelle’s Show, VH1, Comedy Central’s Premium Blend), Paul Mecurio (Conan O’Brien, The Daily Show, Comedy Central Presents), Brian Scott McFadden (Conan O’Brien, MTV), Jim David (Comedy Central Presents, FringeNYC), Michelle Balan, Mike Burton, Brian Scolaro, Ryan Reiss, Tom Van Horn, and host DF Sweedler performing stand-up at the Comic Strip Live Comedy Club (1568 2nd Avenue off 81st Street): Franklin, Mecurio, and More at Comic Strip Live

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 9:00 pm: PIT owner Ali Farahnakian and the school’s razor-sharp instructors perform improv at The PIT downstairs lounge in The Faculty Part 2: Electric Boogaloo; plus improv troupe Technicolor

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): UCB Chelsea has developed several terrific in-house sketch comedy troupes, but one of them has risen above the rest to rival the finest groups in the country: Stone Cold Fox, which is performing a stellar “best of” show virtually every Friday at 7:30 pm (and which you should definitely go see—and then go see again with cherished friends, who will thank you for it). Tonight is slated to be Stone Cold Fox’s last Maude Night performance; after this the group will laser-focus on Friday, as it’s the first sketch troupe to ever be given a prestigious permanent weekend time slot at UCBT. Also on this double-bill is house troupe Arbuckle, which isn’t in the same league, but includes such notable performers as Violet Krumbein (currently in a national TV ad for an investment firm, and soon to be on 30 Rock)—all at Maude Night

9:30 pm ($10): From the wonderful Jen Nails’ Do It Yourself class, the debut of two one-person shows at The PIT upstairs theatre: Two Solo Shows

[FREE] 9:30 pm: NYC stand-ups Luke Thayer (co-host of The Living Room), Kimmie Dee, Nate Rand, Diane DeLuna, Victor Pleacoff, Joe Pontillo, Boris Khaykin, and Matt Nagin performing at Pat O’Shea’s free biweekly Brooklyn showcase at Freddy’s Backroom (627 5th Avenue): Ed Sullivan on Acid

[FREE] 9:30 pm: “In moments of exhaustion, in the space of a hesitation, when a faltering spirit looms large, the sixth man comes off the bench and sparks a revolt against complacency and routine. The sixth man powers the team and washes over that faltering spirit with a cleansing energy. A show in which awesome teams are made even greater with the addition of a special guest improviser. Tag-ins, walk-ons, lay-ons, swinging doors, all manner of support work is allowed and encouraged” at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City hosted by Andy Beckerman and Cory Palmer: Sixth Man

10:00 pm ($5): A new monthly show featuring NYC comics performing characters, sketch scenes, stand-up, and more at The Magnet, tonight featuring the wonderful Lauren Olson (powerhouse one-woman show Our Condolences at last year’s FringeNYC; sketch troupe Good Morning, Ladies), Dave Thunder, Matt Koff, Louis Kornfeld, Corey Grimes, Karsten Cross, and Arthur Meyer with host Jon Bander: What’s to Get?

10:00 pm ($5): Improv veterans Brandon Gardner, Chelsea Clarke, and Phillip Jackson hosting & performing in a show at UCB East with guest improvisors: Improv Nerds

[FREE] 10:30 pm: Improv students are welcomed onto the stage at The PIT downstairs lounge for this weekly open session hosted by Gary DeNoia & Keith Huang: Base Jam

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 11:00 pm: Some of the finest comics in the world—who haven’t yet been announced, but you can check for an update by clicking here—hosted at UCB Chelsea by the wonderful Leo Allen (HBO, Saturday Night Live, Conan O’Brien, Comedy Central): 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 at The PITupstairs theatre 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 latest book: The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Thyroid Disease.

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NYC Top Comedy Choices for Wed. 10/12/11

October 12, 2011

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

Julie Klausner

Cat-friendly comics Julie Klausner (The Rejection Show)...

Brooke Van Poppelen

...and Brooke Van Poppelen (New York's Funniest)

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

[FREE] 6:00 pm: Open-mic stand-up providing four minutes per comic, with “15 people chosen randomly through e-mail, and five walk-ins; and a guaranteed spot to anyone who performs in character as a famous explorer” at Queens LIC’s The Creek upstairs theatre: Comedic Exploration Club of Long Island City, West

[TOP PICK] [$] [DISCOUNTED] 7:00 pm (FREE COVER—aside from $1.50 “service charge”—if you reserve online using discount code NYFUNNY, plus 2-drink min.): The semi-finals for the New York Comedy Festival’s New York’s Funniest competition, with each stand-up performing a 7-minute set. Tonight’s competitors are Brooke Van Poppelen, Mark Normand, Mike Recine, Annie Lederman, Sam Morril, Joe Larson, Joe Machi, Michael Che, Josh Rabinowitz, Damien Lemon, Thomas Dale, and Eric Lyden, all delivering their best material at the Carolines Comedy Club: Van Poppelen, Normand, Recine, and more at New York’s Funniest

[TOP PICK] 7:30 pm ($5): For this double-bill at UCB East, Neil Casey & Anthony Atamanuik, both genius members of Death by Roo Roo, perform the jaw-dropping feat of making up an entire feature film as The Two-Man Movie; and another genius improv troupe consisting of trio Gavin Speiller of Death By Roo Roo, Ben Rodgers of The Curfew, and Jonathan Gabrus of The Law Firm) performs as Outlook of the Poet

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($8 at the door or $6.50 in advance online): Top comics and writers sharing memorable tales of their material being turned down—with tonight’s guests Julie Klausner (razor-sharp comic & storyteller, and author of I Don’t Care About Your Band), star storyteller Tom Shillue (Conan O’Brien, The Daily Show, Comedy Central Presents, 2011 ECNY Award for Best Storyteller), Patrick Borelli (staff writer for Jimmy Fallon, and previously for Conan O’Brien; Adult Swim, ESPN; author of book Holy Headshot!), and the Found Footage Festival (sharing hilariously odd amateur videos)—all at a new location, Brooklyn’s Littlefield (622 Degraw Street), for Jon Friedman’s wonderful The Rejection Show

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): Acclaimed Canadian sketch/improv duo Isaac Kessler & Ken Hall perform for one night only at UCB West as part of a national tour; “Their acting was physical and first-class, their object work immense, and their plot lines outrageous”—Time Out Chicago: 2-Man No-Show

[FREE—plus FREE PIZZA for first 30 people, from Artichoke Pizza!] 8:00 pm: NYC stand-ups Matt Graham (Conan O’Brien), Mariane Schaberg (Good Housekeeping TV correspondent), Emma Willman (Daily Motion), and David Lee Nelson (Edinburgh Fringe Festival) performing at the East Village’s Beauty Bar for Negin Farsad’s & Amy Albert’s free weekly show Comedy School Dropout

8:00 pm-12:30 am ($7 for the entire evening): Magnet house troupes Ransom Family, Phooka, Featherweight, Brick, and Chet Watkins performing improv, followed by a free audience interactive show with Ransom Family at 11:30 pm: The Magnet’s Megawatt

8:00 pm ($5—which includes a free drink!): NYC stand-ups (not yet announced) performing at The Creek in Queens’ Long Island City with host Nick Turner: Monsters

[FREE] 8:30 pm: Open mic stand-up (with sign-up starting at 8:00) at Brooklyn’s Belleville (330 5th Street) hosted by Josh Guarino: The Belleville Mic

[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($5): For this double-bill at UCB East, Nicole Byer, Sasheer Zamata, and Keisha Zollar are first up as the fiercely energetic & entertaining all-gal improv troupe Doppelganger; and then UCBT Harold Night house troupes Very Good Kiss and Mr. Crime make up scenes without relying on the usual long-form “Harold” rules at Cheating on Harold

[FREE] 9:00ish pm: Jason Sprung (three-time Moth StorySlam champion), Adam Newman (College Humor), Lee Rubenstein (ABC, MTV), Sean Crespo (The Electric Company, Onion News Network, host of Lasers in the Jungle), and musical guest Soce the Elemental Wizard performing at this free weekly show at the Luca Lounge (222 Avenue B off 14th Street) hosted by Sharon Spell: Shrink

9:00 pm ($5 if you mention code Comb the Desert, otherwise $8): Fine sketch duo Chris & Paul, musical comedy troupe Purple Skunks, sketch troupe City Hall, and more at Under St. Marks:Sketch Block

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): Three sketch comedy talents—James Adomian (sharp impressionist; finalist on last summer’s Last Comic Standing), troupe Ninja Sex Party, and duo Team Submarine—each performing one of their most popular sketches and one of their personal favorites in a fun revue at UCB West hosted by Aaron Kheifets: A-Side/B-Side

[$] 9:30 pm ($20, plus 2-drink min.) A stand-up who’s starred in his own Comedy Central Presentshalf-hour special, is a cast member on Comedy Central’s Ugly Americans, and also performed on Showtime, VH1, and Last Comic Standing headlining tonight and next Wednesday at the Carolines Comedy Club: Kurt Metzger

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 11:00 pm: 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 weekly show at UCB West makes possible—and don’t forget to toss $1 in the bucket on your way out: School Night

[FREE] 11:00 pm: Your opportunity to perform on the stage of UCB East with improv veterans, hosted by UCBT Harold Night house troupe Grandma’s Ashes: The Improv Jam

[FREE] 11:00 pm: Open-mic stand-up running until 1:00 am, with time divided evenly between performers (up to five minutes), at The Creek downstairs lounge in Queens’ Long Island City with host Rob Stern: Bucket ‘O Buckets

 For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

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

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NYC Top Comedy Choices for Thursday 6/23/11

June 23, 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.

Julie Klausner and Marina Franklin

Sharp comic & bestselling author Julie Klausner tells hilarious tales tonight at The PIT for Kevin Allison's Risk!, while Marina Franklin performs stellar stand-up tonight at the Broadway Comedy Club and Stand Up New York...

Pat Baer and Ellena Chmielewski

...and it'll be a vicious battle for victory tonight between improvisors Pat Baer and Ellena Chmielewski 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:

[TOP PICK] 6:00 pm ($5): The debut of three comedic one-act plays: Pig: A Restaurant, a one-woman show performed by Lauren Conlin Adams, written by Leila Cohan-Miccio, and directed by Caitlin Tegart about “the opening party for East Gowanus’ hottest new restaurant. Join luminaries like sex-obsessed food critic The Ravenous Foodie, the editor of email blast Experience Junkie, and model/actress/hostess Aurora as they usher Brooklyn’s porkiest new eatery restaurant into the spotlight;” Acts of Distraction: A Superhero Sketch Show, written by Brett White, directed by Matt Fisher, and performed by eight UCBT talents; and Once Upon A Sub Prime (about which I know nothing), all at the UCBT audition showcase Spank

[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 in Queens’ Long Island City: Corby Haas

7:00 pm ($8): A sketch show parodying acting classes: Meagan & David’s Original Low-Cost Creativity Workshop

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): Young Abbi Jacobson (Broad City) has the makings of a new UCBT star in this one-woman show in which she engagingly plays oddball characters you might encounter at summer camp: Welcome to Camp!

…and in the other half of this double-bill, Ryan Karels (Conan O’Brien; member of stellar improv troupe Krompf) playing a radio host who does “a show for people on the verge of a nervous breakdown. If you’ve already had a nervous breakdown, this show will be like reminiscing with an old friend:” Radio Rogue: Riding the Paradox Express

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): Magnet Theatre co-owner Armando Diaz directs “veteran Magnet performers throwing down for an improv revue featuring classic long forms such as the montage, monoscene, time dash, and maybe even a little freeze tag:” Old School

8:00 pm ($8): A new sketch show from troupe FreeLoveForum

[FREE] 8:00 pm: A mix of three booked stand-ups and six open-mic stand-ups (the latter drawing their names from a bucket) at The Creek in Queens’ Long Island City, hosted by comedy duo Team Submarine: A Time to Kill

[TOP PICK] [$] 9:00 pm (no cover if you mention HyReviews.com, but 2-drink min.)  An always superb comic who’s developing into one of the finest stand-ups in the country, with an uncommonly gentle, graceful style that’s pure joy—and who’s performed on Last Comic Standing, Chappelle’s Show, VH1, and Comedy Central’s Premium Blend—on stage tonight with Mike Vecchione and Joe DeVito at the Broadway Comedy Club: Marina Franklin

[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

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($10): Top comics and comedic storytellers—who tonight are Julie Klausner (razor-sharp comic & storyteller, and author of I Don’t Care About Your Band), Wyatt Cenac (star correspondent for The Daily Show), Gary Belsky (Editor in Chief of ESPN Magazine), comedian Beowulf Jones, and Hallie Haglund (Web writer for The Daily Show)—joining brilliant sketch comic and storyteller Kevin Allison (The State) to share tales on tonight’s theme “Once in a Lifetime” at one of the finest storytelling shows in the country: Risk!

[TOP PICK] 9:30 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] [$] 10:00 pm ($10 plus 2-drink min.) Thoroughly wonderful comics Chris “Shockwave” Sullivan (amazing human boombox; The Daily Show, The Electric Company, Freestyle Love Supreme, co-host of The BEATdown), Marina Franklin (developing into one of the finest stand-ups in the country, with an uncommonly gentle, graceful style that’s pure joy; Last Comic Standing, Chappelle’s Show, VH1, and Comedy Central’s Premium Blend), Julian McCullough (fiercely funny rising star; Comedy Central Presents, MTV, VH1), Joe DeRosa (HBO’s Down and Dirty, Comedy Central Presents, co-host of Righteous Kill, comedy CD The Depression Auction), Kurt Metzger (Comedy Central’s Ugly Americans), Jordan Carlos (Comedy Central, College Humor), and Theo Von (MTV’s The Real World, Comedy Central) performing at at the Stand Up New York Comedy Club (236 West 78th Street) hosted by the delightful Carolyn Castiglia (VH1’s White Rapper Miss CKC): Love Machine Comedy Show

[$] 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

[TOP PICK] 11:00 pm ($5): Adorable improv troupe Boy Butter, which last week edged out spitfire Bethany Hall and her talented 8GirlsHarold via the strategically shrewd move of aligning itself with audience sympathy for Holocaust survivors—and has a highly effective “secret weapon” in its lone female member, Ellena Chmielewski—tonight faces formidable troupe Hanging Out with Pat Baer as they compete for audience laughs and votes at the raucous Cage Match

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 11:00 pm: Jason Trachtenburg hosts “special guests from bawdy burlesquers to perverted puppeteers to freak folk rockers and twisted comedic storytellers, taking you on a weekly journey through the wonderful world of weird, wild and wow” at The PIT’s basement lounge: Trachtenburgs’ Variety Show featuring The Pendulum Swings

[TOP PICK] 11:00 pm ($5): Jenna Kim Jones (two-time Emmy Award-winning Producer of The Daily Show), Sam Morril, and Jim Tews performing stand-up 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): Two improv groups competing for audience laughs and votes—yes, like UCBT’s Cage Match, but with less well-known troupes and 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.

Leave a Comment » | Best New York Live Comedy Shows | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
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