Best New York Comedy

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Kate McKinnon, Jessi Klein, and more at Wednesday’s gala Sweet

Leo Allen hosts two editions of his stellar stand-up show for a comedy concert film taping: Whiplash

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 ($25 at the door or $31.50 online, and no food/drink min.; please note Mike says discount code DAISEY will get you $20 tickets, and while it’s not working online it might if you buy at the box office): MIke Daisey is one of the finest and most respected storytellers alive; and he’s not resting on his prior achievements. Just within the past year Mike churned out an amazing nine new shows at Joe’s Pub (including such instant classics as Fucking Fucking Fucking Ayn Rand and Five Technical Rehearsals in India)…and that was a mere prequel. Mike is now embarked on telling 29 new shows in a row in a 29-night, 44-hour monologue that’s “a living theatrical novel.” See it live at Joe’s Pub (425 Lafayette Street, between East 4th Street & Astor Place), or experience it at your convenience via iTunes: All the Faces of the Moon

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 7:00 pm: Joe DeRosa (razor-sharp rising star stand-up; Comedy Central Presents and Comedy Central Half Hour specials, HBO’s Bored to Death and Down and Dirty, FX’s Louie, E!’s Chelsea Lately, comedy CD The Depression Auction) tries out new material every night this week at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City: Week at the Creek: Joe DeRosa

[TOP PICK] 7:00 pm ($5): “Jews in comedy have been ignored for too long. To combat this trend, The Magnet’s Jewish house team members have formed a Jewish super-group that will be performing around Jewish high holidays. Their Jewish shows will be based on Jewish monologues from a Jewish Rabbi about the upcoming Jewish holiday—which this week is Rosh Hashanah.” What else needs be said? Come and support The Chosen Ones

[FREE] 7:00 pm: Veteran improvisors will be touring as representatives of The PIT, and practicing tonight at The PIT downstairs lounge: The PIT TourCo

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($10): The UK’s renowned Cambridge University is known for great scholarly achievement…but also a comedy troupe named The Footlights that helped launch the careers of John Cleese (Monty Python), Hugh Laurie (House), Emma Thompson (Love Actually), Sacha Baron Cohen (Borat), and more. The 2013 edition of this group performs tonight at UCB Chelsea as part of a world tour: The Cambridge Footlights: Canada

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): The lovely and talented gals (and a couple of guys) of HelloGiggles.com share tales about their tumultuous relationships at UCB East, with storytellers Jena Friedman (wry dark comedy stand-up and rising star; producer for The Daily Show, former staff writer for David Letterman, host of Entertaining the Bartender), Bethany Hall (producer of The Chris Gethard Show), Corrine Caputo, Phil Jackson, and Sean Morrow, plus extraordinary host Ruby Karp: HelloGiggles: Night Moves

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($8 at the door or $9.47 online): Chris Gethard (comedy genius; Conan O’Brien, The Office, Comedy Central, IFC; star of The Chris Gethard Show; The Stepfathers, The Nights of Our Lives; author of bestseller A Bad Idea I’m About to Do and Weird New York), Hannibal Buress (former staff writer for 30 Rock, Saturday Night Live; David Letterman, Jimmy Fallon, Louie, The Eric Andre Show, host of Comedy Night, one-hour Comedy Central special Animal Furnace), Eliza Skinner (writer for Totally Biased), Beth Stelling (Conan O’Brien, The Moth), Bryan Cook (Competitive Erotic Fan Fiction), and Jim Tews performing stand-up at Brooklyn’s Littlefield (622 Degraw Street) guest-hosted by Nick Turner (Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central, VH1, host of Nick Turner & Acquaintances): Night Train

[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm ($12 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Colin Quinn (SNL, Comedy Central’s Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn, HBO, NBC, Broadway), John Mulaney (one of the finest stand-ups in the country; writer/performer for Saturday Night Live; Conan O’Brien, Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central Presents, one hour special & CD/DVD New in Town, VH1’s Best Week Ever; for John’s great bit on Weekend Update, please click here), Gary Gulman (David Letterman, Jay Leno, Last Comic Standing, Tourgasm, Comedy Central hour-long special), Jermaine Fowler (MTV’s Guy Code and Wildn Out, Comedy Central, Adult Swim’s The Eric Andre Show), Keith Robinson (HBO, Comedy Central, Wanda Sykes Show), and Big Jay Oakerson (Comedy Central Presents, Louie, HBO, Showtime, MTV, IFC) performing stand-up at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane) hosted by Ardie Fuqua (HBO’s Bad Boys of Comedy, Comedy Central): Colin Quinn, John Mulaney, Gary Gulman, and More

8:00 pm ($8): Luke Ward & Kevin Shimko debut this dual-hosted talk show featuring interviews, sketches, music, variety acts, and more (though, sadly, no guests announced) at The PIT upstairs theatre: The Two-Night Talk Show

[FREE] 8:00 pm: Four improvisers form teams with comics they’ve never performed with before at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City: The Kaleidoscope

[TOP PICK] 8:30 pm ($5): An improv double-bill at The Magnet theatre: 4Some (which includes rising star Lauren Olson) and Upstate

[FREE] 9:00 pm: Michelle Wolf (super-likeable dark comic rising star; MTV, IFC), Alice Wetterlund (MTV’s Girl Code), Doogie Horner (America’s Got Talent), Jeff Cerulli (MTV, VH1), and Nate Fernald (Comedy Central), plus music from Justin Kilburn, at Brooklyn’s Freddy’s Bar (627 Fifth Avenue; take R subway to Prospect Avenue) for this free biweekly show hosted by Brooke Van Poppelen (brilliant writer, stand-up, and storyteller; writer and/or producer for MTV’s Guy Code, Girl Code, Failosophy, and Nikki & Sara Show; trutV, TLC, co-host of Dive Comedy) and Giulia Rozzi (Jimmy Kimmel, MTV, VH1, Playgirl Magazine, co-host of Dive comedy and Stripped Stories): Dive Comedy

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 9:30 pm (with another at 11:00 pm): Some of the finest comics in the world gather for the shooting of a comedy concert film at UCB Chelsea hosted by the wonderful Leo Allen (HBO, Saturday Night Live, Conan O’Brien, Comedy Central): Whiplash: Concert Film Taping

9:30 pm ($8): “Twitter comes to the stage as sketch comedy when two of Twitter’s finest, @himynamesam and @mrgehring, combine their tweets and talent” at The PIT upstairs theatre: The Tweet Show: 140-Character Comedy

[FREE] 9:30 pm: Live stage readings of popular Saved By The Bell episodes, with each cast member allowed an optional 3-minute Zack Morris style “time out” for episode-specific stand-up or a fan fiction bonus scene at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City: Bayside Myself

9:30 pm ($5): Improv veterans Brandon Gardner, Chelsea Clarke, Phillip Jackson, and/or Steve Theiss hosting & performing in a show at UCB East with guest improvisors: Improv Nerds

[TOP PICK] 10:00 pm ($5): Twelve improv comics who are “friends of Dorothy” perform at The Magnet hosted by Andrew Fafoutakis: There’s No Place Like Home: A GLBTQ Event

[$] 10:00 pm ($12 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Hannibal Buress (former staff writer for 30 Rock, Saturday Night Live; David Letterman, Jimmy Fallon, Louie, The Eric Andre Show, host of Comedy Night, one-hour Comedy Central special Animal Furnace), Nikki Glaser (co-star of MTV’s The Nikki and Sara Show; Conan O’Brien, Jay Leno, Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central Half Hour; podcast You Had to Be There), Greer Barnes (David Letterman, Chappelle’s Show, For the Love of the Game), Lenny Marcus (David Letterman, MTV), Kyle Dunningham (Conan O’Brien, Jimmy Kimmel, Comedy Central Presents), Wil Sylvince (Comedy Central, BET’s Comic View), Marina Franklin (Jay Leno, Last Comic Standing, Chappelle’s Show, VH1), and Dan Soder (Comedy Central Half Hour, VH1; for set about being a hypochondriatic drug user, please click here) performing stand-up at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane) hosted by Ardie Fuqua (HBO’s Bad Boys of Comedy, Comedy Central): Hannibal Buress, Nikki Glaser, Greer Barnes, and More

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 11:00 pm: : Some of the finest comics in the world gather for the shooting of a comedy concert film at UCB Chelsea hosted by the wonderful Leo Allen (HBO, Saturday Night Live, Conan O’Brien, Comedy Central): Whiplash: Concert Film Taping

Monday Open Mics & Jams

5:00 pm ($5): Two-hour open-mic for 20 stand-ups performing for 5 minutes each, with sign-up online here, at the Stand Up NY Comedy Club (236 West 78th Street): Stand Up NY Open Mic

6:00 pm & 8:00 pm (no cover, 1 drink min. for both comics and audience members): Open mic stand-up providing 5-7 minutes per comic, with each show running 1 hour and 45 minutes. Arrive 30 minutes before the show you want to be in to get on the signup sheet. This is a fine opportunity to perform at the only comedy club in the East Village: Eastville Comedy Club Open Mic

[FREE] 6:00 pm: An open-mic stand-up show, with 10 comics each performing for 5 minutes, at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City hosted by Abigoliah Schamaun & Peggy O’Leary: Dicks Open Mic

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 6:30 pm: Open-mic storytelling, with names drawn out of a bucket at UCB East in the bar area (“Hot Chicks Room”), hosted by Julia Wiedeman: Happy Hour Open-Mic Storytelling with Julia Wiedeman

7:00 pm ($2, which includes a free beer or water): Open mic stand-up providing a whopping 10 minutes per comic. Email PhoningItInMic@gmail.com with subject line Phoning Monday to sign up; or take a chance at lottery sign-up live between 6:45 and 7:45 at Brit Pack Studios (153 Lafayette Street, 3rd Floor) hosted by Tim Duffy: Comics Phoning It In

7:30 pm ($10; sign-up starts at 7:00 pm): Open mic for stand-ups, storytellers, singers, poets, actors, and more, with 5 minutes per performer and 25 slots available, at One and One Bar’s Downstairs Nexus Lounge (76 1st Street, corner of First Avenue) hosted by Nathan P., followed by a raucous afterparty with dancing & drink specials from 10:00 to midnight: Inspired Word’s Open Mic Joint

10:30 pm ($5): Improv veterans Brandon Gardner, Chelsea Clarke, and Phillip Jackson hosting & performing in a show at UCB East with improvisors taken from the audience…and who may include you: Improv Nerds Jam

[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 & Langston Belton: Base Jam

[ALMOST FREE] 11:00 pm ($1): If you’re an audience member who loves stand-up, Monday at 11 should be Whiplash! night. 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 exceptionally supportive stand-up open-mic at The PIT upstairs theatre hosted by Jarrid Reed: Fresh

Best Inexpensive Stand-Up, Improv, Sketch, and Storytelling

Upright Citizens Brigade Chelsea
(307 West 26th Street; 150-seater; shows free-$10; one of the most respected comedy theatres in the world)

Upright Citizens Brigade East
(153 East 3rd Street; 99-seat main theatre, bar area for open mics; shows free-$10)

The PIT
(123 East 24th Street; 99-seat upstairs theatre, 40-seat downstairs theatre; shows free-$15)

The Magnet
(254 West 29th Street; 60-seat theatre; shows $5-$10)

The Creek and the Cave
(Queens’ Long Island City; 40-seat theatre upstairs, 25 downstairs; virtually all shows free)

Best NYC Stand-Up Comedy Clubs

Comedy Cellar
(117 MacDougal Street; among the finest daily stand-up lineups in the world; 2-item min.)

The Stand
(239 Third Avenue; recent competitor to Comedy Cellar; no drink min.—support this policy!)

Carolines Comedy Club
(1626 Broadway; focuses on the world’s top headliners, who perform hour-long sets; 2-drink min.)

Gotham Comedy Club
(208 West 23rd Street; headliners on weekends, specialty & lineup shows weekdays; 2-drink min.)

Eastville Comedy Club
(85 East 4th Street; strong weekend lineups; no cover using code HyReviews; 2-drink min.)

Greenwich Village Comedy Club
(99 MacDougal Street; convenient if Comedy Cellar’s sold out; no cover using code HyReviews; 2-drink min.)

From legendary NYC comedy site Brooklyn Vegan: If you want to know what is happening in NYC comedy on a particular day, you gotta get hip to this dude Hy Bender and his site Best New York Comedy. The site is updated daily and features a super exhaustive look at what is happening in the NYC comedy world that particular day. The site is updated religiously…It is your daily comedy itinerary and it scares me how on top of his shit this guy is.