Mark Normand | Best New York Comedy

NYC Top Comedy Choices for Saturday 9/7/13

September 7, 2013

For a comedy lesson from Patrick Stewart, please click here.

.Mark Normand helps celebrate the Second Anniversary of See You in Hell…

…and Jim O’Grady tries to mislead you at The Liar Show. (Please note: This show has been CANCELED. The Liar Show will return in October.)

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 ($8): Storytellers Lisa Kirchner and Lynn Bixenspan tell personal tales which are then improvised by group True Story Players at The PIT downstairs lounge: True Story

[FREE] 7:00 pm: Jacqueline Novak (Comedy Central, College Humor, host of Spirit of Comedy; for “response to heckler” video, please click here) tries out new material every night this week at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City: Week at the Creek: Jacqueline Novak

[TOP PICK] [$] 7:30 pm, 8:00 pm, 9:15 pm, 11:00 pm, and 12:45 am ($20-$24 per show, plus 2-item food/drink min.): Tonight’s lineups include SNL’s Darrell Hammond at 7:30 and 8:00, TV & Broadway star Colin Quinn at 8:00 and 9:15, Dave Attell at 11:00 and 12:15 am, and Michael Che (David Letterman, writer for SNL) at 8:00, 9:15, 11:00, and 12:15, with four of the shows at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane) and the 8:00 pm show at Village Underground (130 West 3rd Street, off Sixth Avenue): Comedy Cellar Saturday

7:30 pm ($10): Improv powerhouses Charlie Todd, Jim Santangeli, Natasha Rothwell, and more 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

7:30 pm ($10): Sharp Magnet improvisors “perform organic freeform improvisation in two mind-blowing parts; the only rule is that there are no rules:” The Weave

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($8): As a comics fan, I love this concept: an improv troupe will make up scenes while playing Superman, Batman, Flash, Wonder Woman, and other members of the Justice League of America at The PIT downstairs lounge: JLA Improv

[FREE] 8:00 pm: Second Year Anniversary show, with Mark Normand (hilarious rising star; Conan O’Brien, Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central; opens for Amy Schumer; co-host of Hot Soup and We’re All Friends Here), Erin Lennox, Jeff Wesselschmidt, Anthony Devito, Brendan Eyre, and Andrew Short: “Want to see your favorite stand-up comics get slapped by Satan himself? He only hosts bringer shows, but join Matt Wayne and Doug Smith as they step into the Big Man’s shoes and put NYC’s finest through comedy purgatory. Hula-hoops, celebrity impressions, unwanted audience participation, all incorporated into each performance! Will they triumph or will the nether world eat their souls? Come see for yourself in this monthly showcase” at Queens LIC’s The Creek upstairs theatre: See You in Hell

[TOP PICK] 8:30 pm ($10): UCBT improv troupe Airwolf—which includes such talents as John Frusciante, Molly Lloyd, Tim Martin, and Emily Axford, and last year crushed 15 improv groups in Cage Match, entirely owns the UCB East stage tonight at Airwolf: Let’s Go Back to Your Place

[FREE] 8:30 pm: NYC stand-ups (not announced) performing at The Irish Exit (978 Second Avenue, off 52nd Street, in the back room) hosted by Gary Vider (hilarious writer & deadpan stand-up; for sample jokes, please click here): Comedy at Irish Exit

[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

9:00 pm ($10): Magnet improvisors team up with poets at Kiss*Punch*Poem

[TOP PICK] [$] 9:30 pm ($11.34 online or $15 at the door): “Musical sketch comedy that skewers and dissects pop culture one roll of the dice at at time”—for a sample, please click here—at The PIT upstairs theatre: Pop Roulette

[TOP PICK] [FREE—plus free cake!] 10:00 pm: Hilarious, organic show in which stand-ups perform anything except stand-up—e.g., sketch, storytelling, improv, songs, dance, puppetry, and things we can’t even imagine—with tonight’s comics Amber Nelson, Andy Sanford, Ross Hyzer, Paul Higbie, and Nate Fernald performing at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City hosted by Reid Faylor, Kelly Fastuca, and/or Andrew Short, and followed post-show downstairs by free cake: Underbelly

[TOP PICK] 10:00 pm ($10): UCBT Artistic Director Nate Dern, Zhubin Parang (writer for The Daily Show), Tracey Wigfield (writer for 30 Rock), Michael Kayne (Baby Wants Candy, Diamond Lion), Aaron Jackson (Newsadoozies), and more form an improv troupe at UCB East that won this year’s prestigious Cage Match championship by springboarding scenes off interviewing an audience member about his or her love life: What I Did For Love

[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): At UCB Chelsea, improv group Grandma’s Ashes—which includes stellar talents Ryan Karels, Morgan Grace Jarrett, Brandon Scott Jones, and more—takes your written secrets and turns them into very funny improv scenes: Grandma’s Ashes: We Won’t Tell

10:30 pm ($10): Sharp improvisors Peter McNerney & Nick Kanellis perform at The Magnet as comedy duo Trike

11:00 pm ($5) Mike Kelton & Douglas Widick lead a team of improvisors making up scenes based on streaming comments via the Vine app at The PIT upstairs theatre: The Vine Show

[TOP PICK] 11:30 ($5): A freestyle rap contest at UCB East with typically terrific NYC comics (not announced)—plus a volunteer from the audience!, hosted by genius human beatbox Chris “Shockwave” Sullivan (The Daily Show, The Electric Company, Freestyle Love Supreme) and Victor Varnado (Conan O’Brien, Jimmy Kimmel, Comedy Central) at one of my favorite monthly shows: The BEATdown

[TOP PICK] Midnight ($5): Carmen Lynch (David Letterman, Last Comic Standing finalist, Comedy Central), The Lucas Brothers (Jimmy Fallon), Lucas Kaiser (Spike TV), Ben Kronberg (Jimmy Kimmel, Comedy Central Half Hour, MTV, ABC), and Doug Smith performing stand-up at UCB Chelsea hosted by Aaron Glaser: Midnight Stand-Up

[FREE] Midnight: Live podcast recording of “a treasure trove of conversations with funny, insightful, or otherwise interesting people from across the cultural spectrum” (The A.V. Club) at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City : You, Me, Them, Everybody Live

Saturday Open Mics

[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

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.

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NYC Top Comedy Choices for Wednesday 8/28/13

August 28, 2013

For top Dave Chappelle sketches, please click here.

Livia Scott spearheads sharp sketch comedy at UCB Chelsea: The Livia Scott Sketch Program…

…and red-hot stand-ups Hannibal Buress and Mark Normand perform at Brooklyn’s Union Hall for Radness

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 ($5): “All of the badass-ness of a baddass action film brought to you live on stage” by some of UCBT’s finest talents: Brandon Gulya (writer/co-star), Brandon Scott Jones, Leslie Meisel, Tim Martin, Kristen Acimovic, Eddie Dunn, and Evan Greenspoon (co-writer) in a sketch comedy that proclaims “First they broke his town. Then they broke his heart. But there’s one thing they’ll never break—his gun!” at the UCB Chelsea theatre: The Unbreakable Gun

[FREE] 7:00 pm: A stand-up who hosts the weekly comedy podcast You Know What Dude! tries out new material every night this week at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City: Week At the Creek: Robert Kelly

7:00 pm to 12:30 am ($7 for the entire evening): Five and a half hours of improv from eight groups at The Magnet theatre: Magnet Megawatt

[FREE] 7:00 pm to midnight: Five free hours of improvisation at The PIT upstairs theatre: Super Free Wednesday

7:30 pm ($5): Expanding the UCB longform improv showcased on Harold Night is this weekly show at UCB East which tonight features groups Never Never and First Lady: Lloyd Night

[TOP PICK] 8:00 ($5): Renowned comedy chameleon and sketch comic Livia Scott (Conan O’Brien, Law & Order, VH1, feature film National Lampoon’s Dirty Movie) spearheads this multimedia sketch comedy show that tonight includes Jason Saenz and Sal Gentile at the UCB Chelsea theatre: The Livia Scott Sketch Program

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 8:00 pm: Storytellers and/or comics Mindy Raf, Amanda Duarte, Will Hines, Aaron Wolfe, and Jen Bosworth tell true tales about how Break All the Rules for this monthly show at Happy Ending (302 Broome Street) hosted by Blaise Allysen Kearsley: How I Learned…to Break All the Rules

[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm ($14 plus 2-item food/drink min.): 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), Darrell Hammond (famed long-time cast member of Saturday Night Live), Greer Barnes (David Letterman, Chappelle’s Show, For the Love of the Game), Keith Robinson (HBO, Comedy Central, Wanda Sykes Show), and Denise McCann (Comedy Central) performing stand-up at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane) hosted by William Stephenson (FX’s Louie, The Chris Rock Show): John Mulaney, Darrell Hammond, Greer Barnes, and More

[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm ($10 plus 2-item food/drink min.): An evening with Nick DiPaolo (star stand-up, with numerous appearances on David Letterman, Jay Leno, Louie; Emmy-nominated comedy writer, talk show host), and maybe one or two of his stand-up friends, at the Village Underground (130 West 3rd Street, off Sixth Avenue): Nick DiPaolo

[FREE] 8:00 pm: NYC stand-ups do sets “and then have a discussion about what’s going on in the world and the mysteries of life” at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City, hosted by Chris Laker: The Show

[TOP PICK] 8:30 pm ($6): 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), Mark Normand (hilarious rising star; Conan O’Brien, Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central; opens for Amy Schumer; co-host of Hot Soup and We’re All Friends Here), Giulia Rozzi (Jimmy Kimmel, MTV, VH1, Playgirl Magazine, co-host of Dive Comedy and Stripped Stories), Lance Weiss, and Jason Burke performing at Brooklyn’s Union Hall produced by Cipha Sounds and Lukas Kaiser: Radness

[FREE] 9:00 pm: Rob Cantrell (Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central, HBO, VHI, FX’s Totally Biased, documentary Metaphysical Graffiti, High Times), Tony Deyo (Conan O’Brien), Stone and Stone (Last Comic Standing), Aaron Berg, Jeremy Essig, Kate Hendricks, and Joseph Rocha performing stand-up at this free weekly comedy show at Lucky Jack’s Bar (129 Orchard Street) produced by Kyle Fincham, Lance Weiss, and Brendon Fitzgibbons: Gandhi, Is That You?

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): One of the finest comedic storytelling shows in the country, in which brilliant writer/performers—who tonight are John Flynn, Adam Wade, Christian Capozzoli, and wonderful host Dave Martin—tell tales that are brutally honest and utterly hilarious on this month’s theme Worst Roommate/Living Situation at the UCB Chelsea theatre: The Nights of Our Lives

[FREE] 10:00: NYC stand-ups performing at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City as part of the Reddit.com online community, hosted by Adam Lash (HBO, Showtime, The Daily Show) and/or Nathan Anderson (Uncoolio): /r/standup

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 11:00 pm: The wonderful Sasheer Zamata (rapidly rising star; Comedy Central’s Inside Amy Schumer, MTV’s Hey Girl, FX’s Totally Biased, Apple Computer commercials; improv groups Doppelganger and Bucky) and Charla Lauriston host 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; plus Sasheer is going to be a huge star, so catch her in this intimate setting while you can. (Tonight’s scheduled guests include ace storyteller Jeff Simmermon and stand-up Sean Donnelly; for the complete list, please click here.) Come support the experimentation, and periodic magical surprises, that this uniquely organic rollercoaster of a weekly show at UCB Chelsea makes possible—and don’t forget to toss $1 in the bucket on your way out: School Night

[TOP PICK] [$] 11:30 pm ($10 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Uncensored stand-up from Dave Attell (one of the most respected stand-ups in the biz; star of Showtime’s Dave’s Old Porn and Comedy Central’s Insomniac; HBO, David Letterman, Conan O’Brien, Jay Leno, The Daily Show, Comedy Central Presents), Mark Normand (hilarious rising star; Conan O’Brien, Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central; opens for Amy Schumer; co-host of Hot Soup and We’re All Friends Here), Gina Yashere (Showtime 1-hour special, Jay Leno, Chelsea Lately), Kurt Metzger (staff writer for Inside Amy Schumer; Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central Presents, Ugly Americans), Big Jay Oakerson (Comedy Central Presents, Louie, HBO, Showtime, MTV, IFC), and Wil Sylvince (Comedy Central, BET’s Comic View) performing at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane) hosted by William Stephenson (FX’s Louie, The Chris Rock Show): The Nasty Show: Dave Attell, Mark Normand, Gina Yashere, Kurt Metzger, and More

Wednesday 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

[FREE] 6:00 pm: Open-mic stand-up for 15 comics performing for 5 minutes each at Queens LIC’s Laughing Devil Comedy Club (4738 Vernon Blvd.)—with drinks at half price: Happy Hour Open Mic

[FREE] 6:00 pm: Open-mic stand-up providing 5 minutes per comic at Queens LIC’s The Creek upstairs theatre hosted by Benel Germosen: Cracking It

6:00 pm (no cover, 1 drink min. for both comics and audience members): Open mic stand-up providing 5-7 minutes per comic, running 2 1/2 hours. Arrive 30 minutes before the show 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

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 Wednesday 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 Lizzie Martinez: Comics Phoning It In

[ALMOST FREE] 10:30 pm ($1): Biweekly open-mic stand-up, with each comic getting an unusually long 6-10 minutes, at The PIT downstairs lounge hosted by James III & Jamie LeeLo: Hump Day

[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

[FREE] 11:00 pm: Your opportunity to perform on the stage of UCB East with improv veterans, hosted by UCBT Harold Night house group Bucky and DJ Cipha Sounds: The Improv Jam

[FREE] 11:00 pm: Your chance to perform on stage with experienced improvisors at The PIT upstairs theatre hosted by Lucas Hazlett: Improdome

[FREE] 11:30: Sign up at 11:00 pm for the opportunity to make up scenes at The Magnet with group Chet Watkins: Magnet Improv Mixer

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.)

Leave a Comment » | Best New York Live Comedy Shows | Tagged: Comedy, Hannibal Buress, Improv, Mark Normand, New York Comedy, Sketch, Stand-Up, Storytelling, The Livia Scott Sketch Program | Permalink
Posted by hybender

NYC Top Comedy Choices for Monday 8/19/13

August 19, 2013

For my FringeNYC 2013 coverage, updated daily, please click here.

Stellar storytellers John Flynn, Jeff Simmermon, and Robin Gelfenbien are the guests at tonight’s East Village extravaganza Adventures with Melanie Hamlett…

…and hilarious stand-ups Mike Drucker, Mark Normand, Todd Barry, and more perform at Morrison Motel

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:

[MEGA-TOP PICK] 7:00 pm ($7): A powerhouse lineup of storytelling show hosts John Flynn (rising star storyteller/actor; Saturday Night Live, The Nights of Our Lives, host of Oh, Hey Guys!), Robin Gelfenbien (host of Yum’s the Word; VH1, Sirius Satellite Radio, FringeNYC), and Jeff Simmermon (NPR’s The American Life, Moth StorySlam Champion, host of And I Am Not Lying) telling true tales of hair-raising adventures, and also sharing shorter anecdotes on the fly in a campfire setting, with wonderful host Melanie Hamlett (three-time Moth StorySlam Champion; Dr. Oz; co-author of book Leave the Lipstick, Take the Iguana, contributor to Marie Claire Magazine and Nerve.com, roving adventurer who tours the globe to find memorable tales). This is among my all-time favorite shows, and one of the only comedy events for which I’m taking a break from FringeNYC. Please join me at Under St. Marks (94 St. Marks Place, off First Avenue) for surreal travel slides, camp intimacy, and astounding stories at Adventures with Melanie Hamlett

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 7:00 pm: A stand-up who’s performed on HBO, David Letterman, Jay Leno, Last Comic Standing, and Comedy Central tries out new material every night this week at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City: Week At the Creek: Bonnie McFarlane

[FREE] 7:30 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] 8:00 pm ($5): At UCB East, Nicole Byer, Sasheer Zamata, and Keisha Zollar are the fiercely energetic & entertaining all-gal improv troupe Doppelganger

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($8 at the door or $9.47 online): 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), Eugene Mirman (Conan O’Brien, Comedy Central Presents, HBO’s Flight of the Conchords, FOX’s Bob’s Burgers, Adult Swim’s Delocated, VH1; pioneer of NYC downtown comedy), Matt Koff (writer for The Daily Show), Sean Donnelly (David Letterman, MTV), Becky Yamamoto (rave reviews from The New York Times and The New Yorker; former beard-wearing member of band Stickerbook), Nat Towsen (co-host of The Moon Show), and Ahmed Bharoocha performing stand-up or sketch at Brooklyn’s Littlefield (622 Degraw Street) guest-hosted by Seaton Smith (Opie & Anthony Virus Tour): Night Train

[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm ($12 plus 2-item food/drink min.): 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), Tom Papa (host of Jerry Seinfeld-produced NBC comedy The Marriage Ref; numerous appearances on David Letterman, Conan O’Brien, Jay Leno; three Comedy Central specials), Big Jay Oakerson (Comedy Central Presents, Louie, HBO, Showtime, MTV, IFC), and more performing stand-up at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane): John Mulaney, Tom Papa, Big Jay Oakerson, and More

8:00 pm ($5): Making great use of UCB East’s previous incarnation as an indie movie theatre, tonight features screenings of select films running five minutes or less—most of them funny—crafted in the style of TV pilots. The shorts receiving the most audience votes get to continue with additional episodes, while the others are “canceled” at Channel 101

[FREE] 8:00 pm: NYC stand-ups (not yet announced) performing at the Niagra Bar (112 Avenue A & 7th Street) for this weekly show hosted by Erik Bergstrom (cartoonist/author of Grimmer Tales, The New Yorker, blogger for Comedy Central’s Indecision 2012) & DJ CnC: Crickets

[TOP PICK] [DISCOUNTED] 8:30 pm ($15 if you mention HyReviews.com [otherwise $20], which includes one drink; calling 212.989.9319 to reserve seats is recommended): Terrific lineup of 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), Mark Normand (hilarious rising star; Conan O’Brien, Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central; opens for Amy Schumer; co-host of Hot Soup and We’re All Friends Here), Mike Drucker (hilarious stand-up; staff writer for Jimmy Fallon; freelance writer for SNL, The Onion, McSweeney’s), Carmen Lynch (David Letterman, Last Comic Standing finalist, Comedy Central), Sean Donnelly (David Letterman, MTV), and Frank Vignola performing stand-up at the Cornelia Street Cafe for John Morrison’s Morrison Motel: Todd Barry, Mark Normand, Mike Drucker, and More

[TOP PICK] 8:30 pm ($5): A triple-bill of the relatively rare form of solo long form improv from 1 Deep (Shacottha Fields), Andy, Please! (Andy Moskowitz), and Pepita (Elana Fishbein) at The Magnet theatre: Solo

[TOP PICK] [$] 9:30 pm ($20): Dan St. Germain (enormously likeable and rapidly rising star who has several shows in the works; Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central Half-Hour Special, The Electric Company, MTV, VH1) performs a club-length headlining set at The PIT upstairs theatre: Dan St. Germain

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): Tami Sagher (former writer for 30 Rock; writer and producer for Mad TV 2001-2006) and Chris Gethard (comedy genius; 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) perform duo improv at the UCB Chelsea theatre: Sagher & Gethard

[FREE] 9:30 pm: NYC stand-ups (not announced) presumably auditioning for spots on a Comedy Central show at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City: Comedy Central Showcase

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

[FREE] 9:30 pm: NYC stand-ups Subhah Agarwal, Angel Castillo, Dave Wisell, Dean Masello, Debbie Bazza and Mack Lindsay performing at Brooklyn’s Freddy’s Backroom (627 5th Avenue) with host Pat O’Shea: Ed Sullivan on Acid

[TOP PICK] [$] 10:00 pm ($12 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Dave Attell (one of the most respected stand-ups in the biz; star of Showtime’s Dave’s Old Porn and Comedy Central’s Insomniac; HBO, David Letterman, Conan O’Brien, Jay Leno, The Daily Show, Comedy Central Presents), Nick Griffin (David Letterman, Jay Leno, Comedy Central Presents), Mark Normand (hilarious rising star; Conan O’Brien, Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central; opens for Amy Schumer; co-host of Hot Soup and We’re All Friends Here) and more performing stand-up at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane): Dave Attell, Nick Griffin, Mark Normand, and More

10:00 pm ($7): Improv at The Magnet from a group that promises to create “a universe of unique sensation, demonstrations, and displays appealing to the sensible and nervous alike:” The Boss

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 11:00 pm: Some of the finest comics in the world—who are no longer being announced in advance, but it’s virtually always a great lineup—at UCB Chelsea hosted by the wonderful Leo Allen (HBO, Saturday Night Live, Conan O’Brien, Comedy Central): Whiplash

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 ($5 cover for comics, no cover for audience with code HyReviews, plus 1-drink min.): The perfect show for short attention spans—open-mic stand-up with 4 1/2 minutes per set and 20 comics crammed into 2 hours—at the Greenwich Village Comedy Club (99 MacDougal Street) for John Morrison’s Village Motel

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.)

Leave a Comment » | Best New York Live Comedy Shows | Tagged: Adventures with Melanie Hamlett, Comedy, Improv, Jeff Simmermon, John Flynn, Mark Normand, Mike Drucker, New York Comedy, Sketch, Stand-Up, Storytelling | Permalink
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NYC Top Comedy Choices for Tuesday 4/16/13

April 16, 2013

For more, please visit HyReviews.com.

Catch a new The Jeselnik Offensive—tonight featuring the wonderful Pete Holmes—at 10:30 on Comedy Central

Following killer sets for Conan O’Brien and Amy Schumer on tour, hilarious and beloved stand-up Mark Normand headlines tonight at the Carolines Comedy Club…

…Saturday Night Live star Kate McKinnon is at Sweet, and SNL writer/performer Michael O’Brien is at The Moon Show

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] [ALMOST FREE] 6:00 pm ($1): In this delightful weekly open-mic show, each comic has 3 minutes to try out a character-based bit (e.g., for a solo show, sketch, or audition) at The PIT downstairs lounge, hosted by Jen Kwok (Comedy Central) and Keisha Zollar (Doppelganger): Imposter Open Mic

[ALMOST FREE] 6:00 pm ($1): Open-mic sketch that allows you to either perform a sketch with your own performers or bring in pages for the audience to perform at The PIT downstairs lounge, followed by feedback on your bit from PIT “sketch-perts:” Pens & Pencils

[FREE] 6:30 pm: Open mic for comedy of all types (with sign-up starting at 6:00) at Queens LIC’s The Creek upstairs theatre hosted by Chesley Calloway (co-host of renowned Comedy as a Second Language): The Ches Club

[TOP PICK] 7:00 pm-Midnight ($7 for the whole evening): In this 5-hour extravaganza, five of The Magnet’s singing improv troupes make up a musical on the spot based on an audience suggestion: Canons and Jezebellers (at 7:00), Fisticuffs and BEEES! (at 8:30), and Mint Condition (at 9:00), followed at 10:15 by a free show that lets audience members join in with a musical improv troupe to make up stories in song: Magnet Musical Megawatt

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 7:00 pm: Comic book artist Gideon Kendall and comic book writer Thomas Baehr joining super-hosts Alex Zalben, Justin Tyler, and Pete LePage in a lively & hilarious discussion about four-color pop culture at Fontana’s (105 Eldridge Street), with giveaways of comics and gift certificates: Comic Book Club

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 7:00 pm: This weekly 2-hour open-mic storytelling show allows each performer a full 8 minutes to tell a compelling and funny tale at Queens LIC’s The Creek downstairs lounge, tonight featuring guest co-host Malaika Gordon and host Jake Hart: The Dump

[TOP PICK] 7:00 pm ($5): One of my favorite people, Julie Sharbutt—who’s performed with some of the greatest improvisors alive at UCBT’s Gravid Water—goes for improv gold herself with comedy partner Cathleen Carr (Birds, The Scene, Dos Experimentos) as they “hope to establish themselves as the leading voices in contemporary South Boston crime noir improv comedy. Watch them, along with tonight’s guests Erick Hellwig, Bob Kulhan, and Chris Roberti, unspool a suspenseful, heavily-accented mystery thrilla” at The PIT downstairs lounge: Mystic Improv

7:00 pm ($8): A sketch show written & co-starring Suni Reyes & Erock, plus a half dozen other performers, at The PIT upstairs theatre: You Gotta Be F-ing Kidding Me!

[TOP PICK] [$] [DISCOUNTED] 7:30 pm ($7.37 online using code BREAKOUT, plus 2-drink min.) A hilarious rising star who’s performed on Conan O’Brien, Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central; opens for Amy Schumer; and is co-host of Hot Soup and We’re All Friends Here, offers these words to his legions of fans: “Remember how you’ve said you want to see me do a longer set? Me neither. But tonight I’ll be headlining Caroline’s like so many great comedians/bringers have done before me. Basically it’s my turn, and now that Thomas Dale is gone they had a few nights open. But I wanna make it a good one! So come on out and have a laugh. I’ve got material you’ve never seen, mostly because it’s not that good and is kinda offensive. But either way, I’m gonna do the stuff I never get to do. We’ll have fun. And I’ll be selling copies of my friends’ albums after. Plus I’ve got Gary Vider hosting because someone has to get him into the clubs. And JF Harris featuring because he ‘has a big family that will come out.’ His words… So let’s do it, guys!” For one night only at the Carolines Comedy Club: Mark Normand

7:30 pm-9:15 pm ($5): Long form improv known as The Harold from UCB Chelsea house troupes Bloody Mary, Huxtable, and The Regulars at this first half of Harold Night

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): Michael O’Brien (writer for Saturday Night Live, star of SNL segment 7 Minutes in Heaven), Kevin Allison (legendary MTV sketch series The State, HBO, Comedy Central, VH1, host of award-winning storytelling show Risk!), Camille Harris (ace singer/piano player), Will Harris, and more performing at Brooklyn’s Union Pool (484 Union Avenue) along with sketches from Moon regulars Camille Harris, Jordan Clifford, and Tim Skinner, and hosts Nat Towsen & Bob Walles: The Moon Show

[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm ($12 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Judah Friedlander (one of the quickest minds in comedy; 30 Rock, Meet the Parents, Along Came Polly, author of How to Beat Up Anybody), Tom Papa (host of Jerry Seinfeld-produced NBC comedy The Marriage Ref; numerous appearances on David Letterman, Conan O’Brien, Jay Leno; three Comedy Central specials), Michael Che (David Letterman, Comedy Central), Ryan Hamilton (Conan O’Brien, Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central, Showtime), Godfrey (Comedy Central Presents, Louie, 30 Rock, VH1; films Zoolander, Original Gangsters, Soul Plane; 7 Up Yours ads), and Jeff Lamp (Jay Leno) performing stand-up at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane) hosted by Turae: Judah Friedlander, Tom Papa, Michael Che, and More

8:00ish pm (no cover, 1 drink min.): Jermaine Fowler (MTV’s Guy Code, Comedy Central, Adult Swim’s The Eric Andre Show), Emily Heller (Comedy Central, FX’s Totally Biased), TJ Young (Beards of Comedy), Katie Compa (SF Sketchfest), Brian Parise, and Zach Sherwin performing stand-up at Sidewalk NYC (94 Avenue A) produced by Chenoa Estrada, Emily Heller, and George Gordon and hosted tonight by Erin Judge & Josh Gondelman: The Afterlife: Reincarnation

[FREE] 8:00 pm: NYC stand-ups (not announced) performing at Queens LIC’s The Creek upstairs theatre hosted by the brilliantly surreal and hilarious Joe Pera, plus Charles Gould and Dan Licata: Dan + Joe + Charles’ Show

8:00 pm ($8): A house sketch troupe performs at The PIT upstairs theatre: National Scandal

8:00 pm ($5): An all-gal sketch troupe takes The PIT upstairs stage straight from the seven seas: Pirate Sugar

[FREE] 8:30 pm: Typically sharp NYC stand-ups (for an update, please click here) performing at Cake Shop (152 Ludlow Street, between Rivington & Stanton) hosted by Kate Berlant (MTV, CNN, notable hair): Crime & Punishment

[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($7): Kate McKinnon (genius sketch comic and stellar cast member of Saturday Night Live; voice actress for Adult Swim’s Venture Brothers and Comedy Central’s Ugly Americans), Sean Patton (one of the finest stand-ups in the country; killer sets on Jimmy Fallon and Conan O’Brien, upcoming Comedy Central Half Hour, VH1, feature film Wifed Out; co-host of Comedy as a Second Language, frequent guest-host of Whiplash), singer Mike Doughty (David Letterman, Conan O’Brien; formerly of band Soul Coughing; solo album Sad Man Happy Man), and more performing at The Slipper Room (167 Orchard Street) hosted by Seth Herzog (Jimmy Fallon, VH1): Sweet

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 9:00 pm: Typically stellar NYC stand-ups (not announced this time) with composer Matt Garrisona’s four-piece jazz band playing in the background!—at Queens LIC’s The Creek downstairs lounge hosted by Mike Finoia: Code Name: Comedy and Jazz

9:15 pm-Midnight ($5): Long form improv known as The Harold from UCB Chelsea house troupes Graceland, City Mouse, and Bucky—plus advanced improv students make up scenes chock-full of genre conventions, tropes, and archetypes for improv form The Genre—at this second half (continued from 7:30 pm) of Harold Night

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): Brilliant storyteller Anthony Atamanuik (Death by Roo Roo, 30 Rock, Conan O’Brien, The Nights of Our Lives) tells tales of Boston to raise money for the Red Cross doing its good work there. Joining him are stand-ups Jamie Lee (Conan O’Brien, Last Comic Standing, MTV’s Ridiculousness, VH1), Phil Hanley (Craig Ferguson, Comedy Central), and Emil Kim, plus producer Andy Rocco, all at the UCB East theatre: The Tony Show: Tales of Boston

9:30 pm ($5): A stand-up performs a set, then an improv team makes up scenes based on the material; and then this happens again with a different stand-up and different improv group at The PIT downstairs lounge. Audience applause then determines the “winner” of Rumble

[TOP PICK] [$] 10:00 pm ($12 plus 2-item food/drink min.): 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.), 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), Nick Griffin (David Letterman, Jay Leno, Comedy Central Presents), Paul Mecurio (Conan O’Brien, The Daily Show, Comedy Central Presents), Greer Barnes (David Letterman, Chappelle Show, For the Love of the Game), Andrew Schulz (MTV2’s Guy Code), and Mike Vecchione (Last Comic Standing, Howard Stern) performing stand-up at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane) hosted by Turae: Ted Alexandro, Jena Friedman, Nick Griffin, Paul Mecurio, and More

[FREE] 10:00 pm: Big Jay Oakerson (Comedy Central Presents, HBO, Showtime, MTV), Luis J. Gomez, Dave Smith, and other NYC stand-ups performing live on stage for this podcast show at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City: Legion of Skanks

[$] 10:00 pm ($15 & 2-drink min.): 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), Barry Rothbart (Conan O’Brien, Jay Leno, Comedy Central, MTV’s Punk’d, IFC’s Do Whatever), Chris Distefano (Comedy Central, MTV2’s Guy Code), Maddog Mattern (Sirius Radio, Howard Stern TV; to see Maddog handle a heckler, please click here), and more performing stand-up at the Gotham Comedy Club hosted by Jared Logan (rising star; Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central, CNN, TBS): ComedyJuice

[ALMOST FREE] 11:00 pm ($1): A breathtaking 40 comics are given 2 minutes each in this rapid-fire open-mic stand-up show at The PIT upstairs theatre hosted with wit and energy by Jay Welch: Bring It

[FREE] 11:00 pm: Open-mic stand-up at UCB East hosted by Boris Khaykin, John Trowbridge, and/or Katie East: Tuesday Night Open Mic

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NYC Top Comedy Choices for Monday 4/8/13

April 8, 2013

For more, please visit HyReviews.com.

Stellar comics Ted Travelstead (top author), Mark Normand (opens for Amy Schumer), and more perform in Brooklyn to celebrate Brooke Van Poppelen’s & Giulia Rozzi’s Second Anniversary of Dive Comedy…

…while improvisors at The Magnet make up scenes based on The Walking Dead

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 ($5): A monthly storytelling show from the wonderful Adam Wade (two-time Moth GrandSlam Storytelling Champion (2006 & 2009) and record-breaking 15-time StorySlam Champion; The New York Times Magazine; host of Real Tales of College; for Adam’s award-winning tale of being an NBC page on Conan O’Brien, please click here) featuring guest storyteller Jim O’Grady (The New York Times, WNYC Radio, Moth GrandSlam Champion) at Under St. Marks (94 St. Marks Place, off First Avenue): The Adam Wade from New Hampshire Show: Tales of Life, Love, and Little League

7:00 pm ($5): Veteran improvisors—including Keisha Zollar and Rob Stern—will be touring as representatives of The PIT, and practicing tonight at The PIT downstairs lounge: The PIT TourCo

[FREE] 7:30 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] 8:00 pm ($5): Brilliant improvisor Ellena Chmielewski proves herself to also be a brilliant comedic writer, and a young, fresh voice about relationships, in this mini-play about modern romance at UCB Chelsea she co-wrote with John Zachary Townsend, and that holds the seeds for a longer commercial stage production and/or a series on a network like MTV. Come enjoy watching the foundation of a promising career at one of the best-scripted shows to grace UCBT in a while (and if you know Ellena, urge her to star or co-star in her next production, because she’s a gifted performer too): Standards & Practices…

…and in the second half of this UCB Chelsea double-bill, young talents—gay and otherwise—put on a meta-musical spoofing Broadway musicals of the future that’s hit-or-miss, but fun overall: The 2017 Tony Awardz: A Parody of Musical Proportions

[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm ($12 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Nick DiPaolo (star stand-up, with numerous appearances on David Letterman, Jay Leno, Louie; Emmy-nominated comedy writer, talk show host), Tom Papa (host of Jerry Seinfeld-produced NBC comedy The Marriage Ref; numerous appearances on David Letterman, Conan O’Brien, Jay Leno; three Comedy Central specials), Lynne Koplitz (Joan Know’s Best, IFC’s Z Rock, host of WB’s Life & Style), Godfrey (Comedy Central Presents, Louie, 30 Rock, VH1; films Zoolander, Original Gangsters, Soul Plane; 7 Up Yours ads), Sam Morril (Comedy Central), and Jeff Lamp (Jay Leno) performing stand-up at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane) hosted by Turae: Nick DiPaolo, Tom Papa, Lynne Koplitz, and More

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($8 at the door or $9.47 online): Kate Berlant (MTV, CNN, host of Crime & Punishment, notable hair), Seaton Smith (Opie & Anthony Virus Tour), Kara Klenk (Comedy Central, Spike, Nickelodeon; host of If You Bring It), Alex Koll (Comedy Central), and Lesley Tsina (HBO) performing stand-up at Brooklyn’s Littlefield (622 Degraw Street) hosted by Wyatt Cenac (former star correspondent for The Daily Show, Comedy Central hour-long special, Adult Swim): Night Train

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): Kicking off this double-bill at UCB East is ace director Todd Bieber (razor-sharp Director of Content & Production for UCBComedy.com) “cutting down a film to 25 minutes, removing its audio, and adding our own music and audio cues live, and dialogue live via improvisors,” with this month’s performers most of the members of Sandino: Rewrite Movie Night…

…and then UCBT house manager and tech guy supreme Pat Baer hosts a show about the very medium you’re using to read this, with tonight’s guest Chris “Shockwave” Sullivan (amazing human boombox; The Daily Show, The Electric Company, Freestyle Love Supreme, co-host of The BEATdown): 404ing It: Breaking (Down) the Internet

[TOP PICK] 8:30 pm ($5): “Police officer Rick Grimes leads a group of improvisers in a world overrun by zombies” at The Magnet theatre: Walking Dead Improv

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 9:00 pm: Two Year Anniversary Show!, with Ted Travelstead (brilliant, hilarious writer/comic; Vanity Fair, author of The Petraeus Files and Sex: Our Bodies, Our Junk), Mark Normand (hilarious stand-up; Conan O’Brien, Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central; co-host of Hot Soup and We’re All Friends Here), Jared Logan (rising star; Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central, CNN, TBS, host of ComedyJuice), Katina Corrao (HBO, Logo), and Allison Castillo (HBO, Comedy Central, MTV, VH1, FOX) performing stand-up, plus music from Cody Westphal, 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) and Giulia Rozzi (Jimmy Kimmel, MTV, VH1, Playgirl Magazine, co-host of Stripped Stories): Dive Comedy

[FREE] 9:00 pm: Adam Newman (Comedy Central, MTV, College Humor, comedy CD Not for Horses), Seaton Smith (Opie & Anthony Virus Tour), Leah Bonnema (VH1, WeTV’s Cinematherapy, Logo, Opie & Anthony’s Virus Channel), and Damien Lemon (MTV2’s Guy Code, Comedy Central) performing at Brooklyn’s Bar Matchless back room (557 Manhattan Avenue, near the G subway’s Nassau Avenue stop) hosted by Nimesh Patel, Mike Denny, and/or Michael Che: Broken Comedy

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): Two UCB Chelsea house sketch troupes try out new material: Fambly (which includes wonderful rising stars Bridey Elliott, Mamrie Hart, Dan Chamberlain, Veronica Osorio, and a sharp crew of writers) and Bellevue (which I plan to finally catch soon): Maude Night: Fambly & Bellevue

[FREE] 9:30 pm: Following a club format, hosts Nore Davis & Andrew Short perform stand-up throughout for a total of 25 minutes, two comics each perform a 15-minute set, and then a seasoned headliner closes out the show with a 20-minute set, all at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City: On the Road

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

[TOP PICK] [$] 10:00 pm ($12 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Amy Schumer (one of the very finest stand-ups in the country; star of Comedy Central’s Inside Amy Schumer; Conan O’Brien, Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central Presents, Last Comic Standing, 30 Rock), Nick Griffin (David Letterman, Jay Leno, Comedy Central Presents), Lenny Marcus (David Letterman, MTV), Wil Sylvince (Comedy Central, BET’s Comic View), Dan Soder (Comedy Central, VH1; for set about being a hypochondriatic drug user, please click here), Modi (HBO’s The Sopranos, Comedy Central), and Phil Hanley (Craig Ferguson, Comedy Central) performing stand-up at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane) hosted by Turae: Amy Schumer, Nick Griffin, and More

[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

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 11:00 pm: Some of the finest comics in the world—who are no longer being announced in advance, but it’s virtually always a great lineup—at UCB Chelsea hosted by someone wonderful: Whiplash

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

Leave a Comment » | Best New York Live Comedy Shows | Tagged: Comedy, Improv, Mark Normand, New York Comedy, Sketch, Stand-Up, Storytelling, Ted Travelstead, Walking Dead Improv | Permalink
Posted by hybender

NYC Top Comedy Choices for Sunday 11/4/12

November 4, 2012

For more, please visit HyReviews.com.

Delayed by Sandy but still a great event, dozens of NYC comics gather tonight to impersonate other comics (Groucho Marx, Ricky Gervais, Lisa Lampanelli, Maria Bamford, and lots more) at The 5th Annual Schtick or Treat

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] [$] 3:00 pm ($65): This isn’t pure comedy, but an enchanting hodgepodge of original tall tales fueled by laughs. The 2-hour play from the wonderful guys of PigPen blends shadow puppetry, songs, inventive staging, and more to create living dreams. For my review of PigPen’s two previous shows at FringeNYC, please click here and here. This newest work is their most ambitious, and that sometimes results in the story feeling too slow or padded; but it also yields a deeper emotional payoff. And even though not all the bits hit the mark, so many of them do that you’re likely to feel satisfied—and missing PigPen’s world after the show is over. The production is at The Gym at Judson (243 Thompson Street) through November 26th: The Old Man and the Moon

[FREE] 4:00 pm: An unusually early walk-in open-mic stand-up show at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City: Face-Plant Comedy Showcase

[FREE] 5:30 pm: Open-mic stand-up, with 3 minutes per comic (unless not many folks show up, in which case there’ll be more time), with names drawn out of a bucket at UCB East in the bar area (“Hot Chicks Room”) hosted by Emmy Blotnick, Matt Nedostup, and/or Sachi Ezurafor: Sledgehammer

[TOP PICK] 7:30 pm ($10) and 9:30 pm [FREE]: UCB Chelsea’s signature improv comedy extravaganza, which typically includes stars in the improv world, and sometimes even TV & movie stars such as Amy Poehler and Horatio Sanz: ASSSCAT 3000

[MEGA-TOP PICK] [$] 7:30 pm ($20): The return of one of the funniest comedies—and finest comedic ensembles—to grace New York, and what ended up as the very best show of this year’s FringeNYC Festival, playing at the Soho Playhouse’s upstairs theatre. Please read my review by clicking here, and then take advantage of this opportunity to see the Chicago-based 5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche

7:30 pm ($5): Improv troupes not affiliated with any comedy school compete at UCB East for audience laughs and votes—and the privilege to go on to perform at the primary Cage Match show at UCB Chelsea—in this show hosted by the delightful Amey Goerlich & R an Karels (Krompf): Indie Cage Match

[FREE] 7:30 pm: Sketch, improv, and more at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City from comedy troupe Froduce

[$] 7:30 pm ($31.25 & 2-drink min.) A stand-up who’s performed on 30 Rock and Comedy Central headlining tonight and Sunday at the Carolines Comedy Club: Mark Viera

[MEGA-TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($10 at door, $11.78 in advance online): For the fifth year of this fabulous annual event, dozens of NYC comics get two minutes each to do a set as a famous comedian. This 2012 edition is slated to include impersonations of Ricky Gervais, Maria Bamford, Mike Birbiglia, Wanda Sykes, Chelsea Handler, Flight of the Conchords, Lisa Lampanelli, Pete Holmes, Reggie Watts, and lots more. It all takes place at Brooklyn’s Littlefield (622 Degraw Street) hosted by Matt Ruby & Mark Normand. Please note that N subway service hasn’t yet been restored in Brooklyn, but taking the 2/4/5 to Atlantic Avenue and then walking around 8 blocks along 4th Avenue to Degraw Street will get you to The 5th Annual Schtick or Treat

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($7): Myq Kaplan (one of the quickest minds in comedy, and rapidly rising star; finalist on most recent Last Comic Standing; David Letterman, Conan O’Brien, Jay Leno, Comedy Central Presents, hit comedy CD Vegan Mind Meld), Zoe Coombs Marr (visiting from Australia; for a love letter to a dinosaur, please click here), Max Silvestri (co-host of Big Terrific), and Kendra Cunnigham performing stand-up at Brooklyn’s Union Hall guest-hosted tonight by Caroline Creaghead: Pretty Good Friends

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($10): Kevin Allison, Dan St. Germain, The Reformed Whores, and more tell stories about sex and romance at Brooklyn’s The Bell House (149 7th Street, between Second and Third Avenues) with host Jefferson: Bare: True Stories of Sex, Desire, and Romance

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): From Dan Hodapp & Micah Sherman (producers of The Scene), improvisors make up one-act plays on the spot at The PIT downstairs lounge, with tonight’s groups including Pumpkin, Maybe Sherman, and The Lottery: Act One

8:00 pm ($5): A weekly show at The Magnet featuring sketches, jokes, interviews, and more focused on the upcoming Presidential election: The Great American Sketch Show

[$] [DISCOUNTED] 8:00 pm (no cover if you reserve at (212) 367-9000 using code POWER, but 2-drink min.): Typically sharp NYC comics, such as Vic Henley and Ophira Eisenberg, performing at the Gotham Comedy Club: Gotham All-Stars

[FREE] 9:00 pm: Michael Kupperman, Aparna Nancherla, Mike Recine, Ryan McKee, and Jaqi Furback performing at RG Daniels’ free weekly show at the L’asso East Village lounge (107 First Avenue, off 7th Street): Sunday Night Stand-Up

9:00 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] 9:00 pm: NYC stand-ups Nick Hart, Jono Zalay, Emmy Blotnik, and Josh Rabinowitz performing in the East Village’s Beauty Bar for this free weekly show hosted by Adam Sokol, Brad Austin, and/or Nate Fridson: Comedy at the Beauty Bar

9:30 pm ($8): Improvisors and more gather to make fun of the Presidential election at The PIT upstairs theatre: Electoral Dysfunction 2012

9:30 pm ($5): Magnet sketch comedy teams Risky Bottom and Jacktown try out new material at this show with the on-the-nose title Magnet Sketch Teams

[FREE] 9:30 pm: Open-mic stand-up, with four minutes per comic, at The PIT downstairs lounge hosted by Molly Austin & Mike Brown: Vicious Cycle

10:00 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

For more, please visit HyReviews.com.

Leave a Comment » | Best New York Live Comedy Shows | Tagged: Comedy, Improv, Mark Normand, Matt Ruby, New York Comedy, Schtick Or Treat, Sketch, Stand-Up, Storytelling | Permalink
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NYC Top Comedy Choices for Monday 9/10/12

September 10, 2012

For more, please visit HyReviews.com.
For FringeNYC Encore Series coverage, please click here.

Chris Gethard, a Daily Show writer, and “surpise guests” are among the treats at Jena Friedman’s Entertaining the Bartender…

…Arj Barker performs at Hot Tub Variety; and Mark Normand (above) and Dan St. Germain each do 30-minute sets for taping at Lady with a Baby

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: Weekly hour-long open-mic storytelling show, with audience members chosen from a bucket of names getting to tell tales for 8 minutes each at The PIT downstairs lounge along with host Jake Hart: The Dump

6:00 pm ($5 cover & $5 drink min.): The perfect show for short attention spans—open-mic stand-up with 4 1/2 minutes per set and 20 comics crammed into 2 hours—at the Greenwich Village Comedy Club (99 MacDougal Street) for John Morrison’s Village Motel

[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): A monthly storytelling show from the wonderful Adam Wade (two-time Moth GrandSlam Storytelling Champion (2006 & 2009) and record-breaking 18-time StorySlam Champion; The New York Times Magazine; host of hilarious monthly storytelling extravaganzas Tales of the Cosmos and Whatever Happened to the Nerds?; for a sampling of Adam’s award-winning tales, please click here), along with a guest storyteller (not yet announced), at Under St. Marks: The Adam Wade from New Hampshire Show: Tales of Life, Love, and Little League

[TOP PICK] 7:00 pm ($5): Molly Knefel (Naked in a Fishbowl, co-host of John and Molly Get Along), an excerpt from Jaws: The Musical, and clown troupe Everybody Nose NYC performing at The PIT downstairs lounge hosted by all-gal improv troupe Gypsy: The Mélange

[FREE] 7:30 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] 8:00 pm ($8): Chris Gethard (brilliant improvisor and comedic storyteller; star of Comedy Central sitcom Big Lake and Manhattan Cable Access’ The Chris Gethard Show; The Stepfathers, The Nights of Our Lives, author of new bestseller A Bad Idea I’m About to Do and Weird New York), J R Havlan (writer for The Daily Show), Sheng Wang (Comedy Central Presents), Emily Heller (Comedy Central; staff writer for Rooftop Comedy; for ruminations on pregnancy, please click here), Desiree Burch (Edinburgh Fringe Festival), music by Nicole Atkins (David Letterman), “and special guests” performing at the Ace Hotel lobby (20 West 29th Street, between Fifth Avenue & Broadway) for this monthly stand-up show hosted by wonderful dark humor comic Jena Friedman (former staff writer for David Letterman) : Entertaining the Bartender

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($9.47 online or $8 at the door): Great lineup of Sean Patton (one of the finest stand-ups in the country; killer sets on Jimmy Fallon and Conan O’Brien, Comedy Central, VH1; co-host of Comedy as a Second Language, frequent guest-host of Whiplash), Arj Barker (David Letterman, HBO’s Flight of the Conchords), Jermaine Fowler (FOX’s new In Living Color), Kate Berlant (host of Crime and Punishment), Tyler Fischer (host of Fresh Fisch), and Max Silvestri (co-host of Big Terrific) performing stand-up at Brooklyn’s Littlefield (622 Degraw Street) hosted by Jared Logan (rising star; Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central, host of ComedyJuice): Hot Tub Variety

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($8): Mark Normand (hilarious stand-up; Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central; co-host of Hot Soup and We’re All Friends Here) and Dan St. Germain (quick-witted & enormously likeable rising star; Jimmy Fallon, The Electric Company, MTV, VH1) each perform a 30-minutes set that’ll be taped posterity at Jimmy’s No. 43 (43 East 7th Street) hosted by Nikki Glaser and Sean Donnelly: Lady With a Baby: Norman and Germain

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): At UCB Chelsea, one of the very best sketch shows of 2012. It’s a noir mini-play written & directed with immense wit by Michael Trapp (Stone Cold Fox), who with this script demonstrates he’s a rising star with a surefire career in the biz. And beyond the pages, Michael’s put together an all-star cast, including John Murray (simultaneously gripping and hilarious as a hardboiled detective with an absurdly short attention span), Brandon Scott Jones (who delivers an unforgettable scene with John that’s worth the trip all by itself), and D’Arcy Carden (who abandons her usual laid-back persona here to be smoking hot). These are all total pros who are virtually assured careers in TV and film. Catch them while they’re honing their craft and waiting to be noticed in one of the most consistently fun shows in NYC: Death Wears Stilettos…

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

[TOP PICK] 8:30 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

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): Sketch comics Matthew Robert Gehring (Louie), Matt Weir (We’re Matt Weir), Jenny Jaffe (College Humor Live), and Natasha Rothwell (Just For Laughs Festival) each show off their solo character work for this unique show at The PIT upstairs theatre, hosted by Sam Martin & Matthew Robert Gehring: Comedy Expo

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): Two UCB Chelsea house sketch troupes try out fresh material: The Prom (which includes such stellar talents as Sasheer Zamata, Amber Nelson, Stephen Soroka, Siobhan Thompson, and Ari Scott), and Onassis (which has seldom been strong on the writing side but includes superb actress Lauren Conlin Adams): Maude Night: The Prom & Onassis

9:30 pm ($5): The only open-stage show for entire groups of improvisors and sketch comics, running weekly at UCB East hosted by Austin Rodrigues: Bring Your Own Team: Improv/Sketch Team Jam

[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

[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—who are no longer being announced in advance, but it’s virtually always a great lineup—at UCB Chelsea probably hosted by someone wonderful: Whiplash

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

For more, please visit HyReviews.com.

Leave a Comment » | Best New York Live Comedy Shows | Tagged: Arj Barker, Chris Gethard, Comedy, Comedy NYC Tonight, Improv, Jena Friedman's Entertaining the Bartender, Mark Normand, Sketch, Stand-Up, Storytelling | Permalink
Posted by hybender

NYC Top Comedy Choices for Wed. 10/27/10

October 27, 2010

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

Mike Birbiglia puts on a nearly-free show of what's likely to be amazing new material at "My Girlfriend's Boyfriend," and comics dress up & perform as other comics at the awesome annual event "Schtick Or Treat"

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 in The PIT’s Super Free Wednesday

[MEGA-TOP PICK] 7:30 pm ($8): For the third year of this fabulous annual event, over 30 NYC comics get two minutes each to do a set as a famous comedian. Tonight’s agenda includes Matt McCarthy as Bill Hicks, Erik Bergstrom as Lisa Lampanelli, Nick Turner and Ariel Bitran as Tenacious D, George Gordon as Eddie Murphy, Laura Prangley as Joan Rivers, Jared Logan as Soupy Sales, Dan Soder as Rodney Dangerfield…and much more (full lineup here) performing atArlene’s Grocery (95 Stanton Street), hosted by Matt Ruby as Andrew Dice Clay & Mark Normand as Norm MacDonald: The 3rd Annual Schtick Or Treat

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): One of the finest stand-ups & storytellers in the country tries out new material—delivering a show that’s likely worth $40+ tonight for a mere $5—in Mike Birbiglia’s My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend

[FREE] 8:00 pm: Murderfist (NYC’s fearless heavy metal version of a sketch troupe; winner of the 2010 ECNY Award), Claudia Cogan (Last Comic Standing, MTV, Logo, here! TV), and Boris Khaykin (UCB, Atom.com) performing at Brooklyn’s Legion Bar for a monthly show hosted by sketch duo Mark Bisi & Andrew Beckerman: The Weeping Skull

[FREE] 8:30 pm: Laura Krafft (The Colbert Report), Brendan McGlaughlin (Conan O’Brien), Andy Hendrickson (30 Rock), Danny Lobell, and Selena Coppock performing at the East Village’s Angels and Kings with delightful dark humor host Jena Friedman: Entertaining the Bartender

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): Wonderful comics Jessica Delfino, Kurt Braunohler, Jena Friedman & Ben Kronberg, LandlineTV, and Serious Lunch share their tales of being turned down—with tonight’s theme Cease & Desist—at Jon Friedman’s wonderful The Rejection Show

[TOP PICK] 10:00 pm ($5): Arden Myrin (Conan O’Brien, Mad TV, numerous other TV shows & films; for Mad TV samples, please click here and here and here), master sketch comic Kurt Braunohler (Comedy Central; co-creator & co-star of UK TV series Penelope: Princess of Pets), Matt Higgins (Centralia), and more creepily performing pre-Halloween at Arlene’s Grocery (95 Stanton Street) hosted by the wonderful Seth Herzog (Jimmy Fallon, VH1): Sweet

[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.

Leave a Comment » | Best New York Live Comedy Shows | Tagged: Arlene's Grocery, Carolines, Carolines Comedy Club, Carolines on Broadway, Cheap Comedy, Comedian, Comedians, Comedic Storytelling, Comedy, Comedy Clubs, Comic, Comics, Comix, Comix Comedy Club, Free Comedy, Fun NYC, Funny, Improv, Improvisation, Mark Normand, Matt Ruby, Mike Birbiglia, New York City Comedy, New York Comedy, New York Comedy Clubs, NY Comedy, NYC Comedy, NYC Fun, Schtick Or Treat, Sketch Comedy, Stand-Up Comedy, Standup Comedy, Storytelling, The Magnet Theater, The Peoples Improv Theatre, The PIT, UCB, UCBT, Upright Citizens Brigade | Permalink
Posted by hybender

NYC Top Comedy Choices for Saturday 6/5/10

June 5, 2010

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

For the best of genius comedic actress Kate McKinnon, click here.

Brooke Van Poppelen reveals shocking personal details at the 2nd Anniversary edition of We're All Friends Here

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 ($15 including one drink; reservations via calling Cornelia Street Cafe at 212.989.9319 highly recommended): Four world-class writer/performers tell personal stories. Three of them are true…but one is a pack of lies. Then the audience asks questions to try to figure out who’s fibbing. Tonight’s yarn-spinners are Faye Lane (delightful storyteller, upcoming FringeNYC show Beauty Shop Stories), John Flynn (superb storyteller for UCBT’s The Nights of Our Lives), Jim O’Grady (The New York Times, Huffington Post), and Joey Novick (writer for Politics Unusual), and Steve Osborne (NYPC Gang Squad Detective), performing with wonderful guest-host Ophira Eisenberg (sharp stand-up and brilliant storyteller; Comedy Central, VH1, Showtime), at The Liar Show

[TOP PICK] 7:30 pm ($10): Genius improvisor Christina Gausas and friends she originally made in Chicago—which include writers & performers from 30 Rock, The Colbert Report, and The Daily Show—plus a rotating cast of stellar visitors, all joyously declaring Let’s Have a Ball

7:30 pm (no cover, 1-item min.): NYC stand-ups Joe Devito, Rob O’Reilly, Gilad Foss, Steve Bossous, and “special guests” performing in Ochi’s Lounge at Lil’ Seany Boy

[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm & 10:30 pm ($42 & 2-drink min.): A stand-up veteran who’s appeared on David Letterman, Jay Leno, and Last Comic Standing; hosted the HBO stand-up showcase Down and Dirty; was a cast member of the wonderful though short-lived HBO sitcom Lucky Louie, and performed his own HBO half-hour One Night Stand special; has appeared in such hit films as Spider-Man; is a regular on XM Satellite Radio’s The Opie & Anthony Show; and is the author of the book Happy Endings, headlining tonight through Sunday at the Carolines Comedy Club: Jim Norton

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 8:00 pm: Gorgeous Brooke Van Poppelen (TLC’s American Chopper, Maxim and Cosmo Radio, So-Low Show; popular blogs NYisretarded.blogspot.com and RockBottom; for stand-up videos about overindulging at 30 and impersonating Morrisey, please click here andhere), hilarious human dynamo Ali Wong (The Onion), and Erik Bergstrom (author of Grimmer Tales) perform stand-up and are then interviewed about their personal lives at this special 2nd Anniversary edition of Matt Ruby’s and Mark Normand’s “comedy chat show with boundary issues” at The Creek in Queens’ Long Island City: We’re All Friends Here

[TOP PICK] [$] [DISCOUNTED] 8:00 pm & 11:00 pm ($37.50 online or at the box office using discount code ALIEN): Sharp comics and 80 Henson puppets collaborating on a show that’s partly scripted and partly improvised: Stuffed and Unstrung

[$] [DISCOUNTED] 8:00 pm & 10:30 pm ($19.33 online if you use code VIPJUNE, plus 2-item minimum): In a questionable bit of booking, two stand-ups with very different styles and very different audiences are somehow headlining on the same show; but if you love one or the other, come for the star you adore performing at the elegant Comix Comedy Club: Eugene Mirman and Andy Kindler

8:00 pm ($10): In this unique monthly show, stand-up comics perform in the buff. A reviewer fromThe Boston Globe observed, “The dynamic of nude comedian and clothed audience added an extra dimension to self-deprecating material.” For a New York Magazine review, please click here; or simply come see for yourself at The Naked Comedy Showcase

[TOP PICK] [$] 9:00 pm ($20): Brilliant singer/songwriter Shayna Ferm and “white rapper” Carolyn Castiglia, sharp stand-ups Hari Kondabolu and Dan Allen, word-class storyteller Tom Shillue, and possibly a special guest or two—plus free beer!—at the season finale of acclaimed monthly comedy showcase Moonwork

[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($10): One of the gutsiest and most hilarious troupes in comedy history—and the Cage Match Champion for two years in a row!—genius improvisors Death by Roo Roo

9:00 pm ($5): Organic & energetic improv by the four guys of 4 Track!

9:30 pm ($10): “A cabaret of darkly funny songs and topical sketch comedy about culture and politics,” following sold out shows at Joe’s Pub: Political Subversities

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

[TOP PICK] [$] [DISCOUNTED] 10:30 pm ($15 both online and at the door using discount codePISANO, otherwise $20): A Chicago-based troupe that’s wowed audiences around the world with their skill at creating a completely improvised hour-long musical. The plot and characters, the musical accompaniment; even the song lyrics and the “choreography” are made up on the spot, with no pre-planned structure. Come see why BWC won a FringeNYC Award last August for Outstanding Unique Theatrical Event at the magical Baby Wants Candy

[TOP PICK] 10:30 pm ($10): An all-star improv troupe led by brilliant UCBT artistic director Anthony King: Reuben Williams

10:30 pm ($5): Vibrant improv from Nick Kanellis & Peter McNerney (Statues of Liberty) and Leslie Korein as comedy trio Trike

[TOP PICK] Midnight ($5): An open contest to see who can create the most shockingly funny & filthy sketch running three minutes or less. If you’re easily offended, don’t even consider attending; but if you appreciate comedy that pushes the envelope without hurting anyone (with the possible exception of prudes), you’ll applaud this wild, uninhibited breaking of taboos to get laughs. If a routine is dreadful (many will be), the festivities will be maintained by superb hosts Gil Ozeri, John Flynn, and John Frusciante at The Dirtiest Sketch in NYC Contest

[$] 12:30 am ($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

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

For the best of genius comedic actress Kate McKinnon, click here.

Leave a Comment » | Best New York Live Comedy Shows | Tagged: Brooke Van Poppelen, Carolines, Carolines Comedy Club, Carolines on Broadway, Cheap Comedy, Comedian, Comedians, Comedic Storytelling, Comedy, Comedy Clubs, Comic, Comics, Comix, Comix Comedy Club, Free Comedy, Fun NYC, Funny, Improv, Improvisation, Mark Normand, Matt Ruby, New York City Comedy, New York Comedy, New York Comedy Clubs, NY Comedy, NYC Comedy, NYC Fun, Ochi’s Lounge, Sketch Comedy, Stand-Up Comedy, Standup Comedy, Storytelling, The Creek, The Magnet, The Peoples Improv Theatre, The PIT, UCB, UCBT, Upright Citizens Brigade, We're All Friends Here | Permalink
Posted by hybender

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