Best New York Comedy

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TV Alert: John Cleese is on Seth Meyers;
Michael Keaton is on David Letterman;
Paul F. Tompkins is on Carson Daly;
Zach Woods is on Conan O’Brien;
Alex Anfanger, Stephen Tobolowsky, and
Lenny Jacobson are on @midnight;
Inside Amy Schumer‘s Episode 3.2, “Cool With It,”
is at 10:30 pm on Comedy Central

Stars Hannibal Buress…

…and Justin Long are at Seth Herzog’s Sweet

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 & 9:00 pm ($20 plus 2-item food/drink min.; SOLD OUT, but apply to get on the waiting listhere): Joe Matarese (David Letterman, Chelsea Lately, Comedy Central Presents, Bravo, IFC) tapes his one-hour TV special twice, at 7:00 and 9:00, at Village Underground (130 West 3rd Street, off Sixth Avenue): Joe Matarese: Medicated TV Taping

[TOP PICK] 7:00 pm-11:00 pm ($7 for the whole evening): In this 4-hour extravaganza, seven of The Magnet’s improv groups make up musicals based on audience suggestion, creating epic stories on the spot using song and dance:Magnet Musical Megawatt

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 7:00 pm: Comics creators join 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 (and if you can’t make it, watch in online here): Comic Book Club

7:00 pm ($5): According to comedy duo Jenn Welch & Jay Malsky, “We think the world would be a better place if we ran it. So here’s your opportunity, live and in-person, to ask us anything on your mind. And since it’s 11:00 pm on a Saturday, anything on your mind is probably related to sex. So toss out a sexy topic or a sexish conundrum; we’ll have an opinion” at The PIT upstairs theatre: Here’s What I Would Say

[FREE] 7:00 pm: A stand-up tries out material tonight through Saturday at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City: Week at the Creek: Paul Hooper

7:30 pm-9:15 pm ($5): Long form improv known as The Harold from UCB Chelsea house groups A Mean Scholar, In Thousands, and Higgins at this first half of Harold Night

[$] [DISCOUNTED] 7:30 pm ($7.37 online using code BREAKOUT, plus 2-drink min.) A stand-up who’s written for The Washington Post and The Village Voice, and was a semi-finalist on last year’s Last Comic Standing, performs for one night only at the Carolines Comedy Club: Chloé Hilliard

[TOP PICK] [$] 7:45 pm, 9:30 pm, and 11:15 pm ($12 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Tonight’s stand-ups include Ryan Hamilton, Jessica Kirson, Robert Kelly, and Dov Davidoff at the 7:45 show; Todd Barry, Gregg Rogell, Rich Vos, Carmen Lynch, Sherrod Small, and Ryan Reiss (hosting) at the 9:30 show; and Mark Normand, Sam Morril, and Nore Davis at the 11:15 show, with all three shows at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane): Comedy Cellar Tuesday

[MEGA-TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm ($15): Powerhouse improv singer Rebecca Vigil and her elegant partner Evan Kaufman interview an audience couple about their love life and then turn it into a musical—often with breathtaking skill—at The PIT upstairs theatre: Your Love, Our Musical

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($10 at the door at $11.59 online): Jon Glaser (HBO’s Girls, NBC’s Parks and Recreation, star of Adult Swim’s Delocated; long-time writer/performer and 5-time Emmy nominee for Conan O’Brien), Leslie Goshko (delightful & razor-sharp storyteller/comic/pianist; WNYC, Sirius XM, Huffington Post, Internet Action Force, host ofSideshow Goshko), Ginny Leise & Soojeong Son (hosts of hit monthly show The Shame Game), Sarah Screams (Operotica), and Julio Torres being interviewed and/or performing at Brooklyn’s Union Hall hosted by Rob Blatt: The Late Night Disaster

[TOP PICK] [DISCOUNTED] 8:00 pm ($5 online using discount code NORTHERN; no min.): Dan Soder (smart, edgy rising star; Conan O’Brien, Comedy Central Half Hour, Inside Amy Schumer, MTV’s Guy Code and Guy Court, VH1), Nick DiPaolo (star stand-up, with numerous appearances on David Letterman, Jay Leno, Louie; Emmy-nominated comedy writer, talk show host), Arden Myrin (Conan O’Brien, Mad TV, Chelsea Lately, host of The Party Machine; forMad TV samples, please click here and here and here), and star storyteller Tom Shillue (Conan O’Brien, Jimmy Fallon, The Daily Show, Comedy Central Presents, 2011 ECNY Award for Best Storyteller, host of Funny Story, albums Better Stronger Faster and Big Room; last year released a new storytelling album each month) performing stand-up or storytelling at The Stand Comedy Club (239 Third Avenue & 20th Street) hosted by Josh Carter & Ray DeVito: Northern Discomfort: Dan Soder, Nick DiPaolo, Arden Myrin, and Tom Shillue

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 8:00 pm: Guy Branum (head writer/performer on G4’s X-Play; regular panelist on Chelsea Lately), Joe Zimmerman (Comedy Central Half Hour, Last Comic Standing), Becky Yamamoto (Web series Uninspired; co-host of Comedy School Dropout), Marcella Arguello, Casey Ley, and Shelby Fero performing stand-up, plus music from Camille Harris (irresistible rising star singer/sketch comic/cutie; featured player on The Moon Show, new music album Silly Jazz), Mrs. Smith, and Penis, all performing at Cake Shop (152 Ludlow Street, between Rivington & Stanton) hosted by John Early (30 Rock, Comedy Central, Netflix’s Wet Hot American Summer): Cakeshop Comedy: Guy Branum, Joe Zimmerman, John Early, Becky Yamamoto, and More

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 8:00 pm: Dave Hill (one of the most original and hilariously sharp alternative comics in the country; host of WFMU’s The Goddamn Dave Hill Show; HBO, Comedy Central, NPR, bands Valley Lodge and Diamondsnake, author of Tasteful Nudes), Charlie Kasov (MTV’s Guy Code), Julia Johns (MTV’s Girl Code), Rachael Parenta (Gawker.com, contributor to book What Was I Thinking?: Bad Boyfriend Stories; for sample video, please click here), Madelein Smith, Adrian Todd Zuniga, and Andy Farnsworth performing stand-up at Bunga’s Den (137 West 14th Street, between Sixth & Seventh Avenues) produced by Lukas Kaiser, Sue Smith, JF Harris, and John Szeluga: Amazingtown

8:00 pm ($5): Naomi Ekperigin (dynamite rising star stand-up; writer for Broad City and Hulu’s Difficult People; MTV, VH1, FX), Dirt Circle Improv, and Jono Zalay performing at UCB East hosted by Bill Stiteler & Tony Zaret: School Drools

[FREE—plus FREE PIZZA!] 8:00 pm: NYC stand-ups Bryan Ball, John Bilancini, Julia Lundy, Robbie Collier, Farrah Brook, Justin Perez, and Daniel Simonsen performing at Brit Pack Studios (153 Lafayette Street, 3rd Floor) hosted by Dan Fisher, Niles Turner, and Jimmy LeChase: Mouth Party

[FREE] 8:30 pm (reserve your free spots by clicking here): Typically terrific stand-ups (for the line-up, usually posted by 1:00 pm, please click here) performing stand-up at The Irish Exit (978 Second Avenue, off 52nd Street, in the back room) produced every Tuesday by Mark Normand, Matt Ruby, Gary Vider, and Sachi Ezura: Hot Soup

[$] 8:30 pm ($12): “Eliot Glazer, a classically trained vocalist-turned-comedian, takes some of pop music’s most infamous songs and turns them into highbrow, sweeping ballads. Like a twisted version of MTV Unplugged, Austin City Limits, or VH1 Storytellers, it’s an intimate night of bad music made good,” plus Hasan Minhaj (correspondent for The Daily Show), at Brooklyn’s The Bell House (149 7th Street): Haunting Renditions

[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($7): Hannibal Buress (co-star of Comedy Central’s Broad City and Adult Swim’s The Eric Andre Show; David Letterman, Jimmy Fallon, Louie, one-hour Comedy Central specials Animal Furnace and Live From Chicago), Michelle Buteau (daily host of VH1’s Morning Buzz; FOX’s Enlisted, Comedy Central, Last Comic Standing, Craig Ferguson, VH1’s Best Week Ever, @midnight), Louis Katz (Jimmy Fallon, HBO, Comedy Central Presents), and more performing stand-up at The Slipper Room (167 Orchard Street) hosted by Seth Herzog (Jimmy Fallon long-time staff comic, Comedy Central, VH1, host of Nat Geo’s Science of Stupid) and extra special co-host/DJ Justin Long (NBC’s Ed, Galaxy Quest, Going the Distance, Live Free or Die Hard, the Mac in Apple Computer commercials):Sweet

[FREE] 9:00 pm: Nore Davis (Inside Amy Schumer, HBO’s Last Week Tonight, Boardwalk Empire, Comedy Central’sRussell Simmons Presents The Ruckus, MTV), Jade Catta-Preta (MTV’s Girl Code), Dan Wilbur (author of How Not to Read; writer for The Onion, College Humor, McSweeney’s; co-host of Lasers in the Jungle), and Lukas Kaiser (Chappelle’s Show; senior writer/producer for Spike TV; co-host of Amazingtown) performing stand-up for this free weekly show at Brooklyn’s The Alligator Lounge (600 Metropolitan Avenue) hosted by Robert Dean, Sachi Ezura, and/or Steve O’Brien: Comedy at Alligator Lounge

9:00 pm ($5): Sketch comedy group Neurotic Girl Squad “takes a simple, grounded premise explores the nuances of the everyday you thought no one else noticed” at The PIT downstairs lounge: Neurotic Girl Squad

9:15 pm-Midnight ($5): Long form improv known as The Harold from UCB Chelsea house groups Swirly Animal, Clan Weirdos, and Women & Men at this second half (continued from 7:30 pm) of Harold Night

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): The brilliant Todd Bieber (Director of Content and Production for UCB Comedy) spearheads this show that screens the work of the UCB video division, and also hosts live stand-up and sketch, all at the UCB East theatre: UCB Comedy Live

9:30 pm ($5): Sketch, improv, and stand-up comics “create a brand new show in only one week, and then perform improvised sketches based off of your suggestions, just like The Second City used to do” at The PIT upstairs theatre directed by Micah Sherman: Old School Sketch Show

[FREE] 9:30 pm: Jacqueline Novak (smart, funny stand-up; Inside Amy Schumer, College Humor), Katie Hannigan, Alison Klemp, Seth Cockfield, Momoh Pujeh, and Jesse Baltes performing stand-up at the Kings County Bar (286 Seigel Street; take the L to Morgan) hosted by Mike Lewis & Tom Hathaway: The Party

[FREE] 9:30 pm: Stand-ups Noah Gardenswartz, Ashley Bez, Liz Magee, Daniel J Perafan, and Travis Irvine performing at Brooklyn’s Pine Box Rock Shop (12 Grattan Street) produced by Mike Cody and hosted by Scotland Green: Night Owl Comedy

[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

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 11:00 pm: Typically a mix of superb and so-so stand-ups (not announced) performing at this free weekly stand-up show with a weirdly low-energy vibe at the UCB East theatre typically hosted by Phil Hanley:Chemistry

Tuesday Open Mics & Jams

[FREE] 3:00 pm: Open mic for parents and other comics who may have trouble going out at night but can steal the time during the day at Queens LIC’s The Creek upstairs theatre: Momedy Open Mic

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

[TOP PICK] [ALMOST FREE] 6:00 pm ($1): In this delightful weekly open-mic show, each comic has 3-5 minutes to try out a character-based bit (e.g., for a solo show, sketch, or audition) at The PIT downstairs lounge, hosted byJamie Aderski: Personality Disorder Character Jam

[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 Green Room, followed by feedback on your bit from PIT “sketch-perts:” Pens & Pencils

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

[FREE] 6:00 pm: Open mic for comedy of all types providing 2 minutes for each performer (with sign-up starting at 6:00) at Queens LIC’s The Creek upstairs theatre hosted by Tim Unkenholz: Butt Factory

[FREE] 6:30 pm: Weekly stand-up open mic, with walk-ins tossing names into a hat and set length determined by the number of comics who show up, at Bunga’s Den (137 West 14th Street, between Sixth & Seventh Avenues) hosted by Jimmy LeChase and/or Justin Perez: Townies Open Mic

[FREE] 6:30 pm: Weekly stand-up open mic (with sign-up starting at 6:00) at People’s Republic of Brooklyn (247 Smith Street) hosted by Dustin Drury: This Is Happening Open MIc

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 8:00 pm: This weekly two-hour open mic storytelling show allows each performer 8 minutes to tell a compelling and funny tale at Queens LIC’s The Creek downstairs lounge hosted by Jake Hart and a guest co-host: The Dump

[FREE] 8:00 pm: Weekly open mic for any kind of act (with sign-up starting at 7:30) at Brooklyn’s Goodbye Blue Monday (1087 Broadway) hosted by Joe Crow Ryan: Goodbye Blue Monday

[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($5): Open mic stand-up that’s first come, first serve (signup starts at 8:30) and provides each performer 5 minutes—or 4 minutes plus 2 minutes of feedback!—at the Producer’s Club (358 West 44th Street): Train Wreck Open Mic Stand-Up

11:00 pm ($3): 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: Weekly walk-in open mic stand-up providing 3 minutes for each comic whose name is pulled from a bucket at Queens LIC’s The Creek upstairs theatre hosted by Michelle Slonim: Rapid Fire

[ALMOST FREE] 11:00 pm ($1): A weekly improv jam for students at all levels to work on their skills at The PITdownstairs lounge hosted by Elke Reid and David Frasure: Study Hall

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-$20)

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)

The Annoyance Theatre
(367 Bedford Ave. in Brooklyn; J/M/Z to Marcy or L to Lorimer; 50-seat theatre; shows free-$10)

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.)

Comic Strip Live
(1568 Second Avenue, off 81st; Upper East Side club with typically solid lineups; 2-drink min.)

Stand Up NY
(236 West 78th Street, off Broadway; Upper West Side club with typically solid lineups; 2-drink min.)

Laughing Devil/The Standing Room
(4738 Vernon Blvd., by #7 train; Queens LIC club; free cover Fri-Sat with code LICVIP; 2-drink min.)

From legendary NYC comedy site Brooklyn Vegan: Thank God for Hy Bender’s religiously updated show bible BestNewYorkComedy.com. He is literally the only person in NYC providing daily summaries of what’s happening comedy-wise. It must be exhausting keeping that monster of a website alive…It is your daily comedy itinerary and it scares me how on top of his shit this guy is.

Please feel encouraged to reach out to tell me about comedy shows, hire me for book or screenplay work, or for any other reason by emailing me at hy@hyreviews.com.