Storytelling | Best New York Comedy

NYC Top Comedy Choices for Monday 9/5/11

September 5, 2011

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

For comprehensive coverage of the FringeNYC 2011 Encore Series, please click here.

30 Rock stars Scott Adsit & John Lutz perform improv as super-duo "John & Scott"

Tonight’s recommendations for the best in New York City comedy (in chronological order, with top picks noted and shows over $10 marked with $) include:

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

[FREE] 7:30 pm: Four improvisers form teams with comics they’ve never performed with before—and one of tonight’s participants is ace storyteller Melanie Hamlett, who’s just returned to NYC—atThe Creek upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City: The Kaleidoscope

[MEGA-TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): Scott Adsit (cast member of 30 Rock, and co-writer/director/producer & cast member of Adult Swim’s awesome & Emmy-winning Moral Orel) teaming up with fellow 30 Rock actor John Lutz (who previously spent six years as a staff writer forSaturday Night Live) to form a super-smart and hilarious star improv duo who should not be missed: John & Scott

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 9:30 pm: Typically stellar comics in a show “where improv and stand-up bleeds in and out of each other. One comedian starts with stand-up. Soon he or she is joined by a second comedian—and the two improvise scenes inspired by the first comic’s stand-up. Eventually the first comic leaves and the second comedian performs stand-up. When that set is over, her or she’s joined by the first comedian and a third comedian. The three improvise scenes inspired by the second comedian’s set. Then comedians one and two exit, and the third comedian performs his/her set until being joined by comedians one, two and a new fourth comedian…and so on. The process continues till we run out of comedians stashed backstage.” It’s all the brainchild of Nick Vatterott, who hosts this bold & messy new format at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City: Klusterphuk

9:30 pm ($5): A UCBT sketch show by Leah Gotcsik & Marty Johnson: Somebody’s in the Doghouse; and in the other half of this double-bill, the appealing Veronica Osorio makes her first attempt to fly solo by performing as five gals who win a chance to be The First Woman on the Moon

[FREE] 9:30 pm: NYC stand-ups Justy Dodge, Garry Hannon, Angry Bob, Sharon Spell, Richard James, Josh Carter, Margaret Dodge, and Kelly Fastuca performing at Pat O’Shea’s free biweekly Brooklyn showcase at Freddy’s Backroom (627 5th Avenue): Ed Sullivan on Acid

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 11:00 pm: Some of the finest stand-ups in the world—who tonight haven’t yet been announced—hosted by the wonderful Leo Allen (HBO, Saturday Night Live, Conan O’Brien,Comedy Central) at Whiplash

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

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

Leave a Comment » | Best New York Live Comedy Shows | Tagged: Comedy, Comedy NYC Tonight, Improv, John and Scott, John Lutz, Scott Adsit, Sketch, Stand-Up, Storytelling | Permalink
Posted by hybender

NYC Top Comedy Choices for Sunday 9/4/11

September 4, 2011

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

For comprehensive coverage of the FringeNYC 2011 Encore Series, please click here.

Liz Miele performs stand-up at the Electro Shock Therapy Comedy Hour

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] 4:00 pm: An unusually early walk-in open-mic stand-up show (for details, please click here) at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City: Face-Plant Comedy Showcase

[FREE] 6:00 pm: “Short-form improv teams battle it out for the most points and a prize. C’mon, admit it! You miss the quick-witted fun and audience involvement of short-form improv. A different short-form team joins Mishmash! each month and struts their stuff for a panel of judges (including one judge chosen from the audience) until a winner emerges. There will be a series of completely improvised scenes, stories and musicals all based on your suggestions. Come ready to shout out suggestions, and even shout at the judges,” at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City: The Scrimmage

[TOP PICK] 7:30 pm ($10) and 9:30 pm [FREE]: UCBT’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

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

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 8:00 pm: Brooke Van Poppelen (brilliant stand-up, writer, and storyteller; blogger for trutV; TLC; co-host of Dive Comedy; headlining at Carolines this Wednesday; for stand-up videos about overindulging at 30 and impersonating Morrisey, please click here andhere), Jeffrey Joseph (Jay Leno, HBO, Comedy Central, FOX), Nick Vatterott (Jimmy Fallon), Sean Donnelly (co-host of Motel Luca), and Michael Che performing at RG Daniels’ free weekly show at the Three of Cups East Village lounge: Sunday Night Stand-Up

8:00 pm ($8): Sketch troupe Chocolate Cake City performing a show that evokes an immediate reaction of “Yikes!” at The PIT: Human Centipede: The Musical

[$] 8:00 pm pm ($29 & 2-drink min.): A cast member of the much-missed Chappelle’s Showheadlining one last night at the Carolines Comedy Club: Donnell Rawlings

[FREE] 8:00 pm: NYC stand-ups (not announced) performing at The PIT’s downstairs lounge for a free weekly show typically hosted by Chris Grace: Cold Soda Comedy

[$] 8:30 pm ($20 & 2-drink min.): A comic who’s performed on Last Comic Standing, Jay Leno, Comedy Central, Showtime, Bravo, and VH1 headlining tonight and Sunday at the Gotham Comedy Club: Jessica Kirson

[$] 10:00 pm ($31.25 & 2-drink min.) A provocative comedy star who’s written for Richard Pryor, Red Foxx, and Saturday Night Live, and performed on Chappelle’s Show and David Letterman, headlining at the Carolines Comedy Club: Paul Mooney

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 10:00 pm: Liz Miele (Comedy Central; for wry, fun stand-up video, please clickhere), Karith Foster (Comedy Central, VH1), Raquel D’Apice, and Yamaneika performing stand-up at this gay-themed show at Therapy hosted by Brad Loekle: Electro Shock Therapy Comedy Hour

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

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

Leave a Comment » | Best New York Live Comedy Shows | Tagged: Brad Loekle, Comedy, Comedy NYC Tonight, Electro Shock Therapy Comedy Hour, Improv, Liz Miele, Sketch, Stand-Up, Storytelling | Permalink
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NYC Top Comedy Choices for Saturday 9/3/11

September 3, 2011

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

For comprehensive coverage of the FringeNYC 2011 Encore Series, please click here.

Ace storytellers Jim O'Grady, Adam Wade...

...and Leslie Goshko tell hilarious tales & falsehoods at The Liar 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] [$] 6:00 pm ($15, which includes 1 drink; reservations highly recommended by calling 212.989.9319): Four funny people tell amazing stories. Three of the tales are absolutely true…but one of them is a pack of lies. The audience then asks questions to try and identify the fibber—and everyone who does gets a free t-shirt! This evening’s yarn-spinners are Leslie Goshko (delightful storyteller/stand-up; Sirius XM, Manhattan Monologue champion, host of Sideshow Goshko), Adam Wade (two-time Moth GrandSlam Storytelling Champion (2006 & 2009) and record-breaking 17-time StorySlam Champion; The New York Times Magazine; host of hilarious monthly storytelling extravaganzas Real Tales of College and The Adam Wade show; for Adam’s award-winning tale of being an NBC page on Conan O’Brien, please click here), Jim O’Grady (NPR’s This American Life), and Colin Dempsey (ComedyLand). Come to the West Village’s Cornelia Street Cafe (29 Cornelia Street) and let host Andy Christie (The New York Times, NPR, Moth GrandSlam Champion, exceptionally nice guy) attempt to mislead you at The Liar Show

[FREE] 7:00 pm: Comedic solo performances—storytelling, sketch, and whatever else isn’t stand-up or improv—at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City with hosts Bill Stiteler & Adam Schwartz: Wank

[TOP PICK] 7:30 pm ($10): Genius improvisors Joe Bill, Ed Herbstman, Becky Drysdale, Kay Cannon, Christina Gausas, and other stellar performers from 30 Rock, The Colbert Report, The Daily Show, and legendary Chicago improv institutions—all joyously declaring Let’s Have a Ball

7:30 pm ($7): Improv veterans Mark Grenier, Louis Kornfeld, and Charlie Whitcroft making up a play on the spot in Theory of Everything

[$] 8:00 pm & 10:30 pm ($29 & 2-drink min.): A cast member of the much-missed Chappelle’s Showheadlining tonight and Sunday at the Carolines Comedy Club: Donnell Rawlings

[$] 8:00 pm & 10:00 pm & 11:45 pm ($25 & 2-drink min.): A comic who’s performed on Last Comic Standing, Jay Leno, Comedy Central, Showtime, Bravo, and VH1 headlining tonight and Sunday at the Gotham Comedy Club: Jessica Kirson

[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—genius improvisors Death by Roo Roo

[TOP PICK] [$] [DISCOUNTED] 9:00 pm & 11:00 pm (FREE TICKETS if you reserve in advance by calling (212) 260-2445 and mention HyReviews.com, but there’s still a 2-drink min. per person): 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.), Gary Gulman (Last Comic Standing, Tourgasm, Comedy Central hour-long special), and more performing at the only comedy club in the East Village: Eastville Comedy Club’s A-List

9:00 pm ($7): Veteran improvisors Megan Gray & Louis Kornfeld team up to perform as improv duoMegaLou

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 9:30 pm: A free, no-reservation, one-night-only show from the owner of The PIT, Ali Farahnakian: Ali Talks

[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): Ben Rodgers, Charlie Todd, Jim Santangeli, and other stellar improvisors interview an audience member about where he or she grew up and then create an entire show based on the mini-bio: The Curfew: Not From Around Here

[TOP PICK] 10:30 pm ($7): A sharp musical improv troupe makes up stories with song and dance based on an audience suggestion: Choral Rage

[FREE] Midnight: A weekly chance for you to shine, as students and veteran improvisors share the stage to form “rare and wonderful one-night-only teams,” with sign-up starting at 11:30 pm: Magnet Mixer

[$] 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.

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

Leave a Comment » | Best New York Live Comedy Shows | Tagged: Adam Wade, Comedy, Comedy NYC Tonight, Improv, Jim O'Grady, Leslie Goshko, Sketch, Stand-Up, Storytelling, The Liar Show | Permalink
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NYC Top Comedy Choices for Friday 9/2/11

September 2, 2011

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

For comprehensive coverage of the FringeNYC 2011 Encore Series, please click here.

Stand-up stars Ted Alexandro (above) and Gary Gulman perform tonight and Saturday at the Eastville Comedy Club...

...and improv geniuses Shannon O'Neill (above), Anthony Atamanuik, Jeff Hiller, and more make up musicals as "Diamond Lion"

Tonight’s recommendations for the best in New York City comedy (in chronological order, with top picks noted and shows over $10 marked with $) include:

[FREE] 6:00 pm: An open-mic show on a lottery system (sign-ups start at 5:30 pm) at The Creekdownstairs lounge in Queens’ Long Island City with hosts Mike Recine and Annie Lederman: The Shinebox

7:00 pm ($7): Sketch comedy from two friends who, by a wild coincidence, have the same name:We’re Matt Weir

7:00 pm ($5): A troupe that performs a sketch show with an improv segment at the end, at The PIT downstairs lounge, directed by The Magnet co-owner Armando Diaz: Dumbkowsky

[TOP PICK] 7:30 pm ($10): Some of the finest improvisors in the country—Anthony Atamanuik, Shannon O’Neill, Jeff Hiller, Fran Gillespie, Mike Still, Amber Petty, Michael Kayne, Winston Noel, Ashley Ward, and Morgan Phillips—making up a musical on the spot along with virtuoso improv pianist Frank Spitznagel: Diamond Lion

8:00 pm ($10): An improv troupe making up a musical on the spot after a friendly greeting: Hello

[$] 8:00 pm & 10:30 pm ($29 & 2-drink min.): A cast member of the much-missed Chappelle’s Showheadlining tonight through Sunday at the Carolines Comedy Club: Donnell Rawlings

[FREE] 8:00 pm: NYC stand-ups Janine Brito, Josh Gondelman, Miguel Dalmau, Merrill Davis, and Nick Maritato performing at O’Hanlon’s (14th Street off 1st Avenue) hosted by Mark Normand: Hot Soup

[FREE] 8:00 pm: An open-mic show that’s first come, first serve (sign-ups start at 7:30 pm), with each comic getting five minutes on stage at The Creek downstairs lounge in Queens’ Long Island City: Mic and Cheese

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 8:30 pm: Award-winning dark comedy sketch troupe Murderfist, star storyteller Tom Shillue (Conan O’Brien, The Daily Show, Comedy Central Presents, 2011 ECNY Award for Best Storyteller), hilarious videos from the Found Footage Festival, and stand-up Jermaine Fowler performing at Brooklyn’s Red Star Bar (37 Greenpoint Avenue) for hosts Nick Turner’s & Jason Sáenz’s Too Cool for School

8:30 pm ($7): Sketch comedy interwoven with a live band: Citizen Models

[$] 8:30 pm & 10:30 pm ($25 & 2-drink min.): A comic who’s performed on Last Comic Standing, Jay Leno, Comedy Central, Showtime, Bravo, and VH1 headlining tonight through Sunday at the Gotham Comedy Club: Jessica Kirson

[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($10): Some of the finest improv in NYC from the comedy genius members of The Stepfathers

[TOP PICK] [$] 9:00 pm & 11:00 pm (FREE TICKETS if you reserve in advance by calling (212) 260-2445 and mention HyReviews.com, but there’s still a 2-drink min. per person): Ted Alexandro (one of the very finest stand-ups in the country; David Letterman, Conan O’Brien, Jimmy Kimmel, twoComedy Central Presents half-hour specials; frequently opens for Louis C.K.), Gary Gulman (Last Comic Standing, Tourgasm, Comedy Central hour-long special), and more performing at the only comedy club in the East Village: Eastville Comedy Club’s A-List

9:30 pm ($5): Improvised scenes based on the “Missed Connections” section of Craigslist atMissed Connections Two-Prov

10:00 pm ($7): Singing improvisors using an interview with an audience member to craft The Made-Up Musical

[TOP PICK] 10:30 pm ($10): Comedy genius Thomas Middleditch (when he’s not in LA), Nate Lang, Craig Rowin, Matt Fisher, Fran Gillespie Sue Galloway, and other superb improvisors make up scenes about an audience member’s legal dispute at The Law Firm: Law & Disorder

[TOP PICK] 11:30 pm ($5): Before the show, audience members may anonymously submit written confessions, secrets, rants, advice and opinions which will be used onstage by the improvisors—who include such talents as Laura Grey (stellar old-time radio style theatrical podcast Horrorgasm, sketch/improv duo Klepper & Grey): The Friday Night Sh*w

[FREE] Midnight: This show typically isn’t much fun for audience members—which is why it hasn’t been on the UCBT schedule for a long time—but it’s an amazing opportunity if you want to perform sketch for free and with almost zero hurdles on the prestigious UCBT stage. Hosted by Maude troupe Onassis: Liquid Courage

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

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

Leave a Comment » | Best New York Live Comedy Shows | Tagged: Comedy, Comedy NYC Tonight, Improv, Shannon O'Neill, Sketch, Stand-Up, Storytelling, Ted Alexandro | Permalink
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NYC Top Comedy Choices for Thursday 9/1/11

September 1, 2011

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

For comprehensive coverage of the FringeNYC 2011 Encore Series, please click here.

Cartoonist Emily Flake (The New Yorker)...

...and cartoonist David Rees perform tonight at "Lollygaggin' with David Rees"

Recommendations for the best in New York City comedy tonight (in chronological order, with top picks noted and shows over $10 marked with $) include:

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

[FREE] 6:30 pm: In this free show, audience members (signing in at 6:00) can join in with veteran improv talents to make up scenes on the spot: Magnet Mixer

7:00 pm (no cover, 1-item min.): Emily Flake (cartoonist for The New Yorker), Joe Garden (Features Editor of The Onion), and David Cope performing at Luca Lounge (222 Avenue B off 14th Street) with cartoonist host David Rees: Lollygaggin’ with David Rees

[TOP PICK] 7:30 pm ($7): A rotating cast of veteran improvisors make up scenes based on the improvised monologues of the co-owner of the Magnet Theatre: The Armando Diaz Experience

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): Mike Still (Death by Roo Roo, Diamond Lion) pulls out all the stops for a dynamic one-man show packed with comedic ideas revolving around a tyrant so evil that he machine-guns the audience (twice!), with direction by fellow Roo Roo star Neil Casey: Dictator For Life;

…and in the other half of this double-bill, a smart troupe consisting of writers for The Onion perform their best sketches: Pangea 3000: 12 Years of Hard Work

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($8): Naomi Grossman tells tales of past lovers via a sideshow format, which is entertaining from story to story (but don’t expect the sum to be greater than the parts, because the material offers no evidence that Naomi learned anything from these experiences…). This one-woman show just played at FringeNYC 2011 for $18; see it tonight for a bargain $8: Carnival Knowledge

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): Jon Friedman (Jimmy Fallon, The Rejection Show) and Andy Ross (Real Characters) performing at The PIT’s basement lounge on the topic Back to School with young hosts Michelle Markowitz & Bryan Rucker who say they’re Failing Our Twenties

[$] 8:00 pm ($29 & 2-drink min.): A cast member of the much-missed Chappelle’s Show headlining tonight through Sunday at the Carolines Comedy Club: Donnell Rawlings

[FREE] 9:00ish pm: Typically terrific NYC stand-ups performing on this weekly show at the Kabin Bar and Lounge hosted by Chesley Calloway and comedy genius Sean Patton: Comedy as a Second Language

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): Amy Maguire (casting director and/or producer for MTV and such feature films as Titanic and Sleepless in Seattle), Adam Newman (College Humor) joining sensual hosts Margot Leitman (VH1, Spike TV) and Giulia Rozzi (MTV, VH1.com, co-host of Dive Comedy) in telling true tales on tonight’s theme “Summer Lovin'”—plus hot songs from The Reformed Whores—at the best sexy storytelling comedy show in NYC: Stripped Stories

9:30 pm (no cover, 1-item min.): Jason Trachtenburg (Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players), Roger Hailes (Comedy Central), Adam Conover (Olde English), and more performing stand-up atLuca Lounge (222 Avenue B off 14th Street) for Sean Crespo’s & Carol Hartsell’s weekly comedy show Lasers in the Jungle

9:30 pm ($5): Improvisors (not announced) make up one-act plays on the spot at The PIT’s basement lounger for The Scene

9:30 pm ($5):Sketch comics provide an inside look at what your teachers used to say behind closed doors: The Teacher’s Lounge

[TOP PICK] 11:00 pm ($5): Improv duo The Brothers Hines compete against The Shucks for audience laughs and votes at the raucous Cage Match

11:00 pm ($5): Magnet improv troupes Chet Watkins and Simpson, Barker, Jones LLC compete for audience laughs and votes—yes, like UCBT’s Cage Match, but with a game-like challenge component—at Inspirado

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:

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

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

Leave a Comment » | Best New York Live Comedy Shows | Tagged: Cartoonists, Comedy, Comedy NYC Tonight, David Rees, Emily Flake, Improv, Sketch, Stand-Up, Storytelling, The New Yorker | Permalink
Posted by hybender

NYC Top Comedy Choices for Wednesday 8/31/11

August 31, 2011

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

For comprehensive coverage of the FringeNYC 2011 Encore Series, please click here.

Tanya O'Debra and her troupe perform sketch at "The Best of Beaches 2"

Tonight’s recommendations for the best in New York City comedy (in chronological order, with top picks noted and shows over $10 marked with $) include:

[FREE] 6:00 pm to midnight: Six free hours of improvisation at The PIT’s Super Free Wednesday

8:00 pm ($5): Two of the finest comedic actors in NYC, Amy Heidt and Jeff Hiller, perform sketches about love and murder that aren’t nearly as good as they are (don’t know how that happened, as Amy is also a brilliant writer); but come for the pleasure of seeing these two on stage: The Last Resort ; and in the other half of this double-bill, the superb Ryan Karels (Conan O’Brien, Krompf) performs a sketch show I haven’t yet seen titled Radio Rogue

8:00 pm, 9:00 pm, and 10:00 pm ($5): Magnet house troupes performing improv, followed by a free show at 11:30 pm: The Magnet’s Megawatt

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

[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($5): A sketch group that includes beloved East Village performer Tanya O’Debra does its funniest bits from the past year at Under St. Marks (94 St. Marks Place, off First Avenue): The Best of Beaches 2

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): One of the finest comedic storytelling shows in the country, in which brilliant writer/performers—who tonight are Adam Wade, Anthony Atamanuik, Jawnee Conroy, Christian Capozoli, and wonderful host David Martin—tell tales that are brutally honest and utterly hilarious, with tonight’s theme Scars: The Nights of Our Lives

[FREE] 10:00 pm: Short videos from NYC comics (lineup not announced) at The Creek downstairs lounge in Queens’ Long Island City with host Nick Turner: Free Comedy

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 11:00 pm: As many as a dozen guests packed into 75 minutes performing stand-up, improv, sketch, and occasionally acts that defy categorization. The level of talent can vary wildly, but for some (like me), that’s part of the laid-back fun; and this is often one of the most amazing comedy shows in town. Come support the experimentation, and periodic magical surprises, that this uniquely organic rollercoaster of a show makes possible—and don’t forget to toss $1 in the bucket on your way out: School Night

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

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

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

Leave a Comment » | Best New York Live Comedy Shows | Tagged: Beaches 2 Sketch Comedy, Comedy, Comedy NYC Tonight, Improv, Sketch, Stand-Up, Storytelling, Tanya O'Debra | Permalink
Posted by hybender

NYC Top Comedy Choices for Monday 8/29/11

August 29, 2011

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

For comprehensive coverage of the FringeNYC 2011 Encore Series, please click here.

SNL's Jason Sudeikis is among the TV, Broadway, and improv stars at tonight's "Gravid Water"...

...and Anthony Jeselnik is among the top stand-ups in the country performing tonight at "Whiplash"

Tonight’s recommendations for the best in New York City comedy (in chronological order, with top picks noted and shows over $10 marked with $) include:

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

[FREE] 6:30 pm: Kevin Allison (legendary MTV sketch series The State, HBO, Comedy Central, VH1, host of award-winning storytelling show Risk!) hosts this free open-mic show for storytellers, in which you can put your name in a hat for the chance to tell a five-minute true story…and if it’s a good one, possibly be included in Kevin’s popular podcasts on the Web: Risk! Storyslam

[TOP PICK] 7:00 pm ($5): Jimmy Fallon writer Casey Jost performs a one-man show in which he plays a myriad of characters revolving around a theme—which for this debut show is Music: Fooling Around with Casey Jost

7:00 pm & 9:00 pm (no cover, 1-item min.): The perfect show for short attention spans—open-mic stand-up with 4 minutes per set and 25 comics crammed into 2 hours—with an early show hosted by Sean Donnelly & Blaine Perry at 7:00 pm, and an entirely different group of stand-ups hosted by Dan Cartwright & Dave Greek at 9:00 pm—at the Luca Lounge (222 Avenue B off 14th Street) for John Morrison’s Motel Luca

[FREE] 7:30 pm: Phoebe Robinson (normally the host, but Phoebe wants to do a set tonight), Dave Greek, Morgan Venticinque, Kevin Barnett, Luke Yonger, Trey Galyon, and Jayson Cross performing stand-up at a free weekly show in the Manchester Pub guest-hosted by Miguel Dalmau (TruTV): Case of the Mondays Comedy

[MEGA-TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): Film, and Broadway & off-Broadway stars Jonathan Kaplan (Tony nominee for Falsettos; Diary of Anne Frank on Broadway) Cristin Milioti (30 Rock; Coram Boy, Lieutenant of Inishmore on Broadway), Stephen Ruddy (Skype Duet, Chekhov’s Gun), Amy Rutberg (The Divine Sister, Our Leading Lady), and Julie Sharbutt (Shakespeare in the Park: Twelfth Night, Maladies) mixing it up with some of the greatest improvisors in the world—Scott Adsit (30 Rock, Moral Orel, John & Scott), Tara Copeland (Baby Wants Candy, Mother, Diamond Lion, The Made Up Musical, The Other Guys), Michael Delaney (Conan O’Brien, The Other Guys, The Stepfathers), John Lutz (30 Rock, Saturday Night Live, John & Scott), Michael Patrick O’Brien (Saturday Night Live), and Jason Sudeikis (Saturday Night Live)—as they crash improv into classic theatre scenes at actor/director Stephen Ruddy’s Gravid Water

[TOP PICK] 8:30 pm ($5): World-class storyteller Adam Wade (two-time Moth GrandSlam Storytelling Champion (2006 & 2009) and record-breaking 17-time StorySlam Champion; The New York Times Magazine; host of The Adam Wade Show; for Adam’s award-winning tale of being an NBC page on Conan O’Brien, please click here) hosts a show that’s “like watching the characters of The Wonder Years and Freaks & Geeks all grown up and telling coming-of-age tales of love, lost, regret, and redemption,” with tonight’s guests Megan Gray, Joel Jones, Matt DeCosta, and Brad Steuernagel: Adam Wade’s Whatever Happened to the Nerds?

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): One of UCBT’s finest in-house sketch comedy troupes Fambly(spearheaded by rising star Mamrie Hart, who’s snared over 160,000 visits to date with her latest YouTube viral video), plus in-house troupe Neighbor Boy (which isn’t in the same league, but features such appealing performers as Kate Hess and Tim Dunn), trying out new bits at Maude Night

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): Comedic storytellers Leslie Goshko (delightful & razor-sharp storyteller/comic; Manhattan Monologue Slam Champ, host of Sideshow Goshko), Ben Lillie (The Story Collider), and Damian Bellino share tales of the heart at The PIT’s downstairs lounge hosted by Arial Karlin: The Do What’s in Your Heart Show

[FREE] 9:30 pm: NYC stand-ups Pat Dixon, Phoebe Robinson, Charlie Kasov, Nathan Rand, Paul Hooper, Laura Prangley, Josh Carter, and Zach McGovern performing at Pat O’Shea’s free biweekly Brooklyn showcase at Freddy’s Backroom (627 5th Avenue): Ed Sullivan on Acid

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

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 11:00 pm: Some of the finest stand-ups in the world—who tonight include Anthony Jeselnik (one of my all-time favorite stand-ups; former writer/performer for Jimmy Fallon;Conan O’Brien, HBO, Comedy Central Presents; debut comedy CD Shakespeare), Kumail Nanjiani (David Letterman, Saturday Night Live, The Colbert Report, Jimmy Kimmel, writer/performer for Comedy Central’s Michael & Michael Have Issues; winner of the 2009 ECNY Awards for Best Male Stand-Up), Sean Patton (red-hot rising star; killer set on Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central, VH1; co-host of Comedy as a Second Language, frequent guest-host of Whiplash), Rachel Feinstein (finalist on this summer’s Last Comic Standing; Comedy Central; opens for Sarah Silverman on tour), and Zach Sherwin (a.k.a. MC Mr. Napkins)—hosted by the wonderful Leo Allen (HBO, Saturday Night Live, Conan O’Brien, Comedy Central) at Whiplash

[FREE] 11:00 pm: If you’re an audience member who loves stand-up, Monday at 11 should beWhiplash! night (see listing above). If you’re a comic who couldn’t get booked on UCBT’s all-star show, though, you can opt to instead practice your skills at this stand-up open-mic hosted by Michelle Wolf and the hilarious Erin Lennox (for a sample of Erin’s dynamite Seriously Sports show, please click here): Fresh

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

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

Leave a Comment » | Best New York Live Comedy Shows | Tagged: Anthony Jeselnik, Comedy, Comedy NYC Tonight, FringeNYC 2011 Encore Series, Gravid Water, Improv, Jason Sudeikis, Sketch, Stand-Up, Storytelling | Permalink
Posted by hybender

NYC Top Comedy Choices for Friday 8/26/11

August 26, 2011

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

For comprehensive coverage of the spectacular FringeNYC 2011 Festival, please click here.

Comedy genius Kate McKinnon performs one of the best one-woman shows of the year in "Kate McKinnon on Ice," and comedy historian Jeffrey Sweet makes a rare NYC appearance in his FringeNYC show "You Only Shoot the Ones You Love"

Tonight’s recommendations for the best in New York City comedy (in chronological order, with top picks noted and shows over $10 marked with $) include:

[FREE] 6:00 pm: An open-mic show on a lottery system (sign-ups start at 5:30 pm) at The Creekupstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City with hosts Mike Recine and Annie Lederman: The Shinebox

7:00 pm ($7): Sketch comedy from two friends who, by a wild coincidence, have the same name: We’re Matt Weir

7:00 pm ($8): Award-winning improv duo Lucas Kavner and Bradford Jordan make stuff up with “a celebrity guest improvisor’ at Swords, while all-gal improvisors Alexis Saarela, Brigid Boyle, Elizabeth Findlay, and Ashley Ward perform as troupe Taco Supreme

[MEGA-TOP PICK] 7:30 pm ($10): Sketch comedy genius Kate McKinnon performing her latest one-woman show, which features “Singing! Dancing! Ice Skating! Hoarders! Conjoined Twins! Temple Grandin!” This inventive, dynamic production is among the very best to grace the UCBT stage this year. (And if you don’t want to take my word alone, check out Jane Borden’s Time Out New Yorkreview.) Kate is the most precious of diamonds in our NYC comedy community; come see why in Kate McKinnon on Ice …

…and in the second half of this double-bill, Joanna Bradley performs a one-woman show about how awful people are, directed by the wonderful Becky Drysdale: Everybody’s Dumb and Boring

[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm ($18): Jeffrey Sweet, author of the seminal improv comedy book Something Wonderful Right Away, is gracing FringeNYC this year with his one-man show about Del Close, Nichols & May, Paul Sills, and other legendary comics whose work led to such comedy institutions as NYC’s Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, The Pit, and The Magnet. (For my full review, please click here.) If you have any interest in improv comedy history, this is a show not to be missed. There are only two performances left at The Studio at Cherry Lane (38 Commerce Street, near the #1 subway’s Christopher Street stop), including tonight at 8:00 pm, of You Only Shoot the Ones You Love

8:00 pm ($10): An improv troupe making up a musical on the spot after a friendly greeting: Hello

[$] 8:00 pm & 10:30 pm ($35 & 2-drink min.): One of the cast members of the seminal In Living Colorheadlining tonight through Sunday at Carolines: Tommy Davidson

[FREE] 8:00 pm: NYC stand-ups Adam Lowitt, Amber Nelson, Sean Donnelly, Danny Solomon, and Joe Zimmerman performing at O’Hanlon’s (14th Street off 1st Avenue) hosted by Mark Normand: Hot Soup

[TOP PICK] 8:30 pm ($7): Improv troupe Phooka goes scripted with a sketch show about “tales of the wild and weird people, places, and events this side of Crazytown; true stories of all things that most folks only whisper about—and those who hear wish they didn’t!” in Phooka: Creatures, Myths, and Urban Legends

[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($10): Some of the finest improv in NYC from the comedy genius members of The Stepfathers

9:30 pm ($8): “Ever wonder how you become a writer for an Emmy winning TV show? So does J. D. Durkin. Since no one has told him, here is his one-man show performing all original material to become a writer for The Colbert Report. Durkin channels Colbert live on stage to present political punditry as only The PIT could do it…and only The PIT, since he was escorted off the Comedy Central premises:” Stephen Colbert: Hire Me

10:00 pm ($7): Singing improvisors using an interview with an audience member to craft The Made-Up Musical

11:00 pm ($5): All-gal improv from Jennifer Bild, Christine DeNoon, Julianne Dunn, and Brandy Mitchell, plus guest stand-up and sketch gal comics: Goldie and the Hawns: Boneless! A Night of Women in Comedy

[TOP PICK] 11:30 pm ($5): A brilliant group of improvisors from Chicago and New York—spearheaded by Improv legend Joe Bill, who’ll participate if he happens to be in NYC tonight—offers lightning-quick dark comedy unlike anything else in NYC. The troupe consists of Jordan Klepper (Klepper & Grey, iO, ), Jodi Lennon (Comedy Central’s Exit 57), Ari Voukydis (UCB instructor, VH!’s Best Week Ever), Doug Stoley (Conan O’Brien, UCB), Rick Andrews (Magnet performer), Mark Grenier (Magnet instructor), Jen Sanders (Magnet performer), and Chet Siegel (Magnet performer)—and if Joe is there too, upgrade this to MEGA-TOP PICK: Lights Out, Shirley!

Midnight ($5): Sketch comedy troupes Hammerkatz NYU and Three Sciences compete for audience laughs and votes, with troupe Sidecar hosting, in Backyard Brawl

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

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

Leave a Comment » | Best New York Live Comedy Shows | Tagged: Comedy, Comedy NYC Tonight, Improv, Jeffrey Sweet, Kate McKinnon on Ice, Sketch, Something Wonderful Right Away, Stand-Up, Storytelling, You Only Shoot the Ones You Love | Permalink
Posted by hybender

NYC Top Comedy Choices for Thursday 8/25/11

August 25, 2011

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

For comprehensive coverage of the spectacular FringeNYC 2011 Festival, please click here.

Ace storyteller Kevin Allison (hosting Risk!) and ace stand-up Gilbert Gottfried (headlining at Carolines)

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: Open-mic stand-up with comics drawing names from a bucket, with each chosen one receiving three minutes at The Creek’s upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City: Corby Haas

[FREE] 6:30 pm: In this free show, audience members (signing in at 6) can join in with veteran improv talents to make up scenes on the spot: Magnet Mixer

[TOP PICK] [$] 7:30 pm ($24.50 & 2-drink min.) A one-of-a-kind comedy star headlining at the Carolines Comedy Club: Gilbert Gottfried

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): Sharp sketch troupe Pangea 3000 presents its best sketches in 12 Years of Hard Work; and and in the other half of this double-bill, a mini-play that pleased the college-age audience I saw it with, but that I wish wasn’t written to be so calculating and by-the-numbers (e.g., the ending was dead obvious within the first few minutes)…but is probably worth seeing if only for the genuinely fresh & funny tailor scene: Brad Sacks Gets a Handjob

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): Comedy veterans Laura Grey (stellar old-time radio style theatrical podcast Horrorgasm, sketch/improv duo Klepper & Grey), Jodi Lennon (Second City, Annoyance Theatre, iO, Exit 57), and Ari Voukydis (Conan O’Brien, VH1) performing an improvised play in What a Year!

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($7): Some of the Magnet Theatre’s finest improvisors make up theatrical plays on the spot: Playhouse

8:00 pm ($10): “A 17-person middle school talent show created and performed by two people—Jo Firestone and Dylan Marron—who like themselves more now that they’re older. A comedic tribute to the best three years of our lives, and a comedic play for anyone who ever thought it couldn’t get any better than prank calls and slow-dancing:” Ridgefield Middle School Talent Nite

[FREE] 9:00ish pm: Typically terrific NYC stand-ups performing on this weekly show at the Kabin Bar and Lounge hosted by Chesley Calloway and comedy genius Sean Patton: Comedy as a Second Language

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($10): Top comics and comedic storytellers—who tonight are Matt McCarthy, Dan Kennedy, Danny Lobell, and Dawn Fraser —joining brilliant sketch comic and storyteller Kevin Allison (The State) to share tales on tonight’s theme Uncanny at one of the finest storytelling showsin the country: Risk!

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): “Thin Skin Jonny. They had it all. They were icons, legends, anti-folk superstars. However, tragedy struck and they broke up, citing an alleged statutory charge, gay porn addiction, and Four Loko abuse. Now, two months later, they’re back to do one last show—a benefit! Can they find a way to get along long enough to raise the money needed to re-animate the corpse of Bea Arthur? Maybe, with your help!” Performers include Ari Scott, with direction from Pam Murphy: Thin Skin Jonny: Farewell Reunion Tour

9:30 pm (no cover, 1-item min.): Joe DeRosa, Katina Corrao, Eric Kirchberger, and more performing stand-up at Luca Lounge (222 Avenue B off 14th Street) for Sean Crespo’s & Carol Hartsell’s weekly comedy show Lasers in the Jungle

9:30 pm ($5): Improvisors (not announced) make up one-act plays on the spot at The PIT’s basement lounger for The Scene

[$] 9:30 pm ($35 & 2-drink min.): One of the cast members of the seminal In Living Color headlining tonight through Sunday at Carolines: Tommy Davidson

[TOP PICK] 11:00 pm ($5): Wow; as soon as Tara Copeland moved to LA, musical improv champion Diamond Lion got crushed, scoring 53 votes to challenger Improv Nerds’ 103. Tonight the latter troupe defends its crown by competing with The Brothers Hines for audience laughs and votes at the raucous Cage Match

11:00 pm ($5): Magnet improv troupes Brick and Chet Watkins compete for audience laughs and votes—yes, like UCBT’s Cage Match, but with a game-like challenge component—at Inspirado

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

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

Leave a Comment » | Best New York Live Comedy Shows | Tagged: Carolines on Broadway, Comedy, Comedy NYC Tonight, Gilbert Gottfried, Improv, Kevin Allison, Kevin Allison's Risk!, Sketch, Stand-Up, Storytelling | Permalink
Posted by hybender

NYC Top Comedy Choices for Wednesday 8/24/11

August 24, 2011

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

For comprehensive coverage of the spectacular FringeNYC 2011 Festival, please click here.

Stellar stand-ups John Mulaney ("Totally J/K") and Sara Schaefer ("Staycation")

Tonight’s recommendations for the best in New York City comedy (in chronological order, with top picks noted and shows over $10 marked with $) include:

[FREE] 6:00 pm to midnight: Six free hours of improvisation at The PIT’s Super Free Wednesday

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 7:30 pm: Sara Schaefer (inventive, luminous comic; Emmy-nominated staff writer for Jimmy Fallon; VH1’s Best Week Ever; co-host of hit podcast You Had to Be There), Jared Logan (Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central, co-host of Righteous Kill), Dan St. Germain (quick-witted rising star; Jimmy Fallon, MTV, VH1; for reenactment of Dan’s breakup, please click here), Joe Pera, and more performing stand-up at the Housingworks Bookstore Cafe hosted by Elihu Dietz: Staycation

[TOP PICK] 7:30 pm ($5): 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, VH1’s Best Week Ever; for John’s great bit on Weekend Update, please click here), Colin Jost (also a writer for Saturday Night Live), and Neal Stasny joining best bud hosts Noah Garfinkel & Joe Mande (author of Look At This F*cking Hipster) at Totally J/K

8:00 pm, 9:00 pm, and 10:00 pm ($5): Magnet house troupes performing improv, followed by a free show at 11:30 pm: The Magnet’s Megawatt

8:00 pm ($5—which includes a free beer!): NYC stand-ups (not announced) performing at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City hosted by Nick Turner: Monsters

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): Mike Still (Death by Roo Roo, Diamond Lion) pulls out all the stops for a dynamic one-man show packed with comedic ideas revolving around a tyrant so evil that he machine-guns the audience (twice!), with direction by fellow Roo Roo star Neil Casey: Dictator For Life;

…and in the other half of this double-bill, Paul Welsh performs a one-man sketch play directed by the wonderful Shannon O’Neill: Men in Paintings

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

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

Leave a Comment » | Best New York Live Comedy Shows | Tagged: Comedy, Comedy NYC Tonight, Improv, John Mulaney, Sara Schaefer, Sketch, Stand-Up, Storytelling | Permalink
Posted by hybender

Best New York Comedy

NYC Top Comedy Choices for Monday 9/5/11

NYC Top Comedy Choices for Sunday 9/4/11

NYC Top Comedy Choices for Saturday 9/3/11

NYC Top Comedy Choices for Friday 9/2/11

NYC Top Comedy Choices for Thursday 9/1/11

NYC Top Comedy Choices for Wednesday 8/31/11

NYC Top Comedy Choices for Monday 8/29/11

NYC Top Comedy Choices for Friday 8/26/11

NYC Top Comedy Choices for Thursday 8/25/11

NYC Top Comedy Choices for Wednesday 8/24/11

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