NYC Top Comedy Choices for Monday 5/13/13

May 13, 2013

For more, please visit HyReviews.com.

Top comics on TV: Watch Andrea Rosen’s new docuseries here
and check out Pete Holmes’ new Comedy Central special/DVD here.

Trevor Noah

South African stand-up Trevor Noah performs at Night Train and Broken Comedy…

Scott Adsit

…and Scott Adsit improvises as half of comedy super-team 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:

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

[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 guest storyteller Matt Mercier (writer, storyteller, and former caretaker of the Bronx Edgar Allan Poe Cottage) at Under St. Marks: 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

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

[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 for Saturday Night Live) to form a super-smart and hilarious star improv duo that’s become one of the very best attractions at UCB Chelsea and should not be missed: John & Scott

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($8 at the door or $9.47 online): Mike Drucker (hilarious stand-up; staff writer for Jimmy Fallon; freelance writer for SNL, The Onion, McSweeney’s), Trevor Noah (South African comic; Jay Leno, Chelsea Lately; performing one-man show Born a Crime this month at 45 Below Theater), Andy Haynes (Conan O’Brien, Jimmy Fallon, Last Comic Standing), Micah Sherman (Baby Wants Candy, Myq & Micah, Second City, co-producer of The Scene and Act One), and Dave Ross (Tosh .0, The Moth) 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 ($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), Gregg Rogell (Conan O’Brien, Jay Leno, Louie, Comedy Central), Greer Barnes (David Letterman, Chappelle’s Show, For the Love of the Game), Joe List (HBO, Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central), Phil Hanley (Craig Ferguson, Comedy Central), and Jeff Lamp (Jay Leno) performing stand-up at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane) hosted by Erik Rivera (Jay Leno, MTV): Nick DiPaolo, Tom Papa, Gregg Rogell, and More

[TOP PICK] [DISCOUNTED] 8:00 pm ($7.25 online with code NORTHERN; no min.): Nick DiPaolo (star stand-up, with numerous appearances on David Letterman, Jay Leno, Louie; Emmy-nominated comedy writer, talk show host), Ari Shaffir (Conan O’Brien, HBO’s Down and Dirty, Comedy Central, National Lampoon), Keith Alberstadt (David Letterman, VH1, contributor to SNL’s Weekend Update), Seaton Smith (Opie & Anthony Virus Tour), Adrienne Iapalucci (Last Comic Standing, VH1), and Josh Carter performing stand-up at The Stand Comedy Club (239 Third Avenue & 20th Street): Northern Discomfort: Nick DiPaolo, Ari Shaffir, Keith Alberstadt, and More

[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 including Charlie Todd and Riley Soloner: 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 improv icon Charlie Todd (co-founder of Improv Everywhere, member of The Curfew): 404ing It: Breaking (Down) the Internet

[TOP PICK] [$] [DISCOUNTED] 8:00 pm ($35 using code CQUSTX online or at the box office): TV & Broadway stand-up star Colin Quinn performs a show he’s been developing for months for this off-Broadway run (through June 3rd) that looks at US history “from the Founding Fathers to the Kardashians” at the Barrow Street Theatre (27 Barrow Street, just one block from the #1 subway’s Christopher Street stop): Colin Quinn: Unconstitutional

8:00 pm ($5): A musical comedy evening with duo Laura Zeis & Matt Pavlovich, weird musical history from Rob Ri bar, tunes from Paul Leschen, plus stand-up from Aaron Glazer, all performing at Under St. Marks (94 St. Marks Place, off First Avenue) with host Kyle Supley: Vintage Vantage Variety Show

[FREE] 8:00 pm: A young all-guy improv/sketch group doles out pub trivia, with the first prize a $30 bar tab and last prize a ticket to its next paid show, plus music from The Starting Line, at the Comedy Bar (134 West 29th Street): Gentlemen Party Presents Pub Trivia

8:30 pm ($5): Improv duo Dustin Drury & Andrew Yurman-Glaser capture the laid-back feel of Upstate New York; and in the other half of this double-bill, more improv from troupe Eaglefox

[FREE] 9:00 pm: Trevor Noah (South African comic; Jay Leno, Chelsea Lately; performing one-man show Born a Crime this month at 45 Below Theater), Rob O’Reilly, George Gordon, and Danny Kallas performing stand-up 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

[FREE] 9:00 pm: NYC stand-ups Jordan Carlos, Beth Hoyt, Trey Galyon, Amaya Perea, and Naomi Ekperigin plus musical guest Michael Wagner, performing at Brooklyn’s Freddy’s Bar (627 Fifth Avenue; take R subway to Prospect Avenue) for this free biweekly show hosted by Brooke Van Poppelen (brilliant writer, stand-up, and storyteller; writer and/or producer for MTV’s Guy Code, Girl Code, Failosophy, and Nikki & Sara Show; trutV, TLC, co-host of Dive Comedy) and Giulia Rozzi (Jimmy Kimmel, MTV, VH1, Playgirl Magazine, co-host of Stripped Stories): Dive Comedy

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): Two UCB Chelsea house sketch troupes try out new material: Fambly (which includes Bridey Elliott, 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 ($12 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Great lineup of 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), Paul Mecurio (Conan O’Brien, The Daily Show, Comedy Central Presents), Nikki Glaser (co-star of MTV’s The Nikki and Sara Show; Conan O’Brien, Jay Leno, Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central Half Hour; podcast You Had to Be There), Jermaine Fowler (MTV’s Guy Code and Wildn Out, Comedy Central, Adult Swim’s The Eric Andre Show), Andrew Schulz (MTV2’s Guy Code), and Modi (HBO’s The Sopranos, Comedy Central) performing stand-up at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane) hosted by Erik Rivera (Jay Leno, MTV): Dave Attell, Paul Mecurio, Nikki Glaser, and More

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

10:30 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

[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

[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 Jarrid Reed: Fresh

[FREE] 11:00 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

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 Sunday 5/12/13

May 12, 2013

For more, please visit HyReviews.com.

Have you checked out Marc Maron’s new book Attempting Normal?

Andrea Rosen

Celebrate this special day by getting caught up with Andrea Rosen’s wonderful new docuseries exploring motherhood, available on Hulu.com and Amazon.com: “Take Me to Your Mother”…

Sasheer Zamata

…or go out to see two of the most multi-talented performers in comedy, Sasheer Zamata…

Brooke Van Poppelen

….and Brooke Van Poppelen, who tonight are telling tales at The PIT’s “Shut Up: An All-Female Storytelling 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] [$] [DISCOUNTED] 3:00 pm & 7:00 pm ($35 using code CQUSTX online or at the box office): TV & Broadway stand-up star Colin Quinn performs a show he’s been developing for months for this off-Broadway run (through June 3rd) that looks at US history “from the Founding Fathers to the Kardashians” at the Barrow Street Theatre (27 Barrow Street, just one block from the #1 subway’s Christopher Street stop): Colin Quinn: Unconstitutional

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

[FREE] 5:00 pm: A mix of longform, shortform, and musical improv from five groups, typically including Mishmosh, at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City hosted by Michael Venzor: The Long and Short of It

[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

6:00 pm ($5): Open-mic stand-up that includes professional feedback on each comic’s 5-minute set at Queens LIC’s Laughing Devil Comedy Club (4738 Vernon Blvd.): Mic-Shop: Open Mic Workshop

7:00 pm ($12 at the door, $13.86 online): Singer/sketch performer/downtown cult figure Tanya O’Debra performs “a serious comedy about loneliness, mental illness, and perception. Holed up in her bedroom for eternity, crazy old Emily Dickinson unsuccessfully woos the object of her affection, a disembodied voice. A pseudo-historical, quasi-biographical psycho-romantic look at the life of America’s most annoying poetess” at at Under St. Marks (94 St. Marks Place, off First Avenue): Shut Up, Emily Dickinson

7:00 pm ($8): A one-woman multimedia show by Jessica van Campen that “examines four generations of women spanning four decades from the perspective of the youngest—and presumably the end of the line” at The PIT upstairs theatre: Whatever Happened to Mommy Jane?

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

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($10): Brilliant improvisors including Ed Herbstman and Christina Gausas make up scenes from improvised monologues by renowned improv master Armando Diaz at The Magnet theatre, with special guest Craig Cackowski: The Armando Diaz Experience

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): Brooke Van Poppelen (brilliant writer, stand-up, and storyteller; writer and/or producer for MTV’s Guy Code, Girl Code, Failosophy, and Nikki & Sara Show; trutV, TLC, co-host of Dive Comedy), Trevor Noah (Jay Leno, NPR, BBC Radio, Edinburgh Fringe Festival), John Flynn (rising star storyteller/actor; Saturday Night Live, The Nights of Our Lives, host of storytelling show Oh, Hey Guys!), Jeff Maurer (Last Comic Standing, Sirius XM), and Kate Ghiloni performing stand-up, plus raunchy songs from The Reformed Whores (comedic singing duo Marie Cecile Anderson & Katy Frame; new album Ladies Don’t Spit), all at UCB East hosted by Kara Klenk: If You Build It

[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 Rubin, The Lottery, FligFlog, and Sweaters: Act One

[FREE] 8:00 pm: Selena Coppock (author of new book The New Rules for Blondes, host of Connotation), Zach Sims (MTV’s Guy Code), JL Cauvin (Craig Ferguson), Sean White, and more performing at the Three of Cups lounge (83 First Avenue at 5th Street) hosted by RG Daniels: Sunday Night Stand-Up

8:00 pm ($8): “Becky Flaum thinks she’s Julia Roberts. And Sandra Bullock, Meg Ryan, Drew Barrymore, even Katherine Heigel. But her high cinematic hopes for her love life get in the way of reality on her quest to find the perfect co-star.” This one-woman show is at The PIT upstairs theatre: Hopeless Romantic Comedy

[FREE] 8:00 pm: Sketch, improv, and more at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City from comedy troupe Froduce

8:00 pm ($7): NYC stand-ups (unusually, not announced) performing at Brooklyn’s Union Hall hosted by Caroline Creaghead: Creaghead & Company

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 9:00 pm: A question & answer session about improv, typically with a top improvisor (past guests have include d T. J. Jagodowski, Dave Pasquesi, David Razowsky, and Ed Herbstman) at The Magnet theatre: Improv Q&A

[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($7): Jena Friedman (wry dark comedy stand-up and rising star; producer for The Daily Show, former staff writer for David Letterman), Trevor Noah (Jay Leno, NPR, BBC Radio, Edinburgh Fringe Festival), Damien Lemon (MTV2’s Guy Code, Comedy Central), and Jim Tews (“clawing his way to the middle for nearly a decade”) performing at Brooklyn’s Knitting Factory (361 Metropolitan Avenue) guest-hosted by Seaton Smith (Opie & Anthony Virus Tour): Comedy Night

[FREE] 9:00 pm: Anthony Devito, Doug Smith, Dave Ross, and Neal Stastny performing stand-up in the East Village’s Beauty Bar for this free weekly show hosted by Adam Sokol, Brad Austin, and/or Nate Fridson: Comedy at Beauty Bar

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($8): All-gal storytelling show of “true tales with feelings; so many feelings…,” tonight starring Brooke Van Poppelen (brilliant writer, stand-up, and storyteller; writer and/or producer for MTV’s Guy Code, Girl Code, Failosophy, and Nikki & Sara Show; trutV, TLC, co-host of Dive Comedy), Sasheer Zamata (highly charming, innovative rising star; Comedy Central’s Inside Amy Schumer, FX’s Totally Biased; host of UCBT’s School Night, member of red-hot improv troupe Doppelganger, sketch troupe The Prom, and Harold Night troupe Bucky), and “a special guest” at The PIT upstairs theatre hosted by Caitlin Brodnick and Lisa Kleinman: Shut Up: An All-Female Storytelling Show

[ALMOST FREE] 9:30 pm ($1): Open-mic comedy, with 4 minutes per performer, at The PIT downstairs lounge: Child Support

[FREE] 10:00 pm: 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

[FREE] 10:45 pm: Open-mic show for sketch and character bits running 3-5 minutes at The Magnet hosted by Sebastian Conelli. Everyone who signs up—at 10:30 pm at the box office—is likely to get onstage: Sketch in Progress

 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 Saturday 5/11/13

May 11, 2013

For more, please visit HyReviews.com.

See John Oliver, Janeane Garofalo, and more on May 20th; details here.

Brandon Scott Jones

Ace improvisors Brandon Scott Jones…

Morgan Grace Jarrett

… and Morgan Grace Jarrett perform every Saturday at 10:30 pm as part of UCB Chelsea’s Grandma’s Ashes

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 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

[TOP PICK] [$] 5:00 pm & 8:00 pm ($45): TV & Broadway stand-up star Colin Quinn performs a show he’s been developing for months for this off-Broadway run (through June 3rd) that looks at US history “from the Founding Fathers to the Kardashians” at the Barrow Street Theatre (27 Barrow Street, just one block from the #1 subway’s Christopher Street stop): Colin Quinn: Unconstitutional

6:00 pm ($5): Improv troupes Red, Three Nice Boys, and Pumpkin performing at The Magnet to kick off your Saturday evening: The Rundown

7:00 pm ($5): All-gal improvisors Ashley Ward, Brigid Boyle, Alexis Saarela, and Elizabeth Findlay perform at The PIT upstairs theatre as troupe Taco Supreme

7:00 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 & Ryan Karels (Krompf): Indie Cage Match

[FREE] 7:00 pm: This unique musical improv open-mic show lets both beginners and veterans get on stage and belt one out accompanied by brilliant improv pianist Frank Spitznagel at the Comedy Bar (134 West 29th Street) hosted by Douglas Widick: Spot Song

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 ($7): “Dramatic readings of literary masterpieces such as Total Recall, The Goonies, Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey, and so many more” performed by such talents as Bethany Hall, Rob Sheffield, and Sarah Knowles at Brooklyn’s Union Hall hosted by Marlow Riley, Liam McEneany, and Heidi Vanderlee: The Third Novelization

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 8:00 pm: Brooke Van Poppelen (brilliant writer, stand-up, and storyteller; writer and/or producer for MTV’s Guy Code, Girl Code, Failosophy, and Nikki & Sara Show; trutV, TLC, co-host of Dive Comedy), Pat Dixon (Comedy Central Presents, FOX, VH1, E!, host of Nearly Naked Lady Comedy Hour), and Abigoliah Schamuan (host of Abigoliah’s Bizarre Bazaar) performing stand-up at Queens LIC’s The Creek upstairs theatre hosted by Peggy O’Leary: Hard, Lonely, and Vicious

[$] 8:00 pm & 10:00 pm ($25 & 2-drink min.) A stand-up and impressionist who’s done a one-hour Comedy Central special, and performed on Jay Leno and Mad TV, headlining tonight and Sunday at the Gotham Comedy Club: Pablo Francisco

[$] 8:00 pm ($11.34 online or $15 at the door): Two of the most respected PIT improv groups performing on this weekly double-bill at the upstairs theatre: Big Black Car and The Baldwins

[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 Joe List (HBO, Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central), Seaton Smith (Opie & Anthony Virus Tour), Nimesh Patel, Jon Stein, Jennie Sutton, and more performing at The Irish Exit (978 Second Avenue, off 52nd Street) hosted by J.F. Harris: 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

9:30 pm ($10): A sketch troupe using recent events as the foundation for material performing at The PIT upstairs theatre directed and co-written by J.D. Durkin with co-writer Scott Swayze: Gramercy Boulevard

[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] 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 Chelsea 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] [FREE] 10:00 pm: This special showcase lets you sample about a half-dozen of the productions currently running at Queens LIC’s The Creek upstairs theatre, with snippets from The Show, Short Bus, See You In Hell, Abigoliah’s Bizarre Bazaar, Hard Lonely and Vicious, and more hosted by Pat Dixon: The Best of The Creek

[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 ($10): NYC’s heavy metal version of a sketch troupe, which doesn’t always ht the mark but provides odd, unsettling, and fearless dark comedy—and in 2011 won the ECNY Award for Best Sketch Group—performing at The PIT downstairs lounge: Murderfist: Late and Dirty

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

[TOP PICK] 10:30 pm ($10): At UCB Chelsea, improv troupe Grandma’s Ashes—which includes stellar talents Ryan Karels, Morgan Grace Jarrett, Brandon Scott Jones, and more—promises to “take your stories of the tragic and depraved and scatter them into laughter:” Grandma’s Ashes Gets Dark

11:00 pm ($8): Nick Carrillo, Langston Belton, and Devin James Heater perform a post-apocalyptic improvised comedy—exploring the relationship of three men trapped in a Generic Underground Shelter—at The PIT upstairs theatre: G.U.S.

Midnight ($5): Stand-ups Phil Hanley (Craig Ferguson, Comedy Central), Pat Dixon (Comedy Central Presents, FOX, VH1, E!, host of Nearly Naked Lady Comedy Hour), Seaton Smith (Opie & Anthony Virus Tour), and Abigoliah Schamuan (host of Abigoliah’s Bizarre Bazaar), plus sketch comedy bits, at UCB Chelsea with hosts Andy Rocco & Steven Slate: Underground Americana

Midnight ($5): Keisha Zollar (Doppelganger) hosts a variety show at UCB East that tonight features Emily Schorr Lesnick (sketch), Tahlia Robinson (music), and an improv jam led by Nayomi Reghay & Nikita Burdeint: The Soul Glo Project

[FREE] Midnight: Stand-up and sketch (performers not announced) at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City: Kingmaker Sketch

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 Thursday 5/9/13

May 9, 2013

For more, please visit HyReviews.com.

See John Oliver, Janeane Garofalo, and more on May 20th; details here.

Colin Quinn

It’s the last night to catch Colin Quinn’s new off-Broadway show “Unconstitutional” for a mere $20 (tickets go up to $45 starting tomorrow)…

Nick DiPaolo

…and Nick DiPaolo performs at the 8:00 pm Comedy Cellar and 9:00 pm Eastville

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—plus FREE SNACKS] 5:30 pm: All-gal open-mic for stand-up, sketch, comedic music, and anything else lasting up to 5 minutes at UCB East in the bar area (“Hot Chicks Room”), with signup starting at 5:15 pm, hosted by the delightful Anna Drezen & Sue Smith. Chances are everyone who attends will get to perform, so why not take advantage of this extra-supportive environment to try out material? (And while the stage is for women only, guys are very welcome as audience members…): Open Michelle: Ladies Open Mic

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 6:00 pm: Pat Baer (UCBT behind-the-scenes icon, host of Breaking Down the Internet) is tonight’s guest co-host for this weekly open-mic storytelling show at UCB East, with each performer given a whopping eight minutes to captivate & impress, hosted by the wonderful John Flynn: Oh, Hey Guys!

[ALMOST FREE] 6:00 pm ($1): PIT musical improv troupe Adorable mixes with musical improv novices on-stage at the downstairs lounge for Pitch

[FREE] 6:00 pm: Open-mic stand-up with comics’ names drawn from a bucket and each chosen receiving two minutes—and if that goes well, maybe a hug (but not actual puppies)—at The Creek’s upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City hosted by Ross Parsons & Trey Galyon: Free Puppies

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

[TOP PICK] 7:00 pm ($10): The return of gal sketch duo Cathleen Carr and Daiva Deupree, who are reuniting to celebrate their 10th Year Anniversary at The PIT upstairs theatre, and accurately point out “before Two Broke Girls and Two Girls One Cup, there was us:” Two Girls for Five Bucks

7:00 pm ($5): Two singing improv troupes make up entire musicals on the spot in this double-bill at The PIT downstairs lounge: Punchbowl and THEM

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

[TOP PICK] 7:30 pm ($5): Terrific lineup of 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.), Jermaine Fowler (MTV’s Guy Code and Wildn Out, Comedy Central, Adult Swim’s The Eric Andre Show), Jay Welch (McSweeney’s), and Leah Bonnema (VH1, WeTV’s Cinematherapy, Logo, Opie & Anthony’s Virus Channel) performing stand-up at UCB East hosted by Sean Crespo, Dan Wilbur, and Katina Corrao: Lasers in the Jungle

[FREE] 7:30 pm & 10:40 pm: The debut of this open-mic comedy show—with two rounds, and signup starting at 7:00 pm—hosted by Tyler FIscher and Sacha at Mic-Club (129 Orchard Street): Welcome to Mic-Club

[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm ($20): TV & Broadway stand-up star Colin Quinn performs a show he’s been developing for months for this off-Broadway run (through June 3rd) that looks at US history “from the Founding Fathers to the Kardashians” at the Barrow Street Theatre (27 Barrow Street, just one block from the #1 subway’s Christopher Street stop): Colin Quinn: Unconstitutional

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): The Emmy-winning writers of The Colbert Report gather on the UCB Chelsea stage to perform an all-improvised show at Seize the Mustard

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm-MIdnight ($7 for the entire evening): The Magnet house improv groups Junior Varsity and Hello Laser performing improv for an hour, followed at 9:00 pm by The Butterfly Effect (long form improv monoscene in which a small incident has an increasingly significant ripple effect), and at 10:00 pm by veteran improvisors making up scenes based on improvised monologues from tonight’s very special guest Adam Wade (storytelling superstar) at The Armando Diaz Experience, and finally at 11:00 improv competition Inspirado (like UCBT’s Cage Match, but with a game-like challenge component) featuring last week’s winner vs. Horses: The Magnet’s Night Out

[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm ($14 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), Gary Gulman (David Letterman, Jay Leno, Last Comic Standing, Tourgasm, Comedy Central hour-long special), Keith Robinson (HBO, Comedy Central, Wanda Sykes Show), Trevor Noah (Jay Leno), and Modi (HBO’s The Sopranos, 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): Nick DiPaolo, Tom Papa, Gary Gulman, and More

[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm ($20): A former roommate & drinking buddy of such comedy giants as David Cross and Marc Maron performs a one-man show that was such a hit at August’s FringeNYC it’s been extended indefinitely. Please read my review by clicking here, and Jason Zinoman’s New York Times review by clicking here; and then come share an intimate hour with Matt Graham at the Soho Playhouse’s downstairs Huron Club so he can explain life and meaning and why This Too Shall Suck

[$] 8:00 pm ($20): Star Gilbert Gottfried and other comics performing and/or being interviewed at Brooklyn’s Galapagos Art Space (16 Main Street at DUMBO) hosted by Scott R.: Running Late with Scott Rogowsky

[$] 8:00 pm ($25 & 2-drink min.) A stand-up and impressionist who’s done a one-hour Comedy Central special, and performed on Jay Leno and Mad TV, headlining tonight through Sunday at the Gotham Comedy Club: Pablo Francisco

8:00 pm ($8): NYC comics join hosts Rachel Wenitsky & Danny Visconti for a variety show “that goes well with that first early morning cup of coffee—at 8:00 at night”at The PIT upstairs theatre: The Morning Show: Late Edition

8:00 pm ($5): Two singing improv troupes, Hemlock (which includes stellar singer Megan Maes) and Dagger (which includes notable talents Ryan Dunkin and Jon Bander), make up entire musicals on the spot in this double-bill at The PIT downstairs lounge: Hemlock and Dagger

[FREE] 8:00 pm: This weekly show features “a swarthy selection of fine stand-up comics and mildly entertaining recurring segments” at Queens LIC’s The Creek upstairs theatre, hosted by Jim Tews & Brendan Eyre: Chest Hair

[TOP PICK] [$] [DISCOUNTED] 9:00 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): TV & movie star Janeane Garofalo, Nick DiPaolo (star stand-up, with numerous appearances on David Letterman, Jay Leno, Louie; Emmy-nominated comedy writer, talk show host), and more performing at the only comedy club in the East Village: Eastville Comedy Club

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 9:00ish pm: Terrific NYC stand-ups (the lineup is typically announced around 3:00 pm; for an update, please click here) performing on this free weekly show at the Kabin Bar and Lounge hosted by Chesley Calloway and comedy genius Sean Patton: Comedy as a Second Language

9:00 pm ($5): Mary Mack (does mandolin sing-alongs; Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central), sketch group Boat, stand-up Josh Gondelman, and more performing at UCB East hosted by Adam Conover and/or Emily Heller: Fresh Out

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): This UCB Chelsea double-bill kicks off with a one-act play about the Biblical end of the world written by & co-starring Kevin Hines and directed by Brandon Gulya: Apocalypse in Connecticut…

…and then a one-man show by Arthur Meyer (writer for Jimmy Fallon and The Onion; sketch troupes Pangea 3000, Fambly, and Two Fun Men): Arthur Meyer: Rock and Roll

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($8): Four storytellers tells tales, and then hosts Anna Roisman & Katie Haller sing songs they’ve written pre-show about those stories, at The PIT upstairs theatre: You Probably Think This Song Is About You

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): Improvisors make up one-act plays on the spot at The PIT downstairs lounge, produced by Dan Hodapp & Micah Sherman: The Scene

[TOP PICK] [$] 10:00 pm ($14 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), Gregg Rogell (Conan O’Brien, Jay Leno, Louie, Comedy Central), Greer Barnes (David Letterman, Chappelle’s Show, For the Love of the Game), Joe List (HBO, Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central), Phil Hanley (Craig Ferguson, Comedy Central), and Dan Naturman (David Letterman, Jay Leno) 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): Judah Friedlander, Gregg Rogell, Greer Barnes, Joe List, and More

[FREE] 10:00 pm: NYC stand-ups (lineup not announced) performing at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City hosted by Justin Williams: Death Comedy Jam

[TOP PICK] [$] 10:30 pm ($5 & 2-item food/drink min.) Comics heckle a genre feature film—with tonight’s victim the 1987 absurdly bad Fred Williamson crime drama Black Cobra (for a trailer, please click here) at Queens LIC’s Laughing Devil Comedy Club (4738 Vernon Blvd.): Devil Science Theater 3000

[TOP PICK] 11:00 pm ($5): Storytelling and carny join forces to bring the blog And I Am Not Lying to life on stage, hosted by Jeff Simmermon (NPR’s This American Life), and tonight featuring storytellers Micaela Blei and Shannon Cason, stand-up Paul Odo, and burlesque from Nastie Canasta and Amelia Bareparts (“with a tribute to Twin Peaks“), all at the UCB East theatre: And I Am Not Lying

[TOP PICK] 11:00 pm ($5): Wow. Improv group Airwolf, which last year crushed 15 improv groups, this year managed only one victory before getting knocked out by Scrambled Legs in a very close vote of 88-86. Tonight the new dance-loving champion will face team Powder Keg at UCB Chelsea as these improvisors compete for your laughs and votes at the raucous Cage Match

[FREE] 11:00 pm: An open-mic show that’s first come, first serve, with each comic getting 3-5 minutes on stage at The Creek downstairs lounge in Queens’ Long Island City hosted by Josh Alba: Mic and Cheese

[TOP PICK] [$] Midnight ($14 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), Paul Mecurio (Conan O’Brien, The Daily Show, Comedy Central Presents), Kurt Metzger (Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central Presents, Inside Amy Schumer, Ugly Americans), Andrew Schulz (MTV2’s Guy Code), and Veronica Mosey (Comedy Central, FOX’s Red Eye) performing at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane) hosted by Big Jay Oakerson (Comedy Central Presents, HBO, Showtime, MTV, IFC): The Nasty Show: Dave Attell, Paul Mecurio, Kurt Metzger, Big Jay Oakerson, and More

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 5/8/13

May 8, 2013

For more, please visit HyReviews.com.

Aggression

Storytellers confess their true tales of aggression at “This is Awkward”

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): Cammi Climaco (co-host of Ask Me Stories) hosts this weekly hour-long open-mic storytelling show, with typically six audience members chosen from a bucket of names getting to tell tales for 6-7 minutes each at The PIT downstairs lounge (please note this Monday show has, as of tonight, permanently moved to Wednesdays): Cammi Climaco’s Storytelling Open Mic: Six by Six

[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 3 minutes per comic at Queens LIC’s The Creek upstairs theatre hosted by Max Corbel & 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

6:30 pm ($5): Two shows about which I know nothing audition for a regular spot on the prestigious UCB Chelsea schedule: Sorry About Last Night and Not On My Reel: A Clip Show. If you’re incredibly patient, you may find that all these shows have interesting elements; and for the ones that don’t get green-lit, this is the only chance to ever experience them. Plus whether great or awful, at $2.50 per show you can’t go far wrong. That’s part of the fun of Spank

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

7:00 pm-12:30 am ($7 for the entire evening): Magnet improv house groups New Team Red, Horses, New Team White, Brick, Chet Watkins, The Wrath, New Team Blue, and Featherweight, followed by a free audience interactive show with New Team Blue at 11:30 pm: The Magnet’s Megawatt

7:30 pm ($5): Expanding the UCB longform improv showcased on Harold Night is this weekly show at UCB East which tonight features groups Apollo and First Lady: Lloyd Night

[$] [DISCOUNTED] 7:30 pm ($7.37 online using code JonComedy, plus 2-drink min.) A staff writer for Jimmy Fallon (for his set on Fallon, please click here and use password jrineman) headlines for one night only at the Carolines Comedy Club: Jon Rineman

[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm ($15; no drink min.): Top stand-ups are given a never-before-seen list of of strange and outrageous topics the moment they get on stage, and try to perform seamlessly as if it’s the set they normally do…while the audience follows their topics on a projection screen. Tonight’s “comics in the moment” are TV & movie star Janeane Garofalo, 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), Robert Kelly (Louie, Comedy Central, Opie & Anthony), and more at The Stand Comedy Club (239 Third Avenue & 20th Street): Set List: Stand-Up Without a Net

[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm ($14 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), Gary Gulman (David Letterman, Jay Leno, Last Comic Standing, Tourgasm, Comedy Central hour-long special), Robert Kelly (Louie, Comedy Central, Opie & Anthony), and Jeff Lamp (Jay Leno) performing stand-up at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane) hosted by Ardie Fuqua (HBO’S Bad Boys of Comedy, Comedy Central): Nick DiPaolo, Tom Papa, Gary Gulman, and More

8:00 pm ($5): A two-man sketch show by Matt Dennie & Josh Sharp that very loosely springs off the real events of the title but is mostly meta-comedy. I would’ve preferred something meatier, especially given the fascinating subject—436 people killed by a tiger whose damaged teeth made it difficult to eat anything other than humans—but there’s lots of energy and performance talent here, making this a solid first-time effort: Maneater: The True Story of the Champawat Tigress…

…and in the second half of this UCB Chelsea double-bill, buoyant group Boat performs 30 minutes of bits at Boat: Comedic Sketches

8:00 pm (no cover, 1-item min.): A mix of stand-up and storytelling from Margaret Champagne, Alyssa Wolff, Dan Goodman, Paul Palmeri, and Kate Ghiloni at McSwiggan’s (393 Second Avenue off 23rd Street) hosted by Selena Coppock (author of book The New Rules for Blondes): Connotation

8:00 pm ($5): “Set in a post-apocalyptic wasteland, Interludes is the last regional touring theater company taking bookings. Based on audience suggestions, this menagerie of performers will astonish with comic tales of days past—if they don’t kill each other first” from improv troupe IRTE at The PIT downstairs lounge: IRTE: Interludes 2063

[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] 9:00 pm ($5): Superb improvisors—and actual brothers—Will Hines and Kevin Hines make use of their intimate knowledge of each other to gracefully invent scenes (hopefully without any squabbling) at UCB East performing as duo The Brothers Hines

[FREE] Seating at 8:30, show at 9:00 pm (RSVP to confirm your spot at FreeComedyWednesdays@gmail.com): The Lucas Brothers, Joe Machi, Louis Katz, Doug Smith, and more performing stand-up at Ella (9 Avenue A) produced by Mark Normand, Matt Ruby, Gary Vider, and Sachi Ezura: Hot Soup

[FREE] 9:00 pm: Rob Cantrell (Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central, HBO, VHI, FX’s Totally Biased, documentary Metaphysical Graffiti, High Times), Louis Katz (Comedy Central Presents), Hadiyah Robinson (BET’s Comic View), Mike Cannon (MTV’s Failosophy), Halle Kiefer (writer for MTV), Jason Burke, and Charlie Bowie (visiting from Florida) 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?

9:15 pm ($8): Stand-up from Brendan McLaughlin, and sketch from The Flat Tires, We Are Thomasse, the Dump Cousins, and Sharon Jamilkowski, all performing at Under St. Marks (94 St. Marks Place, off First Avenue) hosted by Nathan Macintosh: May Sketch Block

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): “Jonathan Blank and Samara Doucette say what everyone else thinks on dates, but never says; so join them and guest comedians as they divulge all of their wildest and most embarrassing dating stories. This monthly storytelling show contains the truth and nothing but the truth, but most of the stories are more surreal than if David Lynch directed romantic comedies. Everything from wild hookups to emotional breakups are on the table.” Tonight’s theme is Aggression, with storytelling guests Caitlin Brodnick (co-host of Shut Up: An All-Female Storytelling Show) and Kimberly Spice (blog 100 Cups of Coffee) at The PIT downstairs lounge: This is Awkward: True Stories of Aggression

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): Abbi Jacobson & Ilana Glazer created Broad City as a Web series, which was then picked up for development as a TV series for Comedy Central…and now it’s a live monthly show at UCB Chelsea! Tonight’s theme is Canned Food Drive (please try to bring a can to donate) with new videos, stand-up, character pieces, and “a delicately crafted hour of fun:” Broad City Live

[$] 9:45 pm ($14 plus 2-item food/drink min.): 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), Gregg Rogell (Conan O’Brien, Jay Leno, Louie, Comedy Central), Greer Barnes (David Letterman, Chappelle’s Show, For the Love of the Game), Keith Robinson (HBO, Comedy Central, Wanda Sykes Show), and Phil Hanley (Craig Ferguson, Comedy Central) performing stand-up at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane) hosted by Ardie Fuqua (HBO’S Bad Boys of Comedy, Comedy Central): Mark Normand, Gregg Rogell, Greer Barnes, and More

[TOP PICK] 10:00 pm ($5): The instructors of UCB’s classes include some of the finest improvisors in the country. In this new weekly show a bunch of them get on stage at UCB East, along with hosts Betsy Stover and Ari Voukydis: Hot for Teacher: The UCB Faculty Show

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 10:00 pm: Rising stand-up stars—Jared Logan, Mike Lawrence, Mark Normand, Dan. St. Germain, Pat Dixon, Emily Heller, Michael Che, Joe List, and/or Nick Turner—at Queens LIC’s The Creek upstairs theatre: The Regulars

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 11:00 pm: The wonderful Sasheer Zamata (highly charming, innovative rising star; Comedy Central’s Inside Amy Schumer, FX’s Totally Biased; member of red-hot improv troupe Doppelganger, sketch troupe The Prom, and Harold Night troupe Bucky) hosts 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 Adam Newman (for the complete lineup, 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

[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 troupe Grandma’s Ashes: The Improv Jam

[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), Paul Mecurio (Conan O’Brien, The Daily Show, Comedy Central Presents), Big Jay Oakerson (Comedy Central Presents, HBO, Showtime, MTV, IFC), Robert Kelly (Louie, Comedy Central, Opie & Anthony), Andrew Schulz (MTV2’s Guy Code), and Mike Vecchione (Last Comic Standing, Howard Stern) performing at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane) hosted by Ardie Fuqua (HBO’S Bad Boys of Comedy, Comedy Central): The Nasty Show: Dave Attell, Paul Mecurio, Big Jay Oakerson, and More

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 Sunday 5/5/13

May 5, 2013

For more, please visit HyReviews.com.

Wyatt Cenac

Wyatt Cenac performs stand-up in Brooklyn at Comedy Night…

Henry Zebrowski

…and a unique and much-beloved dark sketch comic is “honored” at The Dog Shit Roast of Henry Zebrowski

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 at The Creek downstairs lounge in Queens’ Long Island City: Face-Plant Comedy Showcase

[FREE] 5:00 pm: A smorgasbord of of stand-up, comedic music, comedic dance, sketch, and more at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City hosted by Chris O’Neil: Mishmash Variety Hour (and a Half)

[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

6:00 pm ($5): Open-mic stand-up that includes professional feedback on each comic’s 5-minute set at Queens LIC’s Laughing Devil Comedy Club (4738 Vernon Blvd.): Mic-Shop: Open Mic Workshop

[TOP PICK] 6:30 pm ($5): A triple-bill of the relatively rare form of solo long form improv from Just Ben (Ben Jones), 1 Deep (Shacottha Fields), and Andy, Please! (Andy Moskowitz) at The Magnet theatre: Solo

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

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 8:00 pm: A founding member of sketch group Murderfist who’s one of the most fearless, inventively unsettling, and hilarious comics in NYC is “honored” tonight by fellow comics including Michael Che, Jared Logan, Amber Nelson, Nick Turner, Reid Faylor, and more at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City: The Dog Shit Roast of Henry Zebrowski

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): 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), Jamie Lee (Conan O’Brien, Last Comic Standing, MTV’s Girl Code, VH1), Keith Alberstadt (David Letterman, VH1, contributor to SNL’s Weekend Update), Ben Lerman (nuanced raunchy comedic singer/songwriter; Logo TV’s NewNowNext, Sirius Radio’s Frank DeCaro Show), Matt Wayne, H. Alan Scott, and Stephanie Hasz performing stand-up at UCB East hosted by Kara Klenk: If You Build It

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($7): Mike Drucker (hilarious stand-up; staff writer for Jimmy Fallon; freelance writer for SNL, The Onion, McSweeney’s), Brooke Van Poppelen (brilliant writer, stand-up, and storyteller; writer and/or producer for MTV’s Guy Code, Girl Code, Failosophy, and Nikki & Sara Show; trutV, TLC, co-host of Dive Comedy) Michelle Wolf (IFC), Adam Newman (Comedy Central, MTV, College Humor, host of Big Long Sets), and Claudia Cogan (Last Comic Standing, MTV, Logo, here! TV) performing stand-up at Brooklyn’s Union Hall hosted by Phoebe Robinson (Huffington Post): Creaghead & Company

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($8): Jimmy Fallon writer Casey Jost performs sketch, and also interviews stand-ups The Lucas Brothers, sketch duo Matt Dennie & Josh Sharp, and musicians Matt Wilon & Sean Kuhl, at The PIT upstairs theatre: Fooling Around with Casey Jost

[TOP PICK] [FREE]  [DISCOUNTED] 8:00 pm (FREE online using discount code CINCO; no drink min.): Gary Gulman (David Letterman, Jay Leno, Last Comic Standing, Tourgasm, Comedy Central hour-long special), Kurt Metzger (Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central Presents, Ugly Americans), Chris Distefano (Comedy Central, MTV2’s Guy Code), Justin Silver (star of CBS’ Dogs in the City), and Dante Nero (Comedy Central, HBO, ABC, FOX), and Josh Adam Meyers performing stand-up at The Stand Comedy Club (239 Third Avenue & 20th Street): Gary Gulman, Kurt Metzger, and More

[$] 8:00 pm ($35 & 2-drink min.): A cast member of the much-missed Chappelle’s Show headlining one last night at the Carolines Comedy Club: Donnell Rawlings

8:00 pm ($5): Aaron Glaser & Aaron Eisenberg perform stand-up and sketch, along with guests, att The PIT downstairs lounge: Aaron & Aaron

8:00 pm ($5): Freestyle rapping long-form improv troupe North Coast clobbered some of the best groups in NYC last year at UCBT’s Cage Match. Tonight it takes the stage for nearly an hour at The Magnet theatre: North Coast

[FREE] 8:00 pm: Phil Hanley (Craig Ferguson, Comedy Central), Jim Tews, Leah Bohema, and more performing at the Three of Cups lounge (83 First Avenue at 5th Street) hosted by RG Daniels: Sunday Night Stand-Up

[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($7): Wyatt Cenac (former star correspondent for The Daily Show, Comedy Central hour-long special, Adult Swim, host of Night Train), Stuckey & Murray (terrific comedic singing duo; Chelsea Lately, NBC, VH1, Fuse), Mary Mack (does mandolin sing-alongs; Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central), and Baldhead Phillips (Comic View) performing at Brooklyn’s Knitting Factory (361 Metropolitan Avenue) guest-hosted tonight by Jeffrey Joseph (Jay Leno, HBO, FOX’s In Living Color, Comedy Central): Comedy Night

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 9:00 pm: Sasheer Zamata (highly charming, innovative rising star; Comedy Central’s Inside Amy Schumer, FX’s Totally Biased; host of UCBT’s School Night, member of red-hot improv troupe Doppelganger, sketch troupe The Prom, and Harold Night troupe Bucky) Brooke Van Poppelen (brilliant writer, stand-up, and storyteller; writer and/or producer for MTV’s Guy Code, Girl Code, Failosophy, and Nikki & Sara Show; trutV, TLC, co-host of Dive Comedy), Liz Miele (Conan O’Brien, Comedy Central, Damaged), and Sam Evans 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 Beauty Bar

9:30 pm ($7): Sketch comedy at The Magnet, tonight from groups Risky Bottom (which includes one of my favorite comics, Lauren Olson) and Breakfast for Dinner: Magnet Sketch Teams

[ALMOST FREE] 9:30 pm ($1): Open-mic stand-up, with four minutes per comic, at The PIT downstairs lounge hosted by Molly Austin & Mike Brown: Vicious Cycle

[TOP PICK] [$] 9:45 pm ($14 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), Nick Griffin (David Letterman, Jay Leno, Comedy Central Presents), Lynne Koplitz (Joan Know’s Best, IFC’s Z Rock, host of WB’s Life & Style), Keith Alberstadt (David Letterman, VH1, contributor to SNL’s Weekend Update), and Mike Vecchione (Last Comic Standing, Howard Stern) performing at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane) hosted by Ardie Fuqua (HBO’S Bad Boys of Comedy, Comedy Central): Judah Friedlander, Nick Griffin, Lynne Koplitz, and More

[FREE] 10:00 pm: 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

[FREE] 10:45 pm: Open-mic show for sketch and character bits running 3-5 minutes at The Magnet hosted by Sebastian Conelli. Everyone who signs up—at 10:30 pm at the box office—is likely to get onstage: Sketch in Progress

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 Saturday 5/4/13

May 4, 2013

For more, please visit HyReviews.com.

Have you checked out Marc Maron’s new book Attempting Normal?

Colin Quinn

Colin Quinn performs his new off-Broadway show Unconstitutional at The Barrow Theatre…

Ted Alexandro

…and Ted Alexandro performs stand-up at the 8:00 & 10:00 pm shows of The Stand

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 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

[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 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 The Adam Wade Show, Tales of the Cosmos, and Whatever Happened to the Nerds?, and cast member of The Nights of Our Lives; for a sampling of Adam’s award-winning tales, please click here), Tara Clancy (written for The New York Times; Moth GrandSlam Champion; FringeNYC’s Channel Rat), Dana Rossi (host of The Soundtrack Series), and Joanne Solomon (cast member for seven years in De La Guarda) . 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

6:00 pm ($5): Improv groups Cadillac, Wando, and Sad Kids at The Magnet theatre: The Rundown

[FREE] 6:00 pm: “A monthly show that you control. Your suggestions, blurt-outs, and whatever else you feel like doing or saying will guide us through an hour of good times” at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City: YBTHR

[TOP PICK] [$] [DISCOUNTED] 7:00 pm & 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): TV & movie star Janeane Garofalo (might be 9:00 pm only), Judah Friedlander (one of the quickest minds in comedy; 30 Rock, Meet the Parents, Along Came Polly, author of How to Beat Up Anybody), Christian Finnegan (Conan O’Brien, co-star of TBS’ Are We There Yet?; three Comedy Central specials; MSNBC, VH1’s Best Week Ever, Chappelle’s Show, The Today Show), Maddog Mattern (Sirius Radio, Howard Stern TV; to see Maddog handle a heckler, please click here), and more performing at the only comedy club in the East Village: Eastville Comedy Club

7:00 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 & Ryan Karels (Krompf). Tonight’s groups are Lutz, The Experiment, and Matts Ant Kim: Indie Cage Match

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] [DISCOUNTED] 8:00 pm ($7.50 online using discount code FIVE; no drink min.): Great lineup of 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.), Judah Friedlander (one of the quickest minds in comedy; 30 Rock, Meet the Parents, Along Came Polly, author of How to Beat Up Anybody), Gary Gulman (David Letterman, Jay Leno, Last Comic Standing, Tourgasm, Comedy Central hour-long special), Big Jay Oakerson (Comedy Central Presents, HBO, Showtime, MTV, IFC), and Sam Morril (Comedy Central) performing stand-up at The Stand Comedy Club (239 Third Avenue & 20th Street): Ted Alexandro, Judah Friedlander, Gary Gulman, and More

[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm ($20): TV & Broadway stand-up star Colin Quinn performs a show he’s been developing for months for this off-Broadway run (through June 3rd) that looks at US history “from the Founding Fathers to the Kardashians” at the Barrow Street Theatre (27 Barrow Street, just one block from the #1 subway’s Christopher Street stop): Colin Quinn: Unconstitutional

[FREE] 8:00 pm: “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

[$] 8:00 pm & 10:30 pm ($38.25 & 2-drink min.): A cast member of the much-missed Chappelle’s Show headlining through Sunday at the Carolines Comedy Club: Donnell Rawlings

8:00 pm ($11.34 online or $15 at the door): Two of the most respected PIT improv groups performing on this weekly double-bill at the upstairs theatre: Big Black Car and The Baldwins

[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

[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 ($7): Magnet improvisors team up with poets at Kiss*Punch*Poem

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($10): “Musical sketch comedy that skewers and dissects pop culture one roll of the dice at a time” at The PIT upstairs theatre: Pop Roulette

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 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 (fearless, innovative rising star; Comedy Central; sketch troupe The Prom, co-host of The Dream Show), Anna Drezen (talented character comic blending words and movement; one-woman show Spooky Jerks), Lauren Vino & Joel Walkowski, Nate Fernald, Stephen Whalen & Steve DeSiena, Mike Cody, and Zach Sims & Nick Maritato performing at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City hosted by Reid Faylor, Kelly Fastuca, and/or Andrew Short: 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 Chelsea 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] [DISCOUNTED] 10:00 pm ($7.50 online using discount code FIVE; no 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.), Judah Friedlander (one of the quickest minds in comedy; 30 Rock, Meet the Parents, Along Came Polly, author of How to Beat Up Anybody), Big Jay Oakerson (Comedy Central Presents, HBO, Showtime, MTV, IFC), Esther Ku (Last Comic Standing), and Adrienne Iapalucci (Last Comic Standing, VH1) performing stand-up at The Stand Comedy Club (239 Third Avenue & 20th Street): Ted Alexandro, Judah Friedlander, Big Jay Oakerson, and More

[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 troupe Grandma’s Ashes—which includes stellar talents Ryan Karels, Morgan Grace Jarrett, Brandon Scott Jones, and more—promises to “take your stories of the tragic and depraved and scatter them into laughter:” Grandma’s Ashes Gets Dark

10:30 pm ($7): Nick Kanellis & Peter McNerney perform at The Magnet as comedy duo Trike

[TOP PICK] [$] 11:00 pm ($24 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), 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), Nick Griffin (David Letterman, Jay Leno, Comedy Central Presents), Gary Gulman (David Letterman, Jay Leno, Last Comic Standing, Tourgasm, Comedy Central hour-long special), John Joseph (Comedy Central, The View), and Phil Hanley (Craig Ferguson, Comedy Central) performing stand-up at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane) hosted by Jermaine Fowler (MTV’s Guy Code and Wildn Out, Comedy Central, Adult Swim’s The Eric Andre Show): Dave Attell, Tom Papa, Nick Griffin, Gary Gulman, and More

[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] [FREE] [DISCOUNTED] Midnight (Entirely FREE online using discount code CINCO; no drink min.): Big Jay Oakerson (Comedy Central Presents, HBO, Showtime, MTV, IFC), Chris Distefano (Comedy Central, MTV2’s Guy Code), Justin Silver (star of CBS’ Dogs in the City), and Derek Gaines performing stand-up at The Stand Comedy Club (239 Third Avenue & 20th Street): Big Jay Oakerson, Chris Distefano, and More: Free!

Midnight ($5): Aaron Glaser hosts this new monthly stand-up show at UCB Chelsea, which tonight features Luke Cunningham (Jimmy Fallon), Christy Coffey (Watch What Happens), Lisa DeLarios (Comedy Central), and “special surprise guests:” Midnight Stand-Up

[$] 12:45 am ($24 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), Gary Gulman (David Letterman, Jay Leno, Last Comic Standing, Tourgasm, Comedy Central hour-long special), Greer Barnes (David Letterman, Chappelle’s Show, For the Love of the Game), Joe List (HBO, Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central), John Joseph (Comedy Central, The View), and Mike Vecchione (Last Comic Standing, Howard Stern) 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): Dave Attell, Gary Gulman, Greer Barnes, Joe List, and More

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 Thursday 5/2/13

May 2, 2013

For more, please visit HyReviews.com.

Knee Problems

Please Note: These listings will be abbreviated while I undergo knee surgery. If all goes well (e.g., moving or sitting in a chair post-operation doesn’t cause excruciating pain), I’ll be keeping the listings going during recovery and return to doing full listings ASAP. (Wish me luck…)

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] [FREE] 6:00 pm: Julia Wiedeman (host of this show’s sister, Storytelling Open Mic every Monday at 6:30 at UCB East) is tonight’s guest co-host at this weekly open-mic storytelling show at UCB East, with each performer given a whopping eight minutes to captivate & impress hosted by the wonderful John Flynn (rising star storyteller/actor; Saturday Night Live, The Nights of Our Lives): Oh, Hey Guys!

[ALMOST FREE] 6:00 pm ($1): PIT musical improv troupe Adorable mixes with musical improv novices on-stage at the downstairs lounge for Pitch

[FREE] 6:00 pm: All-gal open-mic at UCB East in the bar area (“Hot Chicks Room”) hosted by Anna Drezen & Sue Smith: Open Michelle: Ladies Open Mic

[FREE] 6:00 pm: Open- mic stand-up with comics’ names drawn from a bucket and each chosen receiving two minutes—and if that goes well, maybe a hug (but not actual puppies)—at The Creek’s upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City hosted by Ross Parsons & Trey Galyon: Free Puppies

7:00 pm ($5): Two singing improv troupes make up entire musicals on the spot in this double-bill at The PIT downstairs lounge: Punchbowl and THEM

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

[TOP PICK] 7:30 pm ($5): 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) Christian Finnegan (Conan O’Brien, co-star of TBS’ Are We There Yet?; three Comedy Central specials; MSNBC, VH1’s Best Week Ever, Chappelle’s Show, The Today Show), Sean Donnelly (Comedy Central), and more performing stand-up at UCB East hosted by Sean Crespo, Dan Wilbur, and Katina Corrao: Lasers in the Jungle

[MEGA-TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): 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.) performs a comedy club headliner set for a full hour at UCB Chelsea to practice for his upcoming TV special. This is a total steal at $5 (packed houses recently spent around $40 to see Ted do the same set at a comedy club); grab tickets before they disappear: Ted Alexandro for the Hour

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm (no cover, 1 drink min.): Storytellers and wonderful comics John Flynn and Mindy Raf, plus New York Magazine’s Katin Hier, performing for this biweekly storytelling show at 2A (25 Avenue A & 2nd Street) hosted by Jenny Rubin: Here’s the Story

[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm ($20): A former roommate & drinking buddy of such comedy giants as David Cross and Marc Maron performs a one-man show that was such a hit at August’s FringeNYC it’s been extended indefinitely. Please read my review by clicking here, and Jason Zinoman’s New York Times review by clicking here; and then come share an intimate hour with Matt Graham at the Soho Playhouse’s downstairs Huron Club so he can explain life and meaning and why This Too Shall Suck

[FREE] 8:00 pm: NYC stand-ups at The Creek’s upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City hosted by Leah Bonnema & Tim Warner: Modern Day Philosophers

8:00 pm ($5): Two singing improv troupes, Hemlock (which includes stellar singer Megan Maes) and Dagger (which includes notable talents Ryan Dunkin and Jon Bander), make up entire musicals on the spot in this double-bill at The PIT downstairs lounge: Hemlock and Dagger

8:00 pm-MIdnight ($7 for the entire evening): The Magnet house troupes The Boss, Junior Varsity, and Hello Laser performing improv for two hours, followed at 10:00 pm by The Butterfly Effect (long form improv monoscene in which a small incident has an increasingly significant ripple effect), and then at 11:00 improv competition Inspirado (like UCBT’s Cage Match, but with a game-like challenge component) featuring Petting Zoo vs. Singles: The Magnet’s Night Out

[TOP PICK] [$] [DISCOUNTED] 9:00 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): TV & movie star Janeane Garofalo, Christian Finnegan (Conan O’Brien, co-star of TBS’ Are We There Yet?; three Comedy Central specials; MSNBC, VH1’s Best Week Ever, Chappelle’s Show, The Today Show), and more performing at the only comedy club in the East Village: Eastville Comedy Club

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 9:00ish pm: Terrific NYC stand-ups (the lineup is typically announced around 3:00 pm; for an update, please click here) performing on this free weekly show at the Kabin Bar and Lounge hosted by Chesley Calloway and comedy genius Sean Patton: Comedy as a Second Language

9:00 pm ($5): NYC stand-ups performing at UCB East hosted by Adam Conover and/or Emily Heller: Fresh Out

[MEGA-TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): Bill Plympton (Oscar Award winning animator), Julie Klausner (razor-sharp comic & storyteller; host of How Was Your Week podcast; NY Magazine’s Vulture; author of I Don’t Care About Your Band), Damian Kulash (OK GO), and Bridget Everett (NY theater) describing what it’s like to have a dreamy job at UCB Chelsea to host Catie Lazarus with musical accompaniment by Chris Sullivan (a.k.a., Shockwave; amazing human boombox; The Daily Show, The Electric Company, Freestyle Love Supreme, co-host of The BEATdown) and silliness by Rob Lathan (Conan O’Brien, Inside Amy Schumer): Employee of the Month

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): Improvisors make up one-act plays on the spot at The PIT downstairs lounge, produced by Dan Hodapp & Micah Sherman: The Scene

[TOP PICK] 11:00 pm ($5): Improv groups Airwolf and Scrambled Legs battle at UCB Chelsea for your laughs and votes at the raucous Cage Match

[FREE] 11:00 pm: An open-mic show that’s first come, first serve, with each comic getting 3-5 minutes on stage at The Creek downstairs lounge in Queens’ Long Island City hosted by Josh Alba: Mic and Cheese

 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 5/1/13

May 1, 2013

For more, please visit HyReviews.com.

Dick Cavett

A living treasure trove of celebrity stories is interviewed at UCB Chelsea: “Inside Joke: Dick Cavett”…

Nate Bargatze

…and Nate Bargatze performs stand-up at 8:00 pm at The Stand and 9:00 pm at Hot Soup

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] [FREE] 6:00 pm: Comics performing funny characters—who are slated to include Mamrie Hart, Dan Hodapp, Riley Soloner, and Becky Yamamoto—audition at The Magnet to appear in the most prestigious comedy festival in Canada: Just for Laughs Character Auditions

[TOP PICK] [ALMOST FREE] 6:00 pm ($1): Cammi Climaco (co-host of Ask Me Stories) hosts this weekly hour-long open-mic storytelling show, with typically six audience members chosen from a bucket of names getting to tell tales for 6-7 minutes each at The PIT downstairs lounge (please note this Monday show has, as of tonight, permanently moved to Wednesdays): Cammi Climaco’s Storytelling Open Mic: Six by Six

[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 3 minutes per comic at Queens LIC’s The Creek upstairs theatre hosted by Max Corbel & Benel Germosen: Cracking It

7:00 pm-11:30 am ($7 for the entire evening): Magnet house troupes Bloomer, Featherweight, Brick, Team White, Team Red, The Wrath, Chet Watkins, Team Blue, and Horses performing improv: The Magnet’s 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 troupes Mr. Mike’s Mondo Video and Detroit: Lloyd Night

[MEGA-TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): In a rare stage appearance, legendary & razor-sharp TV talk show interviewer Dick Cavett—who has a story about almost everyone who was in show biz during the run of his series—will himself be interviewed by obsessive researcher Carl Arnheiter at UCB Chelsea. I’m baffled that this hasn’t already sold out (I’m prepping for knee surgery tomorrow but might try to attend regardless…): Inside Joke: Dick Cavett

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($15, no drink minimum): Neal Brennan (razor-sharp, edgy comedy veteran; HBO, Conan O’Brien, Jimmy Fallon, co-creator of Chappelle’s Show), Nate Bargatze (David Letterman, Conan O’Brien, Comedy Central Presents), Jessica Kirson (Jay Leno, Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central, HBO, Showtime, Bravo, VH1, Logo one-woman show My Cookie’s Gone), Ryan Hamilton (Conan O’Brien, Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central, Showtime), Matt Kirshen (Jimmy Fallon), and Yannis Pappas (Comedy Central, VH1) performing stand-up at The Stand Comedy Club (239 Third Avenue & 20th Street): Neal Brennan, Nate Bargatze, Jessica Kirson, and More

[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm ($14 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Colin Quinn (SNL, Comedy Central’s Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn, HBO, NBC, Broadway), 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), Keith Robinson (HBO, Comedy Central, Wanda Sykes Show), Jeff Lamp (Jay Leno), and Mike Vecchione (Last Comic Standing, Howard Stern) performing stand-up at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane) hosted by Ardie Fuqua (HBO’S Bad Boys of Comedy, Comedy Central): Colin Quinn, Tom Papa, Keith Robinson, and More

[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] 9:00 pm ($10 at the door or $11.80 in advance online): Storytelling and carny join forces to bring the blog And I Am Not Lying to life on stage, hosted by Jeff Simmermon (NPR’s This American Life), and tonight Brad Lawrence (Moth GrandSlam Champion) and Cyndi Freeman (Moth StorySlam champion, two-time FringeNYC award winner), plus stand-up from Giulia Rozzi (Jimmy Kimmel, MTV, VH1, Playgirl Magazine, co-host of Dive comedy and Stripped Stories), sideshow from Abigoliah Schamaun, and burlesque by Cherry Pitz (a.k.a. Cyndi Freeman) and Brief Sweat, all at Under St. Marks (94 St. Marks Place, off First Avenue): And I Am Not Lying

[TOP PICK] [FREE] Seating at 8:30, show at 9:00 pm (RSVP to confirm your spot at FreeComedyWednesdays@gmail.com): Nate Bargatze (David Letterman, Conan O’Brien, Comedy Central Presents), Aparna Nancherla (delightfully wry stand-up; writer for FX’s Totally Biased), Gary Vider (hilarious writer & deadpan stand-up; for sample jokes, please click here), Sheng Wang (Comedy Central Presents), Sean Donnelly (Comedy Central), Matt Ruby (MTV), Alex Rosenthal, and Johnny Alspaugh performing stand-up at Ella (9 Avenue A) produced by Mark Normand, Matt Ruby, Gary Vider, and Sachi Ezura: Hot Soup

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 9:00 pm: Jared Logan (rising star; Comedy Central Hour Hour, Last Comic Standing, CNN, TBS, host of ComedyJuice), Joyelle Nichole Johnson (opens for such superstars as Maria Bamford and Dave Chappelle), Kara Klenk (Comedy Central, host of If You Build It), Emily Epstein, Mike Camerlengo (writer/producer at ESPNU), and Zach Broussard 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] 9:00 pm ($5): Superb improvisors—and actual brothers—Will Hines and Kevin Hines make use of their intimate knowledge of each other to gracefully invent scenes (hopefully without any squabbling) at UCB East performing as duo The Brothers Hines

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): Sasheer Zamata (highly charming, innovative rising star; Comedy Central’s Inside Amy Schumer, FX’s Totally Biased; host of UCBT’s School Night, member of red-hot improv troupe Doppelganger, sketch troupe The Prom, and Harold Night troupe Bucky) and Josh Sharp (Maneater, Harold Night, Cool Shit/Weird Shit) perform a variety show with singing, dancing, and jokes that’s “basically like Sonny & Cher” at UCB Chelsea directed by the wonderful Brandon Scott Jones: Josheer

[TOP PICK] [$] 9:45 pm ($14 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Neal Brennan (razor-sharp, edgy comedy veteran; HBO, Conan O’Brien, Jimmy Fallon, co-creator of Chappelle’s Show), Gary Gulman (David Letterman, Jay Leno, Last Comic Standing, Tourgasm, Comedy Central hour-long special), Nick Griffin (David Letterman, Jay Leno, Comedy Central Presents), Greer Barnes (David Letterman, Chappelle Show, For the Love of the Game), and Josh Howie (Edinburgh Fringe Festival, The Movie Geek) performing stand-up at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane) hosted by Ardie Fuqua (HBO’S Bad Boys of Comedy, Comedy Central): Neal Brennan, Gary Gulman, NIck Griffin, and More

[TOP PICK] 10:00 pm ($5): The instructors of UCB’s classes include some of the finest improvisors in the country. In this weekly show a bunch of them get on stage at UCB East, along with hosts Betsy Stover and Ari Voukydis: Hot for Teacher: The UCB Faculty Show

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 10:00 pm: Rising stand-up stars—Jared Logan, Mike Lawrence, Mark Normand, Dan. St. Germain, Emily Heller, Michael Che, Joe List, Dan Soder, Calise Hawkins, and/or more—at Queens LIC’s The Creek upstairs theatre: The Regulars

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 11:00 pm: The wonderful Sasheer Zamata (highly charming, innovative rising star; Comedy Central’s Inside Amy Schumer, FX’s Totally Biased; member of red-hot improv troupe Doppelganger, sketch troupe The Prom, and Harold Night troupe Bucky) hosts 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. (Tonight’s scheduled guests include luminous sketch comic Anna Drezen, agent of chaos Sean Hart, and young sharp stand-up Gibran Saleem; 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

11:00 pm ($5): The debut of a show that, frankly confuses me: “Wrestling-Inspired Improv.” Faux wrestling thrives at UCBT’s Cage Match—but it’s actually highly physical sketch comedy, not improv. If you don’t carefully plan out wrestling moves, someone might get killed… But maybe that’s the unspoken incentive to come watch three such matches at The PIT downstairs lounge: Triple Threat: Wrestling-Inspired Improv

[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 troupe Grandma’s Ashes: The Improv Jam

[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), Big Jay Oakerson (Comedy Central Presents, HBO, Showtime, MTV, IFC), Joe List (HBO, Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central), Dan Soder (Comedy Central Half Hour, VH1; for set about being a hypochondriatic drug user, please click here), and Andrew Schulz (MTV2’s Guy Code), and Andrew Schulz (MTV2’s Guy Code) performing at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane) hosted by Ardie Fuqua (HBO’S Bad Boys of Comedy, Comedy Central): The Nasty Show: Dave Attell, Big Jay Oakerson, Joe List, and More

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 Tuesday 4/30/13

April 30, 2013

For more, please visit HyReviews.com.

Inside Amy Schumer debuts tonight at 10:30 on Comedy Central.

Chris Gethard 40

Comedy genius Chris Gethard closes up the final weekly edition of beloved stand-up show The Afterlife…

Neal Brennan

…and Neal Brennan is a whirlwind tonight, performing at The Stand, Comedy Cellar, and 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] [FREE] 6:00 pm: Nearly a dozen booked comics—including Keisha Zollar, Katie Hartman, Steve Soroka, and Brigid Boyle—perform solo character bits at The PIT downstairs lounge hosted by Jen Kwok (Comedy Central) and Keisha Zollar (Doppelganger): Comedy Character Showcase

[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

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] 6:15 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 Jay Dean and Tynan DeLong: Two Nice Guys Open MIc

[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: The Jezebelles and Canons (at 7:00), Legend and Vulcan (at 8:00), and Aquarius at 9:00 pm, followed at 10:15 by a free show that lets audience members join in with a musical improv group to make up stories in song: Magnet Musical Megawatt

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 7:00 pm: Comedian Michael Hartney 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

[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 Frank Zemel (Wrestlemania Improv) and host Jake Hart: The Dump

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

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm (no cover, 1 drink min.): Sadly, the final weekly episode of this terrific stand-up show about endings (though it’ll actually live on after this as a monthly event at Union Hall…). Laying this run to rest will be Chris Gethard (comedy genius; 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), Jamie Lee (Conan O’Brien, Last Comic Standing, MTV’s Ridiculousness, VH1), Ian Karmel (IFC’s Portlandia), Emmy Blotnick (MTV’s Nikki and Sara Live), Dan Wilbur (author of How Not to Read), George Gordon, and Jim VanBlaricum performing at Sidewalk NYC (94 Avenue A) produced by Chenoa Estrada, Emily Heller, and George Gordon and hosted tonight by Josh Gondelman: The Afterlife: Our Last Week

[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 a multimedia sketch production with the help of a small army of writers (including Meghan O’Neill) and performers who tonight include Adira Amram and Henry Zebrowski at the UCB East theatre: The Livia Scott Sketch Program

[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm ($12 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Great lineup of Colin Quinn (SNL, Comedy Central’s Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn, HBO, NBC, Broadway), 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), Keith Robinson (HBO, Comedy Central, Wanda Sykes Show), and Godfrey (Comedy Central Presents, Louie, 30 Rock, VH1; films Zoolander, Original Gangsters, Soul Plane; 7 Up Yours ads) performing stand-up at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane) hosted by Dan Naturman (David Letterman, Jay Leno): Colin Quinn, Nick DiPaolo, Tom Papa, and More

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($15, no drink minimum): Neal Brennan (razor-sharp, edgy comedy veteran; HBO, Conan O’Brien, Jimmy Fallon, co-creator of Chappelle’s Show), Mike Lawrence (nerd persona but razor-sharp mind has made this stand-up a rapidly rising star; Conan O’Brien, Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central Half Hours, John Oliver’s NY Stand-Up), Carmen Lynch (David Letterman, Last Comic Standing finalist, Comedy Central), Dan Soder (Comedy Central, VH1; for set about being a hypochondriatic drug user, please click here), Jesse Joyce (Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central, FOX), and more performing stand-up at The Stand Comedy Club (239 Third Avenue & 20th Street): Neal Brennan, Mike Lawrence, Carmen Lynch, and More

8:00 pm ($5): Rachel Cole and Nisse Greenberg perform sketch comedy at The PIT downstairs lounge as duo Rachel and the Elf

[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

[FREE] 8:30 pm: Typically sharp NYC stand-ups 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): Neal Brennan (razor-sharp, edgy comedy veteran; HBO, Conan O’Brien, Jimmy Fallon, co-creator of Chappelle’s Show), Retta (Donna in NBC’s Parks and Recreation, Conan O’Brien, Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central Half Hour), Matt Kirshen (UK stand-up; Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central Half Hour, Last Comic Standing, Showtime), and more performing at The Slipper Room (167 Orchard Street) hosted by Seth Herzog (Jimmy Fallon, VH1): Sweet

9:15 pm-Midnight ($5): Long form improv known as The Harold from UCB Chelsea house troupes Grammer, Sherlock & Cookies, 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 ($8): A sketch comedy troupe that includes Keisha Zollar (Doppelganger, host of The Soul Glo Jam, Andy Kaufman Award finalist) at The PIT upstairs theatre: Slap Fight

9:30 pm ($5): Come experience the magic of improv transform The PIT downstairs lounge into a live radio show, with patter, call-ins, commercials, and songs all made up on the spot: WPIT-FM: Radioprov

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): Brilliantly innovative improvisor Anthony Atamanuik (Death by Roo Roo, 30 Rock, Conan O’Brien, The Nights of Our Lives) plays oddball characters, and also hosts Giulia Rozzi (Jimmy Kimmel, MTV, VH1, Playgirl Magazine, co-host of Dive comedy and Stripped Stories), Megan Neuringer (HBO’s Flight Of The Conchords, Comedy Central’s Strangers With Candy, FOX’s Fringe, VH1’s Best Week Ever, MTV; freelance writer for Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central, Bravo, VH1, MTV, Spike), and Emmy Blotnick (MTV’s Nikki and Sara Live), all performing at the UCB East theatre: The Tony Show

[TOP PICK] [$] 10:00 pm ($12 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Great lineup of Neal Brennan (razor-sharp, edgy comedy veteran; HBO, Conan O’Brien, Jimmy Fallon, co-creator of Chappelle’s Show), Judah Friedlander (one of the quickest minds in comedy; 30 Rock, Meet the Parents, Along Came Polly, author of How to Beat Up Anybody), Gary Gulman (David Letterman, Jay Leno, Last Comic Standing, Tourgasm, Comedy Central hour-long special), Greer Barnes (David Letterman, Chappelle Show, For the Love of the Game), Ryan Hamilton (Conan O’Brien, Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central, Showtime), Mike Vecchione (Last Comic Standing, Howard Stern), and TuRae (Comedy Central) performing stand-up at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane) hosted by Dan Naturman (David Letterman, Jay Leno): Neal Brennan, Judah Friedlander, Gary Gulman, 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

[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

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.

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

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