Storytelling | Best New York Comedy

NYC Top Comedy Choices for Thursday 9/20/12

September 20, 2012

For more, please visit HyReviews.com.

New Yorker cartoonists Paul Noth (above and below)…

…Christopher Weyant, and Drew Dernavich are interviewed at “Running Late with Scott Rogowsky”…

…Dave Hill performs on Tom Shillue’s “Funny Story”…

…and a classic 1968 Monkees film is dissected at “Head”

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

[FREE] 6:00 pm: Veteran musical improvisors at The PIT mix with novices on-stage at Pitch

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

6:30 pm ($5): Two shows I know nothing about—We Don’t Have Money to Pay Our Rent and Our First Orgy—audition for a spot on the schedule of the prestigious UCB Chelsea stage. At $2.50 per show, it’s hard to go wrong with Spank

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 7:00 pm: Blowout show with comedic authors Jonathan Ames (creator of HBO’s Bored to Death; author of Wake Up, Sir), Chris Gethard (brilliant improvisor and comedic storyteller; star of Comedy Central sitcom Big Lake and Manhattan Cable Access’ The Chris Gethard Show; The Stepfathers, The Nights of Our Lives, author of new bestseller A Bad Idea I’m About to Do and Weird New York), and Todd Hanson (long-time head writer of The Onion) performing at Brooklyn’s Public Assembly (70th North 6th Street, by the L subway’s Bedford Avenue stop), plus free books from Forbidden Planet, and sketches from Moon regulars Camille Harris, Jordan Clifford, Tim Skinner, and Tim Whitney, and hosts Nat Towsen & Bob Walles: The Moon Show: Tribute to Books

[TOP PICK] 7:00 pm ($5): Davy and Peter Rothbart, the owners of Found Magazine, are touring the country to celebrate the mag’s 10th Anniversary. Join them for their one-night-only show at UCB East as they tell stories, sing, and show you cool stuff they’ve discovered: My Heart Is An Idiot: Found Magazine’s 10th Anniversary Tour

7:00 pm ($8): Improv troupe Maybe Sherman makes up scenes involving mobsters at The PITupstairs theatre: MafiaProv

7:00 pm ($5): Two singing improv troupes make up entire musicals on the spot in this double-bill atThe PIT downstairs lounge: Hot Diner 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

[MEGA-TOP PICK] [$] 7:30 pm & 10:00 pm: A comedy force of nature—tough, smart, honest, hilarious—who is one of the very finest stand-ups ever (for video samples, please click here) performs tonight through Sunday at the Carolines Comedy Club. All performances are sold out, but you can try for a stand-by line: Bill Burr

[TOP PICK] [$] 7:30 pm ($18 at the door or $21.95 online): “The trippiest psychedelic cult film of all time,” Head, written by Jack Nicholson and starring The Monkees, is screened at Brooklyn’s The Bell House (149 7th Street, between Second and Third Avenues) and then dissected by Kurt Loder (The Good, the Bad and the Godawful), Julie Klausner (razor-sharp comic & storyteller; host of How Was Your Week podcast; author of I Don’t Care About Your Band), Monkees historian Eric Lefcowitz (Monkee Business: The Revolutionary Made-For-TV Band), music journalist Rob Sheffield (Rolling Stone), and “other special guests:” Night of the Living: Head

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($10, which includes a free beer): Star storyteller Tom Shillue (Conan O’Brien, The Daily Show, Comedy Central Presents, 2011 ECNY Award for Best Storyteller) gathers top comics to tell funny stories at the Brooklyn Brewery (79 North 11th Street), with tonight’s guests Dave Hill (one of the most original and hilariously sharp alternative comics in the country; HBO, Comedy Central, MTV, VH1, NPR, The Dave Hill Explosion, bands Valley Lodge and Diamondsnake, champion rapper; new book Tasteful Nudes), Rob Cantrell (Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central, VHI, documentary Metaphysical Graffiti, High Times), and Garrett Oliver: Tom Shillue’s Funny Story

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): At UCB Chelsea, a delightful dark musical about the rich consuming the poor—literally. Witty songs from Brian Glidewell, Marcy Jarreau, and Kevin Carter, a uniformly strong cast (Megan Maes, Aaron Jackson, Michael Martin, Katie Schorr, Dan Hodapp, Brian Glidewell, and Stephanie Streisand), and sharp direction from Christopher Gladysz and Lauren Conlin Adams make this 30-minute surreal parody of Newsies a winner as a UCBT comedy, and recommended. That said, right now the story is paper-thin and the characters cardboard. While the latter is turned into an asset (e.g., a leg-injured character is hilariously named “Cripply”), I’m hoping the creators consider making all the elements deeper and more nuanced, and expanding the production to a 90-minute legit theatre length. Meanwhile, enjoy this remarkably compact version that delivers a quick, sharp punch to the gut you’re likely to remember: Newsadoozies: A Man-Eating Musical…

…and in the other half of this double-bill, Mamrie Hart is a rising star who somehow manages to be razor-sharp and immensely warm & accessible at the same time—and is always worth catching. Mamrie and her superb comedy partner Stephen Soroka tonight perform puns, wild facial expressions, dance, rock trivia, audience pranks, murder reenactments, and more as sketch duoBoF: Friends Without Benefits

8:00 pm ($5): Two singing improv troupes make up entire musicals on the spot in this double-bill atThe PIT downstairs lounge: The East Side Orphan Riot and Harvey

8:00 pm ($8): A monthly variety show that “features longform puppet improv, collaborations with special guests, choose-your-own-adventures, give-aways, and more” at The PIT upstairs theatre:An Existential Sing-Along

8:00 pm ($5; includes free beer): A charming monthly comedy variety show, tonight featuring Jeffrey Joseph (stand-up), Charla Lauriston (storyteller), Youth Group (improv troupe), and more performing at ABC No Rio (156 Rivington Street, between Suffolk and Clinton) hosted by Bridgid Ryan and her improv/sketch troupe Chester (Bridgid Ryan, Sunita Mani, Bryan Rucker, Zack Willis, Caitlin Steitzer, and Adam Jacobson): Don’t You Find Us Charming?

8:00 pm-MIdnight ($7 for the entire evening): The Magnet house troupes The Boss, Hello Laser, Brick, and Junior Varsity performing improv for two hours, followed at 10:00 pm by Neil McNamara directing Deep Dish (long-form improv interspersed with character monologues), and then at 11:00 improv competition Inspirado (like UCBT’s Cage Match, but with a game-like challengecomponent): The Magnet’s Night Out

[FREE] 8:00 pm: “A stand-up comedy showcase and baking competition—come to eat or come to compete” at The Creek’s upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City hosted by Cody Hess & Jessica Gross: Cookies!

[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): Reid Faylor (co-host of hilarious Creek show Underbelly), Matt Ruby (MTV; co-host ofHot Soup and We’re All Friends Here, blog Sandpaper Suit), Katie Compa, and George Gordon performing stand-up at UCB East hosted by Adam Conover & Emily Heller: Fresh Out

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($10 at the door, $11.34 in advance online): New Yorker cartoonists Paul Noth, Christopher Weyant, and Drew Dernavich share their work and insider stories about the legendary magazine with host Scott Rogowsky (writer for The Onion) at The PIT upstairs theatre, plus interviews with portrait painter Jonathan Blum and storyteller Andy Ross: Running Late with Scott Rogowsky

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): The Emmy-winning writers of The Colbert Report gather on the UCB West stage to perform an all-improvised show at Seize the Mustard

[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

[FREE] 9:30 pm: A monthly showcase of both stand-ups and improvisors at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City, hosted by stand-up Zach Broussard and improv troupe Priest & the Beekeeper: Pig Pile

[TOP PICK] 11:00 pm ($5): Improv troupe Good Dad, comprised of such superstars as Neil Casey, Fran Gillespie, and Jon Gabrus, outplayed The Improvised Play last week, scoring 77-48 for its 8th consecutive win. Tonight Good Dad plans to kill with kindness UCB East group What I Did for Love, as these two teams compete for audience laughs and votes at UCB Chelsea for the raucous Cage Match

[TOP PICK] 11:00 pm ($5): Two iO Chicago improv veterans, Alex Eilhauer & Marla Caceres, repeat a scene multiple times, “twisting and re-envisioning it until they squeeze out every last drop of hilarity from it” for one night only at The PIT downstairs lounge: Alex Eilhauer & Marla Caceres: Endlessly Repeating Improv

11:00 pm ($5): A showcase of NYC stand-ups not yet represented by a manager or agent (i.e., fresh meat) at UCB East hosted by Luke Thayer & Nick Cobb: Unmanageable Stand-Ups

For more, please visit HyReviews.com.

Leave a Comment » | Best New York Live Comedy Shows | Tagged: Comedy, Comedy NYC Tonight, Dave Hill, Improv, Paul Noth, Scott Rogowsky, Sketch, Stand-Up, Storytelling, The Monkees: Head, The New Yorker cartoonists, Tom Shillue's Funny Story | Permalink
Posted by hybender

NYC Top Comedy Choices for Wednesday 9/19/12

September 19, 2012

For more, please visit HyReviews.com.

Comedy superstar Sarah Silverman is slated to perform…

…at UCB East for “Big Long Sets”

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

[FREE] 6:00 pm to midnight: Six free hours of improvisation at The PIT downstairs lounge (at 6:00 pm) and upstairs theatre (7:00 pm on) for Super Free Wednesday

[FREE] 6:00 pm: Open-mic stand-up providing four minutes per comic, with “15 people chosen randomly through e-mail, and five walk-ins; and a guaranteed spot to anyone who performs in character as a famous explorer” at Queens LIC’s The Creek upstairs theatre: Comedic Exploration Club of Long Island City, West

7:00 pm ($5): Charles Star (host of Adult Education), Giulio Galarotti (MTV), Subhah Agarwal, and Jay Nog performing stand-up at The PIT downstairs lounge hosted by the delightful Abbi Crutchfield (VH1) and comedic rapper Andrew Singer (Atom TV): Positively Awesome

7:00 pm-12:30 am ($7 for the entire evening): Magnet house troupes Nintendo, Dr. Champagne, The Wrath, Brick, Featherweight, Chet Watkins, Flower Girl, and Bloomer performing improv, followed by a free audience interactive show with Bloomer 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 troupes Spooky Ghost and Graceland: Lloyd Night

8:00 pm ($5): Two sketch shows I haven’t yet seen at UCB Chelsea: Brent Sullivan presents fake profiles he used to communicate via social networks with people he’d normally be terrified to contact at Profiles in Cowardice; and a (mostly) one-man show by George Kareman titled Incredibly Extreme and Extremely Incredible

[FREE] 8:00 pm: NYC stand-ups perform for a show sponsored by Carolines at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City, hosted by Nick Turner: Comics to Watch Showcase

[FREE] 8:30 pm: Typically terrific NYC comics (not announced) performing at this free weekly comedy show at Brooklyn’s Cameo (behind Lovin’ Cup) typically hosted by Jenny Slate, Gabe Liedman, and/or Max Silvestri: Big Terrific

[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($5): A weekly wild experiment in dark comedy, blending sketch and improv, from two of the most brilliant, fearless, and innovative comics in the biz, John Gemberling (briefly back from LA; Death by Roo Roo, Adult Swim, Comedy Central) and Anthony Atamanuik (Death by Roo Roo, 30 Rock, Conan O’Brien, Huffington Post, The Nights of Our Lives) at UCB East with tonight’s guests John Flynn (superb storyteller/actor/host; The Nights of Our Lives, host of Oh, Hey Guys!) and Jordan Carlos (The Colbert Report, MTV, VH1), plus producer Andy Rocco: The Tony and Johnny Show

[FREE] 9:00 pm: Emily Heller (Comedy Central; staff writer for Rooftop Comedy; for ruminations on pregnancy, please click here), J.R. Havlan (writer for The Daily Show), Josh Spear (NBC’s The Today Show), TJ Young (The Beards of Comedy), and Grant Gordon performing stand-up at this free weekly comedy show at Lucky Jack’s Bar (129 Orchard Street) produced by Kyle Fincham, Lance Weiss, and Brendon Fitzgibbons: Gandhi, Is That You?

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): “For over a year, Patrick Waldo scrawled his moustache tag on countless advertisements around New York City, entertaining commuters and causing thousands of dollars in damage. After a three month investigation, the NYPD put an end to his spree when they arrested Waldo under felony charges of graffiti, criminal mischief, and fucking shit up,” written & starring Patrick Waldo, and directed by Nate Dern & John Flynn: Moustache Man: Confessions of a NYC Graffiti Artist…

…and in the other half of this UCB Chelsea double-bill, red-hot rising star Mamrie Hart, plus a bunch of guys, perform a variety show extolling the wonders of nectar written by & starring Colin Elzie, Pat O’Brien, and Ben Wietmarschen: The Honeymen: A Salute to Honey

[MEGA-TOP PICK] 10:00 ($5): Good god. Comedy superstar Sara Silverman is slated to perform a comedy club-length set at UCB East, along with Jeffrey Joseph (Jay Leno, HBO, FOX’s In Living Color, Comedy Central), hosted by Adam Newman (Comedy Central, College Humor). Thank you, UCBT: Big Long Sets

[FREE] 10:00 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] [FREE] 11:00 pm: The wonderful Sasheer Zamata (Doppelganger) 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 performers include Sasheer & A Snail, Brandon Gulya, and Goofy Bitches; 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

For more, please visit HyReviews.com.

Leave a Comment » | Best New York Live Comedy Shows | Tagged: Big Long Sets, Comedy, Comedy NYC Tonight, Improv, Sarah Silverman, Sketch, Stand-Up, Storytelling | Permalink
Posted by hybender

NYC Top Comedy Choices for Monday 9/17/12

September 17, 2012

For more, please visit HyReviews.com.

Todd Barry—plus, with luck, a superstar “mystery guest”—is at Hot Tub Variety…

…and stunningly talented & fearless comedic singer Jessica Delfino performs at Comedy Central Corporate Retreat

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

[FREE] 6:00 pm: Weekly hour-long open-mic storytelling show, with audience members chosen from a bucket of names getting to tell tales for 8 minutes each at The PIT downstairs lounge along with host Jake Hart: The Dump

6:00 pm ($5 cover for comics—no cover for audience members if you mention code HyReviews—and $5 drink min.): The perfect show for short attention spans—open-mic stand-up with 4 1/2 minutes per set and 20 comics crammed into 2 hours—at the Greenwich Village Comedy Club (99 MacDougal Street) for John Morrison’s Village Motel

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

7:00 pm ($5): Chris Nester & Ross Taylor are aspiring Country Western musicians who “sneak laughs and toe-tapping-tunes in between serious moral lessons based on suggestions from the audience (sinners welcome!)” at The PIT downstairs lounge: The Oakwood Boys: MoralityProv

[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

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($9.47 online or $8 at the door): 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), Nick Vatterott (Conan O’Brien, Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central’s The Half Hour, MTV, Second City, 2012 Andy Kaufman Award), Giulia Rozzi (Jimmy Kimmel, MTV, VH1, Playgirl Magazine, co-host of Dive comedy and Stripped Stories), Kara Klenk (host of If You Build It), and a mystery guest (who the show poster hints at being—let’s just say a very, very famous female comic) performing stand-up at Brooklyn’s Littlefield (622 Degraw Street) hosted by Jared Logan (rising star; Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central, host of ComedyJuice): Hot Tub Variety

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): Jessica Delfino (enjoys singing songs about her vagina, as demonstrated by her CDs Dirty Folk Rock and I Wanna Be Famous; created the hilarious and wildly popular YouTube animated short film I Wanna Be Famous; to get a feel for Jessica’s range and talent, please click here), Jena Friedman (wry dark comedy stand-up and rising star; former staff writer for David Letterman), Summer & Eve (terrific comedic musical group), and Kate Berlant (MTV, CNN, host of Crime & Punishment, notable hair) performing stand-up at UCB East hosted by Ben Kronberg (Jimmy Kimmel, MTV): Comedy Central Corporate Retreat

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): Winner of the 2008 Edinburgh Comedy Award, Irish comic David O’Doherty briefly visits NYC and shares with us his one-man show at UCB Chelsea for one night only: Seize The David O’Doherty

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($10): Storytellers Cammi Climaco (Ask Me Stories), Kambri Crews (author of Burn Down the Ground), Abbi Crutchfield (Positively Awesome), William Mullin (Santa Fe Comedy Festival), Improv performed by talented duos at The PIT upstairs theatre: Bare! True Stories of Sex, Desire and Romance

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 9:00 pm: Brooke Van Poppelen (writer for MTV’s Epic Fall; trutV, TLC, co-host of Dive Comedy; for stand-up videos about overindulging at 30 and impersonating Morrisey, please click here and here), Gary Vider (hilarious writer & deadpan stand-up; for sample jokes, please click here), Emily Heller (Comedy Central; staff writer for Rooftop Comedy; for ruminations on pregnancy, please click here), Jeffrey Joseph (Jay Leno, HBO, FOX’s In Living Color, Comedy Central), Seaton Smith (Opie & Anthony Virus Tour), Greg Barris (host of Heart of Darkness), and more performing stand-up at this weekly show at Brooklyn’s Bar Matchless back room (557 Manhattan Avenue, near the G subway’s Nassau Avenue stop) hosted by Nimesh Patel, Mike Denny, and/or Michael Che: Broken Comedy

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): Two UCB Chelsea house sketch troupes try out new bits: Fambly (which includes wonderful rising star Mamrie Hart, Nicole Byer, Dan Chamberlain, Veronica Osorio, and a sharp crew of writers), and Biege (which includes Dan Hodapp, who recently co-starred in FringeNYC smash hit Tail! Spin!): Maude Night: Fambly and Beige

9:30 pm ($5): The debut of 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] 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

[FREE] 9:30 pm: NYC stand-ups Kendra Cunningham, Sean Donnelly, Carrie Gravenson, John Mooney, Jason Marcus,Justin Murray, Peter Moses and Nick Marito performing at Brooklyn’s Freddy’s Backroom (627 5th Avenue) with host Pat O’Shea: Ed Sullivan on Acid

10:00 pm ($5): A variety show in which comics perform characters, stand-up, and other bits at The Magnet hosted by Jon Bander: What’s to Get?

[FREE] 10:30 pm: Improv students are welcomed onto the stage at The PIT downstairs lounge for this weekly open access show hosted by Gary DeNoia & Keith Huang: Base Jam

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

[FREE] 11:00 pm: If you’re an audience member who loves stand-up, Monday at 11 should be Whiplash! night (see listing above). If you’re a comic who couldn’t get booked on UCBT’s all-star show, though, you can opt to instead practice your skills at this exceptionally supportive stand-up open-mic at The PIT upstairs theatre hosted by Jared Reed: Fresh

For more, please visit HyReviews.com.

Leave a Comment » | Best New York Live Comedy Shows | Tagged: Comedy, Comedy Central Corporate Retreat, Comedy NYC Tonight, Hot Tub Variety Show, Jessica Delfino, Sketch, Stand-Up, Storytelling, Todd Barry | Permalink
Posted by hybender

NYC Top Comedy Choices for Saturday 9/15/12

September 15, 2012

For more, please visit HyReviews.com.

Comedy stars Colin Quinn, Janeane Garofalo, and a mystery guest perform stand-up at “If You Build It”…

…Brian Posehn headlines at Carolines, and Amy Schumer headlines at Gotham (earlier shows are sold out, but nab tickets for Amy’s finale at 11:45 pm)

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] 4:30 pm-11:00 pm ($15-$20): Top comics from NYC and elsewhere—including UK phenom Daniel Kitson—gather tonight for three different shows, in Brooklyn’s Union Hall and Bell House, for the next-to-last day of the Fifth Annual Eugene Mirman Comedy Festival

[TOP PICK] 5:30 pm ($10 plus 1 drink min.): “Just when you thought it was safe to go back to the theater, a shark swims right into your heart.” Beloved storyteller/stand-up/sketch comic John Flynn stars—superbly—as a singing shark, along with two wonderful finds, powerhouse singer Laura Daniel and comedy dynamo Brett Douglas, in this 40-minute musical written & composed by Wayne Henry at the Broadway Comedy Club (318 West 53rd Street, between 8th & 9th Avenues) that really should be doubled in length via a second act but in the meantime is worth catching as is: Jaws: The Musical

[FREE] 5:30 pm: New improv teams experimenting with new forms at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City, hosted by Andy Rocco and Jon Monje: Anybody Vs. Everybody: An Improv Show for You

6:00 pm ($5): Improv troupes Gunther, Big Fat Liars, and Sad Kids at The Magnet kicking off your Saturday evening: The Rundown

[TOP PICK] 7:00 pm ($10): The UK’s renowned Cambridge University is known for great scholarly achievement…but also a comedy troupe named The Footlights that helped launch the careers of John Cleese (Monty Python), Hugh Laurie (House), Emma Thompson (Love Actually), Sacha Baron Cohen (Borat), and more. The 2012 edition of this group performs tonight at UCB East as part of a world tour: Cambridge Footlights: Perfect Strangers

[TOP PICK] 7:00 pm ($5): Original comedic songs are showcased, with tonight’s superb performers Jessica Delfino (I Wanna Be Famous album), Amy Albert (Delilah Dix and her Bag of Tricks), Juliet Jeske (Huffington Post video blogger), Ashley Brooke Roberts, and Kathleen Armenti at The PIT downstairs lounge hosted by Justin Perez & Shaina Stigler: Totally Requesty

[TOP PICK] 7:30 pm ($7): Two of the most respected improvisors in the country, Magnet co-owner Armando DIaz and Christina Gausas, team up as Diaz & Gausas

7:30 pm ($10): Talented improvisors 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

[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm & 10:30 pm ($27.25 & 2-drink min.) A unique organic talent who’s a regular guest on Conan O’Brien, and co-stared in the Comedians of Comedy tour and Comedy Central’s The Sarah Silverman Program, headlining tonight and Sunday at the Carolines Comedy Club: Brian Posehn

8:00 pm ($5): Katie Hartman (Skinny Bitch Jesus Meeting), Jon Bander (Harvey), and Jenn Dodd (Buttski and Glasscock’s Talent Blowout) perform comedic characters at The PIT downstairs lounge along with host Delilah Dix: What a Bunch Of Dix!

8:00 pm ($10): Two of the most respected PIT improv troupes performing on this weekly double-bill—and occasionally with comedy giants Kristen Schaal and/or Kurt Braunohler participating: Big Black Car and The Baldwins

[FREE] 8:00 pm: NYC stand-ups performing stand-up at The Creek downstairs lounge in Queens’ Long Island City hosted by Ray DeVito, Ben Kronberg, Nick Cobb, and/or Tim Dimond: Shoot the Shite

[TOP PICK] 8:30 pm ($10): TV & movie star Janeane Garofalo, TV & Broadway star Colin Quinn, “a very special guest we can’t even name,” and more celebrating the One Year Anniversary of this weekly stand-up show at UCB East hosted by Kara Klenk and Nick Turner: If You Build It

[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

[TOP PICK] [$] [DISCOUNTED] 9:00 pm & 11:00 pm (FREE TICKETS if you reserve in advance by calling (212) 260-2445 and mention HyReviews.com, but there’s still a 2-drink min. per person): Comedy stars Ted Alexandro (possibly just 9:00 pm), Christian Finnegan, and more performing at the only comedy club in the East Village: Eastville Comedy Club

9:00 pm ($5): “Ashley Rebecca King and Gregory von Portz present a post-dinner poolside party for their hippest and most sophisticated friends. Menthol-cool musical stylings and intellectual discourse abound as you are treated to a floor show with a carefully chosen set list, curated by the world’s foremost cover-band artists, that changes monthly. Dip in; it’s never the same dive twice” at The PIT downstairs lounge: Moon Pools

9:00 pm ($7): Magnet improvisors team up with poets at Kiss*Punch*Poem

10:00 pm ($5): Comics performing as characters at The PIT downstairs lounge, with tonight’s show featuring Matt McCarthy and probably a small army of others, hosted by Rob Stern: Overload the Machine

[FREE] 10:00 pm: Stand-up, sketch, and who knows what else at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City hosted by a stand-up/sketch duo: Team Submarine and Friends

[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): 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” at this newest UCB Chelsea show to be honored with a weekend time slot: Grandma’s Ashes Gets Dark

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

[MEGA-TOP PICK] 10:30 pm ($7): For a change of pace, improv master Ed Herbstman joins Nick Kanellis & Peter McNerney performing at The Magnet as comedy duo Trike

11:00 pm ($8): A young new all-guy improv troupe making stuff up at The PIT upstairs theatre: Gentlemen Party

[TOP PICK] 11:30 ($8): 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 won an ECNY Award for Best Sketch Group—performing at The PIT downstairs lounge: Murderfist: Late and Dirty

[TOP PICK] [$] 11:45 pm ($25 & 2-drink min.): Amy Schumer is one of the very finest stand-ups in the country, with performances on Conan O’Brien, Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central Presents, Last Comic Standing, 30 Rock, and more; and Amy’s just getting started with a career that’s likely to skyrocket. Amy’s headlining one last night at the Gotham Comedy Club. Tickets are mostly sold out, but there are still some left for the 11:45 pm finale; grab them while you can…: Amy Schumer

Midnight ($5): “Jason Saenz and Riley Soloner have invited the worst people in NYC to come and talk about their sh*tty situations in front of a studio audience in hopes that they can better themselves and turn their lives around. HAHAHA! Just kidding! We’re exploiting these people for ratings!” Featuring over a dozen comics performing at UCB Chelsea, including Nicole Byer and Rob Lathan: Late Night Trash

Midnight ($5): Screenings at UCB East (which used to be an indie film theatre) of brand new comedy videos that haven’t yet been released: Test Screening

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

For more, please visit HyReviews.com.

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NYC Top Comedy Choices for Friday 9/14/12

September 14, 2012

For more, please visit HyReviews.com.

Sarah Silverman and Daniel Kitson are among the stars at this year’s Eugene Mirman Comedy Festival

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

[FREE] 6:00 pm: An open-mic show on a lottery system (sign-ups happen at 5:45-6:00 pm) at The Creek downstairs lounge in Queens’ Long Island City with hosts Erin Lennox and Eli Sairs: The Orphanage

7:00 pm ($5): Improv at The Magnet that flows from moment to moment, with no sweeps or tag outs—”each exit starts a new scene, while performers use devices ranging from monologues to in-scene questions to break into characters and relationships quicker and deeper:” Scoresby

7:00 pm ($8): Young improvisors at The PIT downstairs lounge make up a musical on the spot based on an audience suggestion: The Shady Bunch

[FREE] 7:00 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 Nate Dern and Paul Oddo: The Friday Night Hot Chicks Mic

[TOP PICK] 7:30 pm-11:00 pm ($15-$20): Top comics from NYC and elsewhere gather tonight for two different shows, in Brooklyn’s Union Hall and Bell House, for this weekend’s Fifth Annual Eugene Mirman Comedy Festival

[TOP PICK] 7:30 pm ($10): The UK’s renowned Cambridge University is known for great scholarly achievement…but also a comedy troupe named The Footlights that helped launch the careers of John Cleese (Monty Python), Hugh Laurie (House), Emma Thompson (Love Actually), Sacha Baron Cohen (Borat), and more. The 2012 edition of this group performs tonight at UCB Chelsea as part of a world tour: Cambridge Footlights: Perfect Strangers

[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm & 10:30 pm ($27.25 & 2-drink min.) A unique organic talent who’s a regular guest on Conan O’Brien, and co-stared in the Comedians of Comedy tour and Comedy Central’s The Sarah Silverman Program, headlining tonight through Sunday at the Carolines Comedy Club: Brian Posehn

[FREE] 8:00 pm: Stand-up, sketch, videos, and more at Queens LIC’s The Creek upstairs theatre with Jeffrey Joseph and hosts Ron Krasnow & Joel Walkowski: The Short Bus

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

8:30 pm ($7): Five veteran improvisors make stuff up at The Magnet as troupe Lead McEnroe

[TOP PICK] [$] [DISCOUNTED] 9:00 pm & 11:00 pm (FREE TICKETS if you reserve in advance by calling (212) 260-2445 and mention HyReviews.com, but there’s still a 2-drink min. per person): Killer great lineup of TV & movie stars Janeane Garofalo (9:00 pm only), Ted Alexandro (possibly 9:00 pm only), Christian Finnegan, and more performing at the only comedy club in the East Village: Eastville Comedy Club

[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($10): Some of the finest improv in NYC from comedy geniuses Chris Gethard and Shannon O’Neill, plus stellar comics Silvija Ozols, Zach Woods, Michael Delaney, Will Hines, and Connor Ratliff, performing at UCB Chelsea—the all-star members of The Stepfathers

[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($10): Sharp improvisors at UCB East—Michael Kayne, Amber Petty, Ashley Ward, Morgan Phillips, and Winston Noel—making up a musical on the spot: Diamond Lion

9:00 pm ($5): Oscar Montoya (host of deliciously bad cinema) and Jen Tullock (Second City) wrote & perform a duo sketch show about “a night at gay rehab for renewal, self-discovery, and occasional break dancing” at The PIT downstairs lounge: Pray It Away with Oscar & Jen

9:30 pm ($10): A PIT improv troupe making up a musical on the spot after a friendly greeting: Hello

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 10:00 pm: Formerly titled Now That’s What I Call Musical Comedy—until a “cease and desist” order arrived from the attorneys at EMI Music—this show marches on with terrific comedic musical performers at The Creek’s upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City hosted by Ben Lerman and Tim Dimond: Radio Shack: A Comedy Musical Showcase

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

[TOP PICK] 10:30 pm ($10): Fran Gillespie, Jon Gabrus, Sue Galloway, Matt Fisher, Craig Rowin, Nate Lang, and other superb improvisors at UCB Chelsea making up scenes about an audience member’s legal dispute: The Law Firm: Law & Disorder

10:30 pm ($5): NYC comics (not announced) performing at UCB East hosted by Emily Axford, D’Arcy Carden, Alden Ford, Brandon Scott Jones, and/or Justin Tyler: Gentrify

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

[TOP PICK] [FREE] Midnight: NYC stand-ups—sometimes stellar ones—pushing boundaries for a show designed for looseness and experimentation at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City with hosts Jacqueline Novak and Chris Laker: Permission to Fail

Midnight ($5): Comics (not announced) debating various topics, mixed with sketch and who knows what else, at UCB East hosted by Michael Shawki, Jeff Wesselschimdt, and Dan Licata: The Great Debate

[FREE] Midnight: This show might not be much fun for audience members, but it’s an amazing opportunity if you want to perform sketch for free and with almost zero hurdles on the prestigious UCB Chelsea stage. Plus it’s hosted by members of Maude troupe Fambly, typically including such wonderful talents as Nicole Byer and Veronica Osorio: Liquid Courage

For more, please visit HyReviews.com.

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NYC Top Comedy Choices for Thursday 9/13/12

September 13, 2012

For more, please visit HyReviews.com.

The lovely & brilliant Amy Schumer headlines at Gotham (nearly sold out, but tickets still available for Saturday at 11:45 pm)…

…and mega-selling author R. L. Stine is interviewed at Running Late with Scott Rogowsky

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; and tonight only, FREE PIZZA!] 6:00 pm: An “exciting mystery guest” helps celebrate the One Year Anniversary of this weekly open-mic storytelling show, with each performer given a whopping eight minutes to captivate & impress, at UCB East hosted by John Flynn: Oh, Hey Guys!

[FREE] 6:00 pm: Veteran musical improvisors at The PIT mix with novices on-stage at Pitch

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

6:30 pm ($5): Two shows I know nothing about but sound cool—Rewrite Movie Night and Bedtime Sketches—audition for a spot on the schedule of the prestigious UCB Chelsea stage: Spank

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

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

[TOP PICK] 7:30 pm ($5): Superb improvisors—and actual brothers—Will Hines and Kevin Hines make use of their intimate knowledge of each other to gracefully make scenes up (hopefully without any fighting) at UCB East performing as duo The Brothers Hines

[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm ($25 & 2-drink min.): Amy Schumer is one of the very finest stand-ups in the country, with performances on Conan O’Brien, Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central Presents, Last Comic Standing, 30 Rock, and more; and Amy’s just getting started with a career that’s likely to skyrocket. Amy’s headlining tonight through Saturday at the Gotham Comedy Club. Tickets are mostly sold out, but there are still some left for Saturday at 11:45; grab them while you can…: Amy Schumer

8:00 pm ($5): Two singing improv troupes make up entire musicals on the spot in this double-bill at The PIT downstairs lounge: The East Side Orphan Riot and Harvey

8:00 pm-MIdnight ($7 for the entire evening): The Magnet house troupes The Boss, Hello Laser, The Wrath, and Junior Varsity performing improv for two hours, followed at 10:00 pm by Neil McNamara directing Deep Dish (long-form improv interspersed with character monologues), and then at 11:00 improv competition Inspirado (like UCBT’s Cage Match, but with a game-like challenge component): The Magnet’s Night Out

[FREE] 8:00 pm: Stand-ups Leah Bonnema, Adam Lash, Adam Lehman, and Aalap Patel performing in Astoria Queens’ Mosaic Cafe & Lounge (25-19 24th Avenue) hosted by Liz Simons & Jenn Wehrung: Laugh It Up, Astoria

[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 and more performing at the only comedy club in the East Village: Eastville Comedy Club

9:00 pm ($5): NYC stand-ups Nick Turner (Jimmy Fallon), Ashley Brooke Roberts, Josh Gondelman, Jono Zalay, Damien Lemon, and Nato Green performing at UCB East hosted by Adam Conover: Fresh Out

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

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm: The wonderful Ben Schwartz (NBC’s Parks and Recreation, Showtime’s House of Lies, written for SNL and David Letterman, was member of brilliant sketch/improv troupe Hot Sauce) briefly returns from LA to improvise with some of his friends at UCB Chelsea in “a show that has nothing to do with snowpants:” Ben Schwartz Presents Snowpants

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($10 at the door, $11.34 in advance online): Scott Rogowsky (writer for The Onion, co-host of 12 Angry Mascots) returns to The PIT upstairs theatre to host “a unique talk show experience that needs to be experienced to be experienced. There will be plenty of bits, skits, chits and chats, and maybe that pretty girl you saw on the 6 train last night will be in the audience! It’s a big city, but you run into people,” with tonight’s guests mega-bestselling horror author R. L. Stine (Goosebumps), Emmy Award winning journalist David Shuster (CNN, MSNBC, host of Take Action News), Dan Klein & Kelly Hudson (creators of Rejected Pitches on the Above Average Channel), and comedy duo twins Stone & Stone (Last Comic Standing): Running Late with Scott Rogowsky

[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

[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] 11:00 pm ($5): Improv troupe Good Dad, comprised of such superstars as Neil Casey, Fran Gillespie, and Jon Gabrus, did something really difficult last week by crushing Diamond Lion—specifically, 137-29. Sorry I missed that; but tonight provides another chance, when the champion vies with The Improvised Play (performing every Saturday night at The Soho Playhouse). Come experience these two formidable teams compete for audience laughs and votes at UCB Chelsea for the raucous Cage Match

11:00 pm ($5): A mock Presidential fundraiser at UCB East featuring Chris Gethard, Will Hines, Connor Ratliff, Don Fanelli, and many more: The Concert for Ratliff 35/2012

For more, please visit HyReviews.com.

Leave a Comment » | Best New York Live Comedy Shows | Tagged: Amy Schumer, Comedy, Comedy NYC Tonight, Goosebumps, Improv, R. L. Stine, Sketch, Stand-Up, Storytelling | Permalink
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NYC Top Comedy Choices for Tuesday 9/11/12

September 11, 2012

For more, please visit HyReviews.com.

Matt Graham returns with his acclaimed FringeNYC one-man show “This Too Shall Suck”…

…and Sean Patton performs at “The Afterlife: Where Were You When?”

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

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

[TOP PICK] 7:00 pm-Midnight ($7 for the whole evening): In this 5-hour extravaganza, each of four of The Magnet’s singing improv troupes make up a musical on the spot based on an audience suggestion: BEEES! and Aquarius (at 7:00) and Mint Condition and Legend (at 8:30); followed at 10:15 by performers from a variety of improv teams joining for One Night Only to create a musical on the spot: Magnet Musical Megawatt

7:00 pm ($5; includes FREE COOKIES): Mostly-gal improv “specializing in upbeat montages that explore real human emotions in a fun way,” plus free cookies, at The PIT downstairs lounge: Baked by MMDK

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

[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm ($18): A former roommate & drinking buddy of such comedy giants as David Cross and Marc Maron performed a one-man show at last month’s FringeNYC—and it’s now enjoying an extended run as part of the FringeNYC Encore Series. 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

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): Lizz Winstead (co-creator of The Daily Show and Air America Radio), David Rees (cartoonist of Get Your War On and How to Sharpen Pencils), and musical guest A.C. Newman (The New Pornographers) are interviewed about “their earliest creative experiences and the nuances of having a creative career” for a weekly podcast that once a month goes live on the UCB East stage with hosts Andy Beckerman & Mark Bisi: Beginnings

[TOP PICK] 8:00ish pm (no cover, 1 drink min.): Sean Patton (one of the finest stand-ups in the country; killer sets on Jimmy Fallon and Conan O’Brien, Comedy Central, VH1; co-host of Comedy as a Second Language, frequent guest-host of Whiplash), Anna Drezen, Joe Zimmerman, George Gordon, and Chris Waelti performing on this week’s topic Where Were You When? at Sidewalk NYC (94 Avenue A) produced by Chenoa Estrada, Emily Heller, and George Gordon and hosted tonight by Josh Gondelman: The Afterlife: Where Were You When?

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): One of my favorite people, Julie Sharbutt—who’s performed with some of the greatest improvisors alive at UCBT’s Gravid Water—goes for improv gold herself with comedy partner Cathleen Carr (Birds, The Scene, Dos Experimentos) as they “hope to establish themselves as the leading voices in contemporary South Boston crime noir improv comedy. Watch them, along with special guests Bob Kulhan and Chris Roberti, unspool a suspenseful, heavily-accented mystery thrilla” at The PIT downstairs lounge: Mystic Improv

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

[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

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

[FREE] 9:00 pm: Brooke Van Poppelen (writer for MTV’s Epic Fall; trutV, TLC, co-host of Dive Comedy; for stand-up videos about overindulging at 30 and impersonating Morrisey, please click here and here), Emmy Blotnick (Jimmy Fallon), Seaton Smith (Opie & Anthony Virus Tour), Jason Saenz (sketch troupe Onassis), and Sachi Ezura performing stand-up at this weekly show at Brooklyn’s The Alligator Lounge (600 Metropolitan Avenue) hosted by Sean Donnelly, Steve O’Brien, Robert Dean, and/or Kevin McCaffrey: Comedy at Alligator Lounge

9:15 pm-Midnight ($5): Long form improv known as The Harold from UCB Chelsea house troupes Creature, The Regulars, and Sandino—plus advanced improv students mash up forms LaRonde and Montage by starting with a series of unlikely pairings and then ending “somewhere deep inside a pile of hilarious character” for a hybrid form called LaRONTAGE—at this second half (continued from 7:30 pm) of Harold Night

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): Jess Dweck (writer for Jimmy Fallon), Jermaine Fowler (FOX’s New In Living Color), and Emily Heller (Comedy Central; staff writer for Rooftop Comedy; for ruminations on pregnancy, please click here) are tonight’s guests at UCB East for a unique dark mix of improv and sketch provided by host Anthony Atamanuik (Death by Roo Roo, 30 Rock, Conan O’Brien, Huffington Post, The Nights of Our Lives) and producer Andy Rocco: The Tony Show

9:30 pm ($5): NYC stand-ups (not announced) performing stand-up at The PIT downstairs lounge hosted by Chris Grace: Cold Soda Comedy

[FREE] 9:30 pm: Stand-up and sketch at Queens LIC’s The Creek upstairs theatre, typically hosted by sketch troupes Savage Animal and/or Jerk Practice: Savage Animal

[$] 10:00 pm ($15 & 2-drink min.): 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), Jared Logan (rising star; Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central, host of ComedyJuice), Nick Turner (Jimmy Fallon), and more performing stand-up at the Gotham Comedy Club: ComedyJuice

[FREE] 11:00 pm: 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

For more, please visit HyReviews.com.

Leave a Comment » | Best New York Live Comedy Shows | Tagged: Comedy, Comedy NYC Tonight, Improv, Matt Graham, Sean Patton, Sketch, Stand-Up, Storytelling, This Too Shall Suck | Permalink
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NYC Top Comedy Choices for Monday 9/10/12

September 10, 2012

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

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

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

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

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

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

[TOP PICK] 7:00 pm ($5): A monthly storytelling show from the wonderful Adam Wade (two-time Moth GrandSlam Storytelling Champion (2006 & 2009) and record-breaking 18-time StorySlam Champion; The New York Times Magazine; host of hilarious monthly storytelling extravaganzas Tales of the Cosmos and Whatever Happened to the Nerds?; for a sampling of Adam’s award-winning tales, please click here), along with a guest storyteller (not yet announced), at Under St. Marks: The Adam Wade from New Hampshire Show: Tales of Life, Love, and Little League

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

[FREE] 7:30 pm: Four improvisers form teams with comics they’ve never performed with before at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City: The Kaleidoscope

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

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

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

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

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

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

[TOP PICK] 8:30 pm ($5): “Jews in comedy have been ignored for too long. To combat this trend, The Magnet’s Jewish house team members have formed a Jewish super-group that will be performing around Jewish high holidays. Their Jewish shows will be based on Jewish monologues from a Jewish Rabbi about the upcoming Jewish holiday—which this week is Rosh Hashanah.” What else needs be said? Come and support The Chosen Ones

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

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

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

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

[FREE] 10:30 pm: Improv students are welcomed onto the stage at The PIT downstairs lounge for this weekly open access show hosted by Gary DeNoia & Keith Huang: Base Jam

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

For more, please visit HyReviews.com.

Leave a Comment » | Best New York Live Comedy Shows | Tagged: Arj Barker, Chris Gethard, Comedy, Comedy NYC Tonight, Improv, Jena Friedman's Entertaining the Bartender, Mark Normand, Sketch, Stand-Up, Storytelling | Permalink
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NYC Top Comedy Choices for Sunday 9/9/12

September 9, 2012

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

New Yorkers tell comedic tales about sharing apartments at Roommate for Rent…

…and Donnell Rawlings concludes his headlining run at Carolines

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

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

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

[FREE] 6:30 pm: Magnet sketch comics performing new material: Ripe Sketch Comedy

[FREE] 6:30 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 Sachi Ezurafor:Sledgehammer

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

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

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

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): “Have you ever had a roommate? At camp, in college, on vacation or in NYC? Based on the blog RoommateForRent.com, this show tells the funny stories of what happens when people share spaces. Featuring 10 different roommate adventures, from ‘Stood Up By Almost Roommate’ to ‘My Summer of Bulgarian Television’ to the audience’s most memorable roommate experience” at The PIT’s downstairs lounge, hosted by Julia Levy: Roommate For Rent

[$] 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): “The Marmalade Puppet Players perform a fur-covered, felt-lined improv set with a very special human guest; and then Marmalade (Jason Specland & Kathryn Dunn, of 1-800-LONDON) cleanses your palate with some tasty, toast-topping two-prov” at The PIT’s upstairs theatre: Fur in the Marmalade: Puppet-Prov & Two-Prov

[FREE] 8:00 pm: Matt McCarthy (HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm and Bored to Death, host of AMC’sAction Pack, Comedy Central, hilarious shorts with Pete Holmes for Front Page Films, national TV ads as Verizon FIOS guy, feature film The Other Guys, host of Marking Out), Jeffrey Joseph (Jay Leno, HBO, FOX’s In Living Color, Comedy Central), Lucas Brothers (Jimmy Fallon), Jared Freid (BroBible.com), and more performing at RG Daniels’ free weekly show at the Three of Cups lounge (83 First Avenue at 5th Street): Sunday Night Stand-Up

[TOP PICK] 8:30 pm ($7): A rotating cast of veteran improvisors make up scenes based on the improvised monologues of the co-owner of The Magnet Theatre: The Armando Diaz Experience

9:00 pm ($5): Improv veterans Brandon Gardner, Chelsea Clarke, and Phillip Jackson hosting & performing in a show at UCB East with guest improvisors: Improv Nerds

[FREE] 9:00 pm: NYC stand-ups may or may not be performing at Brooklyn’s Knitting Factory (361 Metropolitan Avenue); for an update, please click Comedy Night

9:30 pm ($5): At The Magnet, sketch comedy from The Weird Sisters, Listen Kid!, We’re Matt Weir, Darth Vader Ginsberg!, Beth Newell, Christian Paluck, and Nick Kanellis: Sketch Sundays

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

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 10:00 pm: Helen Hong (VH1, Logo’s Setup Squad), Corinne Fisher, and Graham Nolan performing stand-up at this free weekly gay-themed show at Therapy hosted by Brad Loekle: Electro Shock Therapy Comedy Hour

10:00 pm ($5): Improv veterans Brandon Gardner, Chelsea Clarke, and Phillip Jackson hosting & performing in a show at UCB East with improvisors taken from the audience…and who may includeyou: Improv Nerds Jam

For more, please visit HyReviews.com.

Leave a Comment » | Best New York Live Comedy Shows | Tagged: Comedy, Comedy NYC Tonight, Donnell Rawlings, Improv, Roommate For Rent, Sketch, Stand-Up, Storytelling | Permalink
Posted by hybender

NYC Top Comedy Choices for Saturday 9/8/12

September 8, 2012

For more, please visit HyReviews.com.

For free & $5 Greenwich Village Comedy Club tickets, please click here.

Janeane Garofalo performs at the Eastville Comedy Club…

…and Godfrey headlines at the Gotham Comedy Club

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

For more, please visit HyReviews.com.

6:00 pm ($5): Improv troupes Warren, Wando, and Orange Augustus at The Magnet kicking off your Saturday evening: The Rundown

[TOP PICK] 7:00 pm ($5): A comedy quiz show full of heavily researched quirky facts in which sharp contestants—who tonight are Silvija Ozols, Michelle Wolf, Corey Brown, and Phil Jackson—receive points if their answers are correct but get more points if their answers are “quite interesting” at UCB East created & hosted by Katey Healy-Wurzburg: The Fascinator…

…and in the other half of this double-bill, UCBT house manager and tech guy supreme Pat Baer hosts a show about the very medium you’re using to read this: 404ing It: Breaking (Down) the Internet

7:00 pm ($8): At this PIT double-bill, Dan Hodapp & Natasha Rothwell “bring more than five years of improv collaboration to stage for an evening of bold, committed characters and probably a fart joke for good measure” as Hodapp & Rothwell, and then all-gal improvisors Alexis Saarela, Brigid Boyle, Elizabeth Findlay, and Ashley Ward perform as troupe Taco Supreme

[TOP PICK] 7:30 pm ($7): Two of the most respected improvisors in the country, Magnet co-owner Armando DIaz and Christina Gausas, team up as Diaz & Gausas

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 8:00 pm: NYC stand-ups Mad Dog Mattern, Jono Zalay, and “a special guest” performing sets and then being interviewed about their personal lives at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City hosted by Matt Ruby & Mark Normand (who says “all these guys were hand-picked because they’re funny and have some serious problems; when you read this lineup you’re gonna be like ‘oh yeah, that guy is a mess'”): We’re All Friends Here

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): Drawing from his ongoing series of podcasts, Sam Dingman performs a one-man storytelling show at The PIT downstairs lounge offering “true tales from his days as a taxi driver in New York City, complete with toothless convicts, frozen embryos, murderous city buses, mobbed-up body shops, and much more. Along the way, he finds that no matter how many insane things he sees on the pothole-ridden streets of New York, the craziest one of all may be himself:” The Taxi Tapes

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

[$] 8:00 pm & 10:00 pm ($20 & 2-drink min.): A stand-up who’s performed on NBC’s 30 Rock, a Comedy Central Presents half-hour special, VH1, BET; in films including Zoolander, Original Gangsters, Soul Plane, and Johnson Family Vacation; and was the spokesman for the 7 Up Yours campaign, headlining tonight and Sunday at the Gotham Comedy Club: Godfrey

8:30 pm ($10): Sheng Wang (Comedy Central Presents), Emily Heller (Comedy Central; staff writer for Rooftop Comedy; for ruminations on pregnancy, please click here), Stuckey & Murray (stellar singing duo), Greg Johnson (Sirius Radio host), Nato Green, and Steve O’Brien performing stand-up at UCB East hosted by Kara Klenk: If You Build It

[TOP PICK] [$] [DISCOUNTED] 9:00 pm & 11:00 pm (FREE TICKETS if you reserve in advance by calling (212) 260-2445 and mention HyReviews.com, but there’s still a 2-drink min. per person): TV & movie star Janeane Garofalo (9:00 pm only), Mike Yard (Comedy Central), DC Benny (Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central), Aaron Berg, and more performing stand-up at the only comedy club in the East Village: Eastville Comedy Club

9:00 pm ($7): Magnet improvisors team up with poets at Kiss*Punch*Poem

[TOP PICK] 10:00 pm ($11.34 online; or $10 at the door—but this show usually sells out in advance): Jermaine Fowler, Micah Sherman, Ashley Brooke Roberts, Kara Klenk, Françoise Gordon, Michael Che, Greg Johnson, Dave Waite, Matt Fulchiron, Ron Krasnow, Taylor Clark, and Doug Smith performing for this show in which stand-up and burlesque are weirdly blended together based on the reasoning “The nude female form is truly a work of art. That’s why people the world over like to jerk off to it. Who are we to disagree with the world?”at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City hosted by Pat Dixon (Comedy Central Presents): Pat Dixon’s (Nearly) Naked Lady Hour: Now with Bacon Bar

[TOP PICK] 10:30 pm ($10): UCBT Harold Night improv troupe Airwolf—which in a phenomenal run has crushed 12 improv troupes in a row so far at Cage Match—makes stuff up at UCB East for an entire hour: Airwolf: Let’s Go Back to Your Place

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

Midnight ($5): Emmy Blotnick (blogger for Jimmy Fallon), Matt Ruby (MTV; co-host of Hot Soup and We’re All Friends Here, blog Sandpaper Suit), Harrison Greenbaum (writer for Mad Magazine; head writer of Tu Nite con Lorenzo Parro on NBCU/Telemundo; winner of the 2010 Andy Kaufman Award), and musical guest Shonali Bhowmik (Variety SHAC, Ultrababy) performing at UCB Chelsea with hosts Andy Rocco & Steve Slate: Underground Americana

Midnight ($5): “A scandalous night of down-right-sexy improv at at The PIT downstairs lounge. Incorrigible performers team up to turn down the lights, slip into something a little more comfortable, and spend the good part of an hour tickling your funny boners. Beware of partial nudity, strong sexual themes, and the possibility to be dragged on stage for a not-so-wholesome game of Truth or Dare: Yes, Yes, Yes…And

For more, please visit HyReviews.com.

For free & $5 Greenwich Village Comedy Club tickets, please click here.

Leave a Comment » | Best New York Live Comedy Shows | Tagged: Comedy, Comedy NYC Tonight, Godfrey, Gotham Comedy Club, Improv, Janeane Garofalo, Sketch, Stand-Up, Storytelling | Permalink
Posted by hybender

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