NYC Top Comedy Choices for Saturday 10/9/10

October 9, 2010

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

Sara Benincasa

Sara Benincasa revives her autobiographical show for one night only at Brooklyn's The Brick Theatre: AGORAFABULOUS

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

[TOP PICK] 7:30 pm ($10): Genius improvisor Christina Gausas and friends she originally made in Chicago—which include writers & performers from 30 Rock, The Colbert Report, and The Daily Show—plus a rotating cast of stellar visitors, all joyously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

[$] [DISCOUNTED] 7:30 pm & 10:00 pm ($19.33 online if you use code PLAYBILL, plus 2-item minimum): A co-star of FX’s The League headlining tonight and Saturday at the elegant Comix Comedy Club: Stephen Rannazzisi

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($10—includes free cookies!): Sara Benincasa revives her hit autobiographical one-woman show—in the process of becoming a book from HarperCollins/William Morrow—at Brooklyn’s The Brick Theatre (575 Metropolitan Avenue; take the G train to Metropolitan, or the L train’s substitute shuttle bus to Lorimer) for one night only: AGORAFABULOUS

[$] 8:00 pm & 10:00 pm & 11:45 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 & 10:30 pm ($29 & 2-drink min.): A cast member of the much-missed Chappelle’s Showheadlining tonight through Sunday at Carolines Comedy Club: Donnell Rawlings

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

9:00 pm ($7): Organic & energetic improv by the four guys of 4 Track!

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($12): This acclaimed 10-year-and-counting sketch troupe has “amassed a cultish following and a cast who blindly throw themselves into the most questionable of onstage situations, bless their black little hearts….join them for a hilariously unsettling look at growing older, having children, killing your dreams, and settling.” For examples of the troupe’s work, please clickhere and here, and then come see Spurn

[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

10:00 pm ($10): Jena Friedman revives her dark musical comedic parody of the American Girl Dolls, which includes such brilliant talents from the NYC comedy community as Jessica Delfino, Ben Lerman, and Jena herself at Theatre 80 (80 St. Marks Place off 1st Avenue): The Refugee Girls Revue

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

10:30 pm ($5): An improv troupe that includes treasured Time Out New York Comedy Editor Jane Borden: Junior Varsity

[TOP PICK] 11:00 ($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 this year’s ECNY Award for Best Sketch Group: Murderfist: Late and Dirty

[TOP PICK] Midnight ($5): “The most fabulous show on Earth,” hosted by Tim Gunn (John Flynn) and Tim Gunn (Michael Hartney), featuring superb comedic performers (both straight and gay)—tonight including John Gemberling, Andrea Rosen, Megan Neuringer, and Eliot Glazer—plus two audience members who’ll be selected to compete in a design challenge, at The Same Sex-Tacular

[$] 12:30 am ($31.25 & 2-drink min.) A provocative comedy star who’s written for Richard Pryor, Red Foxx, and Saturday Night Live, and performed on Chappelle’s Show and David Letterman, headlining through Sunday at Carolines: Paul Mooney

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.


NYC Top Comedy Choices for Sunday 5/16/10

May 16, 2010

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

A pack of diverse puppets perform tonight at Punch

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

[TOP PICK] 7:00 pm ($10): “NYC’s most consistent puppet slam bringing you the most amazing puppet theater around. There will be puppet mayhem—everything from humanette wackiness to toy theater to Greek myth to a comic tapeworm therapist—from Wonderspark Puppets, Evolve Company, Kate Brehm, James Walton, Susan Beauregard, and Aidan Koehler” performing at Brooklyn’s Brick Theatre for one night only: Punch

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

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($7): Wyatt Cenac (correspondent for The Daily Show), Kumail Nanjiani (David LettermanSaturday Night Live, The Colbert ReportJimmy Kimmel, Comedy Central), and more performing at Brooklyn’s Union Hall with comedy giant Eugene Mirman: Tearing the Veil of Maya

[FREE] 8:00 pm: Andrea Rosen, Rob Cantrell, Myq Kaplan, Colin Jost, Mad Dog Mattern, and Chesley Calloway performing at RG Daniels’ free weekly show at the Three of Cups East Village lounge: Sunday Night Stand-Up

[FREE] 9:00 pm: Unannounced stand-ups performing at Brooklyn’s Knitting Factory (361 Metropolitan) probably hosted by the wonderful Hannibal Buress: Comedy Night

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 9:00 pm: Timmy Williams, Kurt Braunohler, Rob Cantrell, and Zach Sims performing in the East Village’s Beauty Bar at Vince Averill’s & Jesse Popp’s free weekly showBeauty Bar Comedy

[FREE] 10:00 pm: An all-gal lineup of stand-ups—Helen Hong, Susan Alexander, and Dana Lovecchio—performing at a free weekly gay-themed show at Therapy hosted by Brad Loekle:Electro Shock Therapy Comedy Hour

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.