January 7, 2011
For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.
For my all-time favorite oddball comedy videos, please click here.
The two funniest events tonight are life-affirming shows about cancer and suicide, from comedy giants Pamela Murphy ("The C Word") and Daniel Kitson ("The Interminable Suicide of Gregory Church")
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:
[MEGA-TOP PICK] 7:30 pm ($10): Pamela Murphy proves herself to be a star in this not-to-be-missed autobiographical show that’s the best-scripted one-act to grace in the past year, performed with wit, grace, and pitch-perfect comedic timing (for video samples of Pam’s work, please clickhere). Don’t miss Jane Borden of Time Out New York‘s pick for Best Solo Show of 2010: Pamela Murphy: The C Word
…and for the other half of this double-bill, A delightful tale of heartbreak by Leslie Meisel—who manages the impressive feat of being adorable, sexy, and hilarious all at the same time, and is a sharp comedic talent very much worth keeping an eye on—quite ably abetted by co-writer Megan Neuringer in one of the smartest theatrical shows to grace UCBT this year: Love Can Suck a Dick…and So Can I
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($10): A groundbreaking and surreal improv/sketch troupe—tonight performing with musical guests Marshall York, Jacob Brown and Chris O’Brien: Centralia
[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm & 10:30 pm ($30 & 2-item min.): A TV & movie star known for his wry, smart observations headlining tonight through Sunday at the Comix Comedy Club: Larry Miller
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($45): UK-based Daniel Kitson is one of the sharpest and most respected comics alive. I’m seeing his one-man play tonight, so will be more specific about it shortly. It’s running through January 30th at Brooklyn’s St. Ann’s Warehouse (38 Water Street): The Interminable Suicide of Gregory Church
[FREE] 8:00 pm: Julian McCullough (Comedy Central Presents half-hour special), Mike Lawrence (up-and-coming sharp stand-up), Will Hines (UCBT improv & sketch star determined to become great at stand-up too), and Joe Pera performing at O’Hanlon’s (14th Street off 1st Avenue), hosted by Matt Ruby: Hot Soup
[FREE] 8:00 pm: Julian McCullough (Comedy Central Presents half-hour special), Roger Hailes (Comedy Central, VH1), Brent Sullivan (Comedy Central), Damien Lemon, Annie Lederman, and Jono Zalay performing stand-up at Brooklyn’s Red Star Bar (37 Greenpoint Avenue) for hosts Nick Turner’s & Jason Saenz’s Too Cool for School
[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($10): Some of the finest improv in NYC from the comedy genius members of The Stepfathers
[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($10): Always fresh and imaginative world-class sketch troupe that uses song, movement, and clever scenarios to turn familiar rituals on their head (for a video about awkward goodbyes at the end of a party, please click here) delivering a brand new collection of sketches titled Ms. Larsen’s Class: The Harvard Sailing Team
10:00 pm ($7): Singing improvisors who use an interview with an audience member to craft The Made-Up Musical
10:30 pm ($10): Jonathan Gabrus, Sue Galloway, and other fine improvisors make up scenes about an audience member’s legal dispute at The Law Firm: Law & Disorder
[TOP PICK] Midnight ($5): A comedic freestyle rap contest featuring some of the funniest & sharpest comics in NYC—who tonight include Chris Gethard (brilliant improvisor and comedic storyteller; star of Comedy Central sitcom Big Lake; Magic Box of Stories, The Stepfathers, The Nights of Our Lives, author of book Weird New York), Liam McEneaney (host of Tell Your Friends), Dave Rosinsky (Whitest Kids U Know), Kevin Barnett (Roundtable Of Gentlemen Podcast), and Whitney Meers (Comedy Central, Atom.com)—plus a volunteer from the audience!, hosted by genius comedic musical performers Chris “Shockwave” Sullivan (The Daily Show, The Electric Company, Freestyle Love Supreme) and Victor Varnado (Conan O’Brien, Jimmy Kimmel, Comedy Central) all at one of my favorite monthly shows: The BEATdown
For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.
For my all-time favorite oddball comedy videos, please click here.
Leave a Comment » | 
Best New York Live Comedy Shows | Tagged: Carolines, Carolines Comedy Club, Carolines on Broadway, Cheap Comedy, Comedian, Comedians, Comedic Storytelling, Comedy, Comedy Clubs, Comic, Comics, Comix, Comix Comedy Club, Daniel Kitson, Free Comedy, Fun NYC, Funny, Improv, Improvisation, New York City Comedy, New York Comedy, New York Comedy Clubs, NY Comedy, NYC Comedy, NYC Fun, Pam Murphy, Pamela Murphy, Sketch Comedy, St. Ann's Warehouse, Stand-Up Comedy, Standup Comedy, Storytelling, The C Word, The Interminable Suicide of Gregory Church, The Magnet Theater, The Peoples Improv Theatre, The PIT, UCB, UCBT, Upright Citizens Brigade | 
Permalink
Posted by hybender
January 6, 2011
For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.
Giulia Rozzi and Margot Leitman tonight celebrate the Fourth Anniversary of their superb sexy storytelling show "Stripped Stories"
Tonight’s recommendations for the best in New York City comedy (in chronological order, with top picks noted and shows over $10 marked with $) include:
[TOP PICK] 6:30 pm: Chicago-based veteran sketch/improv comic Bob Kulhan performs his acclaimed one-man show Shecky Kulhan: Theater of the Mind; and Young talents make up comedy scenes based on a popular board game in Clue: The Improvised Edition
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): The unsinkable Mamrie Hart and her comedy partner Stephen Soroka areBest of Friends, and tonight they debut an entirely new sketch show that educates you about how to effectivey promote it when you tell all your friends to see it: BoF: It’s Pronounced ‘Boaf’!; and Michael Hartney performs a one-man show about being gay, wearing capes, and making metaphors in So I Like Superman
8:00 pm ($5): Veteran improvisors play with “elements of monoscene, deconstruction, and La Ronde” inSleepover
[$] 8:00 pm ($31.25 & 2-drink min.) A provocative comedy star who’s written for Richard Pryor, Red Foxx, and Saturday Night Live, and performed on Chappelle’s Show and David Letterman, headlining through Sunday at Carolines: Paul Mooney
[FREE] 9:00ish pm: Typically terrific NYC stand-ups performing on this weekly show at the Kabin Bar and Lounge hosted by Chesley Calloway and comedy genius Sean Patton (red-hot rising star; killer set onJimmy Fallon, Comedy Central, VH1): Comedy as a Second Language
9:00 pm (no cover, 1-item min.): Joe DeRosa (HBO’s Down and Dirty, Comedy Central Presents, co-host of Righteous Kill), Jared Logan (Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central, the other co-host ofRighteous Kill), Andy Haynes, Adam Conover, and Dan Curry performing stand-up at the Luca Lounge (222 Avenue B off 14th Street) for a show hosted & produced by recently engaged couple Sean Crespo & Carol Hartsell: Lasers in the Jungle
[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): Celebratilng the Fourth Anniversary of the best sexy storytelling show in NYC are sensual hosts Margot Leitman (Conan O’Brien, VH1, Spike TV) and Giulia Rozzi (MTV, VH1.com, co-host of Dive Comedy), with tonight’s guests Jiwon Lee and Ryan Britt telling sexual tales revolving around the theme “Outrageous!”, plus raunchy comedic songs from the spectacular Jessica Delfino, at what promises to be a special evening of Stripped Stories
[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($8): A unique sports-themed stand-up, sketch comedy, and interview show hosted by Scott Rogowsky and Neil Janowitz that features both professional sports starss and comics doing sports-themed comedy: 12 Angry Mascots
[TOP PICK] 11:00 pm ($5): The heavens themselves will shake as improv titans Death by Roo Roo and Reuben Williamss square off in a competition for audience laughs and votes at the raucousCage Match
For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.
Leave a Comment » | Best New York Live Comedy Shows | Tagged: Carolines, Carolines Comedy Club, Carolines on Broadway, Cheap Comedy, Comedian, Comedians, Comedic Storytelling, Comedy, Comedy Clubs, Comic, Comics, Comix, Comix Comedy Club, Free Comedy, Fun NYC, Funny, Giulia Rozzi, Improv, Improvisation, Margot Leitman, New York City Comedy, New York Comedy, New York Comedy Clubs, NY Comedy, NYC Comedy, NYC Fun, Sketch Comedy, Stand-Up Comedy, Standup Comedy, Storytelling, Stripped Stories, The Magnet Theater, The Peoples Improv Theatre, The PIT, UCB, UCBT, Upright Citizens Brigade | Permalink
Posted by hybender
January 5, 2011
For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.
A delightful annual gathering of NYC's comedy community, it's time again for "50 First Jokes"
Tonight’s recommendations for the best in New York City comedy (in chronological order, with top picks noted and shows over $10 marked with $) include:
[FREE] 6:00 pm to midnight: Six free hours of improvisation at The PIT’s Super Free Wednesday
[MEGA-TOP PICK] 7:30 pm doors, 8:00 pm show ($10 online using discount code FJ10): For the fifth time in a row, 50+ NYC comics come together to each tell the first joke he or she has written in the new year. Expect an exuberant gathering of comedic talent…and wild partying afterwards. The scheduled lineup includes Amy Schumer, Sean Patton, Adira Amram, Myq Kaplan, Brooke Van Poppelen, Sara Schaefer, Andrea Rosen, Matt McCarthy, Ben Lerman, Ophira Eisenberg, Victor Varnado, Joe DeRosa Jared Logan, Kurt Braunohler, Mike Lawrence, Jon Friedman, Jena Friedman, Carmen Lynch, Roger Hailes, Vince Averill, Giulia Rozzi, Calise Hawkins, Matt Ruby, Mark Normand, Kurt Metzger, Brent Sullivan, Pat Dixon, Nate Bargatze, Sean Donnelly, Nick Turner, Sean O’Connor…and many, many more. There’ll be a packed house at 92Y Tribeca for this lovely coming together of NYC’s comedy community. Hosted by Claudia Cogan and John F. O’Donnell, it’s the 2011 edition of 50 First Jokes
8:00 pm ($5): A highly quirky and dark multimedia sketch show from Peter Blomquist and Jeff Wiens that doesn’t always hit the mark, but has an integrity to it that may end up haunting you; and Nicole Shabtai performing a one-woman show about “an illustrious 13-year-old socialite and notorious Upper East Side private schooler we all love to hate,” in the double-bill Franco & Billy: Diamonds of Fire and Citizen Rothstein
[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): A double-bill of improv genius troupes: Gavin Speiller (Death By Roo Roo, Ben Rodgers (Reuben Williams, Cage Match), and Jonathan Gabrus (The Law Firm, The Nights of Our Lives) make up a single long scene as Outlook of the Poet; and Neil Casey & Anthony Atamanuik make up an entire feature film as The Two-Man Movie
[TOP PICK] [FREE] 11:00 pm: Host Justin Purnell (The Colbert Report) providing as many as a dozen guests packed into 75 minutes performing stand-up, improv, sketch, and occasionally acts that defy categorization. The level of talent can vary wildly, but for some (like me), that’s part of the laid-back fun; and this is often one of the most amazing comedy shows in town. Come support the experimentation, and periodic magical surprises, that this uniquely organic rollercoaster of a show makes possible—and don’t forget to toss $1 in the bucket on your way out: School Night
For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.
Leave a Comment » | Best New York Live Comedy Shows | Tagged: 50 First Jokes, 92Y Tribeca, Carolines, Carolines Comedy Club, Carolines on Broadway, Cheap Comedy, Claudia Cogan, Comedian, Comedians, Comedic Storytelling, Comedy, Comedy Clubs, Comic, Comics, Comix, Comix Comedy Club, Free Comedy, Fun NYC, Funny, Improv, Improvisation, New York City Comedy, New York Comedy, New York Comedy Clubs, NY Comedy, NYC Comedy, NYC Fun, Sketch Comedy, Stand-Up Comedy, Standup Comedy, Storytelling, The Magnet Theater, The Peoples Improv Theatre, The PIT, UCB, UCBT, Upright Citizens Brigade | Permalink
Posted by hybender
January 4, 2011
For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.
Assorted odd characters will lecture on the topic "Abnormal Psychology" at Charles Star's Brooklyn comedy show Adult Education
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:
7:00 pm ($5): Six improvisors play themselves on stage (similar to Naked in a Fishbowl) in Self Image; and in the second half of this double-bill, eight improvisors trace the storylines of characters at a single event suggested by an audience member at Hell Buffalo
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): Witty writers offering delightfully wry lectures about this month’s topic “Abnormal Psychology” at Brooklyn’s Union Hall for Charles Star’s comedic show Adult Education
[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm ($10 & 2-item min.): Sean Patton hosts Judah Friedlander, Rachel Feinstein, Kenny Zimlinghaus, and Jesse Popp at Sean Patton’s Stand-Up Showcase
8:00 pm to Midnight ($5): Four full hours of improv for only five bucks—tonight featuring UCBT house troupes Robber Baron, Bastian, Ragnaröck, Badman, and The Opera; and at 11:00 pm “lots of your favorite Harold Night performers spin you around and dump you dizzy in this fully improvised show”—all at Harold Night
8:00 pm ($5; includes FREE CARVEL ICE CREAM!): Myq Kaplan (finalist on this summer’s Last Comic Standing; Jay Leno, Comedy Central Presents half-hour special, hot new comedy CD Vegan Mind Meld), John Murdock, musical guests Mike Doughty and Joe Yoga, and an ice cream eating contest, all in the Lolita Bar at Liam McEneaney’s Tell Your Friends
[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($5): Anthony Jeselnik (one of my all-time favorite stand-ups; writer/performer for Jimmy Fallon; Conan O’Brien, HBO, Comedy Central Presents; hit comedy CD Shakespeare), Anthony Atamanuik (genius improvisor & storyteller; 30 Rock, Conan O’Brien, Death by Roo Roo, The Nights of Our Lives), Josh Weinstein (stand-up/actor visiting from LA), and more performing atElla (9 Avenue A) hosted by the wonderful Seth Herzog (Jimmy Fallon, VH1): Sweet
[FREE] 9:00 pm: Eric Andre (stellar stand-up; HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm, Comedy Central), Giulia Rozzi (co-host of Stripped Stories and Dive Comedy), Sean Crespo (host of The Shark Show), and Jesse Joyce performing stand-up at the Ace of Clubs (9 Great Jones Street, underneath Acme Bar & Grill) hosted by Joe DeRosa (HBO’s Down and Dirty, Comedy Central Presents) and Jared Logan (Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central): Righteous Kill
For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.
Leave a Comment » | Best New York Live Comedy Shows | Tagged: Abnormal Psychology, Adult Education, Brooklyn's Union Hall, Carolines, Carolines Comedy Club, Carolines on Broadway, Cheap Comedy, Comedian, Comedians, Comedic Storytelling, Comedy, Comedy Clubs, Comic, Comics, Comix, Comix Comedy Club, Free Comedy, Fun NYC, Funny, Improv, Improvisation, New York City Comedy, New York Comedy, New York Comedy Clubs, NY Comedy, NYC Comedy, NYC Fun, Sketch Comedy, Stand-Up Comedy, Standup Comedy, Storytelling, The Magnet Theater, The Peoples Improv Theatre, The PIT, UCB, UCBT, Union Hall, Upright Citizens Brigade | Permalink
Posted by hybender
January 3, 2011
For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.
Anthony Atamanuik (Conan O'Brien, 30 Rock, Death by Roo Roo) is the guest performer tonight at the fine musical improv show Diamond Lion
Tonight’s recommendations for the best in New York City comedy (in chronological order, with top picks noted and shows over $10 marked with $) include:
6:30 pm & 9:00 pm (no cover, 1-item min.): The perfect show for short attention spans—open-mic stand-up with 4½ minutes per set and 25 comics crammed into 2½ hours—with an early show hosted by Sean Donnelly & Blaine Perry at 6:30 pm, and an entirely different group of stand-ups hosted by Dan Cartwright & Dave Greek at 9:00 pm—at the Luca Lounge (222 Avenue B off 14th Street) for John Morrison’s Motel Luca
7:00 pm ($5): Jenny Dunne and Rick Andrews improvise a single moment in two characters’ lives again and again, exploring three parallel realities, and the difference that a look or tone can make; and duo improv by friends who, by a wild coincidence, have the same name, in the double-bill The Cascade and We’re Matt Weir
[FREE] 7:30 pm: NYC stand-ups Eric Andre (HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm, Comedy Central), Sam Morril (2011 March Comedy Madness winner), Michael Blaustein (Gossip Girl, MTV), Robert Dean, and Larry Bailey performing at a free weekly show in the Manchester Pub hosted by Phoebe Robinson: Case of the Mondays Comedy
8:00 pm ( $5): A one-man show from Paul W. Downs that I haven’t seen but have heard good things about; plus young talents perform a loud and mildly amusing sketch show about cops, in the double-bill The Paul Downs Syndrome and The Sit Down and Shut Up NYPD Variety Hour
[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): Some of the finest improvisors in the country—Tara Copeland, Becky Drysdale, Jeff Hiller, Mike Still, Ashley Ward, and tonight’s guest Anthony Atamanuik (30 Rock, Conan O’Brien, Death by Roo Roo, The Nights of Our Lives)—making up a musical on the spot along with virtuoso improv pianist Frank Spitznagel: Diamond Lion
[TOP PICK] [FREE] 11:00 pm: Some of the finest comics in the world—who tonight include Eric Andre (HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm, Comedy Central), John Gemberling (Adult Swim, Death by Roo Roo), and “a top secret guest”—at Whiplash
For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.
Leave a Comment » | Best New York Live Comedy Shows | Tagged: Anthony Atamanuik, Carolines, Carolines Comedy Club, Carolines on Broadway, Cheap Comedy, Comedian, Comedians, Comedic Storytelling, Comedy, Comedy Clubs, Comic, Comics, Comix, Comix Comedy Club, Diamond Lion, Free Comedy, Fun NYC, Funny, Improv, Improvisation, New York City Comedy, New York Comedy, New York Comedy Clubs, NY Comedy, NYC Comedy, NYC Fun, Sketch Comedy, Stand-Up Comedy, Standup Comedy, Storytelling, The Magnet Theater, The Peoples Improv Theatre, The PIT, UCB, UCBT, Upright Citizens Brigade | Permalink
Posted by hybender
January 2, 2011
For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.
Faye Lane continues expanding her fan base for her award-winning one-woman show "Beauty Shop Stories"
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] 5:00 pm ($18 online using discount code FAYB ): One of the very best shows at FringeNYC 2010 was an award-winning comedy from NYC’s own Faye Lane, a luminous storyteller and singer who will charm your socks off—and possibly give you a moon pie to boot—at the Soho Playhouse’s downstairs Huron Club. Please read my review by clicking here, and then take advantage of this brief revival on Sundays this December to experience the hilarious and unforgettable Faye Lane’s Beauty Shop Stories
[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 ($20 at the door): Mike Birbiglia (flat-out one of the finest stand-up comedians in the country; hour-long Comedy Central special What I Should Have Said is Nothing; two Comedy Central Presents half-hour specials; multiple appearances on David Letterman and Conan O’Brien; comedy CDs Two Drink Mike and My Secret Public Journal—Live; off-Broadway show Sleepwalk with Me) is honing his newest material—which means you can see him perform for just $20. Tonight’s show has sold out of advance tickets, but there might be some available at the door at Brooklyn’s Union Hall; Mike Birbiglia: An Evening of New Stories
[FREE] 8:00 pm: Eric Andre (HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm, TBS’ Lopez Report, Comedy Central), Barry Rothbart (LA’s Comedy Death Ray), Brendan McLaughlin, Jon Savoy, and Michael Grinspan performing at RG Daniels’ free weekly show at the Three of Cups East Village lounge: Sunday Night Stand-Up
[FREE] 9:00 pm: NYC stand-ups Peter Kassnove, Brad Steuernagel, Dave Rosinsky, and Nick Vatterott performing in the East Village’s Beauty Bar at Vince Averill’s & Jesse Popp’s free weekly show Beauty Bar Comedy
[FREE] 10:00 pm: NYC stand-ups performing at this free weekly gay-themed show at Therapyhosted by Brad Loekle: Electro Shock Therapy Comedy Hour
For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.
Leave a Comment » | Best New York Live Comedy Shows | Tagged: Carolines, Carolines Comedy Club, Carolines on Broadway, Cheap Comedy, Comedian, Comedians, Comedic Storytelling, Comedy, Comedy Clubs, Comic, Comics, Comix, Comix Comedy Club, Faye Lane, Faye Lane's Beauty Shop Stories, Free Comedy, Fun NYC, Funny, Improv, Improvisation, New York City Comedy, New York Comedy, New York Comedy Clubs, NY Comedy, NYC Comedy, NYC Fun, Sketch Comedy, Soho Playhouse, Stand-Up Comedy, Standup Comedy, Storytelling, The Magnet Theater, The Peoples Improv Theatre, The PIT, UCB, UCBT, Upright Citizens Brigade | Permalink
Posted by hybender
December 30, 2010
For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.
Sandra Bernhard performs tonight and on New Year's Eve at Joe's Pub...
...and two of the most brilliant rising stars in the biz are on stage tonight: Gavin Speiller playing both side at "Cage Match," and Pamela Murphy performing her unforgetable one-woman show "The C Word"
Tonight’s recommendations for the best in New York City comedy (in chronological order, with top picks noted and shows over $10 marked with $) include:
[TOP PICK] 6:30 pm ($5): Paul Welsh debuts a one-man show about which comedy giant Shannon O’Neil says “Paul made my job easy and asked me to direct gold covered in crazy. You are going to want to see this show!”; plus Jordan Klepper and Laura Grey debut a sketch show, in the double-bill Men in Paintings: A Day in the Crisp Family Hall of Portraits and Klepper and Grey: Baggage
[TOP PICK] [$] 7:30 pm & 9:30 pm ($50 cover, plus $12 min. if you sit at a table): A comic who’s been a movie star, a singer, and lived a roller coaster career, but remains a performer unlike anyone else, doing a new show with her band at Joe’s Pub through New Year’s Eve: Sandra Bernhard
[MEGA-TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): Pamela Murphy proves herself to be a star in this not-to-be-missed autobiographical show that’s the best-scripted one-act to grace UCBT this year, performed with wit, grace, and pitch-perfect comedic timing (for video samples of Murphy’s work, please clickhere); plus Michael Hartney performs a one-man show that (as a highly informed and engaged Superman fan) I found way too mild and superficial, but maybe I’ll give it a second look tonight, in the double-bill Pamela Murphy: The C Word and So I Like Superman
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): Sketch troupe The Upset Triangle—which includes Dan McNamara, animator of the wonderful The Bear, The Cloud, and God series—celebrates its 10th Year Anniversary with guests Free Love Forum (ace musical improvisors), stand-up Adam Newman (College Humor), Daft Punk, Teddy Roosevelt, and Kurt Braunohler, all at The Upset Triangle
[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm & 10:00 pm ($42 & 2-drink min.): A stand-up comedy superstar headlining for one last night at Carolines: Dave Attell
[FREE] 9:00ish pm: Typically terrific NYC stand-ups performing on this weekly show at the Kabin Bar and Lounge hosted by Chesley Calloway and comedy genius Sean Patton (red-hot rising star; killer set onJimmy Fallon, Comedy Central, VH1): Comedy as a Second Language
9:30 pm ($5): UCBT comics, including the delightfully snarky Shannon O’Neill and quick-witted sarcastic sketch troupe Sidecar, look back at what was awful in 2010 at The It Sucked! Awards
9:30 pm ($5): Desiree Nash wrote and co-stars in a sketch show revolving around the comedic travails of dating: Check Please!
[TOP PICK] 11:00 pm ($5): Gavin Speiller, who has one of the most brilliant minds to ever grace the improv world, battles himself tonight as his world-class improv troupe Death by Roo Roo competes against his original stellar improv troupe Rogue Elephant for audience laughs and votes at the raucous Cage Match
For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.
Leave a Comment » | Best New York Live Comedy Shows | Tagged: Carolines, Carolines Comedy Club, Carolines on Broadway, Cheap Comedy, Comedian, Comedians, Comedic Storytelling, Comedy, Comedy Clubs, Comic, Comics, Comix, Comix Comedy Club, Free Comedy, Fun NYC, Funny, Gavin Speiller, Improv, Improvisation, Joe's Pub, New York City Comedy, New York Comedy, New York Comedy Clubs, NY Comedy, NYC Comedy, NYC Fun, Pam Murphy, Pamela Murphy, Sandra Bernhard, Sketch Comedy, Stand-Up Comedy, Standup Comedy, Storytelling, The C Word, The Magnet Theater, The Peoples Improv Theatre, The PIT, UCB, UCBT, Upright Citizens Brigade | Permalink
Posted by hybender
December 29, 2010
For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.
Ted Alexandro, who's one of the finest stand-ups in the country, headlines tonight at the free brother & sister show "John and Molly Get Along"
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] 8:00 pm: Molly Knefel (newest member of superb theatrical improv troupeNaked in a Fishbowl) and her brother John Knefel (veteran stand-up) host this monthly comedy show, with tonight’s guests Ted Alexandro (David Letterman, Conan O’Brien, Jimmy Kimmel, twoComedy Central Presents half-hour specials), Jared Logan (Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central, co-host of Righteous Kill), Jamie Kilstein (Huffington Post; co-host of Citizen Radio), Giulia Rozzi (VH1, Playgirl Magazine, co-host of Dive comedy and Stripped Stories), and Brent Sullivan (Comedy Central; for video about crying while reading The Giving Tree, please click here) performing stand-up at Le Poisson Rouge (158 Bleecker Street, off Thompson Street): John and Molly Get Along
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): Chris Gethard (brilliant improvisor and comedic storyteller; star of Comedy Central sitcom Big Lake; Magic Box of Stories, The Stepfathers, The Nights of Our Lives,author of book Weird New York), musical group The Spring Standards, and more join best bud hosts Noah Garfinkel & Joe Mande (author of Look At This F*cking Hipster) at Totally J/K
[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm ($42 & 2-drink min.): A stand-up comedy superstar headlining through Thursday at Carolines: Dave Attell
8:00 pm ($5): Brooke Van Poppelen (brilliant stand-up, writer, and storyteller; blogger for trutV; TLC; popular blogs NYisretarded.blogspot.com and RockBottom; for stand-up videos about overindulging at 30 and impersonating Morrisey, please click here and here) and Giulia Rozzi (VH1,Playgirl Magazine, co-host of Stripped Stories) hosting this free weekly NYC stand-up comedy show, with tonight’s guests Sagar Bhatt, Sean O’Connor, Ilana Glazer, Gabe Pacheco and Luke Cunningham performing at Brooklyn’s Hank’s Rootin’ Tootin’ Saloon (46 Third Avenue at Atlantic):Dive Comedy
[FREE] 8:00 pm: NYC stand-ups Vicki Ferentinos, Rob Gorden, Sue Funke, Colin Dempsey, Michael Fisher, and Nate Min performing at this free weekly show hosted by Sharon Spell: Shrink
[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): One of the finest comedic storytelling shows in the country, in which brilliant writer/performers—who tonight are Chris Gethard, Anthony Atamanuik, Jon Gabrus, Brian Finklestein, and wonderful host David Martin—tell tales that are brutally honest and utterly hilarious, with tonight’s theme Year in Review at The Nights of Our Lives
[TOP PICK] [FREE] 11:00 pm: Host Justin Purnell (The Colbert Report) providing as many as a dozen guests packed into 75 minutes performing stand-up, improv, sketch, and occasionally acts that defy categorization. The level of talent can vary wildly, but for some (like me), that’s part of the laid-back fun; and this is often one of the most amazing comedy shows in town. Come support the experimentation, and periodic magical surprises, that this uniquely organic rollercoaster of a show makes possible—and don’t forget to toss $1 in the bucket on your way out: School Night
For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.
Leave a Comment » | Best New York Live Comedy Shows | Tagged: Carolines, Carolines Comedy Club, Carolines on Broadway, Cheap Comedy, Comedian, Comedians, Comedic Storytelling, Comedy, Comedy Clubs, Comic, Comics, Comix, Comix Comedy Club, Free Comedy, Fun NYC, Funny, Improv, Improvisation, John and Molly Get Along, John Knefel, Le Poisson Rouge, Molly Knefel, New York City Comedy, New York Comedy, New York Comedy Clubs, NY Comedy, NYC Comedy, NYC Fun, Sketch Comedy, Stand-Up Comedy, Standup Comedy, Storytelling, Ted Alexandro, The Magnet Theater, The Peoples Improv Theatre, The PIT, UCB, UCBT, Upright Citizens Brigade | Permalink
Posted by hybender
December 28, 2010
For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.
I know, I know; but there are warm, dry, funny shows tonight, including...
...superstar stand-up Dave Attell headlining at Carolines, and phenom improvisor Eliza Skinner at "Skinner Alive!"
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 ($5): Muscial improv genius Eliza Skinner (who’s won the ECNY Award for Best Improv twice, has won multiple FringeNYC awards, and is a star member of Baby Wants Candy) will make up songs on the spot along with “special guests” and invaluable improv pianist Frank Spitznagel in Skinner Alive!
7:00 pm ($5): Over a dozen female improvisors—including this year’s surprise hit Doppelganger—making up scenes at Girls Gone Funny
7:00 pm ($5): Jenny Dunne and Rick Andrews improvise a single moment in two characters’ lives again and again, exploring three parallel realities, and the difference that a look or tone can make; and Willy Appelman, Tom Costello, Ben Furnas, David Ross, and Ross Taylor make stuff up, in the double-bill The Cascade and Thunderbirds 4Life
[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm ($42 & 2-drink min.): A stand-up comedy superstar headlining through Thursday at Carolines: Dave Attell
8:00 pm to Midnight ($5): Four full hours of improv for only five bucks—tonight featuring UCBT house troupes Sandino, Badman, Robber Baron, DeCoster, and Monstro; and at 11:00 pm, a gala end-of-the-year improv jam open to everyone and hosted by Badman—all at Harold Night
8:00 pm ($5): Rob Paravonian (guitar-playing stand-up; for his wonderful YouTube hit, please clickhere), sketch troupe The Fools, and musical guests Mike Doughty (David Letterman, Conan O’Brien; formerly of band Soul Coughing; solo album Sad Man Happy Man), Eden & John’s East River String Band (old-time country-folk blues), and CatCatCat (alt rock) performing in the Lolita Bar at Liam McEneaney’s Tell Your Friends
8:00 pm ($10): The worlds of “magic, mind-reading, and mutilation” are explored by Matthew Holtzclaw and Prakash Puru in Strange Things
8:15 pm ($5—with FREE PIZZA!): Kurt Braunohler (Comedy Central; co-creator & co-star of UK TV series Penelope: Princess of Pets; co-host with Kristen Schaal of Hot Tub Variety), Matt McCarthy (Comedy Central, AMC, Verizon FIOS guy, Front Page Films, The Other Guys, comedy CD Come Clean), and contortionist Amazing Amy performing at the Magnet Theatre for Adam Lerman’s and Willy Appleman’s variety show Deep Traffic
[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($5): Kurt Braunohler (Comedy Central; co-creator & co-star of UK TV seriesPenelope: Princess of Pets; co-host with Kristen Schaal of Hot Tub Variety), Roger Hailes (Chappelle’s Show, VH1), and weather-condition-dependent surprises performing at Ella (9 Avenue A) hosted by the wonderful Seth Herzog (Jimmy Fallon, VH1): Sweet
9:30 pm ($10): The PIT house comics tell tales about “Hating the Holidays” at the comedic storytelling show Campfire Stories
[FREE] 11:00 pm: A breathtaking 40 comics are given 2 minutes each in this rapid-fire open-mic stand-up show hosted with wit and energy by Jay Welch: Bring It
For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.
Leave a Comment » | Best New York Live Comedy Shows | Tagged: Carolines, Carolines Comedy Club, Carolines on Broadway, Cheap Comedy, Comedian, Comedians, Comedic Storytelling, Comedy, Comedy Clubs, Comic, Comics, Comix, Comix Comedy Club, Dave Attell, Eliza Skinner, Free Comedy, Fun NYC, Funny, Improv, Improvisation, New York City Comedy, New York Comedy, New York Comedy Clubs, NY Comedy, NYC Comedy, NYC Fun, Sketch Comedy, Skinner Alive!, Stand-Up Comedy, Standup Comedy, Storytelling, The Magnet Theater, The Peoples Improv Theatre, The PIT, UCB, UCBT, Upright Citizens Brigade | Permalink
Posted by hybender
December 27, 2010
For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.
Genius comics including Anthony King (above) and SNL's Jason Sudeikis, and wonderful actors including Sandy Rustin (above) and Tony nominee Maria Dizzia, collide improv into theatre tonight at Gravid Water
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:
NO SHOWS!!!
Both the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre and The Pit announced that they’ll be CLOSED tonight! Because of the blizzard and the resulting problems with public transportation, everyone decided it’s safest to simply go dark one more night. That means all shows have been CANCELLED. (So please ignore everything below…) However, both theatres plan to resume their normal programming starting tomorrow. If anything else changes, it’ll be reported here ASAP.
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): Saturday Night Live star Jason Sudeikis, and Broadway & off-Broadway stars Maria Dizzia (Tony nominee for In The Next Room), Sandy Rustin (Neil Simon’s Hotel Suite), Kevin Kelly (The Brother/Sister Plays), David Kenner (Old Wicked Songs), Carla Briscoe (Mikveh), and Liz Wisan (Other Desert Cities), mixing it up with some of the best improvisors in the world—Michael Delaney (Conan O’Brien, The Other Guys), Becky Drysdale (Baby Wan ts Candy), Anthony King (beloved comedy genius and happy new dad), and Thomas Middleditch (Improvised Shakespeare Company, which will be gracing NYC with another run in early January)—as they crash improv into classic theatre scenes at actor/director Stephen Ruddy’s Gravid Water
8:00 pm ($5): A sketch show about New Jersey that asks you to “Take a ride on the Garden State Parkway with us as we go on a Great Adventure to see what makes the third state so special! We’ll go from the grease trucks to Menlo Park, to diners, troopers and Weird New Jersey after dark. Some of our finest historical figures, actors, and musicians will be stopping by as well, so come on out” and give yourself over to a Garden State of Mind
[MEGA-TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): Pamela Murphy proves herself to be a star in this not-to-be-missed autobiographical show that’s the best-scripted one-act to grace UCBT this year, performed with wit, grace, and pitch-perfect comedic timing (for video samples of Murphy’s work, please clickhere); plus a show I haven’t seen but have heard good things about, in the double-bill Pamela Murphy: The C Word and The Paul Downs Syndrome
[TOP PICK] [FREE] 11:00 pm: Some of the finest comics in the world—who tonight include Wyatt Cenac (star correspondent on The Daily Show) and Reggie Watts (musical improv comedy genius; Comedy Central special; Jimmy Fallon; Electric Company; Conan O’Brien’s Legally Prohibited tour; for video samples, please click here)—guest-hosted by the wonderful Jon Friedman (Jimmy Fallon, The Rejection Show) at Whiplash
[FREE] 11:00 pm: If you’re an audience member who loves stand-up, Monday at 11 should beWhiplash! night (see listing above). If you’re a comic who couldn’t get booked on UCBT’s all-star show, though, you can opt to instead practice your skills on this stand-up open-mic hosted by Michelle Wolf and Erin Lennox: Fresh
For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.
Leave a Comment » | Best New York Live Comedy Shows | Tagged: Anthony King, Carolines, Carolines Comedy Club, Carolines on Broadway, Cheap Comedy, Comedian, Comedians, Comedic Storytelling, Comedy, Comedy Clubs, Comic, Comics, Comix, Comix Comedy Club, Free Comedy, Fun NYC, Funny, Gravid Water, Improv, Improvisation, New York City Comedy, New York Comedy, New York Comedy Clubs, NY Comedy, NYC Comedy, NYC Fun, Sandy Rustin, Sketch Comedy, Stand-Up Comedy, Standup Comedy, Storytelling, The Magnet Theater, The Peoples Improv Theatre, The PIT, UCB, UCBT, Upright Citizens Brigade | Permalink
Posted by hybender
Best New York Comedy 