NYC Top Comedy Choices for Monday 7/25/11

July 25, 2011

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

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

John Oliver and Anthony Jeselnik

Two of the greatest stand-ups in comedy history, John Oliver and Anthony Jeselnik, tonight at Whiplash

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

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

7:00 pm ($5): Joe Moses became a YouTube star with A Very Potter Musical. In this show, he uses sketch, improv, and music to “share his unique perspective on what it’s like to be a young artist in NYC, and an online celebrity:” The Joe Moses One Man Showses

7:00 pm & 9:30 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 7:00 pm, and an entirely different group of stand-ups hosted by Dan Cartwright & Dave Greek at 9:30 pm—at the Luca Lounge (222 Avenue B off 14th Street) for John Morrison’s Motel Luca

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 7:30 pm: Eric Andre (hilarious wild man; HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm, ABC’sApartment 23, TBS’ Lopez Report, Comedy Central, FOX’s In the Flow), Phoebe Robinson (normally this show’s host, but Phoebe’s doing a set tonight), Mara Herron (Sirius Radio), Carrie Graveson, Seaton Smith, and Joe Machi performing stand-ups at a free weekly show in the Manchester Pubtonight guest-hosted by Jessimae Peluso (Tyra Banks Show, TruTV): Case of the Mondays Comedy

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

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($6.50 online or $8 at the door): Baron Vaughn (star of USA’s Fairly Legal, co-star of USA’s Facing Kate and Comedy Central’s The Awkward Comedy Show, MTV, VH1), Eric Ledgin (writer for Jimmy Fallon), Kate Beaton (stellar cartoonist: Hark! A Vagrant), and as house band the super-amazing Adira Amram and the Experience (winner of the 2011 ECNY Award for Best Musical Act), performing at Brooklyn’s Littlefield (622 Degraw Street) with sketches and more from a duo who between them won four 2011 ECNY Awards—including Best Variety Show and Best Hosts—Kristen Schaal and Kurt Braunohler: Hot Tub Variety

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($10): My #1 pick for the 2007 FringeNYC Festival, this wonderful group of actresses/improvisors portray characters as if they were in a play, but improvise everything they say and do. The luminous performers include Katharine Heller, Brenna Palughi, Lynne Rosenberg, Lauren Seikaly, and Molly Knefel, each of whom is immensely appealing and quick-witted. Further, they have an intimate, lovely chemistry with each other; and they’ve all committed to baring their personal lives, thinly disguised via their characters (hence the title’s Naked). As a result, this is one of the most honest & nuanced improvised shows you’ll ever see. This show was previously a wonderful theatrical event that cost $18 and up. Don’t miss this five-week Monday evening run, concluding August 15th, at the elegant Cherry Lane Theatre (38 Commerce Street, near the #1 subway’s Christopher Street stop) that allows you to catch the gals for a mere $10: Naked in a Fishbowl

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): “Jonathan Blank and Samara Doucette say what everyone else thinks on dates, but never says… so join them and guest comedians as they divulge all of their wildest and most embarrassing dating stories! This monthly storytelling show contains the truth and nothing but the truth. However, most of the stories are more surreal than if David Lynch directed romantic comedies. Everything from wild hookups to emotional breakups are on the table:” This is Awkward

9:30 pm ($5): Two of UCBT’s in-house sketch comedy troupes, Arbuckle (which includes performers Pam Murphy and Violet Krumbein) and Stone Cold Fox (which includes performers Fran Gillespie, Nate Smith, and John Murray), trying out new bits at Maude Night

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

[MEGA-TOP PICK] [FREE] 11:00 pm: Some of the finest comics in the world—who tonight include John Oliver (star correspondent of The Daily Show, co-star of NBC’s Community, star of Comedy Central’s New York Stand-Up Show, screenwriter, and genius stand-up comic), Anthony Jeselnik (one of my all-time favorite stand-ups; former staff writer/performer for Jimmy Fallon; Conan O’Brien, HBO, Comedy Central Presents; debut comedy CD Shakespeare), Nick Turner (host ofMonsters, co-host of Too Cool for School and If You Build It), Chris Laker, and Dan Soder—hosted by the wonderful Leo Allen (HBO, Saturday Night Live, Conan O’Brien, Comedy Central) at Whiplash

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

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

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

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NYC Top Comedy Choices for Monday 7/18/11

July 18, 2011

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

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

Colin Quinn and John Mulaney

Star stand-ups Colin Quinn (Whiplash) and John Mulaney (For the Hour)...

Jet Eveleth

...and Chicago's Jet Eveleth—accompanied by ace improvisors Scott Adsit (30 Rock) & Paul Brittain (SNL)—at "Touched"

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

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

7:00 pm ($5): NYC stand-ups telling jokes, followed by improvisors making up scenes springboarding off the material, at Daws of Death

7:00 pm & 9:30 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 7:00 pm, and an entirely different group of stand-ups hosted by Dan Cartwright & Dave Greek at 9:30 pm—at the Luca Lounge (222 Avenue B off 14th Street) for John Morrison’s Motel Luca

[FREE] 7:30 pm: NYC stand-ups Josh Homer (Comedy Central), Geno Bisconte (FOX News), Hadiyah Robinson (BET), Rose Surnow, Merril Davis, and Brendan McLaughlin performing at a free weekly show in the Manchester Pub hosted by Phoebe Robinson: Case of the Mondays Comedy

[MEGA-TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): A writer/performer for Saturday Night Live (for a sample, please click here) who’s also one of the very finest stand-ups in the country—with appearances on Conan O’Brien, Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central Presents, VH1’s Best Week Ever, etc.—performing a deliciously long set tonight that’s likely to leave you breathless with laughter and chuckling weeks later: John Mulaney: For the Hour

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): Improv genius Scott Adsit (30 Rock) & Paul Brittain (Saturday Night Live) make up scenes from the air; and a (mostly) one-woman show from Jet Eveleth, the artistic director of the Chicago Improv Festival, and who the Chicago Tribune has called “always terrific and subtle” (for video samples, please click here and here): Adsit & Brittain, and Jet Eveleth’s Touched

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($6.50 online or $8 at the door): Ira Glass (host of NPR’s This American Life), Jared Logan (Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central, co-host of Righteous Kill), a “hilarious lady from LA,” guest DJ Ted Leo, and as house band the super-amazing Adira Amram and the Experience (winner of the 2011 ECNY Award for Best Musical Act)—performing at Brooklyn’s Littlefield (622 Degraw Street) with sketches and more from multi-award winning Kurt Braunohler (Kristen’s tied up but will be back with Kurt next week): Hot Tub Variety

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($10): My #1 pick for the 2007 FringeNYC Festival, this wonderful group of actresses/improvisors portray characters as if they were in a play, but improvise everything they say and do. The luminous performers include Katharine Heller, Brenna Palughi, Lynne Rosenberg, Lauren Seikaly, and Molly Knefel, each of whom is immensely appealing and quick-witted. Further, they have an intimate, lovely chemistry with each other; and they’ve all committed to baring their personal lives, thinly disguised via their characters (hence the title’s Naked). As a result, this is one of the most honest & nuanced improvised shows you’ll ever see. This show was previously a wonderful theatrical event that cost $18 and up. Don’t miss this five-week Monday evening run, concluding August 15th, at the elegant Cherry Lane Theatre (38 Commerce Street, near the #1 subway’s Christopher Street stop) that allows you to catch the gals for a mere $10: Naked in a Fishbowl

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): UCBT has developed several terrific in-house sketch comedy troupes, but only one of them currently rivals the finest sketch groups in the country: Gramp’s, spearheaded by comedy genius Kate McKinnon. Kate’s group will be trying out all-new bits tonight, but the chances are at least some of them will be breathtakingly smart, inventive, and hilarious. Also on this double-bill is house troupe Onassis, which isn’t nearly in the same league, but includes such notable performers as Sue Galloway—all at Maude Night

9:30 pm ($5): “A group of renegade writers, actors, directors, and designers brought together by a shared belief that theatricality, production values, and sketch comedy are not mutually exclusive;” 2010 INNY Award winners for Best NY Sketch Group: People’s Sketch Association

[FREE] 10:00 pm: Open-mic sketch, stand-up, improv, videos, and anything else quick & comedic, at The Magnet with host Leanne Linsky: Casual Sketch

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 11:00 pm: Some of the finest comics in the world—who tonight include TV & movie star Colin Quinn (Broadway & HBO show Long Story Short, Saturday Night Live, Comedy Central’s legendary Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn), TV & movie star TJ Miller (David Letterman,Opie & Anthony; co-stared in ABC sitcom Carpoolers; co-starred in such hit movies as Cloverfieldand She’s Out of My League; member of awesome sketch troupe Heavyweight, which blew the roof off at SketchFest NYC 2011), the lovely Marina Franklin (developing into one of the finest stand-ups in the country, with an uncommonly gentle, graceful style that’s pure joy; Last Comic Standing, Chappelle’s Show, VH1, Comedy Central’s Premium Blend), and Nate Bargatze (Conan O’Brien, Comedy Central Presents)—hosted by the wonderful Leo Allen (HBO, Saturday Night Live, Conan O’Brien, Comedy Central) at Whiplash

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

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

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

Leave a Comment » | Best New York Live Comedy Shows | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
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NYC Top Comedy Choices for Monday 6/27/11

June 27, 2011

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

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

Pete Holmes and Kumail Nanjiani

Beloved stand-ups Pete Holmes and Kumail Nanjiani are briefly back from LA this week and performing tonight at Whiplash

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

[TOP PICK] 7:00 pm ($5): World-class storyteller Adam Wade (two-time Moth GrandSlam Storytelling Champion (2006 & 2009) and record-breaking 17-time StorySlam Champion; The New York Times Magazine; host of The Adam Wade Show; for Adam’s award-winning tale of being an NBC page on Conan O’Brien, please click here) hosts a show that’s “like watching the characters of The Wonder Years and Freaks & Geeks all grown up and telling coming-of-age tales of love, lost, regret, and redemption,” with tonight’s yarn-spinners Kristen Lange, Jenice Matias, Steven Berkowitz, and Robert Weinstein, plus music from Jake Goldman—and a prize for some lucky audience member of a free cake!—all at Adam Wade’s Whatever Happened to the Nerds?

[TOP PICK] 7:00 pm ($5): Austin troupe Confidence Men perform their NYC debut with an improvised two-act play in the style of David Mamet. “What makes them unique? Everything: the rhythm, the style, the tone, and the willingness to go serious and/or dark:” Improvised Mamet

7:00 pm & 9:30 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 7:00 pm, and an entirely different group of stand-ups hosted by Dan Cartwright & Dave Greek at 9:30 pm—at the Luca Lounge (222 Avenue B off 14th Street) for John Morrison’s Motel Luca

[FREE] 7:30 pm: NYC stand-ups Larry Bailey, Kyle Fincham, Kate Hendricks, David DeVito, Amanda Baramki, and Meena Dimian performing at a free weekly show in the Manchester Pubhosted by Phoebe Robinson: Case of the Mondays Comedy

[MEGA-TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): Film, and Broadway & off-Broadway stars Bill Camp (Public Enemies, Rounders; Broadway: Coram Boy, Jackie, Saint Joan), Maria Dizzia (Cradle and All; Tony Award nominee for In The Next Room), Brad Fleischer (Broadway: Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo), Helen Kim (Kill Bill: Vol. 2, Death Proof, Grindhouse), and Cristin Milioti (30 Rock; Broadway:Coram Boy, Lieutenant of Inishmore) mixing it up with some of the greatest  improvisors in the world—Scott Adsit (30 Rock, Moral Orel, John & Scott), Tara Copeland (Baby Wants Candy, Mother, The Other Guys), Michael Delaney (Conan O’Brien, The Other Guys, The Stepfathers), Anthony King (brilliant Artistic Director of UCBT, Gutenberg The Musical!, The Curfew), and John Lutz (30 Rock, Saturday Night Live, John & Scott)—as they crash improv into classic theatre scenes at actor/director Stephen Ruddy’s Gravid Water

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($6.50 online or $8 at the door): Wyatt Cenac (star correspondent for The Daily Show), Rachel Feinstein (finalist on last year’s Last Comic Standing; Comedy Central; opens for Sarah Silverman on tour), and musical guest Ted Leo—plus for all of June, as house band the super-amazing Adira Amram and the Experience (winner of the 2011 ECNY Award for Best Musical Act)—performing at Brooklyn’s Littlefield (622 Degraw Street) with sketches and more from a duo who between them won four 2011 ECNY Awards—including Best Variety Show and Best Hosts—Kristen Schaal and Kurt Braunohler: Hot Tub Variety

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($10): My #1 pick for the 2007 FringeNYC Festival, this wonderful group of actresses/improvisors portray characters as if they were in a play, but improvise everything they say and do. The luminous performers include Katharine Heller, Brenna Palughi, Lynne Rosenberg, Lauren Seikaly, and Molly Knefel, each of whom is immensely appealing and quick-witted. Further, they have an intimate, lovely chemistry with each other; and they’ve all committed to baring their personal lives, thinly disguised via their characters (hence the title’s Naked). As a result, this is one of the most honest & nuanced improvised shows you’ll ever see. This show was previously a wonderful theatrical event that cost $18 and up. Don’t miss this run at The PIT that allows you to catch the gals for a mere $10: Naked in a Fishbowl

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 8:30 pm: Rachel Feinstein (finalist on last year’s Last Comic Standing; Comedy Central; opens for Sarah Silverman on tour), Dan St. Germain (quick-witted rising star; Jimmy Fallon, MTV, VH1; for reenactment of Dan’s breakup, please click here), Jena Friedman (wry dark comedy stand-up; host of Entertaining the Bartender), Nate Bargatze, Scott Moran, and Ryan Conner performing at Brooklyn’s Freddy’s Bar (627 Fifth Avenue; take R subway to Prospect Avenue) for this free biweekly show hosted by Brooke Van Poppelen (brilliant stand-up, writer, and storyteller; TLC, blogger for trutV; for stand-up videos about overindulging at 30 and impersonating Morrisey, please click here and here) and Giulia Rozzi (Jimmy Kimmel, MTV, VH1,Playgirl Magazine, co-host of Stripped Stories): Dive Comedy

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): One of UCBT’s very finest house sketch comedy troupes Fambly(spearheaded by wonderful rising star Mamrie Hart); plus in the other half of this double-bill house troupe Neighbor Boy (which might not feature great material, but includes such talents as Kate Hess, Amber Nelson, and Timothy Dunn), all trying out new bits at Maude Night

9:30 pm ($5): “A drama written by teen Jerome McDonough that teaches teens about the evils of alcohol abuse. A talented and twistedly funny group of adults (the Marumsco Valley Players) will present the hard-hitting play, stage directions and all—while under the influence!:” Alky

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

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 11:00 pm: Some of the finest comics in the world—who tonight include Anthony Jeselnik (one of my all-time favorite stand-ups; former staff writer/performer for Jimmy Fallon; Conan O’Brien, HBO, Comedy Central Presents; debut comedy CD Shakespeare), Jon Benjamin (star of new Comedy Central series Jon Benjamin Has a Van), and David O’Doherty (award-winning writer/stand-up visiting from Ireland; to get a feel for this extraordinary storyteller, please click here and here and here)—hosted by the wonderful Leo Allen (HBO, Saturday Night Live, Conan O’Brien, Comedy Central) at Whiplash

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

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

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

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

NYC Top Comedy Choices for Monday 4/18/11

April 18, 2011

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

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

Morgan Murphy

Morgan Murphy makes one of her last NYC appearances before moving to LA at tonight's Whiplash...

Chris Gethard

...and NYC treasure Chris Gethard performs tonight at Hot Tub Variety

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

[TOP PICK] 7:00 pm ($5): Comedy veterans Miriam Tolan (The Daily Show), Jodi Lennon (Exit 57), and Ari Voukydis perform an improvised play in What a Year!

[FREE] 7:30 pm: Phoebe Robinson (The Daily News, The New York Times), Liz Miele (Comedy Central), Jay Nog (AMC), Justin Murray, Emma Willman, and Frank Liotti performing stand-up at a free weekly show in the Manchester Pub guest-hosted by Ray Marshall (because Phoebe can stick around for only part of her show tonight): Case of the Mondays Comedy

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($6.50 online or $8 at the door): Chris Gethard (brilliant improvisor and comedic storyteller; star of Comedy Central sitcom Big Lake and UCBT’s The Chris Gethard Show;Magic Box of Stories, The Stepfathers, The Nights of Our Lives, author of book Weird New York; winner of 2011 ECNY Award for Best Tweeter), Carolyn Castiglia (Last Comic Standing, VH1), Serious Lunch (winner of 2011 ECNY Award for Best Sketch Group), and Hallie Haglund (writer forThe Daily Show) performing at Brooklyn’s Littlefield (622 Degraw Street) with sketches and more from a duo who between them won four 2011 ECNY Awards—including Best Variety Show and Best Hosts—Kristen Schaal and Kurt Braunohler: Hot Tub Variety

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): Two of the finest improvisors on the planet, Christina Gausas (Conan O’Brien, The Colbert Report, Let’s Have a Ball, Adsit & Gausas) and Becky Drysdale (Baby Wants Candy, Let’s Have a Ball), are new improv duo Drysdale & Gausas

[TOP PICK] [DISCOUNTED] 8:30 pm ($15, which includes 1 drink, if you mention HyReviews.com[otherwise $20]; call 212.989.9319 to reserve seats): Movie & TV star Janeane Garofalo, Maureen Langan (HBO, Joy Behar Show, ABC News, FOX, MSNBC, WE, The Onion; 2009 MAC Award for Best Female Comic), Jamie Kilstein (Huffington Post; co-host of Citizen Radio), Jordan Klepper & Laura Grey (Second City, Baggage at UCBT), Liam McEneaney (Comedy Central, VH1’s Best Week Ever, host of Tell Your Friends), and Raquel D’Apice (writes blog titled The Ugly Volvo; for touching video about lesbians who met in Eastern Europe, please click here) performing at the Cornelia Street Cafe for John Morrison’s Morrison Motel

[TOP PICK] 8:30 pm ($5): Alessandro King & Kevin Cobbs parody show biz in the sketch showListen, Kid! ; plus in the second half of this double-bill, improv from Dustin Drury & Andrew Yurman-Glaser that captures the laid-back feel of Upstate New York

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): Two of UCBT’s finest house sketch comedy troupes, Arbuckle and Stone Cold Fox, trying out new bits at Maude Night

[FREE] 9:30 pm: Alternately raunchy & touching singer/songwriter Ben Lerman, and stand-ups Hilary Schwartz, Evon Cambell, Selena Coppock, Andy Klieman, Miguel Dalmau, Joe Fury, and Zack and Zack, performing at Pat O’Shea’s free weekly Brooklyn showcase at Freddy’s Backroom(627 5th Avenue): Ed Sullivan on Acid

9:30 pm ($5): This showcase for the wonderful Jen Nails’ Do It Yourself class tonight features “the story of a starstruck, motherless girl being raised in the South by a father born before women had the right to vote and a grandmother born before the invention of the automobile; part memoir, part escapist fantasy, this is the story of how she sets herself free:” Untied

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 11:00 pm: Some of the finest stand-ups in the world—who tonight include Wyatt Cenac (star correspondent for The Daily Show) and Morgan Murphy (fresh, original, and fearlessly dark; The Comedians of Comedy; staff writer for Jimmy Fallon; ore of the last chances to catch Morgan before she moves back to LA)—hosted by the wonderful Leo Allen (Saturday Night Live, Conan O’Brien, HBO, Comedy Central) at Whiplash

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

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

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

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

NYC Top Comedy Choices for Monday 4/4/11

April 4, 2011

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

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

Kristen Schaal, Anthony Jeselnik, and Jen Kirkman

Kristen Schaal, Anthony Jeselnik, and Jen Kirkman will kill tonight at "Whiplash"

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

[FREE] 6:00 pm: Kevin Allison (legendary MTV sketch series The State, HBO, Comedy Central, VH1, host of award-winning storytelling show Risk!) hosts this free open-mic show for storytellers, in which you can put your name in a hat for the chance to tell a five-minute true story…and if it’s a good one, possibly be included in Kevin’s popular podcasts on the Web: Risk! Storyslam

[TOP PICK] 7:00 pm ($5): Comedy veterans Miriam Tolan (The Daily Show), Jodi Lennon (Exit 57), and Ari Voukydis perform an improvised play in What a Year!

[FREE] 7:30 pm: Mark Normand (hilarious; Last Comic Standing, co-host of We’re All Friends Here), Ilana Glazer (Broad City), Chris DiStefano, Jim Tews, and George Gordon performing stand-up at a free weekly show in the Manchester Pub hosted by Phoebe Robinson: Case of the Mondays Comedy

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($6.50 online or $8 at the door): Wyatt Cenac (star correspondent for The Daily Show), Julie Klausner (I Don’t Care About Your Band), and Jon Fisch (Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central) performing at Brooklyn’s Littlefield (622 Degraw Street) with sketches and more from a duo who between them won four 2011 ECNY Awards—including Best Variety Show and Best Hosts—Kristen Schaal and Kurt Braunohler: Hot Tub Variety

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): Laura Grey & Jordan Klepper “explore the inevitably rich moments leading up to the act of coupling, and the fallout that follows” in their improv show Key Party; and in the other half of this double-bill, LA-based improv trio Alex Berg, Todd Fasen, and Alex Fernie perform as award-winning troupe Convoy

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): “It’s gay. It’s camp. It’s Gay Camp! Every summer, confused, young campers are sent away to Camp Acceptance to ‘cure’ their homosexuality. Start with a deliciously evil headmaster and a closeted lesbian guidance counselor, throw in a few electrified fences, disco balls, white girls rapping, boy-boy love, girl-girl love, gay Twister, Sarah Palin, slow-motion fantasies, whips, handcuffs, flannel, and more innuendos than you can shake a dildo at, and you’ve got…” Gay Camp

[TOP PICK] 8:30 pm ($5—possibly includes FREE PIZZA): Dave Hill (one of the most original and hilariously sharp alternative comics in the country; HBO, Comedy Central, MTV, VH1, NPR, star of The King of Miami, band Diamondsnake, champion rapper; The New York Times, The Huffington Post, The Dave Hill Explosion), Jared Logan (Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central, co-host of Righteous Kill), Adrienne Iapualucci (Last Comic Standing), Kevin Barnett, and storyteller Ed Gavagan (The Moth) performing at the Magnet Theatre for Adam Lerman’s and Willy Appleman’s Deep Traffic

9:30 pm ($5): Two of UCBT’s fine house sketch comedy troupes, Dweeb and Thunder Gulch, trying out new bits at Maude Night

9:30 pm ($5): This showcase for the wonderful Jen Nails’ Do It Yourself class tonight features stand-up star Marina Franklin working out the early stages of her one-woman show Life Imitating Art, and Jan Warner performing the one-person show Pull Me Back

[FREE] 10:00 pm ($5): An opportunity for you to try out your comedic monologue or sketch piece:Casual Sketch

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 11:00 pm: Some of the finest stand-ups in the world—who tonight include TV & movie star Kristen Schaal (one of the funniest women alive; shining star correspondent on The Daily Show; co-star of HBO’s Flight of the Conchords; Comedy Central Presents half-hour special; star of UK TV series Penelope: Princess of Pets; co-host of Hot Tub Variety; co-author of bestselling book The Sexy Book of Sexy Sex), Anthony Jeselnik (one of my all-time favorite stand-ups; writer/performer for Jimmy Fallon; Conan O’Brien, HBO, Comedy Central Presents; debut comedy CD Shakespeare), and Jen Kirkman (HBO, VH1, Chelsea Lately, Craig Ferguson, staff writer for NBC sitcom Perfect Couples)—hosted by the wonderful Chris Gethard (star of Comedy Central sitcom Big Lake; The Stepfathers, The Nights of Our Lives, The Chris Gethard Show, author of book Weird New York) at Whiplash

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

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

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

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NYC Top Comedy Choices for Monday 3/21/11

March 21, 2011

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

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

Colin Quinn

TV & Broadway star Colin Quinn does stand-up tonight at Whiplash

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

[FREE] 6:00 pm: Kevin Allison (legendary MTV sketch series The State, HBO, Comedy Central, VH1, host of award-winning storytelling show Risk!) hosts this free open-mic show for storytellers, in which you can put your name in a hat for the chance to tell a five-minute true story…and if it’s a good one, possibly be included in Kevin’s popular podcasts on the Web: Risk! Storyslam

7:00 pm: Musical improv from two gals performing as troupe Warbucks

[FREE] 7:30 pm: Jamie Lee (MTV’s Ridiculousness, Last Comic Standing), Hugh Moore (Comedy Central, Last Comic Standing), Joe List (Comedy Central), Kevin Barnett (College Humor), and David Lee Nelson performing stand-up at a free weekly show in the Manchester Pub guest-hosted tonight by Miguel Dalmau (TruTv): Case of the Mondays Comedy

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($6.50 online or $8 at the door): Andrea Rosen (HBO’s Flight of the Conchords, Comedy Central’s Stella, Variety SHAC, superb UCBT one-woman show Ding Dong Meow, winner of the 2011 ECNY Award for Best Stand-Up), Joe Garden (Features Editor of The Onion, author ofThe New Vampire’s Handbook), Roger Hailes (Comedy Central, MTV, written for Jimmy Fallon), and “a secret musical guest” performing at Brooklyn’s Littlefield (622 Degraw Street) with sketches and more from a duo who between them won four 2011 ECNY Awards—including Best Variety Show and Best Hosts—Kristen Schaal and Kurt Braunohler: Hot Tub Variety

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): A double-bill of vibrant improv troupes: Neil Casey & Anthony Atamanuik make up an entire feature film as The Two-Man Movie; and Laura Grey & Jordan Klepper “explore the inevitably rich moments leading up to the act of coupling, and the fallout that follows” in Key Party

8:00 pm ($5): “Ever wonder how you become a writer for an Emmy winning TV show? So does J. D. Durkin. Since no one has told him, here is his one-man show performing all original material to become a writer for The Colbert Report. Durkin channels Colbert live on stage to present political punditry as only The PIT could do it…and only The PIT, since he was escorted off the Comedy Central premises:” Stephen Colbert: Hire Me

9:30 pm ($5): Two of UCBT’s fine house sketch comedy troupes, Stone Cold Fox and Arbuckle, trying out new bits at Maude Night

9:30 pm ($5): Young, adorable performers make up a musical on the spot as Zamboni Musical Improv

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 11:00 pm: Some of the finest stand-ups in the world—who tonight include John Mulaney, Colin Quinn, Christian Finnegan, and Jamie Lee—hosted by the wonderful Chris Gethard (star of Comedy Central sitcom Big Lake; The Stepfathers, The Nights of Our Lives, The Chris Gethard Show, author of book Weird New York) at Whiplash

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

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

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

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NYC Top Comedy Choices for Monday 2/7/11

February 7, 2011

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

If you have a thyroid, or know someone with a thyroid, please consider buying my latest book The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Thyroid Disease.

Adam Cayton-Holland

Visiting Denver-based comic Adam Cayton-Holland performs tonight at Hot Tub Variety and Whiplash

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

[FREE] 6:00 pm: Kevin Allison (legendary MTV sketch series The State, HBO, Comedy Central, VH1, host of award-winning storytelling show Risk!) hosts this free open-mic show for storytellers, in which you can put your name in a hat for the chance to tell a five-minute true story…and if it’s a good one, possibly be included in Kevin’s popular podcasts on the Web: Risk! Storyslam

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 Dustin Drury and Andrew Yurman-Glaser, in the double-bill The Cascade and Upstate New York

[FREE] 7:30 pm: Dan St. Germain (Comedy Central, MTV, They Hated Each Other), Erin Judge (Comedy Central; for hilarious stand-up bit about being bisexual, please click here), Jessimae Peluso (Last Comic Standing, The Tyra Banks Show), J-L Cauvin (Craig Ferguson), and Greg Collett performing at a free weekly show in the Manchester Pub hosted by Phoebe Robinson: Case of the Mondays Comedy

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): The unsinkable Mamrie Hart and her comedy partner Stephen Soroka areBest of Friends, and their new sketch show educates you about how to effectively promote it when you tell all your friends to see it: BoF: It’s Pronounced ‘Boaf’!; and in the other half of this double-bill, Lennon Parham demonstrates her comedy genius by utterly stealing this show with just a few minutes of performance time—via Skype video from LA!—while other talented performers on stage struggle with a sadly underdeveloped script…though Marcy Jarreau somehow manages to rise above the material, and is the other standout to look for (in the scene with the mirror…): Oh My God, I Heard You’re Dying!

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($6.50 online or $8 at the door): Corn Mo (superb comedic musician), Free Love Supreme (wonderful rap improv troupe), Brent Sullivan (Comedy Central), and Adam Cayton-Holland (award-winning stand-up comic who writes weekly humor column for Denver alt newspaper Westword; also writes online pieces—for example, a 9/3/08 entry chided a young political celeb’s blog for calling the First Lady poised and elegant, commenting “Laura Bush ‘poised’? Pshaw! The woman has the wild-eyed look of a feral, cornered rabbit, like she’s either going to dart the f*ck away or go straight for your jugular, Bunnicula-style…And she looks about as elegant as a Texas whore who one day dreams of singing alongside the piany;” for a video sample, please click here) performing at Brooklyn’s Littlefield (622 Degraw Street) with sketches and more from NYC comedy royalty Kristen Schaal and Kurt Braunohler: Hot Tub Variety

8:00 pm ($5): Improv based on headlines from the amazing New York Post: Headless Body in Topless Bar

9:30 pm ($5): Two of UCBT’s fine house sketch comedy troupes, Dweeb and Thunder Gulch, trying out new bits at Maude Night

9:30 pm ($5): A one-man show from Julie Ann Dulude about being raised by strict Catholic parents: Bless This Mess

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 11:00 pm: Some of the finest comics in the world—who tonight include Brooke Van Poppelen (brilliant stand-up, writer, and storyteller; blogger for trutV; TLC; Maxim and Cosmo Radio; for stand-up videos about overindulging at 30 and impersonating Morrisey, please clickhere and here), Jay Pharoah (cast member of Saturday Night Live), Roger Hailes (Comedy Central, VH1), and Adam Cayton-Holland (award-winning stand-up comic who writes weekly humor column for Denver alt newspaper Westword; also writes online pieces—for example, a 9/3/08 entry chided a young political celeb’s blog for calling the First Lady poised and elegant, commenting “Laura Bush ‘poised’? Pshaw! The woman has the wild-eyed look of a feral, cornered rabbit, like she’s either going to dart the f*ck away or go straight for your jugular, Bunnicula-style…And she looks about as elegant as a Texas whore who one day dreams of singing alongside the piany;” for a video sample, please click here)—at Whiplash

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

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

If you have a thyroid, or know someone with a thyroid, please consider buying my latest book The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Thyroid Disease.

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NYC Top Comedy Choices for Monday 1/17/11

January 17, 2011

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

For my all-time favorite oddball comedy videos, please click here.

Daniel Kitson

Unique, unforgettable, and hilarious stand-up/storyteller Daniel Kitson performs tonight at both "Hot Tub Variety" and "Whiplash"

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

[FREE] 6:00 pm: Kevin Allison (legendary MTV sketch series The State, HBO, Comedy Central, VH1, host of award-winning storytelling show Risk!) hosts this free open-mic show for storytellers, in which you can put your name in a hat for the chance to tell a five-minute true story…and if it’s a good one, possibly be included in Kevin’s popular podcasts on the Web: Risk! Storyslam

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 Myka Fox, Ben Kronberg, Trevor Williams, Brandon Wardell, and Yannis Pappas performing at a free weekly show in the Manchester Pub hosted by Phoebe Robinson: Case of the Mondays Comedy

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($6.50 online or $8 at the door): UK-based stand-up & storytelling genius Daniel Kitson, who flat-out should not be missed (and whose NYC theatrical show The Interminable Suicide of Gregory Church has just two weeks left in its run, so if you want to see it buy your tickets soon), gorgeous Brooke Van Poppelen (brilliant stand-up, writer, and storyteller; blogger for trutV; TLC’s American Chopper, Maxim and Cosmo Radio, So-Low Show; popular blogsNYisretarded.blogspot.com and RockBottom; for stand-up videos about overindulging at 30 and impersonating Morrisey, please click here and here), Matt McCarthy & Oren Brimer presenting new & favorite shorts they’ve made (often with Pete Holmes) as Front Page Films, and musical duo Ronald Reagan 80s performing at Brooklyn’s Littlefield (622 Degraw Street) with sketches and more from NYC comedy royalty Kristen Schaal and Kurt Braunohler: Hot Tub Variety

8:00 pm ($5): Improv based on headlines from the amazing New York Post: Headless Body in Topless Bar

9:30 pm ($5): Two of UCBT’s fine house sketch comedy troupes, Gramp’s and Onassis, trying out new bits at Maude Night

[FREE] 10:00 pm: Comics try out sketches, monologues, videos, and more at this laid-back show: Casual Sketch

[MEGA-TOP PICK] [FREE] 11:00 pm: Some of the finest comics in the world—who tonight include UK-based stand-up & storytelling genius Daniel Kitson, who flat-out should not be missed (and whose NYC theatrical show The Interminable Suicide of Gregory Church has just two weeks left in its run, so if you want to see it buy your tickets soon), John Mulaney (writer/performer for Saturday Night Live; Conan O’Brien, Comedy Central Presents, VH1’s Best Week Ever; for John’s great bit on Weekend Update, please click here), Moshe Kasher (very funny LA-based stand-up; comedy CDEveryone you Know is Going To Die, And Then You Are), and more—guest-hosted by the wonderful Sean Patton (red-hot rising star; Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central, VH1) 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 new stand-up open-mic hosted by Michelle Wolf and Erin Lennox: Fresh

For my all-time favorite oddball comedy videos, please click here.

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

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NYC Top Comedy Choices for Monday 12/20/10

December 20, 2010

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

Michael Ian Black and John Mulaney

It's a big night for stand-up, with Michael Ian Black appearing on both Citizen Radio Live and Whiplash, John Mulaney performing at Hot Tub Variety...

Great, You Ruined Christmas

...and Erin Lennox debuting her new comedy show "Great, Your Ruined Christmas"

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] 7:00 pm: NYC stand-ups Hugh Moore (Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central), Jessimae Peluso (Last Comic Standing, The Tyra Banks Show), Justin McClure (NPR), and Gabe Pacheco (Anecdotal Evidence) performing at a free weekly show in the Manchester Pub hosted by Phoebe Robinson: Case of the Mondays Comedy

[FREE] 7:00 pm & 8:30 pm: Students of The Magnet’s storytelling classes—taught by delightful award-winning storyteller Adam Wade—demonstrate what they’ve learned at two free shows featuring Corinne Allarde, Chris Eslami, Jody Kinney, Judy Peluchette, Catherine Pappas, Sean Reives, Nathan Rice, and Jennifer Sanders: Adam Wade’s Storytelling Class Showcase

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($6.50 online or $8 at the door): John Mulaney (writer/performer for Saturday Night Live; Conan O’Brien, Comedy Central Presents, VH1’s Best Week Ever; for John’s great bit on Weekend Update, please click here), the Found Footage Festival presenting great lost videos of Christmas Past, MC Mr. Napkins (Comedy Central Records), Creamy Stevens (Coney Island Burlesque on the Beach), and “a special guest” (as if all that wasn’t enough) performing at Brooklyn’s Littlefield (622 Degraw Street) with sketches and more from NYC comedy royalty Kristen Schaal and Kurt Braunohler: Hot Tub Variety

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): Two of the finest stand-ups of our NYC community—Sean Patton (red-hot rising star; killer set on Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central, VH1, recent ex-smoker) and gorgeous Brooke Van Poppelen (brilliant stand-up, writer, and storyteller; blogger for trutV; TLC, Maxim and Cosmo Radio; popular blogs NYisretarded.blogspot.com and RockBottom; for stand-up videos about overindulging at 30 and impersonating Morrisey, please click here and here)—plus Tim Dimond, Billy Prinsell, and more performing at the White Rabbit (145 East Houston Street) for John Szeluga’s Not Friday

8:00 pm ($5): Two of UCBT’s fine house sketch comedy troupes, High Treason and Slow Burn, trying out new bits at Maude Night

[FREE] 8:00 pm: NYC stand-ups Mike Lawrence (Just for Laughs Festival, Comix headliner), Jordan Carlos (Comedy Central), Adam Conover, delightful host Erin Lennox (Fresh—see 11:00 pm), plus musical guests The Bandana Splits, debuting this new comedy show at the 11th Street Bar (510 East 11th Street between Avenues A & B): Great, You Ruined Christmas

8:00 pm ($5): Improv based on headlines from the amazing New York Post: Headless Body in Topless Bar

[TOP PICK] [DISCOUNTED] 8:30 pm ($5 cover if you mention HyReviews.com [otherwise $10], plus $7 drink minimum; call 212.989.9319 to reserve seats): Hannibal Buress (staff writer for 30 Rock, Saturday Night Live; Louie, Comedy Central, Jimmy Fallon, Craig Ferguson), Eddie Brill (14 years as booker & warmup for David Letterman), Jessica Kirson (Jay Leno, Last Comic Standing, Logo one-woman show My Cookie’s Gone), Matt McCarthy (Comedy Central, AMC, Verizon FIOS guy, Front Page Films, The Other Guys, comedy CD Come Clean), Lee Camp (Jimmy Fallon, The Onion, The Huffington Post), and “a very special guest” performing at the Cornelia Street Cafe for John Morrison’s Morrison Motel

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): Michael Ian Black (TV star of such wonderful hits as NBC’s Ed and MTV’s seminal sketch show The State, and more recently co-star of Comedy Central’s Michael & Michael Have Issues), Jack Dishel & Adam Green (Moldy Peaches), and more being interviewed on stage at Jamie Kilstein’s and Allison Kilkenny’s Citizen Radio Live

9:30 pm ($8): Kent Wood performs a one-man show about his life in show biz and his work as a “civilian therapist” helping celebrities through emotional crises, and Charles Sanchez does a one-man show about his being arrested in LA and hospitalized in Arkansas, in the double-bill A Gay in the Life and Arrested

10:00 pm ($5): Hip hop musical improv from Nick Brown, Don Romaniello, and Michael Short pretending to be NYC police officers: Rap Crimes Division

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 11:00 pm: Some of the finest comics in the world—who tonight include Michael Ian Black (TV star of such wonderful hits as NBC’s Ed and MTV’s seminal sketch show The State, and more recently co-star of Comedy Central’s Michael & Michael Have Issues), Kumail Nanjiani (David Letterman, Saturday Night Live, The Colbert Report, Jimmy Kimmel, writer/performer for Comedy Central’s Michael & Michael Have Issues), and Sean Conroy (Conan O’Brien, Comedy Central, member of legendary improv troupe The Swarm)—guest-hosted by the wonderful and recently cigarette-free Sean Patton (red-hot rising star; Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central, VH1) 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.

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NYC Top Comedy Choices for Monday 12/13/10

December 13, 2010

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

Jay Pharoah

SNL's phenom impersonator Jay Pharoah performs stand-up tonight at Whiplash

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

[FREE] 6:00 pm: Kevin Allison (legendary MTV sketch series The State, HBO, Comedy Central, VH1, host of award-winning storytelling show Risk!) hosts this free open-mic show for storytellers, in which you can put your name in a hat for the chance to tell a five-minute true story…and if it’s a good one, possibly be included in Kevin’s popular podcasts on the Web: Risk! Storyslam

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): John Morrison’s Motel Luca

[TOP PICK] [$] [DISCOUNTED] 7:00 pm ($10 at the door or online with discount code RUSH): My #1 pick for the 2007 FringeNYC Festival, this wonderful group of actresses/improvisors portray characters as if they were in a play, but improvise everything they say and do. The luminous performers include Katharine Heller, Brenna Palughi, Lynne Rosenberg, Lauren Seikaly, and Molly Knefel, each of whom is immensely appealing and quick-witted. Further, they have an intimate, lovely chemistry with each other; and they’ve all committed to baring their personal lives, thinly disguised via their characters (hence the title’s Naked). As a result, this is one of the most honest & nuanced improvised shows you’ll ever see.

In last week’s episode, there were hilarious arguments about holiday gift-giving…and the character played by Katharine Heller got engaged while watching Shaun of the Dead! (Yay, zombies! Yay, Katharine!!!)

Although every episode is a wonderful theatrical event, readers of this site no longer have to pay theatrical prices; you can see tonight’s season finale for a mere $10 by mentioning code RUSH at the door or when ordering online. Check out some videos of previous episodes here; and then get in the habit of attending the Soho Playhouse to experience the always fresh and surprising Naked in a Fishbowl

[FREE] 7:00 pm: NYC stand-ups Adam Newman (College Humor), Nick Turner (co-host of Too Cool for School), Susan Alexander, Sean Wilkinson, and Nick Cobb performing at a free weekly show in the Manchester Pub hosted by Phoebe Robinson: Case of the Mondays Comedy

7:00 pm ($5): Young, adorable performers make up a musical on the spot as Zamboni Musical Improv

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5 online or $8 at the door): Pioneering UK comedy star Andy de la Tour (The Young Ones), Moshe Kasher (Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central, Chelsea Lately), Jamie Kilstein (Conan O’Brien, The Onion), and Shaina and Mary Feinberg (“mother/daughter cha-cha sensation”) performing at Brooklyn’s Littlefield (622 Degraw Street) with sketches and more from NYC comedy royalty Kristen Schaal and Kurt Braunohler: Hot Tub Variety

8:00 pm ($5): Two of UCBT’s fine house sketch comedy troupes, Thunder Gulch and Gramp’s, trying out new bits at Maude Night

8:00 pm ($5): Nate Bargatze (Conan O’Brien, Comedy Central), Andy Haynes (Jimmy Fallon), Zach & Zach (Zach and Zach Save The Community Center), and Charles Gould performing at the White Rabbit (145 East Houston Street) for John Szeluga’s Not Friday

8:00 pm ($8): A talk show with guests Myq Kaplan (finalist on this summer’s Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central Presents), Maureen Langan (Fox News, MSNBC), and Baratunde Thurston (The Onion) hosted by Boston-based radio host & comic Brian Joyce: A Live Talk Show To Be Named Later

[TOP PICK] [$] 9:30 pm ($15 at the door or $18 online, plus $12 min. if you sit at a table): Brilliant comedic singer/songwriter/actor Micah Bucey and his partner Nicholas Williams performing a tour de force series of parodies in the form of mini-musicals at Joe’s Pub for their intimate and joyful show The Gay Agenda

[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 John Gemberling (Death by Roo Roo)—making up a musical on the spot along with virtuoso improv pianist Frank Spitznagel:Diamond Lion

10:00 pm ($5): Hip hop musical improv from Nick Brown, Don Romaniello, and Michael Short pretending to be NYC police officers: Rap Crimes Division

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 11:00 pm: Some of the finest comics in the world—who tonight include Anthony Jeselnik (one of my all-time favorite stand-ups; writer/performer for Jimmy Fallon; Conan O’Brien, HBO, Comedy Central Presents; debut comedy CD Shakespeare), Jay Pharoah (cast member of Saturday Night Live), Moshe Kasher (Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central, Chelsea Lately), Karen Kilgariff (former head writer of The Ellen DeGeneres Show), and more—guest-hosted by the wonderful Sean Patton (red-hot rising star; Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central, VH1) 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 new stand-up open-mic hosted by Michelle Wolf and Erin Lennox: Fresh

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

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