NYC Top Comedy Choices for Thursday 2/6/14

February 6, 2014

For more, please visit HyReviews.com.

Congratulations to Joe Pera and friends for transferring
their weekly Creek show to UCB East, starting tonight at 10:30 pm

Shouting at the Screen

Wyatt Cenac and hip-hopper Donwill are back to dissecting blaxploitation films by Shouting at the Screen

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 ($5): Two sketch shows audition at UCB Chelsea. First up is Langan Dice Kingsley: The Dicewoman Cometh. And then “Six months ago, Karin and Glenn started emailing each other every time they cried; they turned that list into a comedy show” titled This is Going to Hurt

7:00 pm ($10): Erin Bartley & David Craig play six women having lunch at the same Manhattan restaurant, directed by Josh Sharp, at The PIT upstairs theatre: Ladies Who Lunch

7:00 pm ($5): Mike Lawrence (nerd persona but razor-sharp mind has made this stand-up a rapidly rising star;Conan O’Brien, Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central Half Hour, John Oliver’s NY Stand-Up, comedy albumSadamantium), Asie Mohtarez (CNN, Glamour), Jeff Kreisler (Get Rich Cheating), and Ken Schultz performing stand-up at UCB East hosted by Sean Crespo, Dan Wilbur, and/or Katina Corrao: Lasers in the Jungle

[$] 7:30 pm ($25; SOLD OUT!; but free afterparty at The Royal (127 4th Avenue) at 10:00 pm, just say Comedy Show Afterparty at the door): Sara Schaefer (inventive, luminous comic; co-star of MTV’s The Nikki and Sara Show; Emmy-nominated staff writer for Jimmy Fallon; VH1’s Best Week Ever; co-host of hit podcast You Had to Be There), Sara Schaefer (inventive, luminous comic; former co-star of MTV’s The Nikki and Sara Show; Emmy-nominated staff writer for Jimmy Fallon; VH1’s Best Week Ever; co-host of hit podcast You Had to Be There), Michelle Wolf (staff writer for Seth Meyers; MTV’s Girl Code, IFC), Josh Rabinowitz (FX’s Louie, MTV’s I Just want My Pants Back), Jared Freid, Sara Armour, and Tyler Gildin performing stand-up at The Merlin Room at Webster Hall (125 East 11th Street, between 3rd and 4th Avenues): Betches Comedy Show

[$] 7:30 pm ($38.25 & 2-drink min.): A stand-up who starred in Comedy Central special Can a Brother Get Some Love?, and has been a series regular on Breaking Bad and Adult Swim’s Sperm Whale, headlines through Sunday at the Carolines Comedy Club: Lavell Crawford

[TOP PICK] [$] 7:45 pm, 8:00 pm, 9:30 pm, and 11:30 pm ($14 per show, plus 2-item food/drink min.): Tonight’s lineups include Ali Wong and Vic Henley at the 7:45 show; Greer Barnes, Dan Soder, and Lynne Koplitz at the 8:00 show; Gary Gulman, Ali Wong, Gregg Rogell, Greer Barnes, and Lynne Koplitz at the 9:30 show; and Dave Attell, Mark Normand, Nikki Glaser, and Wil Sylvince at the 11:30 show, with three of the shows at Comedy Cellar(117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane) and the 8:00 pm show at Village Underground (130 West 3rd Street, off Sixth Avenue): Comedy Cellar Thursday

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): At UCB Chelsea, sketch from gal duo Samantha Schecter & Becky Chicoine, with some help from Kelly Harper and director Matt Dennie: Womantown…

…and in the other half of this double-bill, unique comedy talent Brandon Gulya performs witty and surreal one-man show Who Are You People and Why Are You Watching Me?

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm-10:00 pm ($7 for the entire evening): The Magnet house improv groups The Boss and Hello Laser performing improv for an hour, followed at 9:00 pm by The Acid Trip (“takes you on a journey through the layers of the mind, where meaning is a relative term and things can get pretty overwhelming…your brain is God”), at 10:00 pm by veteran improvisors making up scenes based on improvised monologues from storyteller Chris Duffy at The Armando Diaz Experience, and finally at 11:00 by improv competition Inspirado (like UCBT’s Cage Match, but with a game-like challenge component): The Magnet’s Night Out

8:00 pm ($10): Storytellers Lisa Kleinman, Laura Willcox, Andrea Ilene Shapiro, Carly Ann Filbin, and Kerry Kastin tell “hilarious, gross, awkward, and heartfelt stories of how they started out in NYC” at The PIT upstairs theatre hosted by Mallory Schlossberg (“who actually is a Girls fan, but once lived in a basement): Real Girls:Lena Dunham Got It Wrong

8:00 pm ($5): Two musical improv groups make up song-and-dance based stories on the spot at The PITdownstairs lounge, one with a taste for oiled brains and the other for Conium: Slick Zombie and Hemlock

[FREE] 8:00 pm: Anna Drezen (talented character comic blending words and movement; one-woman showSpooky Jerks), Josh Gondelman (G4’s Attack of the Show), Abigoliah Schamaun (co-host of Dicks Open Mic; Edinburgh Fringe Festival), and Eli Yudin (SNL’s Weekend Update) performing stand-up at the Double Wide Bar(505 East 12th Street off Avenue A) hosted by Katie Hannigan and/or Julia Johns: Comedy at Double Wild

[FREE] 8:00 pm: NYC stand-ups Jacqueline Novak, Matthew Maragno, Simeon Goodson, Ronnie Fleming performing at Poco Restaurant & Bar (33 Avenue B at 3rd Street) hosted by Sooyah Jun, Jawann Carmona, Conor Boylan, and/or Cassidy Kirch: FTH Comedy

[FREE] 8:00 pm: Erik Bergstrom (cartoonist/author of Grimmer Tales, The New Yorker, blogger for Comedy Central), Joe Machi, Kat Burdick, Kyle Ayers, Maria Heinegg, and Oni Francis performing stand-up at The Creek’supstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City hosted by Leah Bonnema & Tim Warner: Modern Day Philosophers

8:30 pm ($5): Jon Fisch (David Letterman, Comedy Central, Last Comic Standing, VH1), Maeve Higgins (visiting UK stand-up), Mike Brown, Chris Trew, and Tim Dillon performing stand-up at UCB East hosted by Adam Conover (College Humor, Olde English): Fresh Out

[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($10): Mystery Science Theater 3000 goes street in this delightful series by Wyatt Cenac (star correspondent for The Daily Show) and Donwill (hip-hop group Tanya Morgan) in which the boys watch a blaxploitation movie and yell comments at it throughout. It all happens at Brooklyn’s Indie Screen (289 Kent Avenue), with tonight’s film a happy surprise: Shouting at the Screen

[TOP PICK] [$] [DISCOUNTED] 9:00 pm (FREE TICKETS if you reserve in advance by calling (212) 260-2445 and mention HyReviews.com, but there’s still a 2-drink min. per person): Judah Friedlander (one of the quickest minds in comedy; 30 Rock, Meet the Parents, Along Came Polly, author of How to Beat Up Anybody), Christian Finnegan (Conan O’Brien, co-star of TBS’ Are We There Yet?; three Comedy Central specials; MSNBC, VH1’s Best Week Ever, Chappelle’s Show, The Today Show), and more performing stand-up at the only comedy club in the East Village: Eastville Comedy Club

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): At UCB Chelsea, Matt Dennie & Josh Sharp prove themselves among the finest writer/performers at UCB with a consistently charming and hilarious version of Forest Gump that covers the entire film in 30 minutes, and features a deliciously funny Jenny played by Brandon Gulya, who also directed, resulting in one of the best sketch shows currently playing on an NYC stage: GUMP…

…and in the second half of this double-bill, a musical “based on the true history of the founding of America, in which Jesus Christ embarks on a journey to help build a country that’s courageous, pious, and gun-crazy enough for his precious Constitution…as long as the evil King Barrack Hussein George III doesn’t get in the way,” written by Eric Gersen and directed by John Flynn: Seventeen Seventy-Something

[TOP PICK] 10:30 pm ($5): The UCB East debut of a weekly stand-up show (that previously had a long run at The Creek) hosted by the brilliantly surreal and hilarious Joe Pera ((for a very special one-minute set at Carolines, please click here) plus Charles Gould and Dan Licata. Tonight’s superb guests are Michelle Wolf (staff writer forSeth Meyers; MTV’s Girl Code, IFC), Dan Soder (Conan O’Brien, Comedy Central Half Hour, VH1; for set about being a hypochondriatic drug user, please click here), and Arthur Meyer (staff writer for Jimmy Fallon; sketch troupes Pangea 3000, Fambly, and Two Fun Men): Dan + Joe + Charles’ Show

[TOP PICK] [$] 10:30 pm ($6 & 2-item food/drink min.) Comics heckle a genre feature film—with tonight’s victim the 1987 action flick Code Name: Zebra (tagline: “When It’s Revenge… All Hell Breaks Loose!”; for the trailer, please click here)—at Queens LIC’s Laughing Devil Comedy Club (4738 Vernon Blvd.): Devil Science Theater 3000

[TOP PICK] 11:00 pm ($5): Last week improv group Fuck That Shit brutalized Gentle Touch with a win of 78-38. Tonight UCBT weekend improv group The Law Firm will go up against FTS to compete for your laughs and votes at UCB Chelsea for the raucous Cage Match

Thursday Open Mics & Jams

5:00 pm ($5): Two-hour open-mic for 20 stand-ups performing for 5 minutes each, with sign-up online here, at theStand Up NY Comedy Club (236 West 78th Street): Stand Up NY Open Mic

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

[FREE] 6:00 pm: Open-mic stand-up with comics’ names drawn from a bucket and each chosen receiving 2 minutes—and if that goes well, maybe a hug (but not actual puppies)—at The Creek’s upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City hosted by Ross Parsons & Trey Galyon: Free Puppies

6:00 pm (no cover, 1 drink min. for both comics and audience members): Open mic stand-up providing 5-7 minutes per comic, running 2 1/2 hours. Arrive 30 minutes before the show to get on the signup sheet. This is a fine opportunity to perform at the only comedy club in the East Village: Eastville Comedy Club Open Mic

7:00 pm ($2, which includes a free beer or water): Open mic stand-up providing a whopping 10 minutes per comic. Email PhoningItInMic@gmail.com with subject line Phoning Thursday to sign up; or take a chance at lottery sign-up live between 6:45 and 7:45 at Brit Pack Studios (153 Lafayette Street, 3rd Floor) hosted by Ian Fidance: Comics Phoning It In

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

9:30 pm (free for audience members, $5 or 1 drink min. for stand-ups wanting to perform): Open mic stand-up providing 7 minutes per comic (and a free recording of your set!), with order determined raffle-style. Sign up by emailing info@oldmanhustle.com or calling (212) 253-7747, or just walk in and supply your name, to perform at the Old Man Hustle Bar (39 Essex Street) hosted by Solomon Chehebar: Peep Show Comedy Open Mic

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

[ALMOST FREE] 11:00 pm ($1): An open stage for indie improv groups—and if you’re not in a group, that’s also fine, you’ll simply be added to one—at The PIT downstairs lounge hosted by Darcy Burke & Donna Lobello: New Team Lunacy

Best Inexpensive Stand-Up, Improv, Sketch, and Storytelling

Upright Citizens Brigade Chelsea
(307 West 26th Street; 150-seater; shows free-$10; one of the most respected comedy theatres in the world)

Upright Citizens Brigade East
(153 East 3rd Street; 99-seat main theatre, bar area for open mics; shows free-$10)

The PIT
(123 East 24th Street; 99-seat upstairs theatre, 40-seat downstairs theatre; shows free-$15)

The Magnet
(254 West 29th Street; 60-seat theatre; shows $5-$10)

The Creek and the Cave
(Queens’ Long Island City; 40-seat theatre upstairs, 25 downstairs; virtually all shows free)

Best NYC Stand-Up Comedy Clubs

Comedy Cellar
(117 MacDougal Street; among the finest daily stand-up lineups in the world; 2-item min.)

The Stand
(239 Third Avenue; recent competitor to Comedy Cellar; no drink min.—support this policy!)

Carolines Comedy Club
(1626 Broadway; focuses on the world’s top headliners, who perform hour-long sets; 2-drink min.)

Gotham Comedy Club
(208 West 23rd Street; headliners on weekends, specialty & lineup shows weekdays; 2-drink min.)

Eastville Comedy Club
(85 East 4th Street; strong weekend lineups; no cover using code HyReviews; 2-drink min.)

Greenwich Village Comedy Club
(99 MacDougal Street; convenient if Comedy Cellar’s sold out; no cover using code HyReviews; 2-drink min.)

Comic Strip Live
(1568 Second Avenue, off 81st; Upper East Side club with typically solid lineups; 2-drink min.)

Stand Up NY
(236 West 78th Street, off Broadway; Upper West Side club with typically solid lineups; 2-drink min.)

Laughing Devil
(4738 Vernon Blvd., by #7 train; Queens LIC club, with MST3K-style movie night on Thursdays; 2-drink min.)

From legendary NYC comedy site Brooklyn Vegan: If you want to know what is happening in NYC comedy on a particular day, you gotta get hip to this dude Hy Bender and his site Best New York Comedy. The site is updated daily and features a super exhaustive look at what is happening in the NYC comedy world that particular day. The site is updated religiously…It is your daily comedy itinerary and it scares me how on top of his shit this guy is.

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NYC Top Comedy Choices for Saturday 1/11/14

January 11, 2014

For more, please visit HyReviews.com.
For a sampling of classics, please click here.

Lewis Black and Wyatt Cenac

Lewis Black, Wyatt Cenac, Gilbert Gottfried, Kevin Allison, Keith and the Girl, and more are live on stage for an event running today from 3:00 pm through midnight at Fontana’s: NYC Podcast Festival

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

[TOP PICK] 6:00 pm ($6.17 online or $5 at the door; show up early to nab seats): A live taping of podcast Keith and the Girl, with guests Danny Hatch, Myka Fox, Lauren Hennessy, and Emmy Pellot at Fontana’s (105 Eldridge Street): Keith and the Girl Live Podcast

6:00 pm ($5): Improv troupes Tink Tank, Grade School, Three Nice Boys, and Sad Kids kicking off Saturday evening at The Magnet theatre: The Rundown

[MEGA-TOP PICK] [$] [DISCOUNTED] 7:00 pm & 9:30 pm ($25 with discount code SHAKES FB at the door; please note the entire run has SOLD OUT, but the theatre can often squeeze people in if you’re okay with standing): Genius improvisors from Chicago delivering one of the funniest shows you’ll ever see by making up a play on the spot using the language and themes of the Bard. This is the finest improv troupe in the world, and one of the best comedy shows of any kind, anywhere. Tonight is the third of a four-night NYC run at at Theatre 80 St. Marks (80 St. Marks Place, off First Avenue), with every evening utterly different from the last. This is a rare opportunity to enjoy the breathtakingly skilled Improvised Shakespeare Company

[TOP PICK] 7:00 pm ($11.34 online or $10 at the door; show up early to nab seats): A live taping of JR Havlan’s podcast Writer’s Bloc, with former Daily Show star correspondent and writer Wyatt Cenac interviewed at Fontana’s (105 Eldridge Street): Writer’s Bloc Live Podcast: Wyatt Cenac Interviewed by JR Havlan

[TOP PICK] [$] [DISCOUNTED] 7:00 pm & 9:00 pm & 11:00 pm (FREE TICKETS if you reserve in advance by calling (212) 260-2445 and mention HyReviews.com, but there’s still a 2-drink min. per person): Judah Friedlander (one of the quickest minds in comedy; 30 Rock, Meet the Parents, Along Came Polly, author of How to Beat Up Anybody), Dave Smith (IFC’s Z-Rock), DC Benny (Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central, ABC’s The Unusuals), and more performing stand-up at the only comedy club in the East Village: Eastville Comedy Club

[TOP PICK] 7:00 pm ($8): Improv troupe Punctual Drunks interviews an audience member about his or her favorite fairy tale, and then picks up the story where it left off so you can find out how it really ended, at The PIT downstairs lounge: Punctual Drunks & Friends

[$] 7:00 pm, 7:15 pm, 8:45 pm, 9:15 pm, 10:30 pm, 11:15 pm, and 12:15 am ($20-$24 per show, plus 2-item food/drink min.): Tonight’s lineups include Greer Barnes at all shows, Ben Bailey at the 7:00, 8:45, and 9:15 shows, and Dave Attell, James Smith, and Big Jay Oakerson at the 12:15 show, with four of the shows at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane), and the 7:15 and 9:15 shows at Village Underground (130 West 3rd Street, off Sixth Avenue): Comedy Cellar Saturday

7:00 pm ($8): Duo sketch from Ruby Marez & Joanna Brown about annoying sisters at the PIT downstairs lounge: Biddies

7:30 pm ($10): Improv powerhouses Charlie Todd, Jim Santangeli, Natasha Rothwell, and more at UCB Chelsea interview an audience member about where he or she grew up and then “turn that town’s tourist attractions, landmarks, hangouts, local celebrities, urban legends, and more into a hilarious show made up on the spot:” The Curfew: Not From Around Here

7:30 pm ($10): Sharp Magnet improvisors “perform organic freeform improvisation in two mind-blowing parts; the only rule is that there are no rules:” The Weave

[$] 7:30 pm & 10:00 pm ($38.25 & 2-drink min.): An Iranian-American stand-up headlining tonight through Sunday at the Carolines Comedy Club: Max Amini

[FREE] 8:00 pm: Abbi Crutchfield (MTV, VH1; co-host of Positively Awesome and The Living Room), Neil Constantine, Gregory Joseph, Craig Mahoney, and Paul Spratt performing stand-up at Brooklyn’s Over the Eight (594 Union Ave) hosted by Evan Morgenstern & Darin Patterson: Comic Sans

[FREE] 8:00 pm: NYC stand-ups Mike Brown, Taylor Clark, Ben Conrad, Alex Grubard, Kerryn Feehan, and Casey James Salengo, and improv troupe Butts perform at Queens LIC’s The Creek upstairs theatre hosted by Peggy O’Leary: Hard, Lonely, and Vicious

[$] 8:00 pm & 10:00 pm & 11:45 pm ($26 & 2-drink min.): A stand-up who’s hosted MTV’s Numbnuts and Money From Strangers, and starred in a Comedy Central Presents special, headlining at the Gotham Comedy Club: Jeff Dye

[TOP PICK] 8:30 pm ($10): UCBT improv troupe Airwolf—which includes such talents as John Frusciante, Molly Lloyd, Tim Martin, and Emily Axford, and last year crushed 15 improv groups in Cage Match, entirely owns the UCB East stage tonight at Airwolf: Let’s Go Back to Your Place

[FREE] 8:30 pm: NYC stand-ups (not announced) performing at The Irish Exit (978 Second Avenue, off 52nd Street, in the back room) hosted by Gary Vider (hilarious writer & deadpan stand-up; for sample jokes, please click here): Comedy at Irish Exit

[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($10): One of the gutsiest and most hilarious troupes in comedy history—with honors including being Cage Match Champion for three years in a row, and winning the 2011 ECNY Award for Best Improv Group—UCB Chelsea’s genius improvisors Death by Roo Roo

[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($16.52 online or $15 at the door; show up early to nab seats): A live taping of Kevin Allison’s superb storytelling podcast Risk!, with storytellers Alex Edelman, Godfrey, and Keith Malley & Chemda from Keith and the Girl performing at Fontana’s (105 Eldridge Street): Risk! Live Podcast

9:00 pm ($10): Magnet improvisors team up with poets at Kiss*Punch*Poem

9:30 pm ($10): Improvisors make up new episodes of a TV classic at The PIT downstairs lounge: Saved by the Bell: The Lost Episodes

[$] 9:30 pm ($11.34 online or $15 at the door): A young all-guy improv troupe making stuff up at The PIT upstairs theatre: Gentlemen Party

[TOP PICK] 10:00 pm ($11.34 online, or $10 at the door; show up early to nab seats): Wonderful comedy stars Lewis Black and Gilbert Gottfried are interviewed at Fontana’s (105 Eldridge Street) by host Liam McEneaney for a live taping of a podcast: TYF Live Podcast: Lewis Black and Gilbert Gottfried

[TOP PICK] 10:00 pm ($10): UCBT Artistic Director Nate Dern, Zhubin Parang (writer for The Daily Show), Tracey Wigfield (writer for 30 Rock), Michael Kayne (Baby Wants Candy, Diamond Lion), Aaron Jackson (Newsadoozies), and more form an improv troupe at UCB East that won this year’s prestigious Cage Match championship by springboarding scenes off interviewing an audience member about his or her love life: What I Did For Love

[TOP PICK] [$] 10:00 pm ($20): Ted Greenberg (Emmy-winning David Letterman writer) performing a fun, fast-paced theatrical comedy show—complete with audience interaction and audience rides home!—at the West Village’s Soho Playhouse: The Complete Performer

[TOP PICK] 10:30 pm ($10): At UCB Chelsea, improv group Grandma’s Ashes—which includes stellar talents Ryan Karels, Morgan Grace Jarrett, Brandon Scott Jones, and more—takes your written secrets and turns them into very funny improv scenes: Grandma’s Ashes: We Won’t Tell

[TOP PICK] 10:30 pm ($10): Nick Kanellis & Peter McNerney perform sharp improv at The Magnet as comedy duo Trike

[TOP PICK] 11:00 pm ($8): Original comedic songs are showcased, with tonight’s singers Patrick Noth, Matt Starr, Tamsi New, Evan Altshuler, Edith & Franny, and Kingmaker performing at The PIT upstairs theatre hosted by Justin Perez and Nicole Pasquale: Total Requesty

11:30 pm ($5): NYC comics (not announced) perform at this sketch comedy/talk/variety show at UCB East hosted by Anthony Apruzzese: Showtime with Anthony Apruzzese

[TOP PICK] [DISCOUNTED] Midnight ($15 online using discount code CRINGE; no min.): Wyatt Cenac (former star correspondent for The Daily Show, Comedy Central hour-long special, Adult Swim, host of Night Train), Kurt Metzger (staff writer for Inside Amy Schumer; Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central Presents, Ugly Americans), Big Jay Oakerson (Comedy Central Presents, Louie, HBO, Showtime, MTV, IFC), Louis Katz (Jimmy Fallon, HBO, Comedy Central Presents), Luis Gomez, and more performing “cringe” stand-up at The Stand Comedy Club (239 Third Avenue & 20th Street): Cringe Humor: Wyatt Cenac, Kurt Metzger, Big Jay Oakerson, and More

[TOP PICK] Midnight ($5): Mark Normand (hilarious red-hot rising star; Conan O’Brien, Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central; opens for Amy Schumer; co-host of Hot Soup and We’re All Friends Here), Matt Koff (writer for The Daily Show), Phil Hanley (Craig Ferguson, Comedy Central), Alan Starzinski (improv group Sandino), Johnathan Marballi (sketch group Beige), David Bluvband (improv group Good Girl), and David Ebert (improv group Alamo) performing stand-up or sketch at UCB Chelsea with hosts Andy Rocco & Steven Slate: Underground Americana

[FREE] Midnight: NYC stand-ups (not announced) joking about their culture—Jewish, African-American, Asian, geek, whatever—at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City hosted by Shak Standley & Paul Higbie: The Black Bar Mitzvah

Saturday Open Mics and Jams

[FREE] 4:00 pm: An unusually early weekly open mic stand-up show (“starts late enough to sleep off that hangover but ends just in time to begin a new one”) at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City hosted by Jhoel Walkowski & Evan Davis: The Amateur Hour

[FREE] 5:30 pm: Walk-in open mic comedy show—stand-up, character, or funny story—providing 5 minutes per comic at The Fifth Estate Bar (506 5th Avenue, off 12th Street) hosted by Meghan O’Keefe: Open Mic-hael Douglas

5:30 pm ($5): Walk-in open mic, with sign-up at 5:15 pm and each stand-up performing for 5 minutes, at the Comedy Village Comedy Club (107 MacDougal Street): Comedy Village

Best Inexpensive Stand-Up, Improv, Sketch, and Storytelling

Upright Citizens Brigade Chelsea
(307 West 26th Street; 150-seater; shows free-$10; one of the most respected comedy theatres in the world)

Upright Citizens Brigade East
(153 East 3rd Street; 99-seat main theatre, bar area for open mics; shows free-$10)

The PIT
(123 East 24th Street; 99-seat upstairs theatre, 40-seat downstairs theatre; shows free-$15)

The Magnet
(254 West 29th Street; 60-seat theatre; shows $5-$10)

The Creek and the Cave
(Queens’ Long Island City; 40-seat theatre upstairs, 25 downstairs; virtually all shows free)

Best NYC Stand-Up Comedy Clubs

Comedy Cellar
(117 MacDougal Street; among the finest daily stand-up lineups in the world; 2-item min.)

The Stand
(239 Third Avenue; recent competitor to Comedy Cellar; no drink min.—support this policy!)

Carolines Comedy Club
(1626 Broadway; focuses on the world’s top headliners, who perform hour-long sets; 2-drink min.)

Gotham Comedy Club
(208 West 23rd Street; headliners on weekends, specialty & lineup shows weekdays; 2-drink min.)

Eastville Comedy Club
(85 East 4th Street; strong weekend lineups; no cover using code HyReviews; 2-drink min.)

Greenwich Village Comedy Club
(99 MacDougal Street; convenient if Comedy Cellar’s sold out; no cover using code HyReviews; 2-drink min.)

Comic Strip Live
(1568 Second Avenue, off 81st; Upper East Side club with typically solid lineups; 2-drink min.)

Stand Up NY
(236 West 78th Street, off Broadway; Upper West Side club with typically solid lineups; 2-drink min.)

Laughing Devil
(4738 Vernon Blvd., by #7 train; Queens LIC club, with MST3K-style movie night on Thursdays; 2-drink min.)

From legendary NYC comedy site Brooklyn Vegan: If you want to know what is happening in NYC comedy on a particular day, you gotta get hip to this dude Hy Bender and his site Best New York Comedy. The site is updated daily and features a super exhaustive look at what is happening in the NYC comedy world that particular day. The site is updated religiously…It is your daily comedy itinerary and it scares me how on top of his shit this guy is.

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NYC Top Comedy Choices for Thursday 7/18/13

July 18, 2013

For more, please visit HyReviews.com.

Check out Mike Lawrence’s comedy album Sadamantium

Chris Gethard

Chris Gethard and more tell stories about movies at Low Standards with John & Matt…

Wyatt Cenac

…and Wyatt Cenac and more take suggestions to make up sets on the spot at Set List: Stand-Up Without a Net

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] 7:00 pm: Christian Finnegan (Conan O’Brien, co-star of TBS’ Are We There Yet?; three Comedy Central specials; MSNBC, VH1’s Best Week Ever, Chappelle’s Show, The Today Show) tries out new stand-up material every night through Saturday at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City: Week at the Creek: Christian Finnegan

[TOP PICK] 7:30 pm show ($10.35 in advance online, $15 at the door; price includes free slices of homemade ice cream cakes!): Foodies Beth Kracklauer (Food Editor at The Wall Street Journal), Matt Gross (Editor of BonAppetit.com), Kat Kinsman (Managing Editor of CNN’s Food Blog Eatocracy), and Joshua David Stein (restaurant critic of the New York Observer) tell tales on this month’s theme Cold Shoulder: Stories of Rejection From the Culinary World at the Le Poisson Rouge’s The Gallery (158 Bleecker Street) hosted by Robin Gelfenbien (storyteller and singer/songwriter; VH1, AMC, Sirius Radio, acclaimed one-woman show at FringeNYC) and that includes free ice cream cakes made by Robin herself: Yum’s the Word

7:30 pm ($5): Paul Mecurio (Conan O’Brien, The Daily Show, Comedy Central Presents), Streeter Seidell (Editor-in-Chief of College Humor; Jimmy Kimmel, MTV’s Pranked), Nore Davis (Comedy Central), Jacqueline Novak, and more performing stand-up at UCB East hosted by Sean Crespo, Dan Wilbur, and Katina Corrao: Lasers in the Jungle

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 8:00 pm: Chris Gethard (comedy genius; Comedy Central, IFC; star of The Chris Gethard Show; The Stepfathers, The Nights of Our Lives; author of bestseller A Bad Idea I’m About to Do and Weird New York), Sasheer Zamata (rising star; Comedy Central’s Inside Amy Schumer, FX’s Totally Biased, Apple Computer commercials; improv groups Doppelganger and Bucky, sketch group The Prom; host of UCBT’s School Night), and Halle Kiefer (host of Splitsider and Tumblr’s Dog and Pony Show) tell stories about movies at Videology (308 Bedford Avenue) hosted by John Murray and Matt Fisher: Low Standards with John & Matt

[TOP PICK] [$] [DISCOUNTED] 8:00 pm ($9.75 online using code SET; no drink min.): Top stand-ups are given a never-before-seen list of of strange and outrageous topics the moment they get on stage, and try to perform seamlessly as if it’s the set they normally do…while the audience follows their topics on a projection screen. Tonight’s “comics in the moment” are Wyatt Cenac (former star correspondent for The Daily Show, Comedy Central hour-long special, Adult Swim, host of Night Train), Mike Lawrence (nerd persona but razor-sharp mind has made this stand-up a rapidly rising star; Conan O’Brien, Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central Half Hour, John Oliver’s NY Stand-Up, comedy album Sadamantium), Bonnie McFarlane (HBO, David Letterman, Jay Leno, Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central), Seth Herzog (staff comic for Jimmy Fallon; 30 Rock, Comedy Central, CBS, VH1, film actor; host of Sweet), Sherrod Small (writer/performer on TBS’ Are We There Yet?, Comedy Central, VH1), and Taylor Negron performing at The Stand Comedy Club (239 Third Avenue & 20th Street): Set List: Stand-Up Without a Net

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($10; includes a free beer): Storytelling from Sara Schaefer (inventive, luminous comic; co-star of MTV’s The Nikki and Sara Show; Emmy-nominated staff writer for Jimmy Fallon; VH1’s Best Week Ever; co-host of hit podcast You Had to Be There), Nick Vatterott (Conan O’Brien, Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central Half Hour, MTV, Second City, 2012 Andy Kaufman Award), Steven Weinberg (writer), and Jon Reiss (writer) gather to tell funny stories at the Brooklyn Brewery (79 North 11th Street) guest-hosted tonight by Sean Donnelly (MTV, FOX News; host of many shows): Tom Shillue’s Funny Story

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm-MIdnight ($7 for the entire evening): The Magnet house improv groups The Boss and Junior Varsity performing improv for an hour, followed at 9:00 pm by Medusa (all improvisers stay on stage at all times, and alternate between speaking roles and playing inanimate objects), and at 10:00 pm by veteran improvisors making up scenes based on improvised monologues from storyteller Micaela Blei at The Armando Diaz Experience, and finally at 11:00 improv competition Inspirado (like UCBT’s Cage Match, but with a game-like challenge component) featuring Call Tokyo vs. Trike: The Magnet’s Night Out

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

[TOP PICK] [$] [DISCOUNTED] 8:00 pm ($35 using code CQUBTX online or at the box office): TV & Broadway stand-up star Colin Quinn performs a show that looks at US history “from the Founding Fathers to the Kardashians” at the Cherry Lane Theatre (38 Commerce Street, just a few blocks from the #1 subway’s Christopher Street stop) running through August 8th: Colin Quinn: Unconstitutional

8:00 pm ($10): “Best friends Dave Ahdoot and Ethan Fixell created an internet phenomenon by challenging pairs of women to double date them, and documenting the hilarious results for YouTubers everywhere. Two hundred dates later, their experiences were translated into reenactments, educational songs, and valuable lessons in everything from dancing to kissing. Tonight, these “dating experts” will improvise demonstrations inspired by audience participation, in an attempt to enlighten on the art of romance…and perhaps do a little bit of matchmaking along the way” at The PIT upstairs theatre: Dave and Ethan: Dating Coaches

[$] 8:00 pm ($53 & 2-drink min.) Former co-host of The Man Show and Loveline, and now host of one of the most popular comedy podcasts on the Net, headlining—and doing a live podcast—tonight through Saturday at the Carolines Comedy Club: Adam Carolla

[TOP PICK] [$] 8:30 pm ($20): A former roommate & drinking buddy of such comedy giants as David Cross and Marc Maron performs a one-man show that was such a hit at August’s FringeNYC it’s been extended indefinitely. Please read my review by clicking here, and Jason Zinoman’s New York Times review by clicking here; and then come share an intimate hour with Matt Graham at the Soho Playhouse’s downstairs Huron Club so he can explain life and meaning and why This Too Shall Suck

[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($5): Reggie Watts (music improv comedy genius; Conan O’Brien, Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central special, IFC’s Comedy Bang Bang, Electric Company; for video samples, please click here), Mike Drucker (hilarious stand-up; staff writer for Jimmy Fallon; freelance writer for SNL, The Onion, McSweeney’s), Phoebe Robinson (TV Guide’s 100 TV Shows To See Before You Die and 25 Biggest Reality Star Blunders, Huffington Post), sketch group Boat, Josh Gondelman, Jim Tews, and David Smithyman performing at UCB East hosted by Adam Conover and/or Emily Heller: Fresh Out

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

9:30 pm ($5): If you’re a fan of CollegeHumor.com, you can see the folks behind it on the UCB Chelsea stage—along with comics Streeter Seidell (Editor-in-Chief of College Humor; Jimmy Kimmel, MTV’s Pranked), Arthur Meyer (writer for Jimmy Fallon), Dan Gurewitch, and more—at CollegeHumor Live

9:30 pm ($8): A mix of sketch and stand-up at The PIT upstairs theatre: Garlic Jackson Presents

[TOP PICK] [$] 10:00 pm ($14 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Dave Attell (one of the most respected stand-ups in the biz; star of Showtime’s Dave’s Old Porn and Comedy Central’s Insomniac; HBO, David Letterman, Conan O’Brien, Jay Leno, The Daily Show, Comedy Central Presents), Judah Friedlander (one of the quickest minds in comedy; 30 Rock, Meet the Parents, Along Came Polly, author of How to Beat Up Anybody), Ryan Hamilton (Conan O’Brien, Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central, Showtime), Marina Franklin (Jay Leno, Last Comic Standing, Chappelle’s Show, VH1), Sherrod Small (writer/performer on TBS’ Are We There Yet?, Comedy Central, VH1), and Modi (Comedy Central) performing at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane) hosted by Dan Naturman (David Letterman, Jay Leno): Dave Attell, Judah Friedlander, Ryan Hamilton, and More

[TOP PICK] 11:00 pm ($5): Last week improv legends Death by Roo Roo steamrolled over fellow UCBT weekend team The Curfew by 141-30—ouch! Tonight the likely victim is Apollo at UCB Chelsea as they compete for your laughs and votes at the raucous Cage Match

[TOP PICK] 11:00 pm ($5): At UCB East, improv group Sandino—which includes Aaron Jackson, Brandon Gulya, Don Fanelli, and Kate Riley—interviews an audience member about some puzzle and then acts out scenes providing an unexpected answer: Sandino: Unsolved Mysteries

[$] Midnight ($14 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Uncensored stand-up from Kurt Metzger (staff writer for Inside Amy Schumer; Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central Presents, Ugly Americans), Jena Friedman (wry dark comedy stand-up and rising star; producer for The Daily Show, former staff writer for David Letterman, host of Entertaining the Bartender), Wil Sylvince (Comedy Central, BET’s Comic View), Sam Morril (Comedy Central), and Mike Yard (Comedy Central, Def Comedy Jam) performing at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane) hosted by Ardie Fuqua (HBO’s Bad Boys of Comedy, Comedy Central): The Nasty Show: Kurt Metzger, Jena Friedman, and More

Thursday Open Mics & Jams

5:00 pm ($5): Two-hour open-mic for 20 stand-ups performing for 5 minutes each, with sign-up online here, at the Stand Up NY Comedy Club (236 West 78th Street): Stand Up NY Open Mic

[FREE] 5:30 pm: All-gal open-mic at UCB East in the bar area (“Hot Chicks Room”) hosted by Anna Drezen & Sue Smith: Open Michelle: Ladies Open Mic

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 6:00 pm: Carolyn Castiglia (Last Comic Standing, VH1; for sample of Carolyn as white rapper, please click here) is tonight’s guest co-host at this weekly open-mic storytelling show at UCB East, with each performer given a whopping eight minutes to captivate & impress hosted by the wonderful John Flynn (rising star storyteller/actor; Saturday Night Live, The Nights of Our Lives): Oh, Hey Guys!

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

6:00 pm (no cover, 1 drink min. for both comics and audience members): Open mic stand-up providing 5-7 minutes per comic, running 2 1/2 hours. Arrive 30 minutes before the show to get on the signup sheet. This is a fine opportunity to perform at the only comedy club in the East Village: Eastville Comedy Club Open Mic

7:00 pm ($2, which includes a free beer or water): Open mic stand-up providing a whopping 10 minutes per comic. Email PhoningItInMic@gmail.com with subject line Phoning Thursday to sign up; or take a chance at lottery sign-up live between 6:45 and 7:45 at Brit Pack Studios (153 Lafayette Street, 3rd Floor) hosted by Ian Fidance: Comics Phoning It In

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

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

[ALMOST FREE] 11:00 pm ($1): An open stage for indie improv groups—and if you’re not in a group, that’s also fine, you’ll simply be added to one—at The PIT downstairs lounge hosted by Darcy Burke & Donna Lobello: New Team Lunacy

Best Inexpensive Stand-Up, Improv, Sketch, and Storytelling

Upright Citizens Brigade Chelsea
(307 West 26th Street; 150-seater; shows free-$10; one of the most respected comedy theatres in the world)

Upright Citizens Brigade East
(153 East 3rd Street; 99-seat main theatre, bar area for open mics; shows free-$10)

The PIT
(123 East 24th Street; 99-seat upstairs theatre, 40-seat downstairs theatre; shows free-$15)

The Magnet
(254 West 29th Street; 60-seat theatre; shows $5-$10)

The Creek and the Cave
(Queens’ Long Island City; 40-seat theatre upstairs, 25 downstairs; virtually all shows free)

Best NYC Stand-Up Comedy Clubs

Comedy Cellar
(117 MacDougal Street; among the finest daily stand-up lineups in the world; 2-item min.)

The Stand
(239 Third Avenue; recent competitor to Comedy Cellar; no drink min.—support this policy!)

Carolines Comedy Club
(1626 Broadway; focuses on the world’s top headliners, who perform hour-long sets; 2-drink min.)

Gotham Comedy Club
(208 West 23rd Street; headliners on weekends, specialty & lineup shows weekdays; 2-drink min.)

Eastville Comedy Club
(85 East 4th Street; strong weekend lineups; no cover using code HyReviews; 2-drink min.)

Greenwich Village Comedy Club
(99 MacDougal Street; convenient if Comedy Cellar’s sold out; no cover using code HyReviews; 2-drink min.)

From legendary NYC comedy site Brooklyn Vegan: If you want to know what is happening in NYC comedy on a particular day, you gotta get hip to this dude Hy Bender and his site Best New York Comedy. The site is updated daily and features a super exhaustive look at what is happening in the NYC comedy world that particular day. The site is updated religiously…It is your daily comedy itinerary and it scares me how on top of his shit this guy is.

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NYC Top Comedy Choices for Tuesday 7/2/13

July 2, 2013

For more, please visit HyReviews.com.

For my Del Close Marathon report, please click here

Joe Pera

Hilarious surreal stand-up Joe Pera headlines at Carolines…

Wyatt Cenac

…and star Wyatt Cenac is interviewed about how he got started at Beginnings

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-Midnight ($7 for the whole evening): In this 5-hour extravaganza, five of The Magnet’s singing improv groups make up a musical on the spot based on an audience suggestion, followed at 10:15 by a free show that lets audience members join in with a musical improv group to make up stories in song: Magnet Musical Megawatt

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 7:00 pm: Dan Starkey (Doctor Who, Strax) joins super-hosts Alex Zalben, Justin Tyler, and Pete LePage in a lively & hilarious discussion about four-color pop culture at Fontana’s (105 Eldridge Street), with giveaways of comics and gift certificates (and if you can’t make it, watch in online here): Comic Book Club

[FREE] 7:00 pm: Abigoliah Schamaun will tell dick jokes and eat fire at this stand-up & carny one-woman show that she’ll soon be taking to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Catch Abigoliah’s hour-long act while she’s still in NYC, tonight and tomorrow at Queens LIC’s The Creek upstairs theatre: Abigoliah Schamaun: Subtle.

[TOP PICK] [$] [DISCOUNTED] 7:30 pm ($7.37 if you use code BREAKOUT online or by phone, plus 2-drink min.) One time I saw Joe Pera sing beautifully and then smash three dozen plates to pieces. Another time he ended his set by slicing milk. For deadpan Joe’s latest Kaufman awards submissions, please click here and here. For a mere $7 cover, come join me to see this unique NYC treasure headline for one night only at the Carolines Comedy Club: Joe Pera

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

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): Interviews with Wyatt Cenac (former star correspondent for The Daily Show, Comedy Central hour-long special, Adult Swim, host of Night Train), Talib Kweli (Black Star), and Mandy Stadtmiller (xoJane) about “their earliest creative experiences and the nuances of having a creative career,” plus music from Xenia Rubinos (Ba Da Bing Records), for a weekly podcast that once a month goes live on the UCB East stage produced by Andy Beckerman & Mark Bisi and guest-hosted tonight by Nick Vatterott (Conan O’Brien, Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central Half Hour, MTV, Second City, 2012 Andy Kaufman Award): Beginnings

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($10): Cammi Climaco & David Crabb host this monthly storytelling show, with tonight’s guests Brantley Brice, Susan Kent, Tim Manley, Julie Threlkeld, and more at the Axis Theatre (1 Sheridan Square, near West 4th Street and Seventh Avenue): Ask Me Stories

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($8 at the door or $10.70 online): TV & movie star Janeane Garofalo, stand-up Chris Lamberth, storyteller Diana Spechler (The New York Times; author of Who By Fire and Skinny), “professional liar” Vinny Deponto (magician, mind reader), and more performing at Brooklyn’s Union Hall with hosts Kerri Doherty & Nate Fernald: Geeking Out

[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm ($12 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Whitney Cummings (star of NBC’s Whitney; HBO, Showtime, Comedy Central, MTV), Gregg Rogell (Conan O’Brien, Jay Leno, Louie, Comedy Central), Greer Barnes (David Letterman, Chappelle’s Show, For the Love of the Game), Ryan Hamilton (Conan O’Brien, Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central, Showtime), Lenny Marcus (David Letterman, MTV), and Keith Robinson (HBO, Comedy Central, Wanda Sykes Show) performing stand-up at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane) hosted by Ardie Fuqua (HBO’s Bad Boys of Comedy, Comedy Central): Whitney Cummings, Gregg Rogell, Greer Barnes, Ryan Hamilton, and More

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($8): A sketch comedy troupe that includes Keisha Zollar (Doppelganger, host of The Soul Glo Jam, Andy Kaufman Award finalist) at The PIT upstairs theatre: Slap Fight

[FREE] 9:00 pm: Michael Che (hilarious rising star stand-up; David Letterman, Comedy Central, VH1), Neal Stastny, Matt Nedostup, The Wildcats, and more performing stand-up and/or sketch at this weekly show at Brooklyn’s The Alligator Lounge (600 Metropolitan Avenue) hosted by Sean Donnelly, Kevin McCaffrey, Robert Dean, Steve O’Brien, and tonight’s comic of honor Sachi Ezura: Comedy at Alligator Lounge: Sachi Birthday Edition

9:15 pm-Midnight ($5): Long form improv known as The Harold from UCB Chelsea house troupes Namaste, The Regulars, and Grammer—plus advanced improv students perform The Way of the Samurai—at this second half (continued from 7:30 pm) of Harold Night

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): Brilliantly innovative comic Anthony Atamanuik (Death by Roo Roo, 30 Rock, Conan O’Brien, The Nights of Our Lives) plays oddball characters in a mix of sketch and improv. What’s happening tonight isn’t yet posted, but it’ll happen at the UCB East theatre and will likely be great: The Tony Show

9:30 pm ($8): A one-man multimedia show by Neil Goldberg about “the inherent strangeness of our need to kill and consume other living organisms in order to survive” at The PIT upstairs theatre: One Version of Events

[$] 10:00 pm ($12 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Nick Griffin (David Letterman, Jay Leno, Comedy Central Presents), Mark Normand (hilarious rising star; Conan O’Brien, Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central; opens for Amy Schumer; co-host of Hot Soup and We’re All Friends Here), Nikki Glaser (co-star of MTV’s The Nikki and Sara Show; Conan O’Brien, Jay Leno, Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central Half Hour; podcast You Had to Be There), Dan Soder (Comedy Central Half Hour, VH1; for set about being a hypochondriatic drug user, please click here), Elon Gold (correspondent for Jay Leno, FOX’s Bones), Sherrod Small (writer/performer on TBS’ Are We There Yet?, Comedy Central, VH1), and Dan Naturman (David Letterman, Jay Leno) performing stand-up at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane) hosted by Ardie Fuqua (HBO’s Bad Boys of Comedy, Comedy Central): Nick Griffin, Mark Normand, Nikki Glaser, and More

[$] 10:00 pm ($15 & 2-drink min.): Whitney Cummings (star of NBC’s Whitney; HBO, Showtime, Comedy Central, MTV), Ari Shaffir (HBO’s Down & Dirty), and more performing stand-up at the Gotham Comedy Club: ComedyJuice

[FREE] 10:00 pm: Big Jay Oakerson (Comedy Central Presents, HBO, Showtime, MTV), Luis J. Gomez, Dave Smith, and other NYC stand-ups performing live on stage for this podcast show at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City: Legion of Skanks

Tuesday Open Mics & Jams

[TOP PICK] [ALMOST FREE] 6:00 pm ($1): In this delightful weekly open-mic show, each comic has 3 minutes to try out a character-based bit (e.g., for a solo show, sketch, or audition) at The PIT downstairs lounge, hosted by Jen Kwok (Comedy Central) and Keisha Zollar (Doppelganger): Imposter Open Mic

6:00 pm (no cover, 1 drink min. for both comics and audience members): Open mic stand-up providing 5-7 minutes per comic, running 2 1/2 hours. Arrive 30 minutes before the show to get on the signup sheet. This is a fine opportunity to perform at the only comedy club in the East Village: Eastville Comedy Club Open Mic

[FREE] 6:15 pm: Open mic for comedy of all types providing 2 minutes for each performer (with sign-up starting at 6:00) at Queens LIC’s The Creek upstairs theatre hosted by Jay Dean and Tynan DeLong: Two Nice Guys Open MIc

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 7:00 pm: This weekly 2-hour open-mic storytelling show allows each performer a full 8 minutes to tell a compelling and funny tale at Queens LIC’s The Creek downstairs lounge, with tonight’s guest co-host Bodger Millerd (The Bodger Millerd Experiment) and host Jake Hart: The Dump

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 10:15: Sign up at 9:30 pm for the opportunity to make up a musical on the spot with members of some of The Magnet’s finest singing improv groups: Magnet Musical Improv Mixer

[ALMOST FREE] 11:00 pm ($1): A breathtaking 40 comics are given 2 minutes each in this rapid-fire open-mic stand-up show at The PIT upstairs theatre hosted with wit and energy by Jay Welch: Bring It

[FREE] 11:00 pm: Open-mic stand-up at UCB East hosted by Boris Khaykin, John Trowbridge, and/or Katie East: Tuesday Night Open Mic

Best Inexpensive Stand-Up, Improv, Sketch, and Storytelling

Upright Citizens Brigade Chelsea
(307 West 26th Street; 150-seater; shows free-$10; one of the most respected comedy theatres in the world)

Upright Citizens Brigade East
(153 East 3rd Street; 99-seat main theatre, bar area for open mics; shows free-$10)

The PIT
(123 East 24th Street; 99-seat upstairs theatre, 40-seat downstairs theatre; shows free-$15)

The Magnet
(254 West 29th Street; 60-seat theatre; shows $5-$10)

The Creek and the Cave
(Queens’ Long Island City; 40-seat theatre upstairs, 25 downstairs; virtually all shows free)

Best NYC Stand-Up Comedy Clubs

Comedy Cellar
(117 MacDougal Street; among the finest daily stand-up lineups in the world; 2-item min.)

The Stand
(239 Third Avenue; recent competitor to Comedy Cellar; no drink min.—support this policy!)

Carolines Comedy Club
(1626 Broadway; focuses on the world’s top headliners, who perform hour-long sets; 2-drink min.)

Gotham Comedy Club
(208 West 23rd Street; headliners on weekends, specialty & lineup shows weekdays; 2-drink min.)

Eastville Comedy Club
(85 East 4th Street; strong weekend lineups; no cover using code HyReviews; 2-drink min.)

Greenwich Village Comedy Club
(99 MacDougal Street; convenient if Comedy Cellar’s sold out; no cover using code HyReviews; 2-drink min.)

From legendary NYC comedy site Brooklyn Vegan: If you want to know what is happening in NYC comedy on a particular day, you gotta get hip to this dude Hy Bender and his site Best New York Comedy. The site is updated daily and features a super exhaustive look at what is happening in the NYC comedy world that particular day. The site is updated religiously…It is your daily comedy itinerary and it scares me how on top of his shit this guy is.

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NYC Top Comedy Choices for Sunday 5/5/13

May 5, 2013

For more, please visit HyReviews.com.

Wyatt Cenac

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

Henry Zebrowski

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

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

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

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

[FREE] 5:30 pm: Open-mic stand-up, with 3 minutes per comic (unless not many folks show up, in which case there’ll be more time), with names drawn out of a bucket at UCB East in the bar area (“Hot Chicks Room”) hosted by Emmy Blotnick, Matt Nedostup, and/or Sachi Ezurafor: Sledgehammer

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

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

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

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

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): Myq Kaplan (one of the quickest minds in comedy, and rapidly rising star; finalist on most recent Last Comic Standing; David Letterman, Conan O’Brien, Jay Leno, Comedy Central Presents, hit comedy CD Vegan Mind Meld), Jamie Lee (Conan O’Brien, Last Comic Standing, MTV’s Girl Code, VH1), Keith Alberstadt (David Letterman, VH1, contributor to SNL’s Weekend Update), Ben Lerman (nuanced raunchy comedic singer/songwriter; Logo TV’s NewNowNext, Sirius Radio’s Frank DeCaro Show), Matt Wayne, H. Alan Scott, and Stephanie Hasz performing stand-up at UCB East hosted by Kara Klenk: If You Build It

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[TOP PICK] [$] 9:45 pm ($14 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Judah Friedlander (one of the quickest minds in comedy; 30 Rock, Meet the Parents, Along Came Polly, author of How to Beat Up Anybody), Nick Griffin (David Letterman, Jay Leno, Comedy Central Presents), Lynne Koplitz (Joan Know’s Best, IFC’s Z Rock, host of WB’s Life & Style), Keith Alberstadt (David Letterman, VH1, contributor to SNL’s Weekend Update), and Mike Vecchione (Last Comic Standing, Howard Stern) performing at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane) hosted by Ardie Fuqua (HBO’S Bad Boys of Comedy, Comedy Central): Judah Friedlander, Nick Griffin, Lynne Koplitz, and More

[FREE] 10:00 pm: The only open-stage show for entire groups of improvisors and sketch comics, running weekly at UCB East hosted by Austin Rodrigues: Bring Your Own Team: Improv/Sketch Team Jam

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

From legendary NYC comedy site Brooklyn Vegan: If you want to know what is happening in NYC comedy on a particular day, you gotta get hip to this dude Hy Bender and his site Best New York Comedy. The site is updated daily and features a super exhaustive look at what is happening in the NYC comedy world that particular day. The site is updated religiously…It is your daily comedy itinerary and it scares me how on top of his shit this guy is.

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NYC Top Comedy Choices for Wednesday 3/20/13

March 20, 2013

For more, please visit HyReviews.com.

Whitney Cummilngs

NBC star Whitney Cummings performs at Comedy Cellar…

Wyatt Cenac

…and Wyatt Cenac performs at Hot Soup

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

[FREE] 6:00 pm: Open-mic stand-up for 15 comics performing for 5 minutes each at Queens LIC’s Laughing Devil Comedy Club (4738 Vernon Blvd.)—with drinks at half price: Happy Hour Open Mic

[FREE] 6:00 pm: Open-mic stand-up providing 3 minutes per comic at Queens LIC’s The Creek upstairs theatre hosted by Max Corbel & Benel Germosen: Cracking It

6:00 pm (no cover, 1 drink min. for both comics and audience members): Open mic stand-up providing 5-7 minutes per comic, running 2 1/2 hours. Arrive 30 minutes before the show to get on the signup sheet. This is a fine opportunity to perform at the only comedy club in the East Village: Eastville Comedy Club Open Mic

7:00 pm-12:30 am ($7 for the entire evening): Magnet house troupes Nintendo, Dr. Champagne, Featherweight, Chet Watkins, Horses, The Wrath, Flower Girl, and Brick performing improv, followed by a free audience interactive show with Brick at 11:30 pm: The Magnet’s Megawatt

[FREE] 7:00 pm to 12:30 am: Five free hours of improvisation at The PIT upstairs theatre (running 7:00 pm-midnight), plus another five free hours of improv at the downstairs lounge (running 7:30 pm-12:30 am): Super Free Wednesday

7:30 pm ($5): Expanding the UCB longform improv showcased on Harold Night is this weekly show at UCB East which tonight features troupes City Mouse and Huxtable: Lloyd Night

[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm ($14 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Killer lineup of Whitney Cummings (star of NBC’s Whitney; HBO, Showtime, Comedy Central, MTV), Judah Friedlander (one of the quickest minds in comedy; 30 Rock, Meet the Parents, Along Came Polly, author of How to Beat Up Anybody), Gregg Rogell (Conan O’Brien, Jay Leno, Louie, Comedy Central), Modi (HBO’s The Sopranos, Comedy Central), Keith Robinson (HBO, Comedy Central, Wanda Sykes Show), and Jeff Lamp (Jay Leno) performing at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane) hosted by Mike Yard (Comedy Central, Def Comedy Jam): Whitney Cummings, Judah Friedlander, and More

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($6): Stand-up from Hannibal Buress (former staff writer for 30 Rock, Saturday Night Live; David Letterman, Jimmy Fallon, Louie, The Eric Andre Show, host of Comedy Night, one-hour Comedy Central special Animal Furnace) and Matt Koff (Onion News Network),, improv from world-class group Death by Roo Roo, sketch from troupe Boat, and more at Brooklyn’s Union Hall produced by Cipha Sounds and Lukas Kaiser: March Radness

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): Brilliant improvisor Ellena Chmielewski proves herself to also be a brilliant comedic writer, and a young, fresh voice about relationships, in this mini-play about modern romance at UCB Chelsea she co-wrote with John Zachary Townsend, and that holds the seeds for a longer commercial stage production and/or a series on a network like MTV. Come enjoy watching the foundation of a promising career at one of the best-scripted shows to grace UCBT in a while (and if you know Ellena, urge her to star or co-star in her next production, because she’s a gifted performer too): Standards & Practices…

…and in the second half of this UCB Chelsea double-bill, young talents—gay and otherwise—put on a meta-musical spoofing Broadway musicals of the future that’s hit-or-miss, but fun overall:The 2017 Tony Awardz: A Parody of Musical Proportions

[FREE] 8:00 pm: NYC stand-ups do sets “and then have a discussion about what’s going on in the world and the mysteries of life” at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City, hosted by Chris Laker: The Show

[TOP PICK] [FREE] Seating at 8:30, show at 9:00 pm (RSVP to confirm your spot at FreeComedyWednesdays@gmail.com): Wyatt Cenac (former star correspondent for The Daily Show, Comedy Central hour-long special, Adult Swim, host of Night Train), Mike Drucker (hilarious stand-up; staff writer for Jimmy Fallon; freelance writer for SNL, The Onion, McSweeney’s), Ryan Hamilton (Conan O’Brien, Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central, Showtime), Dan Soder (Comedy Central, VH1; for set about being a hypochondriatic drug user, please click here), and more performing stand-up at Ella (9 Avenue A) produced by Mark Normand, Matt Ruby, Gary Vider, and Sachi Ezura: Hot Soup

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 9:00 pm: Jena Friedman (wry dark comedy stand-up and rising star; producer for The Daily Show, former staff writer for David Letterman), JR Havlan (7-time Emmy winning writer for The Daily Show; David Letterman, Conan O’Brien, HBO’s Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher), Greg Warren (Comedy Central Presents), Kevin Barnett (MTV’s Guy Code, Comedy Central, Sleepwalk With Me, College Humor), Seaton Smith (Opie & Anthony Virus Tour), Robert Dean, and Gabe Pacheco performing stand-up at this free weekly comedy show at Lucky Jack’s Bar (129 Orchard Street) produced by Kyle Fincham, Lance Weiss, and Brendon Fitzgibbons: Gandhi, Is That You?

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

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): Longtime UCBT stars Neil Casey (writer for Saturday Night Live; Death by Roo Roo) and Will Hines (The Stepfathers) in a two-man sketch show at UCB Chelsea directed by Michael Delaney: Small Men

[TOP PICK] 10:00 pm ($8 at the door or $10.70 in advance online): Stand-up from TV & movie star Todd Barry (David Letterman, Conan O’Brien, Comedy Central Presents, FX’s Louie, HBO’s Flight of the Conchords and Bored to Death, Adult Swim, feature films The Wrestler and Pete Smalls is Dead), Sara Schaefer (inventive, luminous comic; co-star of MTV’s The Nikki and Sara Show; Emmy-nominated staff writer for Jimmy Fallon; VH1’s Best Week Ever; co-host of hit podcast You Had to Be There), and Hannibal Buress (former staff writer for 30 Rock and Saturday Night Live; David Letterman, Jimmy Fallon, Louie, The Eric Andre Show, host of Comedy Night, one-hour Comedy Central special Animal Furnace), and sketch from Barry Rothbart (Conan O’Brien, Jay Leno, Comedy Central, MTV’s Punk’d, IFC’s Do Whatever) and Henry Zebrowski (HBO’s Girls, Comedy Central’s Michael and Michael Have Issues, award-winning sketch troupe Murderfist), all at Brooklyn’s Union Hall hosted by Nick Turner (Jimmy Fallon, VH1): Nick Turner & Acquaintances

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

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

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 11:00 pm: The wonderful Sasheer Zamata (Comedy Central’s Inside Amy Schumer, FX’s Totally Biased; comedy troupes Doppelganger, The Prom, Bucky) hosts as many as a dozen guests packed into 75 minutes performing stand-up, improv, sketch, and occasionally acts that defy categorization. The level of talent can vary wildly, but for some (like me), that’s part of the laid-back fun; and this is often one of the most amazing comedy shows in town. (Tonight’s stellar scheduled guests include Johnny (a.k.a. Jawnee) Conroy & Neil Casey, Don Fanelli, and Megan Maes; for the complete list, please click here.) Come support the experimentation, and periodic magical surprises, that this uniquely organic rollercoaster of a weekly show at UCB Chelsea makes possible—and don’t forget to toss $1 in the bucket on your way out: School Night

[FREE] 11:00 pm: Open-mic stand-up running until 1:00 am, with time divided evenly between performers (up to five minutes), at The Creek downstairs lounge in Queens’ Long Island City with host Rob Stern: Bucket ‘O Buckets

[FREE] 11:00 pm: Your opportunity to perform on the stage of UCB East with improv veterans, hosted by UCBT Harold Night house troupe Grandma’s Ashes: The Improv Jam

[TOP PICK] [$] 11:30 pm ($10 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Uncensored stand-up from Big Jay Oakerson (Comedy Central Presents, HBO, Showtime, MTV), Joe List (HBO, Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central), Kurt Metzger (Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central Presents, Ugly Americans), Wil Sylvince (Comedy Central, BET’s Comic View), and Chris Distefano (Comedy Central, MTV2’s Guy Code) performing at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane) hosted by Mike Yard (Comedy Central, Def Comedy Jam): The Nasty Show: Big Jay Oakerson, Joe LIst, Kurt Metzger, and More

From legendary NYC comedy site Brooklyn Vegan: If you want to know what is happening in NYC comedy on a particular day, you gotta get hip to this dude Hy Bender and his site Best New York Comedy. The site is updated daily and features a super exhaustive look at what is happening in the NYC comedy world that particular day. The site is updated religiously…It is your daily comedy itinerary and it scares me how on top of his shit this guy is.

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NYC Top Comedy Choices for Wednesday 2/20/13

February 20, 2013

For more, please visit HyReviews.com.

For choice Kroll Show clips, click here; and then watch tonight at 10:30.

Wyatt Cenac

Wyatt Cenac (above), Nikki Glaser, Nick Vatterott, and more perform at the debut of Nick Turner & Acquaintances…

Jim O'Grady

…and Jim O’Grady (above), John Flynn, and more share true sex stories—plus free ice cream cake!—at Yum’s the 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:

[FREE] 6:00 pm: Open-mic stand-up for 15 comics performing for 5 minutes each at Queens LIC’s Laughing Devil Comedy Club (4738 Vernon Blvd.)—with drinks at half price: Happy Hour Open Mic

[FREE] 6:00 pm: Open-mic stand-up providing 3 minutes per comic at Queens LIC’s The Creek upstairs theatre hosted by Max Corbel & Benel Germosen: Cracking It

7:00 pm-12:30 am ($7 for the entire evening): Magnet house troupes Dr. Champagne, Bloomer, Chet Watkins, The Wrath, Horses, Brick, Flower Girl, and Nintendo performing improv, followed by a free audience interactive show with Nintendo at 11:30 pm: The Magnet’s Megawatt

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

7:00 pm ($5): Kyle Grooms (Comedy Central), Brendan Mclaughlin, Joe Pontillo, And Kunal Arora performing stand-up at The PIT downstairs lounge hosted by the delightful Abbi Crutchfield (VH1) and comedic rapper Andrew Singer (Sirius Radio): Positively Awesome

[TOP PICK] 7:30 pm show ($10; includes free slices of homemade ice cream cakes!): Superb storytellers Jim O’Grady (NPR’s The American Life, The New York Times, WNYC Radio, Moth GrandSlam Champion), John Flynn (rising star storyteller/actor; Saturday Night Live, The Nights of Our Lives, host of storytelling show Oh, Hey Guys!), Desiree Burch (Comedy Central, VH1), and Diana Spechler (The New York Times, NPR) telling tales about this month’s theme Spooning and Fooling Around at the Le Poisson Rouge’s The Gallery (158 Bleecker Street) hosted by Robin Gelfenbien (storyteller and singer/songwriter; VH1, AMC, Sirius Radio, acclaimed one-woman show at FringeNYC) and that includes slices from any of three free ice cream cakes made by Robin herself: Yum’s the Word

7:30 pm ($5): Expanding the UCB longform improv showcased on Harold Night is this weekly show at UCB East which tonight features troupes City Mouse and Huxtable: Lloyd Night

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): At this UCB Chelsea double-bill, first sketch troupe Boat performs 30 minutes of bits at Boat: Comedic Sketches; and then four young writer/performers—Georgie Aldaco, Danielle Gibson, Viviana Olen, and Katie Simon—create a surreal and mostly witty sketch show as Former Business Partners: Everything Must Go

[FREE] 8:00 pm: NYC stand-ups do sets “and then have a discussion about what’s going on in the world and the mysteries of life” at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City, hosted by Chris Laker: The Show

[$] 8:00 pm ($14 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Tom Papa (host of Jerry Seinfeld-produced NBC comedy The Marriage Ref; numerous appearances on David Letterman, Conan O’Brien, Jay Leno; three Comedy Central specials), Michael Che (David Letterman, Comedy Central), Keith Robinson (HBO, Comedy Central, Wanda Sykes Show), Jeff Lamp (Jay Leno), and Mike Vecchione (Last Comic Standing, Howard Stern) performing at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane) hosted by Mike Yard (Comedy Central, Def Comedy Jam): Tom Papa, Michael Che, and More

8:00 pm ($5): Nate Starkey & Michelle Best performing duo improv at The PIT downstairs lounge: N&M Improv

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 9:00 pm: Ted Alexandro (one of the very finest stand-ups in the country; David Letterman, Conan O’Brien, Jimmy Kimmel, two Comedy Central Presents half-hour specials; frequently opens for Louis C.K.), Jessica Kirson (Jay Leno, Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central, HBO, Showtime, Bravo, VH1, Logo one-woman show My Cookie’s Gone), Dan Mintz (David Letterman, Conan O’Brien, Comedy Central Half Hour, Bob’s Burgers, HBO, MTV), Nathan Macintosh, Steve Serra, and Ray Gootz performing stand-up at this free weekly comedy show at Lucky Jack’s Bar (129 Orchard Street) produced by Kyle Fincham, Lance Weiss, and Brendon Fitzgibbons: Gandhi, Is That You?

[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($8): Wyatt Cenac (former star correspondent for The Daily Show, Comedy Central hour-long special, Adult Swim, host of Night Train), Nikki Glaser (co-star of MTV’s The Nikki and Sara Show; Conan O’Brien, Jay Leno, Last Comic Standing; podcast You Had to Be There), Nick Vatterott (Conan O’Brien, Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central’s The Half Hour, MTV, Second City, 2012 Andy Kaufman Award), Joe List (HBO, Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central), and Jason Saenz (host of Undefined) performing stand-up and/or sketch at Brooklyn’s Union Hall hosted by Nick Turner (Jimmy Fallon, VH1): Nick Turner & Acquaintances

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

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): Longtime UCBT stars Neil Casey (writer for Saturday Night Live; Death by Roo Roo) and Will Hines (The Stepfathers) in a two-man sketch show at UCB Chelsea directed by Michael Delaney: Small Men

[TOP PICK] [$] 9:45 pm ($14 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Ted Alexandro (one of the very finest stand-ups in the country; David Letterman, Conan O’Brien, Jimmy Kimmel, two Comedy Central Presents half-hour specials; frequently opens for Louis C.K.), Jessica Kirson (Jay Leno, Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central, HBO, Showtime, Bravo, VH1, Logo one-woman show My Cookie’s Gone), Gregg Rogell (Conan O’Brien, Jay Leno, Louie, Comedy Central), Sherrod Small (writer/performer on TBS’ Are We There Yet?, Comedy Central, VH1), and Godfrey (Comedy Central Presents, Louie, 30 Rock, VH1; films Zoolander, Original Gangsters, Soul Plane; 7 Up Yours ads) performing stand-up at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane) hosted by Mike Yard (Comedy Central, Def Comedy Jam): Ted Alexandro, Jessica Kirson, Gregg Rogell, and More

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

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

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 11:00 pm: The wonderful Sasheer Zamata (Comedy Central’s Inside Amy Schumer, FX’s Totally Biased; comedy troupes Doppelganger, The Prom, Bucky) hosts as many as a dozen guests packed into 75 minutes performing stand-up, improv, sketch, and occasionally acts that defy categorization. The level of talent can vary wildly, but for some (like me), that’s part of the laid-back fun; and this is often one of the most amazing comedy shows in town. (Tonight’s scheduled guests include Rob Michael Hugel and Peggy O’Leary; for the complete list, please click here.) Come support the experimentation, and periodic magical surprises, that this uniquely organic rollercoaster of a weekly show at UCB Chelsea makes possible—and don’t forget to toss $1 in the bucket on your way out: School Night

[FREE] 11:00 pm: Open-mic stand-up running until 1:00 am, with time divided evenly between performers (up to five minutes), at The Creek downstairs lounge in Queens’ Long Island City with host Rob Stern: Bucket ‘O Buckets

[FREE] 11:00 pm: Your opportunity to perform on the stage of UCB East with improv veterans, hosted by UCBT Harold Night house troupe Grandma’s Ashes: The Improv Jam

[TOP PICK] [$] 11:30 pm ($10 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Uncensored stand-up from Dave Attell (one of the most respected stand-ups in the biz; star of Showtime’s Dave’s Old Porn and Comedy Central’s Insomniac; HBO, David Letterman, Conan O’Brien, Jay Leno, The Daily Show, Comedy Central Presents), Big Jay Oakerson (Comedy Central Presents, HBO, Showtime, MTV), Nikki Glaser (co-star of MTV’s The Nikki and Sara Show; Conan O’Brien, Jay Leno, Last Comic Standing; podcast You Had to Be There), Kurt Metzger (Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central Presents, Ugly Americans), and Wil Sylvince (Comedy Central, BET’s Comic View) performing at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane) hosted by Mike Yard (Comedy Central, Def Comedy Jam): The Nasty Show: Dave Attell, Big Jay Oakerson, Nikki Glaser, Kurt Metzger, and More

From legendary NYC comedy site Brooklyn Vegan: If you want to know what is happening in NYC comedy on a particular day, you gotta get hip to this dude Hy Bender and his site Best New York Comedy. The site is updated daily and features a super exhaustive look at what is happening in the NYC comedy world that particular day. The site is updated religiously…It is your daily comedy itinerary and it scares me how on top of his shit this guy is.

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NYC Top Comedy Choices for Monday 11/5/12

November 5, 2012

For more, please visit HyReviews.com.

Wyatt Cenac

It’s a good night to be in Brookln, with The Daily Show’s Wyatt Cenac debuting weekly stand-up show Night Train…

Erin Lennox's DTF

…and Erin Lennox hosting a superb group of stand-ups, including Jared Logan, Mike Lawrence, and Mark Normand, at DTF

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

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 6:00 pm: Weekly open-mic storytelling show, with audience members chosen from a bucket of names getting to tell tales for 8 minutes each at The PIT downstairs lounge along with host Jake Hart—and tonight might feature some tales of Sandy: The Dump

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

[TOP PICK] 7:00 pm ($5): World-class storyteller Adam Wade (two-time Moth GrandSlam Storytelling Champion (2006 & 2009) and record-breaking 18-time StorySlam Champion; The New York Times Magazine; host of hilarious monthly storytelling extravaganzas Tales of the Cosmos and The Adam Wade Show; for a sampling of Adam’s award-winning tales, please click here), hosts a show at The Magnet 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 guests Jenny Rubin, Caitlin Brodnick, Ana Jimenez, and Andrew Linderman: Adam Wade’s Whatever Happened to the Nerds?

7:00 pm ($8): A group of actors and improvisors attempt to duplicate the success of UCBT’s Gravid Water by putting improvisors in the middle of classic theatre scenes at The PIT upstairs theatre. UCBT uses top Broadway and improv talent for its show, making it extraordinary. The participants of this show are unannounced; but the format is so strong that this might work anyway, despite the awful title: The Actor’s Worst Nightmare

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

7:30 pm ($10; sign-up starts at 7:00 pm): Open mic for stand-ups, storytellers, singers, poets, actors, and more, with 5 minutes per performer and 25 slots available, at One and One Bar’s Downstairs Nexus Lounge (76 1st Street, corner of First Avenue) hosted by Nathan P., followed by a raucous afterparty with dancing & drink specials from 10:00 to midnight: Inspired Word’s Open Mic Joint

[MEGA-TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): Scott Adsit (cast member of 30 Rock, and co-writer/director/producer & cast member of Adult Swim’s awesome & Emmy-winning Moral Orel) teaming up with fellow 30 Rock actor John Lutz (who previously spent six years as a staff writer for Saturday Night Live) to form a super-smart and hilarious star improv duo that’s become one of the very best attractions at UCB Chelsea and should not be missed: John & Scott

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($9.47 online or $8 at the door): The debut of a weekly comedy show hosted by Wyatt Cenac (star correspondent of The Daily Show), with tonight’s guests including Jessi Klein (fresh, unique, deliciously organic comic who’s one of the best stand-ups in the country; former staff writer for Saturday Night Live; Comedy Central, VH1, NBC, CNN, Adult Swim), Eugene Mirman (Conan O’Brien, Comedy Central Presents, HBO’s Flight of the Conchords, FOX’s Bob’s Burgers, Adult Swim’s Delocated, VH1; pioneer of NYC downtown comedy), and more performing stand-up at Brooklyn’s Littlefield (622 Degraw Street): Night Train with Wyatt Cenac

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 8:00 pm: Jared Logan (rising star; Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central, host of ComedyJuice), Mike Lawrence (nerd persona but razor-sharp mind has made this stand-up a rapidly rising star; Conan O’Brien, Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central’s John Oliver’s NY Stand-Up), Mark Normand (hilarious stand-up; Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central; co-host of Hot Soup and We’re All Friends Here), Kate Berlant (MTV, CNN, host of Crime & Punishment, notable hair), and Michael Che (IFC’s Bunk, Comedy Central) performing stand-up at Brooklyn’s Grand Victory Bar (245 Grand Street) for this twice-a-month extravaganza hosted by the razor-sharp & delightful Erin Lennox (co-host of The Orphanage; for a sample of Erin’s dynamite Seriously Sports show, please click here) and Nick Maritato, followed afterwards by wild karaoke party: DTF

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): A comic book themed show with so much diverse stuff that I’m not going to even try describing it (please simply click here), at Brooklyn’s Public Assembly (70th North 6th Street, by the L subway’s Bedford Avenue stop) along with sketches from Moon regulars Jordan Clifford, Bryan Condon, Stephanie Fagan, Tim Skinner, and Tim Whitney, and hosts Nat Towsen & Bob Walles: The Moon Show

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): Inspired by the popular blog My High School Boyfriend Was Gay, this superb show at UCB East “celebrates our most tragic, hilarious, and heinous teenage memories, full of chaste hugs, Grease sing-alongs, and trips to the stage door to accost the cast of Rent,” with true stories tonight from Alysha Umphress (Broadway: American Idiot, Bring it On), Brent Sullivan (It Gets Betterish, Fag Life), Michelle Wolf, and Adam Lehman, with hosts Damian Bellino, and the super-delightful Camille Harris whose piano playing and singing will make you grin and dance in your seat: My High School Boyfriend Was Gay

8:30 pm ($5): At The Magnet, sketch comedy from a small army of young comics about tomorrow’s election: We Need a President

9:00 pm ($8): “Becky Flaum thinks she’s Julia Roberts. And Sandra Bullock, Meg Ryan, Drew Barrymore, even Katherine Heigel. But her high cinematic hopes for her love life get in the way of reality on her quest to find the perfect co-star.” This one-woman show is at The PIT upstairs theatre: Hopeless Romantic Comedy

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): Two UCB Chelsea house sketch troupes try out new material: Supereasy (which includes comedy chameleon Livia Scott) and Dinner (which includes terrific writers Silvija Ozols and Caitlin Bitzegaio, and performers Don Fanelli and Eddie Dunn): Maude Night: Supereasy and Dinner

[FREE] 9:30 pm: Following a club format, hosts Nore Davis & Andrew Short perform stand-up throughout for a total of 25 minutes, two comics each perform a 15-minute set, and then a seasoned headliner closes out the show with a 20-minute set, all at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City: On the Road

[FREE] 9:30 pm: NYC stand-ups Kevin Mccaffrey, George Gordon, Irene Bremis, Ritch Duncan, Josh Carter, Jeff Sussman and Ethan Stanislawski performing at Brooklyn’s Freddy’s Backroom (627 5th Avenue) with host Pat O’Shea: Ed Sullivan on Acid

9:30 pm ($5): Superb improvisors Jordon Klepper, Kate Riley, and more at UCB East making stuff up: The Comedy Week Improv Show

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” at The Magnet hosted by Megan Gray: We Might Just Kiss

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

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

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

For more, please visit HyReviews.com.

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NYC Top Comedy Choices for Saturday 10/13/12

October 13, 2012

For more, please visit HyReviews.com.

Wyatt Cenac and Janeane Garofalo

Wyatt Cenac headlines one last night at Carolines, and Janeane Garofalo performs at Eastville

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

[TOP PICK] 1:30 pm-1:00 am ($45 for an all-you-can-see festival pass, or pay-per-show): The next-to-last day of a sketch comedy extravaganza at The PIT theatres: The New York City Sketch Festival

[TOP PICK] [$] 2:00 pm & 8:00 pm ($65): This isn’t pure comedy, but an enchanting hodgepodge of original tall tales fueled by laughs. The 2-hour play from the wonderful guys of PigPen blends shadow puppetry, songs, inventive staging, and more to create living dreams. For my review of PigPen’s two previous shows at FringeNYC, please click here and here. This newest work is their most ambitious, and that sometimes results in the story feeling too slow or padded; but it also yields a deeper emotional payoff. And even though not all the bits hit the mark, so many of them do that you’re likely to feel satisfied—and missing PigPen’s world after the show is over. The production is at The Gym at Judson (243 Thompson Street) through November 26th: The Old Man and the Moon

[FREE] 4:00 pm: An unusually early weekly open-mic stand-up show (“starts late enough to sleep off that hangover but ends just in time to begin a new one”) at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City hosted by Jhoel Walkowski & Evan Davis: The Amateur Hour

6:00 pm ($5): Improv troupes Michael Loves Greg, The Bartender, and Pumpkin at The Magnet kicking off your Saturday evening: The Rundown

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 7:00 pm: A TV & Broadway stand-up star hones material at Queens LIC’s The Creek upstairs theatre—for free!: Colin Quinn Tries Stuff Out

[TOP PICK] 7:00 pm ($5): A comedy quiz show full of heavily researched quirky facts in which comedy contestants get points if their answers are correct but get more points if their answers are “quite interesting” at UCB East created & hosted by Katey Healy-Wurzburg: The Fascinator

7:30 pm ($10): Talented improvisors at UCB Chelsea interview an audience member about where he or she grew up and then “turn that town’s tourist attractions, landmarks, hangouts, local celebrities, urban legends, and more into a hilarious show made up on the spot:” The Curfew: Not From Around Here

[TOP PICK] 7:30 pm ($7): “Organic freeform improvisation in two mind-blowing parts; the only rule is that there are no rules” at The Magnet theatre: The Weave

[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm & 10:30 pm ($27.25 & 2-drink min.) A star correspondent for The Daily Show headlining one last night at the Carolines Comedy Club: Wyatt Cenac

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5 at the door or $7.63 online): Arden Myrin (Conan O’Brien, Mad TV, numerous other TV shows & films; for Mad TV samples, please click here and here and here) and Lisa deLarios (Comedy Central) host this delightful monthly mix of stand-up and sketch, with tonight’s guests Tom Shillue (Conan O’Brien, Jimmy Fallon, The Daily Show, Comedy Central Presents, 2011 ECNY Award for Best Storyteller), Brooke Van Poppelen (writer for MTV’s Epic Fall; trutV, TLC, co-host of Dive Comedy; for stand-up videos about overindulging at 30 and impersonating Morrisey, please click here and here), Ben Lerman (nuanced raunchy comedic singer/songwriter; Logo TV’s NewNowNext, Sirius Radio’s Frank DeCaro Show), Dave Siegal, Casey Jost, and Jay Miller performing at Brooklyn’s Union Hall on this month’s special movie theme: The Party Machine: John Hughes Party

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 8:00 pm: Three stand-ups (not announced) performing sets and then being interviewed about their personal lives at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City hosted by Matt Ruby & Mark Normand (who says “all these guys were hand-picked because they’re funny and have some serious problems; when you read this lineup you’re gonna be like ‘oh yeah, that guy is a mess'”): We’re All Friends Here

[$] 8:00 pm & 10:00 pm ($25 & 2-drink min.): A stand-up who’s performed on Comedy Central, MTV, Oxygen, and more headlining tonight through Sunday at the Gotham Comedy Club: Tony Rock

[TOP PICK] 8:30 pm ($10): Star storyteller Tom Shillue (Conan O’Brien, Jimmy Fallon, The Daily Show, Comedy Central Presents, 2011 ECNY Award for Best Storyteller), Jared Logan (rising star; Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central, host of ComedyJuice), Amber Nelson (fearless, innovative rising star; sketch troupe The Prom, co-host of Late Night Stand and Mustache Party), Brent Sullivan (Comedy Central; for video about crying while reading The Giving Tree, please click here), Jason Saenz, and Doug Smith performing stand-up at UCB East hosted by Kara Klenk: If You Build It

[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($10): One of the gutsiest and most hilarious troupes in comedy history—with honors including being Cage Match Champion for three years in a row, and winning the 2011 ECNY Award for Best Improv Group—UCB Chelsea’s genius improvisors Death by Roo Roo

[TOP PICK] [$] [DISCOUNTED] 9:00 pm & 11:00 pm (FREE TICKETS if you reserve in advance by calling (212) 260-2445 and mention HyReviews.com, but there’s still a 2-drink min. per person): Killer great lineup of TV & movie stars Janeane Garofalo (9:00 pm only), Rachel Feinstein (finalist on Last Comic Standing; Comedy Central; opens for Sarah Silverman on tour), Tony Woods (HBO Half Hour, Comedy Central Presents), and more performing at the only comedy club in the East Village: Eastville Comedy Club

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

[MEGA-TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm ($20): The return of one of the funniest comedies—and finest comedic ensembles—to grace New York, and what ended up as the very best show of this year’s FringeNYC Festival, playing at the Soho Playhouse’s upstairs theatre. Please read my review by clicking here, and then take advantage of this opportunity to see the Chicago-based 5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche

[TOP PICK] [$] 10:00 pm ($15): Ted Greenberg (Emmy-winning David Letterman writer) performing a fun, fast-paced theatrical comedy show—complete with audience interaction and audience rides home!—at The Complete Performer

[TOP PICK] 10:30 pm ($10): Improv troupe Grandma’s Ashes—which includes stellar talents Ryan Karels, Morgan Grace Jarrett, Brandon Scott Jones, and more—promises to “take your stories of the tragic and depraved and scatter them into laughter” at this newest UCB Chelsea show to be honored with a weekend time slot: Grandma’s Ashes Gets Dark

[TOP PICK] 10:30 pm ($10): UCBT improv troupe Airwolf—which includes such talents as John Frusciante, Molly Lloyd, Tim Martin, and Emily Axford, and this year crushed 12 improv groups in a row at Cage Match, entirely owns the UCB East stage tonight at Airwolf: Let’s Go Back to Your Place

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

Midnight ($5): A special New York Comic Con edition of this nerdy show, with tonight’s guests Dave Johnson (cover artist for Deadpool, 100 Bullets, Superman: Red Son), David Murray (seibei.com), Jesse Falcon (Marvel, Disney, Children’s Hospital), and Mike Drucker (freelance writer for SNL, The Onion, McSweeney’s) performing at UCB Chelsea hosted by Pat Baer: 404ing It: Breaking (Down) the Internet

[FREE] Midnight: Mike Dobbins is a unique stream of consciousness comic (for an interpretive dance of his breakup, please click here). Tonight he shares his special perspective on life at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City: Mike Dobbins Blows Your Little Mind

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

For more, please visit HyReviews.com.

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NYC Top Comedy Choices for Thursday 10/11/12

October 11, 2012

For more, please visit HyReviews.com.

Wyatt Cenac

Wyatt Cenac headlines tonight through Saturday at the Carolines Comedy Club

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

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 6:00 pm: Cammi Climaco (co-host of Ask Me Stories) is tonight’s guest at this weekly open-mic storytelling show, with each performer given a whopping eight minutes to captivate & impress, at UCB East hosted by John Flynn: Oh, Hey Guys!

[TOP PICK] 6:00 pm ($5): Popular UCBT star & Chris Gethard Show icon Vacation Jason tonight performs his own show, Vacation Jason’s Island Flavors at 7:00. And preceding it on this triple-bill are two productions I know nothing about—Apocalypse in Connecticut and Altar’d—all auditioning for a spot on the schedule of the prestigious UCB Chelsea stage. At $1.66 per show, it’s hard to go wrong with Spank

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

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

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 7:00 pm: A TV & Broadway stand-up star hones material at Queens LIC’s The Creek upstairs theatre—for free!: Colin Quinn Tries Stuff Out

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

[TOP PICK] 7:30 pm show ($10—which includes free slices of homemade ice cream cakes!): Storytellers Giulia Rozzi (Jimmy Kimmel, MTV, VH1, Playgirl Magazine, co-host of Dive comedy and Stripped Stories), Jiji Lee (The Soundtrack Series), Steven Berkowitz (The Moth, Story Collider), and Colin Dempsey (The Liar Show) telling tales about this month’s theme Vacations at the Le Poisson Rouge’s The Gallery (158 Bleecker Street) hosted by Robin Gelfenbien (storyteller and singer/songwriter; VH1, AMC, Sirius Radio, acclaimed one-woman show at FringeNYC) and that includes free ice cream cakes made by Robin herself: Yum’s the Word

[TOP PICK] 7:30 pm ($5): A beloved show that brings dead celebrities back to life at UCB East, with magical comedic chameleon Livia Scott (Conan O’Brien, Law & Order, Dirty Movie) hosting tonight as Marie Antoinette, with ace musician Corn Mo, stand-up Greg Barris, and burlesque talent Laura Anderson: Livia’s Castle of Enchantment

[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm ($27.25 & 2-drink min.) A star correspondent for The Daily Show headlining tonight through Saturday at the Carolines Comedy Club: Wyatt Cenac

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): “For over a year, Patrick Waldo scrawled his moustache tag on countless advertisements around New York City, entertaining commuters and causing thousands of dollars in damage. After a three month investigation, the NYPD put an end to his spree when they arrested Waldo under felony charges of graffiti, criminal mischief, and fucking shit up,” written & starring Patrick Waldo, and directed by Nate Dern & John Flynn: Moustache Man: Confessions of a NYC Graffiti Artist…

…and in the other half of this UCB Chelsea double-bill, a sketch show about one of the sadder aspects of the human condition: Lonely People

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 8:00 pm: At this free New York Comic Con pre-show, stand-up from Victor Varnado, Team Submarine, and Tim Skinner, music from the lovely Camille Harris, comics readings from Michael Kupperman, Bob Walles, and Jon Rosado, comic book giveaways, and more at Scallywag’s (508 9th Avenue) hosted by Justin Tyler, Nat Towsen, and Bob Walles: Comic Book Club & The Moon Present the Official Comic Con Kick-Off Party

8:00 pm ($8): A double-bill of sketch troupes performing at The PIT upstairs theatre: Templeton Philharmonic and Two Fun Men

8:00 pm-MIdnight ($7 for the entire evening): The Magnet house troupes The Boss, Junior Varsity, Dr. Champagne, and Hello Laser performing improv for two hours, followed at 10:00 pm by The Monoscene (long-form improv as one continuous scene), and then at 11:00 improv competition Inspirado (like UCBT’s Cage Match, but with a game-like challenge component) featuring Eaglefox vs. Legend: The Magnet’s Night Out

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

[$] 8:30 pm ($20 & 2-drink min.): A stand-up who’s performed on Comedy Central, MTV, Oxygen, and more headlining tonight through Sunday at the Gotham Comedy Club: Tony Rock

[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($5): Tonight’s second Presidential debate—hopefully better than the first, disastrous, one—will be screened and mocked by John Viener, Nick Turner, and “special guests” at Brooklyn’s Trix (145 Bedford Avenue) hosted by Seth Herzog (Jimmy Fallon, 30 Rock, VH1): Sweet: Presidential Debate Mocking

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

9:00 pm ($5): Louis Katz (Jimmy Fallon, HBO, Comedy Central Presents), Sammy Obeid, Nate Fernald, and Sandy Danto performing stand-up at UCB East hosted by Adam Conover: Fresh Out

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

9:00 pm ($5): Sketch comedy from New York University students performing at The PIT downstairs lounge: Hammerkatz NYU

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): Kicking off this double-bill at UCB Chelsea is “a two-person sketch comedy show that will transport you to India in the early 1900s to witness the true story of a tigress that killed 436 people before being gunned down by a legendary hunter of man-eating beasts. Through song, dance, and stage magic, Matt Dennie & Josh Sharp will show you that no one is safe from the tiger’s claws. The events in this show are 100% true, even the insane ones:” Maneater: The True Story of the Champawat Tigress…

…and if that wasn’t enough (and it oughta be), you also get something about which I know nothing, but I’ll be seeing it along with Maneater tonight so please stay tuned: The State vs. Josh: The Trial of the Millennials

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($8): Storytelling from Kevin Allison (legendary MTV sketch series The State, HBO, Comedy Central, VH1, host of award-winning storytelling show Risk!), stand-up from Jamie Lee (Conan O’Brien, Last Comic Standing, MTV’s Ridiculousness, VH1), and sketch comedy from Clayton Early & Sara Taylor (Harvard Sailing Team) and Geoff Haggerty & Jeff Solomon (Elephant Larry) at The PIT upstairs theatre hosted by Scott Rogowsky (The Onion): Running Late with Scott Rogowsky

[TOP PICK] [$] 10:00 pm ($20 & 2-drink min.) A veteran stand-up and new correspondent for The Daily Show headlining for one night only at the Carolines Comedy Club: Al Madrigal

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

10:30 pm ($8): Two sketch troupes performing in a double-bill at The PIT downstairs lounge: Battle Meat and The Nerdologues

[TOP PICK] 11:00 pm ($5): Magnet improv troupe Upstate staged an upset last week, beating UCBT weekend group What I Did for Love 69-67. Before its champion’s crown can even get warm, though, Upstate faces a titan tonight, the semi-legendary Rogue Elephant. Come experience real estate vs. pachyderm competing for audience laughs and votes at UCB Chelsea for the raucous Cage Match

[TOP PICK] 11:00 pm ($5): Amber Nelson (fearless, innovative rising star; sketch troupe Thunder Gulch, co-host of Late Night Stand and Mustache Party), Bridgid Ryan (host of Don’t You Find Us Charming?, improv troupe Chester), Veronica Osorio (sketch troupe ), and more at a variety & talk show focused on music at UCB East hosted by Kevin DeBacker & Abra Tabak: Late Night Rockin’

11:00 pm ($8): A young all-guy comedy troupe at The PIT upstairs theatre: Gentlemen Party

 For more, please visit HyReviews.com.

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