NYC Comedy Picks for Week of March 23, 2009

NYC Comedy Picks for Monday 3/23/09

Kurt & Kristen (Whiplash), leaving-for-LA Brian Kiley (Tell Your Friends), and a celebration of failure at The Rejection Show

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:

the perfect show for short attention spans—open mic stand-up with 4½ minutes per set

and 25 comics crammed into 2½ hours, at John Morrison's Ochi's Motel (6:30 pm & 9:00 pm),

[TOP PICK] [FREE] a show showcasing rejected material by top writers and comedic performers who were then rejected again by Jon Friedman when submitting to his recently-published book Rejected: Tales of the Failed, Dumped, and Canceled—plus performances and readings from contributors who were actually accepted into the book—at a special free edition of The Rejection Show (7:30 pm),

[TOP PICK] [$] some of the most lightning-quick & hilarious stand-up comics in the country—including Anthony Jeselnik (staff writer for Jimmy Fallon; HBO, Comedy Central), Pete Holmes (Comedy Central, VH1, The New Yorker), Big Jay Oakerson (HBO, Comedy Central, Showtime, MTV), and many more—relating tales of when they used to support their art by working as waiters: Service Not Included! (8:00 pm),

[TOP PICK] [FREE] a going-away party for Brian Kiley (brilliant writer for Conan O'Brien since 1994; David Letterman, Jay Leno, Comedy Central Presents), Christian Finnegan (two Comedy Central specials, commentator on MNBC's Countdown with Keith Oberman and VH1's Best Week Ever; Chappelle's Show, The Today Show), Jason Reich (four-time Emmy winner for The Daily Show), Joe Garden (Features Editor for The Onion; co-author of The Devious Book for Cats), and more at Liam McEneaney's free Tell Your Friends (8:00ish pm),

[TOP PICK] [FREE] Jessica Delfino (brilliantly funny and stunning rising star comedic writer/singer), Hannibal Buress (Comedy Central's Live at Gotham, Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson), Dan St. Germain (MTV), RG Daniels (host of Sunday Night Stand-Up), and more performing at a free weekly variety show in Brooklyn hosted by endearing dark comedy stand-up Jena Friedman: Entertaining the Bartender (8:30 pm),

[TOP PICK] an entirely improvised musical from genius improv duo Eliza Skinner

and Glennis McMurray, and an improvised soap opera, in the double-bill

I Eat Pandas and Hot Lather: As the Diamond Burns (9:30 pm),

[TOP PICK] [FREE] and a free weekly show featuring some of the finest comics in the country—who tonight include as guest-hosts magical comedy duo Kristen Schaal (The Daily Show, HBO's Flight of the Conchords) & Kurt Braunohler (Penelope, Princess of Pets; 2008 ECNY Award for Best Director), plus guests Andy Blitz (comedy genius; writer & performer for Conan O'Brien since 1999), Seth Herzog (VH1's Best Week Ever, host of Sweet), and Liam McEneaney (Comedy Central, VH1, host of Tell Your Friends)—at Whiplash (11:00 pm).

Ochi's Motel

Lottery-style open mic for stand-up comics trying out material,

with 4½ minutes per performer...in return for a $5 contribution to the weekly prize kitty.

(In addition, Ochi's 1-item food or drink minimum applies to everyone.)

A breathtaking 25 comics perform in this 2½ hour show; producer

John Morrison (above) has described it as "comedy on crack."

If you're seeking consistent laughs, this might not be the best way to spend

your evening. But if you're patient and adventurous, it's a potentially wild ride.

And if you're a performer looking for some stage time, it's a nice opportunity.

Plus if you stick around till the show's end to support your fellow comics,

 you have a chance at winning the cash from the kitty, along with smaller prizes.

There are two shows, at 6:30 and 9:00 pm (with entirely different sets of comics).

Ochi's Motel is hosted at 6:30 by Sean Donnelly and Blaine Perry:

...and at 9:00 pm by Aalap Patel and Matteson Perry:

To be entered into the weekly random drawing for performers,

please send email to ochismotel@gmail.com.

6:30 pm & 9:00 pm, Ochi's Lounge at Comix, 353 West 14th Street (between 8th & 9th Avenues)

no cover, 1 drink or food item minimum (e.g., draft beer for $4-$5)

Jon Friedman and his new humor book

The Rejection Show: Rejected From Rejected!

Jon Friedman is the host of a delightful show featuring rejected material

by exceptional comedic performers and writers.

That show is now represented by a book titled Rejected: Tales of the Failed Dumped and Canceled; and tonight features rejected material that was rejected from the book!

In addition, there'll be performances and readings from contributors who actually made it into the book.

This show is free, and likely to be great fun.

7:30 pm at Housing Works’ Bookstore Café, 126 Crosby Street (bet. Prince & Houston); free

Nearest subway stops are Bleecker Street on the #6 and Broadway-Lafayette on the B/D/F/V

Comedy geniuses Anthony Jeselnik and Pete Holmes will be telling tales of their days as waiters

Anthony Jeselnik, Pete Holmes, Big Jake Oakerson, and More: Service Not Included!

Some of the funniest comics in the country share true stories about their experiences working in the "service industry" (typically, in restaurants) before they made it big.

Tonight's wonderful lineup for what may well be a one-time-only event includes:

Anthony Jeselnik (phenomenal comic specializing in darkly shocking jokes and one of

my favorite stand-ups ever; staff writer for NBC's Late Night with Jimmy Fallon; Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Comedy Central Presents 1/2-hour special, HBO's Down & Dirty, Comedy Central's Premium Blend, ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live,  NBC's Last Call with Carson Daly, MTV's Most Valuable Players; for hilarious stand-up videos, please click here),

Pete Holmes (one of the quickest & sharpest minds in comedy; VH1's Best Week Ever, Comedy Central's Premium Blend and Motherload; writer for CollegeHumor.com;

cartoonist for mags ranging from The New Yorker to Cosmo Girl;

host of UCBT's monthly open mic stand-up show Gutbucket;

co-host of smash hit new Tuesday night comedy show Punch Up Your Life;

for a hilarious range of videos, please click here),

Big Jay Oakerson (Comedy Central Presents, HBO, Showtime, MTV),

and many more. For a complete list, please click here.

This comedy club show has a $15 cover plus two-item food or drink minimum (with tax & tip, figure another $13 or up).

To learn more and/or to order, please click here.

8:00 pm at Comix, 353 West 14th Street (between 8th & 9th Avenues);

$15 ticket plus two-item food or drink minimum

Brian Kiley, Liam McEneaney, and Christian Finnegan

Tell Your Friends: Sendoff for Brian Kiley

This free weekly comedy show is produced by Liam McEneaney

(VH1's Best Week Ever, Comedy Central's Premium Blend,

former writer for Standup Nation with Greg Giraldo).

Tonight's host is Hari Kondabolu.

And tonight's superb guests—who are effectively performing a going-away party for Brian Kiley, who's heading to LA with the new Conan O'Brien Show—are:

Brian Kiley (brilliant writer for Late Night with Conan O'Brien since 1994; has performed on Late Show with David Letterman, Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Comedy Central Presents),

Christian Finnegan (Comedy Central Presents half-hour special; upcoming hour-long Comedy Central special Au Contraire; commentator on MNBC's Countdown with Keith Oberman and VH1's Best Week Ever; Chappelle's Show, The Today Show, host of TVLand's Game Time, former staff writer for Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn; comedy CD Two For Flinching;  for stand-up videos on how to get rid of a boring  guy and what your movie choices say about you, please click here and here),

Jason Reich (writer who's won four Emmy Awards for his work on The Daily Show), and

Joe Garden (Features Editor for The Onion; written for Emmy-winning season of cartoon series Word Girl; co-author of The Devious Book for Cats).

8:00ish pm at Lolita Bar, 226 Broome Street (between Allen and Orchard Streets); free

Nearest subway stops are Delancey Street via the F or Delancey-Essex via the J/M/Z

Jessica Delfino, Hannibal Buress, and Jena Friedman

Entertaining the Bartender with Jena Friedman

Razor-sharp and delightfully dark stand-up comic Jena Friedman (playwright of 2008 FringeNYC show Refugee Girls; for a stand-up video about sexual predators, eggs, and Tai food, please click here) hosts this entirely free weekly comedy show in Brooklyn. This is actually a version of an acclaimed show Jena used to do in a Chicago bar run by a gal named Tammy. When the bar started out it was often near-empty, so Jena began the show to entertain her friend and develop steady traffic. On both counts, it was a wild success...

Tonight's superb guests are

Jessica Delfino (brilliantly funny and stunning writer/singer; enjoys singing songs

about her vagina, as demonstrated by her acclaimed CDs Dirty Folk Rock and I Wanna Be Famous; created the hilarious and wildly popular YouTube animated short film I Wanna Be Famous; toured the country with the wonderful Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players;

was a big hit at the 2008 Edinburgh Festival; has a cool MySpace page),

Hannibal Buress (Comedy Central's Live at Gotham, Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson; upcoming concert film The Awkward Kings of Comedy),

Dan St. Germain (MTV; for reenactment of Dan's breakup, please click here),

RG Daniels (sweetly quirky experimental comic who hosts weekly NYC live comedy show Sunday Night Stand-Up; influences include Woody Allen and french fries; occasionally refers to himself as "Hanukah-face"),

and more.

8:00 pm at Public Assembly (70 North 6th Street) in Williamsburg Brooklyn; free

Take the L subway to Bedford Avenue; cross streets are Wythe and Kent

Glennis & Eliza: I Eat Pandas and Hot Lather: As the Diamond Burns

Two unique improvisation shows for a mere five bucks.

Glennis McMurray and Eliza Skinner are simply geniuses

at taking a suggestion from the audience and creating

an entire musical based around it, using only their imaginations,

immense talent, and the aid of their wonderful improv pianist

Frank Spitznagel. Each of these gals is a powerhouse performer;

what they manage to create together tends to be sheer magic.

You don't have to take my word for it, either:

the duo won the 2008 ECNY Award for Best Improv Group; and they

recently starred in the Fringe festival hit Gem! A Truly Outrageous Parody,

which won two FringeNYC 2008 Awards.

Eliza will soon be moving to LA. Don't miss one of your final chances

to enjoy these comedic wizards at play on an NYC stage.

The double-bill then continues with Hot Lather, an improv group that specializes

in the soap opera format. Its members include some powerhouse performers:

Mike Cavanaugh, Matt Fisher,  Jon Gutierrez, Molly Lloyd, Anna Rubanova, Achilles Stamatelaky, Mike Still, Abra Tabak, Andree Vermeulen, and Paul Welsh,

with direction by Rob Webber.

9:30 pm at UCBT, 307 West 26th Street (off 8th Avenue); tickets are $5

Kristen Schaal & Kurt Braunohler...

...and Seth Herzog and Andy Blitz

Whiplash with Leo Allen: The Finest in Stand-Up Comedy, Free

Leo Allen is in California filming a TV pilot for HBO. Guest-hosting for Leo is magical comedy duo Kurt & Kristen:

Kristen Schaal (lovely, brilliant, breathtakingly talented writer/actress/comic;

thoroughly delightful correspondent and shining star on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart;

co-star of HBO's Flight of the Conchords; writer for MTV's Human Giant;

AMC's Mad Men; upcoming feature film Cirque du Freak (with Salma Hayek);

co-star of Web video series Penelope: Princess of Pets; winner of numerous comedy awards, including the prestigious 2nd Annual Andy Kaufman Award and the 2008 ECNY Award for Best Female Stand-Up; to read about Kristen's killer set headlining at Comix, please click here) &

Kurt Braunohler (frequent comedy partner of Kristen Schaal, performing  sketches that are hilariously indescribable; co-star of Web series Penelope, Princess of Pets, for which Kurt won the 2008 ECNY Award as Best Director, and which is being turned into a UK TV series).

And tonight's wonderful guests include

Andy Blitz (comedy genius best known for being a writer and performer for

Late Night with Conan O'Brien since 1999; also a thoroughly unique stand-up

whose sets—ranging from talking peanut butter to jet-flying cats—tend to be unforgettable;

to read about Andy's memorable hosting of Crash Test last year at UCBT, please click here),

Seth Herzog (VH1's Best Week Ever; razor-sharp, dynamic host of one of

the very best live comedy shows in NYC, Tuesday night's Sweet), and

Liam McEneaney (VH1's Best Week Ever, Comedy Central's Premium Blend, former writer for Standup Nation with Greg Giraldo, host of weekly NYC live comedy show Tell Your Friends).

If you love comedy, make a habit of attending this stellar free weekly extravaganza.

11:00 pm at UCBT, 307 West 26th Street (off 8th Avenue); free

NYC Comedy Picks for Tuesday 3/24/09

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:

the perfect show for short attention spans—open mic stand-up with 4½ minutes per set

and 25 comics crammed into 2½ hours—at John Morrison's Broadway Motel (6:00 pm),

superb NYC storytellers, singers, sketch comics, and stand-ups—who tonight include Becky Yamamoto (Stickerbook), Kevin Allison (MTV's The State), Brad Steurnagel (Telephone), and Sunday night Beauty Bar Comedy hosts Vince Averil & Jesse Popp (Comedy Central)—at a show pretending to be from the Pennsylvania heartland: Skip & Sparkle Variety (7:30 pm),

[TOP PICK] Mark Waid (Boom! Studios) and Steve Wacker (Amazing Spider-Man) joining in on a lively & hilarious discussion about four-color pop culture at Comic Book Club (8:00 pm),

three full hours of improv for only five bucks—tonight featuring UCBT house troupes

The F*cking Kennedys, The Scam, The Law Firm, Bastian, and DeCoster—at Harold Night (8:00 pm),

[TOP PICK] [FREE] Mike Birbiglia (world-class comedy star who mixes classic stand-up with theatrical storytelling) and other stellar comics performing at this spectacular free show hosted by brilliant stand-ups Jessi Klein (Comedy Central, VH1, NBC, CNN, Adult Swim) and Pete Holmes (Comedy Central, VH1's Best Week Ever, The New Yorker): Punch Up Your Life (8:30 pm),

[TOP PICK] Glenn Wool (visiting UK comedy star), Christian Finnegan (two Comedy Central specials, commentator on MNBC's Countdown with Keith Oberman and VH1's Best Week Ever; Chappelle's Show, The Today Show), Roger Hailes (Comedy Central, Chappelle's Show, VH1, MTV), Sean Patton (VH1), and more at the wonderful Seth Herzog's Sweet (9:00 pm),

and stand-ups Ji Won Lee, H. Alan Scott, and Alicia Love joining delightful hosts Jackie Monahan, Leah Dubie, Amy Beckerman, and Gloria Bigelow at Dykes on Mics (9:00 pm).

Broadway Motel

Lottery-style open mic for stand-up comics trying out material,

with 4½ minutes per performer...in return for a $5 contribution to the weekly prize kitty.

(In addition, Broadway's one-item food or drink minimum applies to everyone.)

A breathtaking 25 comics perform in this 2½ hour show; producer

John Morrison (above) has described it as "comedy on crack."

If you're seeking consistent laughs, this might not be the best way to spend

your evening. But if you're patient and adventurous, it's a potentially wild ride.

And if you're a performer looking for some stage time, it's a nice opportunity.

Plus if you stick around till the show's end to support your fellow comics,

 you have a chance at winning the cash from the kitty, along with smaller prizes.

Broadway Motel is hosted by Cory Jarvis and Doug Adler.

To be entered into the weekly random drawing for performers,

please send email to motelme@gmail.com.

6:00 pm at Broadway Comedy Club, 318 West 53rd Street (between 8th & 9th Avenues);

$5 cover plus one-item food or drink minimum

Comic Book Club

Hosted by Alex Zalben, Justin Tyler and Pete LePage,

who enjoy discussing comic books while getting laughs.

Tonight's guests are five assistant editors at Marvel Comics: Alejandro Arbona, Tom Brennan, Daniel Ketchum, Lauren Sankovich, and Jordan D. White.

To get a feel for the smart, playful vibe of Comic Book Club, please check out its podcasts—

that is, audio recordings of previous shows in their entirety—by clicking here.

(And for my two current faves, a delightful visit from Kevin "Batman" Conroy and a hilarious evening with Daily Show writer Eliot Kalan, please click here and here.)

Also be sure to watch a Penguin vs. Batman debate that uncannily predicted John McCain's campaign strategy by clicking here.

8:00 pm at The Peoples Improv Theater, 154 West 29th Street (off 7th Avenue); tickets are $5

Harold Night

The Harold is longform improv, pioneered by Del Close.

Tonight, five improv troupes—

The F*cking Kennedys, The Scam, The Law Firm, Bastian, and DeCoster—

each give it a go for 30 minutes, with

short breaks in between, for a total of 3 hours.

Some of the groups are great; some are less so. And this show

is designed more for students of improv than the general public.

But if you're interested, and patient, a mere $5 will buy you

a full evening's education...and periodic solid laughs.

8:00-11:00 pm at UCBT, 307 West 26th Street (off 8th Avenue); tickets are $5

Acclaimed comedy star Mike Birbiglia...

...and brilliantly funny hosts Pete Holmes and Jessi Klein

Punch Up Your Life

This new, free weekly stand-up show is a spectacular addition to NYC Tuesday night comedy. Its hosts are two of the finest comics in the country:

Jessi Klein (deliciously honest, brilliant, hilarious stand-up star—and now proving to also be one of the finest comedy hosts in NYC; Rolling Stones' comedy "Hot List;" Comedy Central's Premium Blend and Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn; VH1's Best Week Ever; NBC's The Today Show; CNN; The Showbiz Show with David Spade; voice of Lucy on Adult Swim's Lucy the Daughter of the Devil; for a video stand-up sample about which celebrity would save

 the most Jews, and on email etiquette, please click here and here) and

Pete Holmes (one of the quickest & sharpest minds in comedy; VH1's Best Week Ever, Comedy Central's Premium Blend and Motherload; writer for CollegeHumor.com;

cartoonist for mags ranging from The New Yorker to Cosmo Girl;

host of UCBT's monthly open mic stand-up show Gutbucket;

for a hilarious range of videos, please click here).

Tonight's thoroughly wonderful guests include

Mike Birbiglia (flat-out one of the finest stand-up comedians in the country;

hour-long Comedy Central special What I Should Have Said is Nothing;

two Comedy Central Presents half-hour specials; multiple appearances on

Late Show with David Letterman and Late Night with Conan O'Brien;

comedy CDs Two Drink Mike and My Secret Public Journal—Live;

upcoming comedy series on CBS; for info on Mike's current

superb off-Broadway show Sleepwalk with Me, please click here).

8:30 pm at Housing Works’ Bookstore Café, 126 Crosby Street (bet. Prince & Houston); free

Nearest subway stops are Bleecker Street on the #6 and Broadway-Lafayette on the B/D/F/V

Roger Hailes and Glenn Wool...

...and Sean Patton, Seth Herzog, and Christian Finnegan

Sweet

Hosted by the razor-sharp, dynamic, and hilarious Seth Herzog (VH1's Best Week Ever).

Seth is one of the finest hosts around—and this is one of the best comedy shows in NYC.

Tonight's superb guests include

Glenn Wool (Candian-born & UK-based comedy star who had his own UK TV show in 2004; mixes political satire with silliness; for a review of his Edinburgh Fringe show, please click here),

Christian Finnegan (Comedy Central Presents half-hour special; upcoming hour-long Comedy Central special Au Contraire; commentator on MNBC's Countdown with Keith Oberman and VH1's Best Week Ever; Chappelle's Show, The Today Show, host of TVLand's Game Time, former staff writer for Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn; comedy CD Two For Flinching;  for stand-up videos on how to get rid of a boring  guy and what your movie choices say about you, please click here and here),

Sean Patton (VH1, 2008 Montreal Just for Laughs Festival, LES' The Tommy Danger Show, founder of the New Orleans Comedy Festival; for stand-up audio clip about vitamin-coated condoms and stand-up video about drugs & weapons, please click here and here),

Roger Hailes (exceptionally sharp, personable stand-up; Comedy Central's Live at Gotham, Chappelle's Show, VH1's All Access; writer for VH1's Best Week Ever, MTV, Bravo, E!; for sample videos, please click here and here),

and more.

9:00 pm at The Slipper Room, 167 Orchard Street  (corner of Stanton Street); tickets are $5

Gloria Bigelow, Amy Beckerman, Leah Dubie, and Jackie Monahan

Dykes on Mics

Free gay-themed stand-up comedy show featuring the superb gals above

as regulars/hosts, plus tonight's guest comics:

Ji Won Lee, H. Alan Scott, and Alicia Love. 

9:00 pm at Ochi's Lounge at Comix, 353 West 14th Street (between 8th & 9th Avenues);

no cover, 1 drink or food item minimum (e.g., draft beer for $4-$5)

NYC Comedy Picks for Wednesday 3/25/09

Comedy stars Janeane Garofalo and Mike Birbiglia (Totally J/K) and Anthony Jeselnik (Now We're Talking)

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] six free hours of improvisation in The PIT's Super Free Wednesday (7:00 pm-midnight),

stand-up comedy plus music at Intermission (7:30 pm),

[TOP PICK] TV & movie star Janeane Garofalo (comedy genius who's currently an FBI agent on FOX's 24), Mike Birbiglia (world-class comedy star who mixes sharp stand-up with theatrical storytelling), and Wyatt Cenac (correspondent for The Daily Show) kicking off the debut of hilarious Joe Mande & Noah Garfinkel moving their long-running comedy show to UCBT: Totally J/K (8:00 pm),

[TOP PICK] [FREE] one of my favorite stand-ups of all time, Anthony Jeselnik (Jimmy Fallon, HBO, Comedy Central), plus a slew of other superb comics including Sean Patton, Claudia Cogan, Dan St. Germain, and Mark Normand, launching a new free weekly comedy show co-hosted by the luminous & hilarious Margie Kment: Now We're Talking (8:00 pm),

[$] [DISCOUNTED] lovely & witty Cathleen Carr & Daiva Deupree turning life's darkness into comedy as Two Girls for Five Bucks (8:00 pm),

[FREE] NYC stand-ups Dan Curry, Leah Dubie, Emily Epstein, Robin Cloud, Joel Stice, Jeff Lawrence, and Rocco Supreme at the free Shrink (8:00 pm),

[TOP PICK] some of most razor-sharp and uproariously funny storytellers in the country—tonight including Curtis Gwinn, Eric Drysdale, John Flynn, and David Martin—telling memorable tales of "First Dates" at one of the finest shows in NYC, The Nights of Our Lives (9:30 pm),

[TOP PICK] and a free, laid-back, and occasionally magical variety show where virtually anything can happen on a School Night (11:00).

Kurt Braunohler and Pat Shay

The PIT's Super Free Wednesday

For five hours every Wednesday, The PIT provides free shows featuring its improv house troupes. Halfbear and Ali Farahnakian kick things off at 6:00 pm; The Wilhelm and Tomahawk perform at 7:00 pm; Big Black Car and Mrs. Esterhouse go on at 8:00 pm; The Baldwins and Punch show their stuff at 9:00; and Party Lights and The Faculty (consisting of The PIT's superb improv instructors, including such talents as Ali Farahnakian, Kurt Braunohler, Ptolemy Slocum, Pat Shay, Kevin Scott, Chris Grace, and Rebekka Johnson) round out the evening at 10:00.

If you then feel sufficiently inspired, you can participate in the free show Improdome at 11:00 pm, which allows audience members to get on stage and improvise with each other in trios for 5-7 minute sets.

6:00 pm-midnight at The Peoples Improv Theater, 154 West 29th Street (off 7th Avenue); free

Sean Patton, Anthony Jeselnik, and Margie Kment

Now We're Talking

This is the debut of a fun new weekly stand-up comedy show. The hosts are luminous, enormously likeable, and razor-sharp Margie Kment, and character-based comic Matt Maragno.

Kicking off this premiere are a slew of wonderful comics:

Anthony Jeselnik (phenomenal comic specializing in darkly shocking jokes and one of

my favorite stand-ups ever; staff writer for NBC's Late Night with Jimmy Fallon; Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Comedy Central Presents 1/2-hour special, HBO's Down & Dirty, Comedy Central's Premium Blend, ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live,  NBC's Last Call with Carson Daly, MTV's Most Valuable Players; for hilarious stand-up videos, please click here),

Sean Patton (VH1, 2008 Montreal Just for Laughs Festival, LES' The Tommy Danger Show, founder of the New Orleans Comedy Festival; for stand-up audio clip about vitamin-coated condoms and stand-up video about drugs & weapons, please click here and here),

Claudia Cogan (MTV, Logo Network, here! TV, Sirius OutQ; for stand-up video about Claudia's aspirations to be a stripper, please click here; for video about her being unemployed, please click here),

Dan St. Germain (MTV; for reenactment of Dan's breakup, please click here), and

Mark Normand (co-host of NYC live comedy show We're All Friends Here).

7:30 pm at Rodeo Bar, 375 Third Avenue (corner of 27th Street); free

Mo Diggs and Matt Nagin

Intermission

This monthly show mixes stand-up with two intermissions for performances by its musical guest. It therefore claims to be "like SNL, but with stand-up instead of sketch." It's hosted by

Mo Diggs (contributing writer to TheApiary.com and Dead-Frog.com) and

Matt Nagin (Gotham, Standup New York, Comic Strip).

Tonight's comics and musical guest haven't been announced.

7:30 pm at Ochi's Lounge at Comix, 353 West 14th Street (between 8th & 9th Avenues);

no cover, 1 drink or food item minimum (e.g., draft beer for $4-$5)

Totally J/K

Hosted by quick-witted best buds Noah Garfinkel and

Joe Mande, the 2008 ECNY Award winner for Best Emerging Comic.

(For dueling birthday videos, please click here and here; for their

recent appearance on The McLaughlin Group, please click here;

and for other videos, please click here and here.)

Tonight's thoroughly wonderful guests are

Janeane Garofalo (quite simply, one of the most hilarious and beloved performers alive

—no matter how much she gripes or pretends otherwise... Most recently, Janeane was co-host of The Majority Report on Air America Radio and co-star of the FOX's hit series 24. Sample quote: "I guess I just prefer to see the dark side of things. The glass is always half empty. And cracked. And I just cut my lip on it. And chipped a tooth." For two decades of impressive credits, please click here),

Mike Birbiglia (flat-out one of the finest stand-up comedians in the country;

hour-long Comedy Central special What I Should Have Said is Nothing;

two Comedy Central Presents half-hour specials; multiple appearances on

Late Show with David Letterman and Late Night with Conan O'Brien;

comedy CDs Two Drink Mike and My Secret Public Journal—Live;

upcoming comedy series on CBS; for info on Mike's current

superb off-Broadway show Sleepwalk with Me, please click here), and

Wyatt Cenac (correspondent for The Daily Show with Jon Stewart; cast member on upcoming HBO Kanye West show; star of upcoming indie feature film Medicine for Melancholy; former staff writer/editor for three years on King of the Hill; for a blacks vs. gays competition, please click here).

Please note that seats for this show are sold out. But if you're okay with standing, come and enjoy this long-running show's spectacular debut at its new home, the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre.

8:00 pm at UCBT, 307 West 26th Street (off 8th Avenue); tickets are $5

Daiva Deupree & Cathleen Carr relaxing before their show

Carr & Deupree: Two Girls for Five Bucks

Two Girls For Five Bucks is very funny sketch comedy duo Cathleen Carr & Daiva Deupree,

who perform frequently in both NYC and Boston. These luminous women

offer a smart and wittily dark view of life and relationships,

and are well worth catching...and for a great deal more than five bucks.

You have the lovely opportunity to see the gals perform on March 25-28 at the acclaimed Ars Nova Theatre.

If you're a guy, bring a date to impress her with your good taste and uncannily fine sense of humor.

Tickets are normally $20, but you can get $5 off—i.e., pay only $15—by using discount code EBLAST when ordering online (plus a $2.25 service charge).

For a few sample MP3 audio clips—most notably, the top one in which

Daiva chats with Cathleen's vagina—please click here.

8:00 pm at the Ars Nova Theatre, 511 West 54th Street (off 10th Avenue);

tickets are $15 when ordering online with discount code EBLAST

Shrink

This free weekly show tonight features NYC stand-up comics Dan Curry, Leah Dubie, Emily Epstein, Robin Cloud, Joel Stice, Jeff Lawrence, and Rocco Supreme.

8:00 pm at Otto's Shrunken Head, 538 East 14th Street (between Avenues A and B); free

The Nights of Our Lives: First Dates

This is one of the best shows in New York.

The format is simple: A bunch of razor-sharp writer/performers tell stories

about themselves revolving around the evening's theme—which tonight

is "First Dates."

The only rules of the show are that the tales must be true, and must be funny.

The brutal honesty, and jarring bravery, of some the participants can be hair-raising.

What they offer aren't merely jokes, but resonant, humane perspectives on life.

At the same time, there are very few shows, on or off Broadway,

that will make you laugh as consistently and as loud.

Enormous kudos go to host David Martin; and to brilliant storytellers

Anthony Atamanuik, John Flynn, Chris Gethard, Curtis Gwinn, Anthony King,

Margot Leitman, Adam Pally, and the other comedy soldiers who've bared

some of their darkest and funniest secrets on the Nights of Our Lives stage.

To hear complete audio versions of previous shows, please visit BreakThruRadio.com, click the Breakthru DJs link near the top, search for Nights of Our Lives, and then click the date that interests you.

This evening's yarn-spinners are stellar regulars Curtis Gwinn, John Flynn, and Dave Martin, plus Eric Drysdale (writer for The Daily Show with Jon Stewart 2000-2005; writer for The Colbert Report 2005-2008; contributor to blockbuster bestsellers America the Book and I Am America (And So Can You!); winner of five Emmy Awards).

9:30 pm at UCBT, 307 West 26th Street (off 8th Avenue); tickets are $5

Justin Purnell

School Night

Host Justin Purnell provides a mix of guests who perform 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.

Come support the experimentation, and periodic magical surprises,

that this uniquely organic rollercoaster of a show makes possible.

Please note that while it costs nothing to get in, if you have a good time (which is likely), you should drop a dollar or two into the contribution bucket on your way out. It's the only way this beloved show—which has been running for five years—can stay alive as a vibrant showcase.

11:00 pm at UCBT, 307 West 26th Street (off 8th Avenue); free

NYC Comedy Picks for Thursday 3/26/09

Tom Davis talks about his 12 years at Saturday Night LIve; Daiva Deupree & Cathleen Carr perform as Two Girls for Five Bucks

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] [$] an intimate talk from the former writing partner of Al Franken about his new book, Thirty-Nine Years of Short-Term Memory Loss: The Early Days of SNL from Someone Who Was There: Tom Davis (7:30 pm),

[TOP PICK] fearless and hilarious sketch comedy performer Alicia Levy performing her new one-woman show Red Carpet Ride (8:00 pm),

[$] [DISCOUNTED] lovely & witty Cathleen Carr & Daiva Deupree turning life's darkness into comedy as Two Girls for Five Bucks (8:00 pm),

[$] musical comedy duo Stuckey & Murray host a show with Bryan Tucker (writer for Saturday Night Live 2005-2008; also wrote for Chappelle's Show, Mad TV, The Chris Rock Show, Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn), Joe Mande (2008 ECNY Award winner for Best Emerging Comic; co-host of Totally J/K), Amy Schumer (Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central), and more at Comedy Below Canal (9:00 pm),

TV writers Laura Krafft (The Colbert Report) and Peter Grosz (The Colbert Report), and Starlee Kine

(This American Life), performing improvised monologues at Three-Piece! (9:30 pm),

[TOP PICK] and two vibrant improv troupes, The Stepfathers and The F*cking Kennedys, competing for audience laughs & votes at the raucous Cage Match (11:00 pm).

Tom Davis

A Conversation with SNL Writer and Comedian Tom Davis

An intimate hour with Tom Davis, who for 12 years was a staff writer for Saturday Night LIve, and is author of the new book Thirty-Nine Years of Short-Term Memory Loss: The Early Days of SNL from Someone Who Was There. According to the show description, "Davis will talk about everything from coming up with the idea for the Coneheads with Dan Aykroyd, to bar-hopping around Manhattan with Bill Murray and Paul Shaffer creating the Nick the Lounge Singer sketches, to his 20-year relationship with comedy partner Al Franken, to creating The Continental sketches for Christopher Walken, and so much more."

Afterwards, he'll sign copies of his book.

7:30 pm at 92YTribeca Mainstage, 200 Hudson Street (intersection of Canal & Hudson Streets); $12

Take the 1/6/E subway to Canal Street stop

Alicia Levy's Red Carpet Ride

Alicia Levy is a member of world-class sketch troupe Drop Six, which is famed for its wonderful mix of physical comedy and music. Alicia also performed the memorable one-woman show Totally Worth It last year, in which she played such characters as a painfully clumsy stripper, an insanely cautious expert on child safety, and a splendorous fairy contemplating a wing reduction.

Tonight Alicia performs a brand new one-woman show—and it's undoubtedly worth catching. I've been too jammed up with deadlines to see this yet, but Time Out New York's Jane Borden, who has impeccable comedy taste, says "Levy's charisma lights up the stage. She is definitely one to keep your eyes on, which should be easy to do."

8:00 pm at The Peoples Improv Theater, 154 West 29th Street (off 7th Avenue); tickets are $8

Daiva Deupree & Cathleen Carr relaxing before their show

Carr & Deupree: Two Girls for Five Bucks

Two Girls For Five Bucks is very funny sketch comedy duo Cathleen Carr & Daiva Deupree,

who perform frequently in both NYC and Boston. These luminous women

offer a smart and wittily dark view of life and relationships,

and are well worth catching...and for a great deal more than five bucks.

You have the lovely opportunity to see the gals perform through Saturday at the acclaimed Ars Nova Theatre.

If you're a guy, bring a date to impress her with your good taste and uncannily fine sense of humor.

Tickets are normally $20, but you can get $5 off—i.e., pay only $15—by using discount code EBLAST when ordering online (plus a $2.25 service charge).

For a few sample MP3 audio clips—most notably, the top one in which

Daiva chats with Cathleen's vagina—please click here.

8:00 pm at the Ars Nova Theatre, 511 West 54th Street (off 10th Avenue);

tickets are $15 when ordering online with discount code EBLAST

Stuckey & Murray, and Amy Schumer

Comedy Below Canal

Top NYC comics perform tonight at 92YTribeca:

Stuckey & Murray (singing duo who write and perform hilarious songs, and who have appeared on The Discovery Channel, E!, VH1, Fuse, The College Sports Network, and done two comedy music series for NBC Digital Media and Heavy.com; also create wildly popular comedy videos for YouTube, Funnyordie.com, and their own Web site),

Bryan Tucker (writer for Saturday Night Live 2005-2008; also wrote for Chappelle's Show, Mad TV, The Chris Rock Show, Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn; performed on Comedy Central's Premium Blend; for a stand-up video sample, please click here),

Joe Mande (winner of the 2008 ECNY Award winner for Best Emerging Comic; co-host of superb NYC live comedy show Totally J/K; comedic play Workdays with Maury; for some video samples, please click here and here and here),

Amy Schumer (Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central's Night of Too Many Stars and Reality Bites Back, Ellen; for Amy's video interview with Sarah Silverman, please click here),

and more.

9:00 pm at 92YTribeca Mainstage, 200 Hudson Street (intersection of Canal & Hudson Streets); $15

Take the 1/6/E subway to Canal Street stop

Peter Grosz, Laura Krafft, and Starlee Kine

Three-Piece!

An evening of improvised monologues (springboarding off

audience suggestions), performed in three parts.

This show is hosted and stars the multi-talented Laura Krafft, who's a

former staff writer for Comedy Central's The Colbert Report and Crossballs,

and has acted on such series as on HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm.

And performing with Laura tonight are superb guests

Peter Grosz (still a staff writer for The Colbert Report; star of over 100 Sonic fast-food commercials; member of Chicago's Second City acclaimed improv troupe 4 Square, and half of the current UCBT improv show 2 Square), and

Starlee Kine (This American Life).

9:30 pm at UCBT, 307 West 26th Street (off 8th Avenue); tickets are $5

vs.

Cage Match: The Stepfathers vs. The F*cking Kennedys

This delightful show pits two improv teams against each other while creating the

atmosphere of a professional wrestling arena—and providing such side-shows

as a bout to the death between guys costumed as an alcoholic wolf and TV's Alf.

(For a spirited weekly report on the wrestling aspect of Cage Match, please click here.)

Tonight's defending champion is The Stepfathers, consisting of some of the sharpest & funniest improv comics in the country: Michael Delaney, Chris Gethard, Will Hines, Bobby Moynihan, Shannon O'Neill, Silvija Ozols, Andy Secunda, and Zach Woods.

Just to give you a feel for the talent involved, Delaney and Secunda are members of legendary improv troupe The Swarm; Gethard is a storytelling genius; and Moynihan (who might not be participating tonight) since 2008 is a stellar cast member of Saturday Night Live.

Tonight's contender is UCBT Harold team The F*cking Kennedys, which consists of Brian Berrebbi, Devlyn Corrigan, Brian Faas, John Frusciante, Jon Gutierrez, Nick Ross, Nate Smith, and John Spellman.

Will the audience prefer the royal purity of F*cking Kennedys or the mixed genetics of The Stepfathers?

There's no telling what'll happen...which is one of the great pleasures of this extravaganza.

11:00 pm at UCBT, 307 West 26th Street (off 8th Avenue); tickets are $5

NYC Comedy Picks for Friday 3/27/09

Glenn Wool (Headlining at Comix), Kate McKinnon (The Back Room), and Darrell Hammond (Headlining at Carolines)

Tonight's recommendations for the best in New York City comedy

(in chronological order, with top picks noted and shows over $10 marked with $) include:

sharp, funny sketch troupe Secret Hospital in America's Sweethearts (7:00 pm),

[$] the longest-running cast member of Saturday Night Live (from 1995 to the present), and a comic who's impersonated over 100 celebrities on national television: Darrell Hammond, Headlining at Carolines (8:00 pm & 10:30 pm),

[$] an acclaimed UK comedy star, and the winner of this past season's Last Comic Standing: Glenn Wool and Iliza Shlesinger, Headlining at Comix (8:00 pm & 10:30 pm),

[$] a hilarious 30 Rock star as part of tonight's lineups at Stand Up NY: Judah Friedlander and More (8:00 pm & 10:00 pm),

[$] [DISCOUNTED] lovely & witty Cathleen Carr & Daiva Deupree turning life's darkness into comedy as Two Girls for Five Bucks (8:00 pm),

[TOP PICK] superb comics Kate McKinnon (hilarious cast member of Logo's Big Gay Sketch Show), Leslie Goshko (irresistible storyteller/sketch comic; Manhattan Monologue Champion, host of Sideshow Goshko), Michael Carbonaro (Another Gay Movie), and Keith Price (Sirius OutQ Radio) at a gay-themed comedy show hosted by Jenny Rubin: The Back Room (9:00 pm),

[TOP PICK] some of the finest improv in NYC from the comedy genius members of The Stepfathers (9:30 pm),

singing improvisors who use an interview with an audience member to craft The Made-Up Musical (10:00 pm),

odd and unsettling dark comedy from sketch troupe Murderfist (11:00 pm),

and a free opportunity for you to perform improv with UCBT veterans at Jammin' with Ralph (12:20ish am).

Secret Hospital: America's Sweethearts

Secret Hospital returns with an all-new sketch comedy show. The official description: "A hopeless high school basketball team. A smoothie-sipping talent agent. A boy raised by eagles. And Ascencion. These are the people in our neighborhood. They're America's sweethearts."

The troupe consists of Michael Hartney, Rachel Korowitz,

 Dan McInerney, and Jeff Scherer. (For performer bios, please click here).

To get a feel for SH, check out its fun video about how you should never shake a baby by clicking here; and its hilarious parody of oddball Larry Sinclair by clicking here.

7:00 pm at The Peoples Improv Theater, 154 West 29th Street (off 7th Avenue); tickets are $10

Darrell Hammond: Headlining at Carolines

Darrell Hammond will be performing tonight through Sunday at Carolines.

Currently in his record-setting 13th season on Saturday Night Live, Hammond is the longest-running cast member in the show's history. His impressions have been applauded for their uncanny accuracy and range. Best known for his hilarious version of Bill Clinton, Hammond has also played virtually the entire Bush Administration, from VP Dick Cheney to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld...sometimes in the same sketch. Hammond impersonated Al Gore in a performance so telling that it was used as a reference in preparation for the 2000 Presidential debates. Other political highlights include Jesse Jackson, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, and New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani. Hammond has also played media figures including Dan Rather, Ted Koppel, Geraldo Rivera, Bob Costas, Bill Kurtis, Tim Russert, Phil Donahue, Bill O'Reilly, Aaron Brown, and Chris Matthews of MSNBC's "Hardball," as well as celebrities such as Donald Trump, Regis Philbin (for which he won a "Relly" award from Regis himself), Sean Connery, and Jay Leno.

Hammond is also a talented stand-up who's been a frequent guest on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Late Show with David Letterman, and Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

This New York comedy club show has a hefty $38.00 cover plus two-drink minimum (with tax & tip, figure another $13 or up); but if you've got the bucks, it oughta be fun.

To order tickets, please click here.

8:00 pm & 10:30 pm at Carolines, 1626  Broadway (between 49th and 50th Streets);

$46.25 ticket plus two-drink minimum

Iliza Shlesinger and Glenn Wool

Glenn Wool and Iliza Shlesinger, Headlining at Comix

Two out-of-towners headline tonight at Comix.

Glenn Wool is a Canadian-born & UK-based acclaimed comedy star who had his own UK TV show in 2004. He's known for mixing political satire with silliness. For a review of his Edinburgh Fringe show, please click here.

Iliza Shlesinger won last summer's exceptionally dreadful edition of Last Comic Standing. There were only a few interesting comics who made it to the house—God's Pottery, Jim Tavaré, and Paul Foot—and they were all sufficiently quirky to be quickly booted by the show's bland-brained LA comedy audiences. LA-based Shlesinger was skilled at working those crowds, albeit with relatively dull material. She deserves credit for hanging in there, though, particularly since this past season was by far the most misogynist of the series. And it's entirely possible she's grown in power as a comic after surviving that nationally traumatic experience. If you're curious, come to find out—and, most likely, to hear some insider tales of LSC.

This comedy club show has a $27 cover plus two-item food or drink minimum (with tax & tip, figure another $13 or up).

To learn more and/or to order, please click here.

8:00 pm & 10:30 pm at Comix, 353 West 14th Street (between 8th & 9th Avenues);

$27 ticket plus two-item food or drink minimum

Judah Friedlander and More at Stand Up NY

Comedy club Stand Up NY's lineup tonight includes the hilarious Judah Friedlander, a very funny stand-up and occasional agent of chaos. Cast member of 30 Rock; performed on VH1’s Best Week Ever, HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm, MTV’s Wonder Showzen, and NBC's The Tonight Show; acted in over 20 films, including such hit comedies as Meet the Parents, Zoolander,  and Full Grown Men; nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for his role in American Splendor.

When asked in an interview about his influences, Judah responded: "Audiences. They are often the forgotten ingredient in stand-up comedy. Stand-up is live entertainment, and a live audience is needed. Also, whatever is happening at the moment. I play off of that. The moment is a big influence. If you’re not playing the moment you’re not doing stand-up comedy–someone just reciting material but not responding with what’s going on in the room is not stand-up comedy."

This comedy club show is $15, plus a two-drink minimum (figure another $13 or up).

To learn more and/or to order tickets, please click here.

8:00 pm & 10:00 pm at Stand Up NY, 236 West 78th Street (off Broadway); $15 plus 2-drink min.

Daiva Deupree & Cathleen Carr relaxing before their show

Carr & Deupree: Two Girls for Five Bucks

Two Girls For Five Bucks is very funny sketch comedy duo Cathleen Carr & Daiva Deupree,

who perform frequently in both NYC and Boston. These luminous women

offer a smart and wittily dark view of life and relationships,

and are well worth catching...and for a great deal more than five bucks.

You have the lovely opportunity to see the gals perform on March 20-21 and March 25-28 at the acclaimed Ars Nova Theatre.

If you're a guy, bring a date to impress her with your good taste and uncannily fine sense of humor.

Tickets are normally $20, but you can get $5 off—i.e., pay only $15—by using discount code EBLAST when ordering online (plus a $2.25 service charge).

For a few sample MP3 audio clips—most notably, the top one in which

Daiva chats with Cathleen's vagina—please click here.

8:00 pm at the Ars Nova Theatre, 511 West 54th Street (off 10th Avenue);

tickets are $15 when ordering online with discount code EBLAST

Jenny Rubin, Dave Rubin, Paul Case, and Shawn Hollenbach

The Back Room

Gay-themed comedy (with both gay & straight comics),

hosted by the charming Jenny Rubin (WE TV’s Cinematherapy and The Gutter).

Tonight's superb comics include

Kate McKinnon (sharp, witty actress who "gets" both verbal and physical comedy down to her bones; cast member of Logo TV's The Big Gay Sketch Show; delightful one-woman UCBT show Disenchanted: "Watch the beloved fairy princesses of your childhood pop a few Klonopins and eat themselves into a coma"),

Leslie Goshko (exceptionally sharp comedic actress/writer; 2008 Manhattan Monologue Slam Champion; host of monthly NYC live comedic storytelling extravaganza Sideshow Goshko; for Leslie's award-winning comedy bit about Internet dating, please click here; and for her bit on "the End Times Awareness Carnival," please click here),

Michael Carbonaro (Another Gay Movie), and

Keith Price (Sirius OutQ Radio),

plus

Back Room co-producer Paul Case (MTV, D-Listed Radio, here! TV's Bent),

Back Room co-producer Shawn Hollenbach (here! TV's Busted), and

Back Room co-producer Dave Rubin (here! TV's Dave Rubin Project and Hot Gay Comics).

9:00 pm at Ochi's Lounge at Comix, 353 West 14th Street (between 8th & 9th Avenues);

no cover, 1 drink or food item minimum (e.g., draft beer for $4-$5)

Back: Zach Woods, Bobby Moynihan, Andy Secunda, Michael Delaney, and Shannon O'Neil

Front: Chris Gethard, Silvija Ozols, and Will Hines

The Stepfathers

Some of the smartest & finest improv comics in NYC—Michael Delaney,

Chris Gethard, Will Hines, Bobby Moynihan, Shannon O'Neill, Silvija Ozols,

Andy Secunda, and Zach Woods—make up a series of scenes from a one-word audience suggestion.

Just to give you a feel for the talent involved, Delaney and Secunda are members of legendary improv troupe The Swarm; Gethard is a storytelling genius; and Moynihan (who still comes by on Fridays when he can steal the time) since 2008 is a stellar cast member of Saturday Night Live.

With art and grace, these quick-witted comedy stars will make you laugh—a lot.

9:30 pm at UCBT, 307 West 26th Street (off 8th Avenue); tickets are $10

The Made-Up Musical

Veteran improvisor John O'Donnell is accompanied

by a rotating cast that might include such superb talents as

Tara Copeland, Scott Glover, Alex Marino, Louis Kornfeld,

 Jessica Allen, Robin Rothman, and Megan Gray

—and with Frank Spitznagel on piano—

turn an interview with an audience member

into a musical they make up on the spot.

10:00 pm at The Magnet Theatre, 254 West 29th Street (off 8th Avenue); tickets are $7

Jammin' With Ralph

To perform improvisation at UCBT, you must spend years taking classes and carefully perfecting your craft...or you can come to this monthly free show, which allows audience members to jump on stage and participate!

Hosted by popular long-form improv troupe The Law Firm, which consists of superb talents Dominic Dierkes, Jonathan Gabrus, Sue Galloway, Nate Lang, Gil Ozeri, Adam Pally, Ben Rodgers, and Gavin Speiller.

12:20ish am at UCBT, 307 West 26th Street (off 8th Avenue); free

NYC Comedy Picks for Saturday 3/28/09

Glenn Wool (Headlining at Comix), musical improv troupe Baby Wants Candy, and Darrell Hammond (Headlining at Carolines)

Tonight's recommendations for the best in New York City comedy

(in chronological order, with top picks noted and shows over $10 marked with $) include:

[TOP PICK] star improvisation from writers & performers at 30 Rock, The Colbert Report,

and The Daily Show who joyously declare Let's Have a Ball (7:30 pm),

an exciting new NYC show developed at Chicago's legendary iO theatre in which veteran

improvisors create a play on the spot based on audience suggestions: New Play (7:30 pm),

[$] [DISCOUNTED] lovely & witty Cathleen Carr & Daiva Deupree turning life's darkness into comedy as Two Girls for Five Bucks (8:00 pm),

[$] the longest-running cast member of Saturday Night Live (from 1995 to the present), and a comic who's impersonated over 100 celebrities on national television: Darrell Hammond, Headlining at Carolines (8:00 pm & 10:30 pm),

[$] an acclaimed UK comedy star, and the winner of this past season's Last Comic Standing: Glenn Wool and Iliza Shlesinger, Headlining at Comix (8:00 pm & 10:30 pm),

[FREE] sharp NYC comics at a free stand-up comedy show hosted by star sketch/improv troupe Derrick in Queens' Long Island City: This Is New York (8:00 pm),

[TOP PICK] one of my all-time favorite improv troupes—which in 2008 broke the UCBT improv competition record for winning streaks with 17 triumphs in a row, and recently delivered a magnificent performance to capture the 2009 Cage Match Championship—the brilliant and daring members of Death by Roo Roo (9:00 pm),

organic & energetic improv by the four guys of 4 Track! (9:00 pm),

[TOP PICK] inventive & hilarious sketch comedy from The Harvard Sailing Team (9:30 pm),

[TOP PICK] [DISCOUNTED] a musical made up on the spot from magical Chicago improv group

Baby Wants Candy (10:30 pm),

[TOP PICK] improvised furious action from world-class troupe Reuben Williams (10:30 pm),

[TOP PICK] [$] Ted Greenberg (Emmy-winning David Letterman writer) performing a fun, quick-paced theatrical comedy show—complete with audience rides home!—at The Complete Performer (10:30 pm),

[TOP PICK] and rising star comics Kumail Nanjiani (Comedy Central) and Thomas Middleditch

(genius improv troupe Baby Wants Candy) proving themselves to also be nerds by

hosting this fun show about the video game industry: Game Bros. Live! (midnight).

Becky Drysdale, Anthony King, Christina Gausas, and Tami Sagher

Let's Have a Ball

Some of the sharpest writers and performers in NYC get together for long-form improv fun.

Among the players often performing are Scott Adsit (cast member of 30 Rock, and co-director & cast member of Adult Swim's brilliant & Emmy-winning Moral Orel), Kay Cannon (writer for 30 Rock), Becky Drysdale (acclaimed one-woman show One Woman in Several Pieces, Web video series Time Traveling Lesbian), Christina Gausas (Late Night with Conan O'Brien, The Stepfathers, Dorff & Gausas), Anthony King (UCBT-NY Artistic Director, Reuben Williams, Gutenberg! The Musical), Laura Krafft (writer for The Colbert Report), Tami Sagher (writer for 30 Rock; writer and producer for Mad TV 2001-2006), and Dan Goor (Late Night with Conan O'Brien, The Daily Show).

7:30 pm at UCBT, 307 West 26th Street (off 8th Avenue); tickets are $10

New Play: Improvised Theatre in One or Two Acts

Chicago's legendary iO Theatre developed an improv form called Play in which comics took an audience suggestion and then created "a play of two acts or less" on the spot. Bringing this exciting comedic game to NYC are Chicago-trained improv veterans Peter Grosz (writer for The Colbert Report, member of acclaimed Chicago improv troupe 4 Square, star of over 100 Sonic fast-food commercials), Deb Downing, Ed Herbstman, Katie Caussin, Melanie Hoopes, Jonathan Karpinos, and Kelly Haran, with direction by Sandy Marshall.

According to the official description, "the ensemble writes a play while they are performing it, streamlining the cumbersome and often wasteful 'process' traditionally used to develop scripts. Eliminating rewrites, readings, rehearsals, and other distractions, the cast of New Play harnesses the power of live theatre with no preparation, opening (and closing) a brand new play each week.

"New Play doesn't rehash the stereotypes of well-known theatrical styles or authors for easy laughs. Instead, the cast explores original stories and characters every show, as if in the voice of some yet undiscovered playwright. The results range from poignant to hilarious, and occasionally both at the same time.

"The show may contain strobe lights, loud explosions, nudity, objectionable themes, and gunfire. Or it may not."

If you love both improv and theatre, how can you resist?

7:30 pm at The Magnet Theatre, 254 West 29th Street (off 8th Avenue); tickets are $5

Daiva Deupree & Cathleen Carr relaxing before their show

Carr & Deupree: Two Girls for Five Bucks

Two Girls For Five Bucks is very funny sketch comedy duo Cathleen Carr & Daiva Deupree,

who perform frequently in both NYC and Boston. These luminous women

offer a smart and wittily dark view of life and relationships,

and are well worth catching...and for a great deal more than five bucks.

You have one final opportunity to see these lovely gals perform tonight at the acclaimed Ars Nova Theatre.

If you're a guy, bring a date to impress her with your good taste and uncannily fine sense of humor.

Tickets are normally $20, but you can get $5 off—i.e., pay only $15—by using discount code EBLAST when ordering online (plus a $2.25 service charge).

For a few sample MP3 audio clips—most notably, the top one in which

Daiva chats with Cathleen's vagina—please click here.

8:00 pm at the Ars Nova Theatre, 511 West 54th Street (off 10th Avenue);

tickets are $15 when ordering online with discount code EBLAST

Darrell Hammond: Headlining at Carolines

Darrell Hammond will be performing tonight through Sunday at Carolines.

Currently in his record-setting 13th season on Saturday Night Live, Hammond is the longest-running cast member in the show's history. His impressions have been applauded for their uncanny accuracy and range. Best known for his hilarious version of Bill Clinton, Hammond has also played virtually the entire Bush Administration, from VP Dick Cheney to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld...sometimes in the same sketch. Hammond impersonated Al Gore in a performance so telling that it was used as a reference in preparation for the 2000 Presidential debates. Other political highlights include Jesse Jackson, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, and New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani. Hammond has also played media figures including Dan Rather, Ted Koppel, Geraldo Rivera, Bob Costas, Bill Kurtis, Tim Russert, Phil Donahue, Bill O'Reilly, Aaron Brown, and Chris Matthews of MSNBC's "Hardball," as well as celebrities such as Donald Trump, Regis Philbin (for which he won a "Relly" award from Regis himself), Sean Connery, and Jay Leno.

Hammond is also a talented stand-up who's been a frequent guest on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Late Show with David Letterman, and Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

This New York comedy club show has a hefty $38.00 cover plus two-drink minimum (with tax & tip, figure another $13 or up); but if you've got the bucks, it oughta be fun.

To order tickets, please click here.

8:00 pm & 10:30 pm at Carolines, 1626  Broadway (between 49th and 50th Streets);

$46.25 ticket plus two-drink minimum

Iliza Shlesinger and Glenn Wool

Glenn Wool and Iliza Shlesinger, Headlining at Comix

Two out-of-towners headline tonight at Comix.

Glenn Wool is a Canadian-born & UK-based acclaimed comedy star who had his own UK TV show in 2004. He's known for mixing political satire with silliness—and his long bit about why we should now profile guys in business suits as criminals is worth the price of admission by itself. For a review of his Edinburgh Fringe show, please click here.

Iliza Shlesinger won last summer's exceptionally dreadful edition of Last Comic Standing. There were only a few interesting comics who made it to the house—God's Pottery, Jim Tavaré, and Paul Foot—and they were all sufficiently quirky to be quickly booted by the show's bland-brained LA comedy audiences.

Shlesinger thrived with those audiences, though. First, she's as hot as any LA actor—which is highly unusual for the comedy world. Second, she has a strong dance background, and that's wonderfully evident in the way she poses her body and paces on stage; and also in the way she gracefully incorporates physical comedy into her stand-up. And third, the fact she came out on top of the most misogynist season of Last Comic Standing ever is pretty awesome.

The only thing wrong with Shlesinger is her material, which is simply too shallow. (How many animal references do we really need to hear...?) So you may find yourself wishing for her to dig deeper—or hire a writer to work with her. But if you come see her, you'll find a special talent on stage, even if it hasn't yet been honed to full potential.

This comedy club show has a $27 cover plus two-item food or drink minimum (with tax & tip, figure another $13 or up).

To learn more and/or to order, please click here.

8:00 pm & 10:30 pm at Comix, 353 West 14th Street (between 8th & 9th Avenues);

$27 ticket plus two-item food or drink minimum

Donald Glover, DC Pierson, and Dominic Dierkes of Derrick

This Is New York

Derrick is three sharp and enormously appealing performers,

Dominic Dierkes, Donald Glover, and DC Pierson, who are sketch comedy

stars via their wildly popular YouTube videos—

for some samples, please click here and here and here—

and won the 2009 ECNY Award for Best Sketch Comedy Troupe.

The guys also completed a comedy feature film, which they

wrote, composed, and star in—and which recently premiered at Sundance!

(To view the trailer of Mystery Team, please click here.)

In this weekly free show in Queens' Long Island City, these impressively

multi-talented comics host a comedy showcase featuring NYC stand-ups

...and perform some stand-up and/or sketch themselves.

8:00 pm at The Creek and The Cave, 10-93 Jackson Avenue, Long Island City, Queens; free

From Manhattan, take the #7 subway to the Vernon Boulevard-Jackson Avenue stop (one stop after Grand Central); exit on Jackson Avenue and walk one block north to 49th Avenue

Death by Roo Roo: Your F*cked Up Family

Arguably the gutsiest improv troupe in NYC, and unquestionably among the finest groups in improv history, the brilliant comics of Death by Roo Roo—Anthony Atamanuik, Liz Cackowski, Neil Casey, John Gemberling, Curtis Gwinn, Adam Pally, and Gavin Speiller—interview an audience member about family and then act out his or her life story via improvised scenes. These winners of the prestigious 2009 Cage Match Championship are always razor-sharp, sometimes scary, and usually hilarious.

9:00 pm at UCBT, 307 West 26th Street (off 8th Avenue); tickets are $10

4 Track!

Springboarding from a word suggested by the audience,

George Basil, Frank Campanella, Christian Capozzoli, and Matt Evans

perform organic & energetic long-form improv for about 40 minutes.

Basil is a stand-out, but they're all sharp, committed improvisors.

There's also a warm chemistry between the men, which is especially evident

if you arrive early to watch them getting ready on stage: They toss a ball

back and forth, and then toss each other back and forth...sending

a body message of "If you throw an improv concept at me, you can trust me

to not let it drop..." One of the Magnet's most popular shows.

9:00 pm at The Magnet Theatre, 254 West 29th Street (off 8th Avenue); tickets are $5