NYC Comedy Picks for Week of May 12, 2008

his experiences with Islam—for my review, please click here; to get a feel for Kumail's style,

please check out his very funny stand-up about the dark side of video games, odd memories,

and the many ways cell phones are eliminated in horror films by clicking here),

Jared Logan (hilarious kinetic comic; named Best Comedian by the Chicago Comedy Awards; won Detroit's contest for Comedy Idol; for stand-up video about fast food and comic books, please click here; for set on scary things, including toy ads for girls, please click here),

Thomas Middleditch (member of the renowned Second City and genius musical improv troupe Baby Wants Candy; for cartoon that prompted the comment "wow i think i actually feel  my intelligence melting away as i watch this," please click here),

Mara Herron (for her views on drugs, please click here),

and Harry Terjanian and Aalap Patel.

Discount Note: Please mention HyReviews.com at the door for $5 off the $10 cover.

8:30 pm at Cornelia Street Cafe, 29 Cornelia Street (between West 4th Street and Bleecker);

$5 per ticket (vs. $10) if you mention HyReviews.com at door, plus $7 food or drink minimum

Jacqueline Novak, Jamie Lee, and Chelsea Peretti

Fat Tuesday

This free weekly show allows a few talented comics to perform long stand-up sets, just as if they —and you—were in a swanky comedy club. It's hosted by Ken Zimlinghaus, who can be heard regularly on Sirius Satellite Radio's Wake Up With Cosmo; and the best bits from this evening will probably end up getting broadcast on Sirius as well.

Tonight features a fine all-female lineup:

Chelsea Peretti (exceptionally fresh, smart stand-up comic; member of superb

comedy troupe Variety Shac; writer for Village Voice, Details, Playgirl, Jest,

blackpeopleloveus.com, and Rejection Line: 212/479-7990),

Jacqueline Novak (for "response to heckler" video, please click here), and

Jamie Lee (VH1's Best Night Ever, Archers of Ha).

8:30 pm at Rififi, 332 East 11th Street (between 1st & 2nd Avenues); free

Dave Hill and Seth Herzog

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 are

Dave Hill (one of the sharpest and freshest comics in NYC, written for The New York Times, Salon, HBO, and the eerie Web site Black Metal Dialogues; written and performed for VH1, Spike TV, The Learning Channel, and the fabulous Smoking Gun TV series; hosts monthly

UCBT extravaganza The Dave Hill Explosion—to learn more, please click here),

Leo Allen (writer for Saturday Night Live 2002-2005; Late Night with Conan O'Brien,

Comedy Central Presents, Ed, Sex and the City),

Matt Higgins (Comedy Central, PSNBC; former improv instructor at

Yale School of Drama; founding member of improv troupe Burn Manhattan and

acclaimed improv troupe Centralia; three-time finalist for the Andy Kaufman award;

for a uniquely quirky stand-up video, please click here), and

Hannibal Buress (Chicago's Finest).

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

Carol Hartsell, Lizz Winstead, and Sean Crespo

Drink at Work

Weekly show produced by Carol Hartsell and hosted by Sean Crespo

(stand-up comic and prolific filmmaker; for samples, please click here & here & here).

Tonight's scheduled guests include

Lizz Winstead (co-creator and former head writer of the original The Daily Show; former Executive VP of Air America Radio; a performer on such shows as Comedy Central Presents and HBO's Women of the Night; producer & host of weekly NYC live political comedy show Shoot the Messenger; for a memorable anti-apology after canceling her appearance last year on this very show, Drink at Work, please click here),

Daniel Dratch (writer for The Chris Rock Show, The Man Show, Monk), and

Ann Carr (Comedy Central Motherload's Honesty Wedding, UCBT's High School Talent Show,

The PIT's Keith & Donna's Grateful Dead Listening Hour).

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

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

Factory Factory: Tracers and Ali Bernstein: Big, Bad, and Pink

An innovative sketch troupe and one-woman sketch show for five bucks.

First, Chicago troupe Factory Factory demonstrates a fascinating new improv form called Tracers. The official description: "Two young lovers sneak into the boys locker room for a forbidden kiss. Morris, a retiring janitor, inadvisably tries out for the school play in the theater. The sound of a lot of broken glass rings out from the parking lot. The roar of a yeti is heard coming from the direction of the gym...Tracers allows the audience to see all of those locations over the same time period, and how they affect one another. When you fire a bullet into the next room, where does it go? With Tracers, the mystery is revealed." Factory Factory consists of Jon Bander, Karsten Cross, Luke Franklin, Megan Gray, Leslie Korein, Garrett Palm, and Morgan Phillips.

The double-bill then continues with a one-woman sketch show

written and performed by Ali Bernstein (and directed by Joe Schiappa).

9:30 pm at The Magnet Theatre, 254 West 29th Street (off 8th Avenue); tickets are $5

and

C, C + C Improv Factory and Krompf

Improv group C, C + C Improv Factory—consisting of Chuck Dauble (Chuck D. & Jawnee Show), Charlie Sanders (Conan O'Brien, Reuben Williams), and Charlie Todd (Improv Everywhere, Reuben Williams)—is the 2008 Champion of Cage Match, beating out some of the most spectacularly skilled improvisors in the country who'd duked it out on stage for the past year.

The trio were also a standout—amidst over 150 troupes— at last July's Del Close Improv Marathon, expertly demonstrating how to keep raising the stakes throughout a long-form improvisation by playing three guys revealing all the lies they've been suppressing while they've hung out together: e.g., one of them admits that despite his frequent television references, he actually never watches TV; then that he's Amish; and finally that he's blind. The exploration of the logical ramifications of each revelation led the audience into hysterical laughter.

Krompf is another of NYC's finest comedy troupes: Neil Casey (member of UCBT's weekly hit show Death by Roo Roo), Ryan Karels, Amey Goerlich, and Joe Wengert (member of UCBT's weekly hit show Reuben Williams). At a memorable 2007 appearance on Cage Match, these improvisors took the kickoff suggestion Christendom to heights of delicious absurdity, in which young children about to be initiated into Catholicism are made to wear suits of armor and engage in swordplay while a voracious winged monster (played memorably by Ryan Karels) perches ready to gobble up the head of any who show hints of wavering. And in another subplot, Neil Casey was hilarious as a perpetually grieving cab driver who tells every passenger about his bride dying on their wedding day. At the end, we learn that as he backed up the cab preparing to drive them both to the Church, he accidentally ran her over...

With two such brilliant teams performing, this show promises to be special and memorable.

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

NYC Comedy Picks for Wednesday 5/14/08

Tonight's recommendations for the best in NYC live comedy include

smartly silly sketch comedy from the three guys of Sidecar, and possibly even sillier comedy

from sketch/improv duo BriTANicK, in This One's for the Losers and Begging for Approval (8:00 pm),

an all-star blowout party with brilliant comics Demetri Martin (The Daily Show, Comedy Central Presents,

upcoming own series Important Things), Anthony Jeselnik (Conan O'Brien), Dave Hill (The Dave Hill Explosion),

Eric Drysdale (winner of five Emmys as writer for The Daily Show and The Colbert Report), Dan Mintz (HBO,

MTV, Comedy Central Presents), and Hannibal Buress (Chicago's Finest) joining comedic chameleon

Brett Gelman (Cracked Out, Death by Roo Roo, NY Lotto's "Little Bit of Luck") at Gelmania (8:30 pm),

superb storyteller Adam Wade (Moth GrandSlam Champion), plus stand-ups John Knefel,

Maria Shehata, Gilad Foss, Joe List. and The StraightMen having fun with

Margaret Champagne, Joselyn Hughes, and Brooke Van Poppelen at their Slumber Party (9:00 pm),

an entirely improvised musical from genius duo Glennis McMurray & Eliza Skinner, plus

improvised political satire, in the double-bill I Eat Pandas and The Spin Room (9:30 pm),

and a laid-back free show where virtually anything can happen on a School Night (11:00).

TV Alert: South Park is one of the funniest shows in TV history, and this season

has been especially superb—which, considering the series is in its 11th year,

is little short of astonishing. On tonight's repeat, the show's satire is especially sharp

as it provides one shocking twist after another in a tale about pop culture icon

Britney Spears. If you aren't already tuning in, for goodness sakes,

set your TiVo for Comedy Central at 10:00 pm and discover the secret

behind our economy that you never learned in school.

Adam Newman and Shawn Pearlman

Faux Show

Weekly comedy show hosted by

Adam Newman (CMT's Prankville'd, VH1's Best Week Ever blog, co-host of

monthly NYC live comedy show Street Meat; host of weekly NYC live open mic comedy show

Blowtorch Slaughter; half of musical comedy duo Uber Luber Death Metal) and

Shawn Pearlman ("If you're in a bad neighborhood, blowing a rape whistle

is like ringing a dinner bell;" for stand-up videos, please click here and here).

Tonight's guests haven't been announced, but they're likely to be

highly talented stand-up comics.

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

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

Nick Kocher and Brian McElhaney of BriTANicK; and Matt Fisher, Alden Ford, and Justin Tyler of Sidecar

BritTANick: Begging for Approval and Sidecar: This One's for the Losers

Two comedy shows about folks who haven't quite reached their potential.

First up is absurdly fun sketch/improv troupe Sidecar, which consists

of very talented & brave comedic trio Alden Ford, Matt Fisher,  and Justin Tyler.

The official description: "A lot of sketch shows are for guys like David Beckham and George Clooney, but not this one. This one's for the rest of us, this one's for you, This One's For The Losers." For a sample sketch about their interrogation technique, please click here.

The double-bill then continues with sketch/improv duo BriTANicK, consisting of Brian McElhaney and Nick Kocher. To get a feel for these young performers, check out their videos about post-sex desires and drug cravings by clicking here and here.

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

Big Black Car and Fancy Dragon

This free weekly show features the two PIT improv teams above,

each of which performs for about 30 minutes. For a video sample of Big Black Car,

please click here; and for a video sample of Fancy Dragon, please click here.

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

Dan Mintz, Demetri Martin, and Hannibal Buress...

...and Anthony Jeselnik (being lauded by Robin Williams), Brett Gelman, and Dave Hill

Gelmania

This superb weekly show is hosted by Brett Gelman, a comedic chameleon

who's currently ubiquitous as the Little Bit of Luck guy in New York Lottery ads.

Brett's numerous credits include Late Night with Conan O'Brien, The Colbert Report,

and ace improv troupe Death by Roo Roo. For a recent interview with Brett, please click here; for samples of Brett's mind-blowing work with partner Jon Daly, please click here and here,

and also check out their hip-hop parody album Fleetwood Cracked.

Tonight's thoroughy wonderful guests are

Demetri Martin (immensely popular stand-up star with his own segment, Trendspotting,

on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart  [13 appearances]; Late Night with Conan O'Brien

[4 appearances]; Comedy Central Presents 30-minute special; Comedy Central 2007 one-hour special Demetri Martin. Person. [both specials now available on DVD]; These Are Jokes CD/DVD; upcoming TV series produced by Jon Stewart titled Important Things),

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

my favorite stand-ups ever; Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Comedy Central's Premium Blend, ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live,  NBC's Last Call with Carson Daly, MTV's Most Valuable Players;

for stand-up videos, please click here and here),

Dave Hill (one of the sharpest and freshest comics in NYC, written for The New York Times, Salon, HBO, and the eerie Web site Black Metal Dialogues; written and performed for VH1, Spike TV, The Learning Channel, and the fabulous Smoking Gun TV series; hosts monthly

UCBT extravaganza The Dave Hill Explosion—to learn more, please click here),

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),

Dan Mintz (HBO's Lucky Louis, Comedy Central Presents, MTV's Human Giant,

upcoming Demetri's Important Things; "It's so much easier for kids to jerk off than it used to be.

When I was young, you had to find the Sears catalog, flip to the lingerie section.

Now, with the Internet, I just turn on my computer, get online, and go right to Sears.com.")

and Hannibal Buress (Chicago's Finest).

8:30 pm at Rififi, 332 East 11th Street (between 1st & 2nd Avenues); $5

Your hosts Margaret Champagne, Joselyn Hughes, and Brooke Van Poppelen at...

Slumber Party

This twice-monthly event is "the sort of variety show that happens when three girls

are delirious from staying up all night boozing and slap-happy from crank-calling!"

 How can you resist? The lovely & hilarious hosts are

 Margaret Champagne (Carolines, UCBT; for acting reel, please click here),

Joselyn Hughes (for video questioning the effectiveness of rape whistles, please click here), and

Brooke Van Poppelen (Carolines, Laugh Factory; for a video sample, please click here).

Tonight's fine guests are

Adam Wade (Moth GrandSlam Storytelling Champion; credits include a fiction story in The New York Times Magazine and writing a column for ReallySmallTalk.com),

John Knefel (for stand-up video about tracking falafel sales to catch terrorists, please click here),

Maria Shehata (Comedy Central's The Watch List, TLC, Women's Entertainment Network, numerous appearances on Sirius Satellite Radio; co-host of bimonthly NYC live comedy show Little Ethnic Girls and Friends; for a stand-up video about Maria's parents' arranged marriage, please click here),

Gilad Foss (for a stand-up video ending with an impression of

Miss Piggy taking the SATs, please click here),

Joe List (chosen for Comedy Central's Live at Gotham), and

The StraightMen (sketch troupe consisting of stand-up comics Mike Ennis, Rob O'Reilly, and Barry Rothbart; for video about a robot roommate, please click here).

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

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

Glennis & Eliza: I Eat Pandas and The Spin Room

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.

Don't miss any chance to enjoy these comedic wizards at play.

The double-bill then continues with The Spin Room, which takes a current polittical news story chosen by the audience and then improvises scenes about it. The troupe consists of Jeremy Bent, Beth Cartier, Guy Cohen, Timothy Cooper, Eric Hollerbach, Barry Lank, Beth Newell, David Siegel, Matt Stillman, and John Robert Wilson, with direction by Doug Moe.

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

Kurt Braunohler, Pat Shay, and Kimmy Gatewood

The Faculty and The Baldwins and Sid Viscous

Some of the PIT's instructors—who include such talents as Ali Farahnakian,

Kurt Braunohler, Ptolemy Slocum, Jen Nails, Pat Shay, Matt Donnelly, Kevin Scott,

Rebekka Johnson, and Kimmy Gatewood—perform improv for around 30 minutes.

And opening for them will be house improv troupes The Baldwins and Sid Viscous.

9:30 pm at The Peoples Improv Theater, 154 West 29th Street (off 7th Avenue); free

School Night

Host Justin Purnell provides a mix of guests who perform stand-up, improv, music,

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 free show makes possible.

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

NYC Comedy Picks for Thursday 5/15/08

Tonight's recommendations for the best in NYC live comedy include

five superb female comics who are also a terrific experimental cover band, interviewing cool guests

and rockin' the house—with the amazing Eliza Skinner on drums...and Jen Hammaker on theremin!;

plus a dark comedy play written by Brian Petsos: Stickerbook and Our Little Piece of the Pie (6:30 pm),

a small mob of talented comics—including Rob Lathan (Conan O'Brien, MTV, VH1) and

Adam Newman (Street Meat, Faux Show)—telling funny and sometimes

poignant  tales about their relatives at Sara Benincasa's Family Hour (7:30 pm),

a gathering of political funny Jews—granted, not exactly unusual in New York—

hosted by Rob Kutner of The Daily Show: Jews + Politics = Comedy (8:00 pm),

typically stellar comics at the hilarious Joe Mande's & Noah Garfinkel's Totally J/K (8:30 pm),

fine gay and straight stand-ups hosted by Jenny Rubin in The Back Room (9:00 pm),

one of the funniest stand-up comics in the country, Mike Birbiglia (David Letterman,

Conan O'Brien, three Comedy Central specials), performing a deliciously long set

of fresh material in a UCBT showcase: 60 Minutes of New Comedy (9:30),

and energetic & inventive improv troupes Death by Roo Roo and Baby Grenade

competing for audience laughs & votes at Cage Match (11:00 pm).

and

Stickerbook and Our Little Piece of the Pie

Stickerbook (upper photo) is a terrific all-gal experimental cover band whose members include some of the funniest women in NYC: Jen Hammaker (theremin, keys, vocals), Becky Poole (saw, accordion, guitar), Eliza Skinner (drums, accordion, vocals), Sue Galloway (guitar, keys, vocals), and Becky Yamamoto (keys, tambourine, vocals, beard). In addition to jammin', they'll be interviewing Tami Sagher (writer for 30 Rock; writer and producer for Mad TV 2001-2006). Please sample their stuff via their MySpace page, and then come see them perform live this evening for a mere five bucks.

And just in case that's not enough, this double-bill continues with the New York premiere of a dark comedy mini-play titled Our Little Piece of the Piece (lower photo). It's written by Brian Petsos; directed by Max Lubahn; and performed by Keith Bethea, Drew Tarver, Joe Casilio, Brian Petsos, Tom DiMenna, and Gabe Plener.

6:30 pm at UCBT, 307 West 26th Street (off 8th Avenue); tickets are $5

Happy children with "Aunt" Sara Benincasa...

...and Adam Newman, Rob Lathan, and Juliet Jeske

Family Hour with Auntie Sara

A stand-up comedy show in which everyone tells jokes and/or stories related to

their family. Hosted by comic/actress Sara Benincasa (MTV's Choose or Lose Campaign;

host of Tub Talk with Sara B. on Nerve.com; for video sample, please click here).

Tonight's fine guests include

Adam Newman (CMT's Prankville'd, VH1's Best Week Ever blog, Tyra Banks Show; co-host of

monthly NYC live comedy show Street Meat and bimonthly Faux Show;

host of weekly NYC live open mic comedy show Blowtorch Slaughter;

half of musical comedy duo Uber Luber Death Metal),

Rob Lathan (Late Night with Conan O'Brien, MTV, VH1; plays comedic characters

such as Lanny Lathan and "Quick Lips" Lathan; performs in the UCBT shows Get Psyched!

and High School Talent Show; for Rob's reel, please click here),

Matt Daly (for stand-up video about Jell-O shots, dinosaurs, and Cookie Monster, please click here),

Juliet Jeske (wrote FringeNYC 2007 play Princess Sunshine's Bitter Pill of Truth Funhouse)

Danny Rouhier (98 Rock, NACA),

Stacia Jensen (Comedyland), and

Sue Funke (for a stand-up video, please click here).

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

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

Partisan Revue: Jews + Politics = Comedy

Rob Kutner of The Daily Show hosts this event with funny Jews galore (co-sponsored by the Manhattan Jewish Experience). As explained by the official description: "From Queen Esther to John Stewart, Jews have taken delight in skewing the powers that be. Join us for an evening of political satire, featuring skits from New York’s funniest Purim show (The Shushan Channel), a celebrity reading from the upcoming film Hebrew Hammer II, songs from Nice Jewish Girls Gone Bad and Good for the Jews, stand-up by Jeff Kreisler (Comedy Against Evil), and more."

Will this be fun? Hey, it couldn't hurt.

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

 for other videos, please click here and here.)

Tonight's fine guests haven't been announced yet, but they're usually wonderful

(as you can tell from last week's lineup above).

To check for an update on guests, please click here.

8:30 pm at Rififi, 332 East 11th Street (between 1st & 2nd Avenues); tickets are $5

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

The Back Room

Gay-themed comedy (with both gay and straight comics), hosted by the charming Jenny Rubin.

Tonight's guests haven't been announced, but they'll probably include

Back Room co-producer Paul Case (MTV),

Back Room co-producer Shawn Hollenbach (here! tv.com), and

Back Room co-producer Dave Rubin (here! tv.com).

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

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

Mike Birbiglia: 60 Minutes of New Comedy

Mike Birbiglia is flat-out one of the finest stand-up comedians in the country.

He's not loud or rude—just smart, relaxed, honest, and very funny. (Sample line:

"If the best part of waking up is Folgers in my cup, I'm not sure I want to wake up.")

This razor-sharp comic recently performed an hour-long Comedy Central special

titled What I Should Have Said is Nothing. Mike's also performed two

Comedy Central Presents half-hour specials; appeared multiple times on

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

and has released the comedy CDs Two Drink Mike and My Secret Public Journal—Live.

The latter was chosen by Time Out New York as the Comedy Album of the Year.

Tonight, as his show's on-the-nose title states, Mike will be performing

an entire hour of fresh material...which, if you already know Mike's work, is thrilling.

For sample stand-up videos, please click here and here;

and then come let Mike make you laugh helplessly with this solo show.

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

vs.

Cage Match: Death by Roo Roo vs. Baby Grenade

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.)

Recent champ Bastian had a damn impressive run, winning close victories against

two of the finest improv troupes in the country, The Stepfathers and Mother.

That ended last week, however, when Bastian went up against arguably the gutsiest improv group in NYC, Death by Roo Roo, consisting of uniformly brilliant comics Anthony Atamanuik, Neil Casey, Jackie Clarke, Brett Gelman, John Gemberling, and Curtis Gwinn. The audience decision was clear-cut: 82 to 24. And Cage Match now has another very formidable champion to battle groups seeking the UCBW improv throne.

Tonight's challenger is the deceptively cute Baby Grenade, consisting of Matthew Cohen,
Ashley Hale, Amy Johnson, Jeff Lee, Giancarlo Mariutto, Nick Palladino, Jessica Stickles, and Paul Welsh. For a BG video about an awkward lack of pop culture knowledge, please click here.

As previous weeks have amply demonstrated, there's no telling what'll happen

at tonight's Cage Match...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 5/16/08

Tonight's recommendations for the best in NYC live comedy include

Jessica Chaffin & Jamie Denbo bringing their hit UCBT-LA show to NY, tonight with

special guest Brian Stack (Conan O'Brien): Ronna & Beverly's All Jew Revue (8:00 pm),

the return to The PIT stage of an acclaimed improv troupe—Centralia: Au Bon Panic! (8:00 pm),

typically stellar stand-up comics at one of the funniest productions in NYC—and winner of

the 2008 ECNY Award for Best Variety Show—The Greg Johnson & Larry Murphy Show (8:30 pm),

Baron Vaughn (MTV, VH1, Shoot the Messenger), Tom McCaffrey (Comedy Central), Sean Patton, and Brent

Sullivan at Matt Ruby's & Mark Normand's new free show in Queens' LIC We're All Friends Here (8:30 pm)

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

silly concepts, clever wordplay, and terrifically fun sketch comedy from Elephant Larry (9:30 pm),

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

one of my all-time favorite improv troupes, the brilliant and daring members of Death by Roo Roo (11:00 pm),

daring & inventive sketch comic Kurt Braunohler—who typically partners with comedy genius

Kristen Schaal—proves he can also be superb on his own in Kurt Braunohler's One Man Jam (11:00 pm),

and UCBT's free monthly open mic stand-up show, where deliciously surreal things tend to happen

around 1:30 am, hosted by the lightning-fast & hilarious Pete Holmes: Gutbucket (12:15ish am).

Jenny Rubin: I'm Basically 40

Sharp stand-up Jenny Rubin (host of weekly NYC live comedy show The Back Room performs an autobiographical one-woman show which she refers to  as "a work in progress sorta. Come hear me blabber on about having miscarriages with a smile; having no money; and being a married invisible woman. I wish I looked as cute as this old French poster, but instead I'm home with toothpaste on my face. I'm basically 40."

7:00 pm at The Roy Arias Theatre, 300 West 43rd Street; tickets are $10

Threat: Fool's Journey

In this new show, veteran improvisation troupe Threat (Rhea Ramey, Eli Newell, Pat Shepherd, Matt Donnelly, and Rebekka Johnson) gives an audience member a Tarot card reading and then performs two sets of improv comedy based on the results.

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

Ronna & Beverly's All Jew Revue

Hosted by Jessica Chaffin & Jamie Denbo (above) playing) Ronna Glickman & Beverly Kahn, the bestselling authors of You'll Do a Little Better Next Time: A Guide to Marriage and Remarriage for Jewish Singles. To get a feel for the act, please visit ronnaandbeverly.com.

Tonight's guests include

Brian Stack, who's a longtime staff writer and frequent

sketch performer for Late Night with Conan O'Brien.

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

Centralia: Au Bon Panic!

Acclaimed improv troupe Centralia consists of Kevin Scott, Jay Rhoderick, and Matt Higgins (Comedy Central, PSNBC; former improv instructor at Yale School of Drama; also founding member of improv troupe Burn Manhattan; three-time finalist for the Andy Kaufman award; for a stand-up sample, please click here).

The official description: "Centralia is known as one of the boldest, most inventive, ground-breaking improvisation groups to ever hit a New York stage. See the performers the Daily News called 'the purest form of theatre,' the Chicago Sun said is 'advancing the art of improvisation,' and the Village Voice said watching is 'like having a front row seat at a stranger's dream.' Au Bon Panic is Centralia's trademark surreal, satirical, hysterical spontaneous theater."

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

The Greg Johnson & Larry Murphy Show

This is one of the best comedy shows in New York.

Hosted by Greg Johnson (sharp, quick-witted stand-up comic)

and Larry Murphy (brilliant voiceover actor who performs all the

key characters on Adult Swim's Assy McGee; other TV series include

Home Movies, O'Grady, Cheapseats, Computer Lab, Puppets N Such;

for an animated VO reel, please click here).

The lineup is typically announced on the day of the show

—and is almost always stellar.

To check for news on tonight's show, please click here.

8:30 pm at Rififi, 332 East 11th Street (between 1st & 2nd Avenues); tickets are $5

Tom McCaffrey and Baron Vaughn

We're All Friends Here

Matt Ruby (host of monthly NYC live comedy extravaganza Flying Carpet)

and Mark Normand emcee this new free comedy show in Queens' Long Island City

(just one stop from Manhattan on the #7 train).

Tonight's fine guests are

Baron Vaughn (MTV's The Gamekillers, VH1's Awesomely Oversexed and

Best Week Ever; on STM, plays "Davis Miles," who co-hosts with Lizz on fake

news show Wake Up World; for a radio interview, please click here),

Tom McCaffrey (Comedy Central's Premium Blend and Shorties Watchin' Shorties),

Sean Patton (LES' The Tommy Danger Show, founder of the New Orleans Comedy Festival;

Brent Sullivan (for video about crying while reading The Giving Tree, please click here).

8:30 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.

Bobby Moynihan, Zach Woods, Christina Gausas, Michael Delaney, and Chris Gethard

The Stepfathers

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

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

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

With art and grace, these star talents will make you laugh—a lot.

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

Elephant Larry

 Elephant Larry (above) is a NYC-based sketch group consisting of Geoff Haggerty, Stefan Lawrence, Chris Principe, Jeff Solomon, and Alex Zalben (former artistic director of  The PIT, co-host of the Comic Book Club, and co-producer of the spectacular annual SketchFest NYC). The troupe specializes in conceptual humor, silliness, and wordplay—for example, demonstrating that a caveman and the Cookie Monster sound remarkably alike when saying such things as "Me have problem with subject/verb placement..." For videos about a sci-fi version of Beckett

and using Adobe Photoshop, please click here and here.

9:30 pm at The Peoples Improv Theater, 154 West 29th Street (off 7th Avenue); tickets are $8

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

Death by Roo Roo: Your F*cked Up Family

Arguably the gutsiest improv troupe in NYC, the brilliant comics of Death by Roo Roo—Anthony Atamanuik, Neil Casey, Jackie Clarke, Brett Gelman, John Gemberling, and Curtis Gwinn—interview an audience member about family and then act out his or her life story

via improvised scenes. Sometimes scary, and usually hilarious.

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

Kurt Braunohler's One Man Jam

Kurt Braunohler is a frequent comedy partner of Kristen Schaal,

performing  sketches that are hilariously indescribable.

Kurt's also a co-star of the Web series Penelope, Princess of Pets, for which

he won the 2008 ECNY Award as Best Director;

co-host of NYC/LA comedy show Hot Tub Variety Hour;

and a courageous and inventive sketch/improv performer.

Tonight Kurt goes solo, performing a variety of comedic bits

difficult to categorize; but come prepared to laugh.

11:00 pm at The Peoples Improv Theater, 154 West 29th Street (off 7th Avenue); tickets are $8

Pete Holmes

Gutbucket

UCBT's monthly open mic show for stand-up comics.

If you're simply looking to laugh, this show can be

lots of fun, or deadly, depending on who turns up.

But if you're a comic yourself, it's a fine opportunity

to perform in front of an exceptionally sharp audience.

And in my opinion, it's well worth sitting through five minutes of

a dreadful comic to get even 30 seconds of hilarious comments

about the set afterwards from brilliant host Pete Holmes (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).

Holmes' lightning-fast mind will generate more perfect remarks

in a few moments than most comics can manage in a week.

Watching a master like Pete Holmes is a great treat;

and this show is free.

On top of that, the fact Gutbucket runs from roughly 12:15 am to 2:00 am

adds a surreal, drunken spin to the festivities that usually results in something

weird and memorable happening with either an amateur comic or an audience member.

For all these reasons, this is my favorite open mic show; and if you're both

patient and adventurous, it's highly recommended.

12:15ish am at UCBT, 307 West 26th Street (off 8th Avenue); free

NYC Comedy Picks for Saturday 5/17/08

Tonight's recommendations for the best in NYC live comedy include

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),

Second City veterans, Magnet instructors, UCBT stars, and occasional celebs

at the Magnet's signature improv show, The Tiny Spectacular (7:30 pm),

comics experiencing the rush of performing with no clothes on in The Naked Comedy Showcase (8:00 pm),

stellar comics John Mulaney, God's Pottery, Andres du Bouchet, Craig Baldo, Giulia Rozzi, and Hannibal
Buress, plus Brazz Tree, at Tom Shillue's acclaimed monthly comedy show Moonwork (9:00 pm),

improv comedy mixed with audience-supplied music at the rockin' Mother: The Soundtrack (9:00 pm),

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

improvised TV shows about audience members via world-class troupe Reuben Williams (10:30 pm),

genius stand-up/sketch comic John Oliver (The Daily Show) and musical group King Solomon and Giggles

joining host Slightly Known People to make you laugh in Random Hookups with SKP (10:30 pm),

organic & energetic improv by the four guys of 4 Track! (10:30 pm),

and nerdcore rapper mc chris (Adult Swim's Aqua Teen Hunger Force, The Brak Show, etc.) digging deep

to perform songs about pizza, ninjas, and masturbation from his new album mc chris is dead (Midnight).

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

Let's Have a Ball

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

The players typically include 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), Peter Gwinn (writer for The Colbert Report), 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 Rob Riggle (correspondent for The Daily Show with Jon Stewart; Saturday Night Live, The Office).

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

The Tiny Spectacular

Magnet instructors & Second City veterans such as Rachel Hamilton, Ed Herbstman, Abby Sher, and Miriam Tolan, plus stars of Mother: The Soundtrack (see below) Jason Mantzoukas, Tara Copeland, James Eason, Christine Walters, plus occasional special guests (such as superstar Mike Meyers), turn a tiny suggestion into larger-than-life improvised scenes.

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

Andy Ofiesh, creator of The Naked Comedy Showcase

The Naked Comedy Showcase

Oddly enough, this is just what it sounds like;

stand-up, sketch, and improv comics performing in the buff.

A reviewer from The Boston Globe observed, "The dynamic of nude comedian

and clothed audience added an extra dimension to self-deprecating material."

For a New York Magazine review, please click here.

8:00 pm at The Peoples Improv Theater, 154 West 29th Street (off 7th Avenue); tickets are $10

Jeremiah Smallchild & Gideon Lamb, John Mulaney, Andres du Bouchet, and Tom Shillue

Moonwork

Acclaimed comedy show hosted by Tom Shillue (Comedy Central Presents,

Late Night with Conan O'Brien, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, storytelling podcasts;

for stand-up samples, please click here and here), who demonstrates his storytelling prowess via an extended witty monologue at the end of the show.

Tonight's stellar lineup:

John Mulaney (one of the most razor-sharp stand-ups around; VH1's Best Week Ever,

Late Night with Conan O'Brien; for stand-up samples, please click here and here),

Andres du Bouchet (writer for & performer on FOX's Talkshow with Spike Feresten; Late Night With Conan O'Brien, Tough Crowd With Colin Quinn, Cheap Seats, Giant Tuesday, comedic videos),

God's Pottery (Wilson Hall & Krister Johnson's delightful parody of a Christian folk singing duo;

recently released their debut Comedy Central album, God's Pottery: Live at Comix),

Giulia Rozzi (VH1's Best Night Ever podcasts; monthly video series The Message Board, which makes fun of brides, on ComedyNet.com; co-producer of East coast version of hit national show Mortified; co-host of monthly NYC red-hot live comedy show Stripped Stories;

for a video sample, please click here),

Craig Baldo (performed over 30 sketches on Late Night with Conan O'Brien; Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central's Premium Blend and Comic Remix; VH1, Bravo, The Onion), and

Hannibal Buress (Chicago's Finest).

9:00 pm at Phil Coltoff Center, 219 Sullivan Street (between Bleecker & West 3rd); $20

Mother: The Soundtrack

Jason Mantzoukas leads a vibrant team of improv comics—Scot Armstrong, Tara Copeland, Jon Daly, James Eason, Jesse Falcon, Doug Moe, and Christine Walters—who make up scenes based on CD tracks contributed by the audience. One of UCBT's most beloved shows.

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

The Harvard Sailing Team: A Hundred Years of Song and Dance

The Harvard Sailing Team, which just won the ECNY Award for Best Sketch Comedy Group,

performs their special brand of fresh, imaginative comedy

that turns familiar rituals on their head. (For a video about awkward goodbyes

at the end of a party, please click here.) The very talented troupe consists of

Rebecca Brey, Jen Curran, Clayton Early, Faryn Einhorn, Katie Larson,

Adam Lustick, Chris Smith, Billy Scafuri, and Sara Taylor.

This new collection of sketches, titled

A Hundred Years of Song and Dance, covers such topics

as Melissa Etheridge, Duck Tales, and American Gladiators.

9:30 pm at The Peoples Improv Theater, 154 West 29th Street (off 7th Avenue); tickets are $8

Reuben Williams: As Seen on TV

Anthony King demonstrates that in addition to running UCBT-NY brilliantly, he's a superb improvisor and actor. Joining him are stellar talents Eugene Cordero, Lennon Parham, Charlie Sanders, Eric Scott, Kate Spencer, Charlie Todd, and Joe Wengert. Together, they interview an audience member, and then use the answers as the basis for a new TV show...which this fiercely talented comedy troupe creates & performs for you on the spot.

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

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.

10:30 pm at The Magnet Theatre, 254 West 29th Street (off 8th Avenue); tickets are $5

SKP's Stu Luth, Mel DeLancey, and Dan Maccarone; and John Oliver

Random Hookups with Slightly Known People

Slightly Known People—Erik Bowie, Mel DeLancey, Stu Luth,

Dan Maccarone, and Josh Mertz—performs funny songs and sketch comedy.

In this weekly show SKP invites other talented comics

 to come play along with it for an evening.

Tonight's superb guests are

John Oliver (genius who's one of the very finest—and nicest—stand-up comics in the biz;

delightful & hilarious news correspondent for The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.

co-writer/star of The Department for BBC Radio 4; recently aired

his superb hour-long Comedy Central special, Terrifying Times),

and comedic musical group King Solomon & Giggles.

For a hilarious SKP video deconstructing Billy Joel, please click here.

For a review of the show, please click here.

10:30 pm at The Green Room, 45 Bleecker Street (off Lafayette); tickets are $12

Nearest subway stop is Bleecker Street on the #6 (which brings you virtually to the door of the theatre)

 and Broadway-Lafayette on the F/V/D/B.

mc chris is dead

MC Chris (Christopher Ward) grew up on a steady diet of G.I. Joe, Star Wars, and

rented Betamax tapes. In high school, chris was a big fan of counter culture hip hop

after hearing Public Enemy. That was followed by alternative hip hop acts, the Pharcyde,

De la Soul, Tribe Called Quest, and Black Sheep. chris memorized it all.

After graduating, chris get involved with the then-fledgling Cartoon Network's Adult Swim, working as an animator, voice artist, writer, and/or producer on such series as

Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Sealab 2021, The Brak Show, and the upcoming Cheyenne Cinnamon and the Fantabulous Unicorn of Sugar Town Candy Fudge.

chris then combined his love of pop culture and rap by touring and creating albums with his own special nerdcore slant. Tonight he performs from his newest CD, mc chris is dead,

the result of  chris "asking the hard questions and looking deep within himself in hopes of making the most honest album he's ever released. Seeking no frills and the absolute truth, the songs cover a wide range of topics including pizza, ninjas, and masturbation. Come see him perform it live along with some of his friends as he prepares for four months of touring, including the entire run of warped tour."

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

NYC Comedy Picks for Sunday 5/18/08

Tonight's recommendations for the best in NYC live comedy include

UCBT's playground for celebrities and ace improvisors, ASSSSCAT 3000 (7:30 & 9:30 pm),

superb stand-ups Anthony Jeselnik (Conan O'Brien), Pat Dixon (Comedy Central), Bobby Miyamoto

(Comedy Central), Rob O'Reilly (Jay Leno), and Alex Castle at Whitest Kids U' Know

Timmy Williams' and Sam Brown's free show Scum and Villainy (8:00 pm),

and typically stellar stand-up comics joining comedy giants Eugene Mirman & Michael Showalter

for their weekly shindig at Brooklyn's Union Hall: Tearing the Veil of Maya (8:00 pm).

ASSSSCAT 3000

The Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre's signature show, which features a monologist telling stories based on audience suggestions and a group of top improvisers (sometimes including stars such as SNL's Amy Poehler and Horatio Sanz) creating scenes based on the stories. There are two shows every Sunday which share the same format, but are otherwise entirely different because everything is improvised. The 7:30 pm show is $8; advance tickets might be sold out by the time you read this, but a limited number of seats are available at the door for

those who arrive early enough to nab 'em...and even more tickets are available for those willing to watch the show standing. The 9:30 show is free, with tickets distributed outside the theatre

 at 8:15 pm; but again, you may need to come early and wait on line to ensure getting into

this first come,  first served performance.

7:30 pm & 9:30 pm at UCBT, 307 West 26th Street (off 8th Avenue)

Anthony Jeselnik (being lauded by Robin Williams), Timmy Williams & Sam Brown, and Rob O'Reilly

Scum and Villainy

This free weekly show is hosted by Timmy Williams and Sam Brown, members of

popular comedy group The Whitest Kids U' Know (currently starring in a TV show on IFC).

Tonight's superb guests are

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

my favorite stand-ups ever; Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Comedy Central's Premium Blend, ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live,  NBC's Last Call with Carson Daly, MTV's Most Valuable Players;

Pat Dixon (Comedy Central Presents ½-hour special, Comedy Central's Premium Blend,

The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, E!, FOX, syndicated movie reviews on radio),

Bobby Miyamoto (Comedy Central's Premium Blend; Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson; for

stand-up about educational opportunities in Dallas and dating Tori Spelling, please click here),

Rob O'Reilly (The Tonight Show with Jay Leno; Live At Gotham; took second place out of 64 comics in this year's March Comedy Madness stand-up competition at Carolines;

for stand-up video about why you shouldn't trust Trojans, please click here); and

Alex Castle (for ballad to Enrico Corazon "who was never on his own," please click here).

8:00 pm at Pianos, 158 Ludlow Street at Stanton; free

Michael Showalter and Eugene Mirman

Tearing the Veil of Maya

If you live in Brooklyn, or simply don't mind going a few subway stops beyond Manhattan,

some of the best funny minds in New York can be found at this weekly show

run by these two comedy giants (winners of the 2008 ECNY Award for Best Hosts):

Eugene Mirman (Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Comedy Central Presents half-hour special,

Comedy Central's Premium Blend and Jump Cuts, HBO's Flight of the Conchords, VH1,

The Absurd Nightclub Comedy of Eugene Mirman and En Garde, Society! comedy albums) and

Michael Showalter (Michael Showalter (MTV's seminal sketch show The State, legendary comedy troupe Stella,

writer/director/star of feature film The Baxter, co-writer/co-star of feature film Wet Hot American Summer).

Tonight's guests haven't been announced, but they're usually stellar.

8:00 pm at Union Hall, 702 Union Street at 5th Avenue in Park Slope, Brooklyn; tickets are $7

Take the R train to Union Street and walk 1 block east; or take

the F train to 4th Avenue, walk north on 4th Avenue and turn right on Union Street, and go 1 block up;

or take the  2/3/4/5/Q train to Atlantic Avenue, walk south on 5th Avenue, and make a left on Union Street.

Ampers&nd

A showcase for talented improvisation twosomes.

Tonight's duos haven't been announced,

but some fine scenes usually arise from this show.

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

Alternatively, consider seeing a funny and/or musical

Broadway, off-Broadway, or off-off-Broadway show.

To learn how theatre tickets can be purchased for around 50% off—

or, in some cases, for as little as $3.50 each—

please read Hy on Theatre Discounts.

NYC Comedy Picks for Tonight

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Copyright © 2008 Hy Bender

Email: hy@hyreviews.com