NYC Comedy Picks for Monday 5/24/10
Kumail Nanjiani performs one of his final NYC sets before moving to LA tonight at Whiplash...
..,and the finest & funniest improv troupe in the world
performs one last time
before
returning to Chicago:
The
Improvised Shakespeare Company
6:30 pm (no cover, 1-item min.): The perfect show for short attention spans—open mic stand-up with 4½ minutes per set and 25 comics crammed into 2½ hours—at John Morrison's Ochi's Motel
a
[TOP PICK] [FREE] 7:30 pm: The wonderful Baron Vaughn (before he leaves us for LA), Rory Scovel (who's also moving to LA), comedy giant Sean Patton, and many more performing at a free weekly show in the Manchester Pub hosted by Phoebe Robinson: Case of the Mondays Comedy
[MEGA-TOP PICK] [$] [DISCOUNTED] 8:00 pm ($17 online or at the door with discount code IRCISC): Genius improvisors from Chicago delivering one of the funniest shows you'll ever see by making up a play on the spot using the language and themes of the Bard. This is the finest improv troupe in the world, and one of the best comedy shows of any kind, anywhere. Tonight is the last of a spectacular five-night NYC run, with every evening utterly different from the last. Don't miss this final chance to catch the breathtakingly skilled Improvised Shakespeare Company
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): The wonderful Baron Vaughn (before he leaves us for LA), Amy Schumer (Comedy Central Presents half-hour special), Colin Jost (writer for SNL), Lee Camp, Matt Goldich, and Jennifer Grant—plus musical guests BiPolar Bradley and A Brief View of the Hudson—performing in the Lolita Bar at Liam McEneaney's Tell Your Friends
[TOP PICK] [FREE] 8:00 pm: Hannibal Buress (staff writer for Saturday Night Live), Matt McCarthy (Verizon FIOS guy, comedy CD Come Clean), Jane Borden, RG Daniels, and Paul Mecurio performing stand-up at a free weekly LES show at Pianos hosted by Daily Show producer Adam Lowitt: It Is It
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): Fun political outrage from Chris Hayes (The Rachel Maddow Show, The Nation), Joe Randazzo (The Onion), and W. Kamau Bell (one-man show The W. Kamau Bell Curve at last year's FringeNYC) at Citizen Radio LIVE!
[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): Kate McKinnon, Sarah Claspell, Nicole Drespel, Jocelyn Guest, Veronica Osorio, and Aaron Glaser perform a sketch show written by Leila Cohan and Caitlin Tegart about Smith, our nation's largest women's college; plus real-life married couple James Eason & Jessica Allen, who are both superb veteran improvisors, stretching themselves with a scripted sketch show directed by Rachel Hamilton, in the double-bill This is About Smith and D-Bags, A-Holes & Lovers
[TOP PICK] [FREE] 11:00 pm: Some of the finest stand-up comics in the country—tonight including Kumail Nanjiani (shortly before he leaves us for LA), Hannibal Buress (staff writer for Saturday Night Live), and W. Kamau Bell (one-man show The W. Kamau Bell Curve at last year's FringeNYC)—hosted by the wonderful Leo Allen (Saturday Night Live, Conan O'Brien, HBO, Comedy Central) at Whiplash
NYC Comedy Picks for Tuesday 5/25/10
Breathtaking comics Arden Myrin and Brooke Van Poppelen host a new show focused on female stand-ups: Power Suit...
...plus Theater Geek author Mickey Rapkin (Sweet), Tim Ellis & Matthew Park (Of the Moment), and Janeane Garofalo (Powersuit)
Recommendations for the best in New York City comedy tonight
(in chronological order, with top picks noted and shows over $10 marked with $) include:
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): Comics industry pros join super-hosts Alex Zalben, Justin Tyler, and Pete LePage in a lively & hilarious discussion about four-color pop culture at Comic Book Club
[TOP PICK] [FREE] 8:00 pm: A special all-Jews edition (who knew there were enough funny Jews in New York to fill a whole line-up...), with terrific stand-ups Emily Epstein, Jena Friedman, Amy Beckerman, Gilad Foss, and Ben Rosenfeld performing at Cellar 58 (58 Second Avenue) alongside delightful host Abbi Crutchfield and comedic rapster Andrew Singer: Positively Awesome
8:00 pm to 11:00 pm ($5): Three full hours of improv for only five bucks—tonight featuring UCBT house troupes Bastian, DeCoster, Monstro, Badman, and Robber Baron—at Harold Night
[TOP PICK] [FREE] 8:30 pm ($3): Brooke Van Poppelen (TLC's American Chopper, Maxim and Cosmo Radio, co-host of Powersuit, So-Low Show; popular blogs NYisretarded.blogspot.com and RockBottom; for stand-up videos about overindulging at 30 and impersonating Morrisey, please click here and here), Dan St. Germain (Onion News Network), Nick Turner (Jimmy Fallon, CollegeHumor, co-host of Too Cool for School), Jen Grant (Just for Laughs festival), John Roy (Jay Leno, Last Comic Standing), and "a surprise guest or two" performing at the Housingworks Bookstore Cafe for an almost-free weekly show hosted by Joe DeRosa (HBO, Comedy Central, Carson Daly, Insomniac Tour): Punch Up Your Life
[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($5): Baron Vaughn (in one of his final appearances before moving to LA), Mickey Rapkin and a whole bunch of folks from his new book Theater Geek, and more performing at The Slipper Room for the LES weekly show hosted by the wonderful Seth Herzog (Jimmy Fallon, VH1): Sweet
9:00 pm (no cover, 1-item min.): Delightful stand-ups Leah Dubie and Amy Beckerman hosting Patricia Villetto and other stand-ups performing in Ochi's Lounge at Dykes on Mics
[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): World-class storyteller Tom Shillue, sketch comic Ann Carr, and Ryan Paulson (one-man show I'm Uncomfortable) performing with delightful sketch comedy & musical duo Tim Ellis and Matthew Park hosting Of the Moment
[TOP PICK] 11:00 pm ($5): Movie & TV star Janeane Garofalo, Andrea Rosen (Variety SHAC, lots of TV ads), and Giulia Rozzi (co-host of Stripped Stories) performing at the debut of a new monthly all-female stand-up comedy show hosted by the gorgeous Brooke Van Poppelen (TLC's American Chopper, Maxim and Cosmo Radio, So-Low Show; popular blogs NYisretarded.blogspot.com and RockBottom; for stand-up videos about overindulging at 30 and impersonating Morrisey, please click here and here) and Arden Myrin (Conan O'Brien, Mad TV, numerous other TV shows & films; for Mad TV samples, please click here and here and here): Power Suit
[FREE] 11:00 pm: Free open mic stand-up show that's seldom much fun for audience members but is a nice opportunity if you want 4-5 minutes to test out your comedy material on stage: Bring It
NYC Comedy Picks for Wednesday 5/26/10
Baron Vaughn performing for the last time before moving to become
a TV star in LA (¡Sacapuntas! and
Big
Terrific),
and Wyatt Cenac remaining with us in NYC at The Daily Show (¡Sacapuntas!)
Recommendations for the best in New York City comedy tonight
(in chronological order, with top picks noted and shows over $10 marked with $) include:
[FREE] 7:00 pm to midnight: Five free hours of improvisation in The PIT's Super Free Wednesday
[TOP PICK] [$] [DISCOUNTED] 7:30 pm ($12.89 online if you use code VIPMAY, plus 2-item minimum): Wyatt Cenac and Baron Vaughn join hosts Dan Allen and Ray Devito performing stand-up at the elegant Comic Comedy Club: ¡Sacapuntas!
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): Wonderful stand-ups John Mulaney, Leo Allen, and Rob Cantrell joining host Noah Garfinkel (Joe Mande is out of town...) at Totally J/K
[FREE] 8:30: NYC stand-ups Chelsea White, Bruce Cherry, David Hodorowski, Garry Hannon, and Ahmed Bharoocha performing at this free weekly show hosted by Sharon Spell: Shrink
[TOP PICK] [FREE] 8:30 pm: Kumail Nanjiani and Baron Vaughn—in what may be their last appearances in NYC before moving to LA—performing at this free weekly comedy show at Brooklyn's Cameo (behind Lovin' Cup) hosted by Jenny Slate, Gabe Liedman, and Max Silvestri: Big Terrific
[MEGA-TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): One of the finest comedic storytelling shows in the country, in which brilliant writer/performers—who tonight are Adam Wade, John Flynn, Giulia Rozzi, Jon Gabrus, and wonderful host David Martin—tell tales that are brutally honest and utterly hilarious, with tonight's theme revolving around the immortal words of Vince Lombardi (Show me a good loser, and I'll show you a loser)—"Sore Losers:" The Nights of Our Lives
[$] [DISCOUNTED] 9:30 pm ($12.89 online if you use code VIPMAY, plus 2-item minimum): Two sharp stand-ups headlining at the elegant Comic Comedy Club: Michelle Buteau and Brent Sullivan
[TOP PICK] [FREE] 11:00 pm: Host Justin Purnell (The Colbert Report) providing as many as a dozen guests packed into 75 minutes performing stand-up, improv, sketch, and occasionally acts that defy categorization. The level of talent can vary wildly, but for some (like me), that's part of the laid-back fun; and this is often one of the most amazing comedy shows in town. Come support the experimentation, and periodic magical surprises, that this uniquely organic rollercoaster of a show makes possible—and don't forget to toss $1 in the bucket on your way out: School Night
NYC Comedy Picks for Thursday 5/27/10
Top stand-ups Todd Barry, Wyatt Cenac, and more perform tonight at Comedy Below Canal...
...and the gods themselves will quake with laughter as improv titans Lennon Parham, Gavin Speiller, and more battle at Cage Match
Recommendations for the best in New York City comedy tonight
(in chronological order, with top picks noted and shows over $10 marked with $) include:
a
[$] 7:30 pm ($32.75 & 2-drink min.): A cast member of the much-missed Chappelle's Show headlining tonight through Sunday at Carolines Comedy Club: Donnell Rawlings
7:30 pm ($5): Sharp improvisors directed by James Eason "take an audience suggestion and break it into a million funny pieces," and veteran improvisors play with "elements of monoscene, deconstruction, and La Ronde," in the double-bill The Deconstruction and Sleepover
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): The Emmy-winning writers of The Colbert Report gather on stage to perform an all-improvised show at Seize the Mustard
[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($12): Wonderful stand-ups Todd Barry, Wyatt Cenac, and John Fugelsang performing at 92Y Tribeca: Comedy Below Canal
[$] 9:30 pm ($19.33, plus 2-item minimum): An irresistable stand-up and comedic actor—and the Verizon FIOS guy—performing with some of his superb comic friends (not announced) at the elegant Comix Comedy Club: The Matt McCarthy Stand-Up Comedy Show
9:30 pm ($5): Sketch comedy troupes Pangea 3000, Rue Brutalia, and Adam & Trevor each performing one of their most popular sketches and one of their personal favorites in a fun revue hosted by James Eason & Aaron Kheifets: A-Side/B-Side
[$] 10:00 pm ($31.25 & 2-drink min.) A provocative comedy star who's written for Richard Pryor, Red Foxx, and Saturday Night Live, and performed on Chappelle's Show and David Letterman, headlining through Sunday at Carolines: Paul Mooney
[TOP PICK] 11:00 pm ($5): Two improv troupe titans, Reuben Williams and Death by Roo Roo, will make the heavens shake as they compete for audience laughs and votes at the raucous Cage Match
NYC Comedy Picks for Friday 5/28/10
Spectacular singer/songwriter Adira Amram and unique ventriloquist Carla Rhodes team up for One Night Only...
...and a genius stand-up performs a rare one-hour set at an almost-free show: Sean Patton
Recommendations for the best in New York City comedy tonight
(in chronological order, with top picks noted and shows over $10 marked with $) include:
7:00 pm ($10): "After leaving what she thought was the perfect marriage, Mandy Schmieder now finds herself stuck in limbo. Is it really over? This is her quest to find the answer. Told through the eyes of a band of characters who guide her on this journey through an expressionistic purgatory of..." Separation Anxiety
7:00 pm ($10): An NYC improv troupe, headed by Duncan Murdoch, making up scenes following not only an audience suggestion but the riffs of an instrumental jazz quartet: FACE
[TOP PICK] [$] 7:30 pm ($15 & $15 drink min.): Brilliant, fresh, sexy rising star Adira Amram and "rock 'n roll ventriloquist" Carla Rhodes team up to perform at Brooklyn's Galapagos Art Space (16 Main Street at DUMBO) for One Night Only
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): A rising star who's one of the very finest stand-ups in the country performing a deliciously long one-hour set at Karma Lounge that should really cost $50—but somehow is a mere $5, and should not be missed: Sean Patton
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($10):Two of the funniest and most loveable sketch comics alive, Katherine Bryant and Chris O'Connor (half of sketch troupe Fearsome) team up with also hilarious sketch comics Mike Still (sketch troupe A Week of Kindness) and John Phillips (sketch troupe Trophy Dad) to perform a comedic play about a college buddy returning after 10 years to ruin his friend's life; and sketch troupe Thunder Gulch has fun with American icons ranging from Lucy to Lost, in the double-bill Mace Bacon: The Worst Guy Ever and Pop Culture Apocalypse
[$] 7:30 pm & 10:00 ($35 & 2-drink min.): A cast member of the much-missed Chappelle's Show headlining tonight through Sunday at Carolines Comedy Club: Donnell Rawlings
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($10): A groundbreaking and surreal improv/sketch troupe performing with new guests each Friday and making a valid complaint: Centralia: We Were Supposed To Have Flying Cars By Now
[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($10): Some of the finest improv in NYC from the comedy genius members of The Stepfathers
9:00 pm (no cover, 1-item min.): NYC stand-ups performing in Ochi's Lounge at a gay-themed show hosted by Paul Case: The Back Room
[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($10): Brilliant improvisor Thomas Middleditch (Improvised Shakespeare Company, Baby Wants Candy, The Law Firm) and Matt Oberg (Big Black Car) team up for one night only as improv duo Bergditch 2010
10:00 pm ($7): Singing improvisors who use an interview with an audience member to craft The Made-Up Musical
[TOP PICK] 10:30 pm ($10): In this new show, Thomas Middleditch, Jonathan Gabrus, Sue Galloway, and other superb improvisors make up scenes about an audience member's legal dispute at The Law Firm: Law & Disorder
[TOP PICK] Midnight ($5): Sketch comedy troupes Inside Joke Films vs. Camp Wayne compete for audience laughs and votes in Backyard Brawl
[$] 12:30 am ($31.25 & 2-drink min.) A provocative comedy star who's written for Richard Pryor, Red Foxx, and Saturday Night Live, and performed on Chappelle's Show and David Letterman, headlining through Sunday at Carolines: Paul Mooney
NYC Comedy Picks for Saturday 5/29/10
Singing improvisors (Baby Wants Candy) and improvised puppetry (Stuffed and Unstrung)
Recommendations for the best in New York City comedy tonight
(in chronological order, with top picks noted and shows over $10 marked with $) include:
[TOP PICK] 7:00 pm ($10): Kevin Scott (Centralia) directs a group of actors and improvisors as they mix improv and theatre to Level Next
[TOP PICK] 7:30 pm ($10): Genius improvisor Christina Gausas and friends she originally made in Chicago—which include writers & performers from 30 Rock, The Colbert Report, and The Daily Show—plus a rotating cast of stellar visitors, all joyously declaring Let's Have a Ball
[$] 7:30 pm & 10:00 ($35 & 2-drink min.): A cast member of the much-missed Chappelle's Show headlining tonight through Sunday at Carolines Comedy Club: Donnell Rawlings
[TOP PICK] [$] [DISCOUNTED] 8:00 pm & 11:00 pm ($37.50 online or at the box office using discount code ALIEN): Sharp comics and 80 Henson puppets collaborating on a show that's partly scripted and partly improvised: Stuffed and Unstrung
8:00 pm ($5): Will Nunziata and Jerry Miller performing a two-man sketch show designed as a love letter to the dystopian films of the 70s, 80s, and 90s:" Dystopia Gardens
[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($10): One of the gutsiest and most hilarious troupes in comedy history—and the Cage Match Champion for two years in a row!—genius improvisors Death by Roo Roo
9:00 pm ($5): Organic & energetic improv by the four guys of 4 Track!
[TOP PICK] [$] 10:00 pm ($15): Ted Greenberg (Emmy-winning David Letterman writer) performing a fun, quick-paced theatrical comedy show—complete with audience rides home!—at The Complete Performer
[TOP PICK] [$] [DISCOUNTED] 10:30 pm ($15 both online and at the door using discount code PISANO, otherwise $20): A Chicago-based troupe that's wowed audiences around the world with their skill at creating a completely improvised hour-long musical. The plot and characters, the musical accompaniment; even the song lyrics and the "choreography" are made up on the spot, with no pre-planned structure. Come see why BWC won a FringeNYC Award last August for Outstanding Unique Theatrical Event at the magical Baby Wants Candy
[TOP PICK] 10:30 pm ($10): An all-star improv troupe led by brilliant UCBT artistic director Anthony King: Reuben Williams
10:30 pm ($5): Vibrant improv from Nick Kanellis & Peter McNerney (Statues of Liberty) and Leslie Korein as comedy trio Trike
[TOP PICK] 11:00 pm ($10): Comedy duo Leah Rudick & Katie Hartman, whose production at last August's Edinburgh Fringe Festival was proclaimed "biggest revelation" by the Guardian, performing a new sketch show: Skinny Bitch Jesus Meeting
[TOP PICK] Midnight ($5): Adam Lustick and Billy Scafuri are stellar members of world-class sketch troupe The Harvard Sailing Team; and they've now branched out to form comedic rap duo Snakes...which recently won the 2010 ECNY Award for Best Musical Group! Check out their debut album, which can be downloaded from BillyandAdam.com, and then join them and their delightfully unusual guests at Snakes: FutureSex/LoveSnakes
[$] 12:30 am ($31.25 & 2-drink min.) A provocative comedy star who's written for Richard Pryor, Red Foxx, and Saturday Night Live, and performed on Chappelle's Show and David Letterman, headlining through Sunday at Carolines: Paul Mooney
NYC Comedy Picks for Sunday 5/30/10
Michelle Buteau (Electro Shock Therapy Comedy Hour) and Matt McCarthy (Beauty Bar Comedy)
Recommendations for the best in New York City comedy tonight
(in chronological order, with top picks noted and shows over $10 marked with $) include:
[$] 7:30 pm ($35 & 2-drink min.): A cast member of the much-missed Chappelle's Show headlining tonight through Sunday at Carolines Comedy Club: Donnell Rawlings
[TOP PICK] 7:30 pm ($10) and 9:30 pm [FREE]: UCBT's signature improv comedy extravaganza, which typically includes stars in the improv world, and sometimes even TV & movie stars such as Amy Poehler and Horatio Sanz: ASSSCAT 3000
[FREE] 8:00 pm: NYC comics Ben Kronberg, Charlie Gaeta, Ben Kissel, Grant Gordon, Dan Cartwright, and Dan Enfield performing at RG Daniels' free weekly show at the Three of Cups East Village lounge: Sunday Night Stand-Up
[TOP PICK] [FREE] 9:00 pm: Razor-sharp stand-ups Brooke Van Poppelen (TLC's American Chopper, Maxim and Cosmo Radio, So-Low Show; popular blogs NYisretarded.blogspot.com and RockBottom; for stand-up videos about overindulging at 30 and impersonating Morrisey, please click here and here), Matt McCarthy (Comedy Central, AMC, Verizon FIOS guy, comedy CD Come Clean), Ben Kissel, John Knefel, and Nick Vatterott performing in the East Village's Beauty Bar at Vince Averill's & Jesse Popp's free weekly show Beauty Bar Comedy
[TOP PICK] [FREE] 9:00 pm: Star Wyatt Cenac (correspondent for The Daily Show), Reese Waters, Dino Vigo, and more performing at Brooklyn's Knitting Factory (361 Metropolitan) guest-hosted by Victor Varnado: Comedy Night
[FREE] 10:00 pm: Michelle Buteau, Keith Price, and Yameneika performing at a free weekly gay-themed show at Therapy hosted by Brad Loekle: Electro Shock Therapy Comedy Hour
[$] Midnight ($31.25 & 2-drink min.) A provocative comedy star who's written for Richard Pryor, Red Foxx, and Saturday Night Live, and performed on Chappelle's Show and David Letterman, headlining at Carolines: Paul Mooney
Copyright © 2010 Hy Bender
Email: hy@hyreviews.com
