NYC Comedy Picks for Week of November 23, 2009

NYC Comedy Picks for Monday 11/23/09

Comedy superstar Janeane Garofalo (Tell Your Friends) and brilliant silent comic Billy the Mime...

...and genius comics Nick Kroll and Andy Blitz (Whiplash)

Recommendations for the best in New York City comedy tonight

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

6:30 pm & 9:00 pm (no cover, 1-item min.): The perfect show for short attention spans—open mic stand-up with 4½ minutes per set and 25 comics crammed into 2½ hours—at John Morrison's Ochi's Motel

[FREE] 7:00 pm: Stand-ups Pat Stango, Blaine Perry, Ray Marshall, Travis Irvine, Julia Lundy, and Aalap Patel performing at a free weekly show in the Manchester Pub hosted by Phoebe Robinson: Case of the Mondays Comedy

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($10): A spectacular and unforgettable demonstration of the artful power of mime when combined with a wickedly sharp modern sensibility, executed with great wit and style. Street performers have given mime a bad rep; but if you think about it, what mime does is boil a situation down to its essential elements, and then express those elements in a manner that's instantly and universally understood. That's really what art is all about; and that's also what Billy the Mime does, often brilliantly. (For my review of his FringeNYC show in 2006, please click here.) Don't miss this special event at UCBT: Billy the Mime

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): Movie & TV comedy superstar Janeane Garofalo, The Daily Show's Wyatt Cenac, guitar comic Rob Paravonian, and more performing in the Lolita Bar with producer Liam McEneaney at Tell Your Friends

9:30 pm ($5): "A parody jukebox musical that gives new life to the most popular songs of Tupac Shakur. Join us for a romp through all the themes held most dear to Tupac's heart: economic oppression, dreams deferred, and mall food courts" and " Characters! Impressions! Breaking News! Audience Interactions (the classy kind)! Stephen Soroka and Mamrie Hart are Best of Friends, and they are taking their hit Web series to the stage" in 2Pac: The Musical and BoF in This Old Thing

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 11:00 pm: A blowout gathering of some of the most brilliant and hilarious stand-ups in the country—Nick Kroll, Andy Blitz, Pete Holmes, Brooke Van Poppelen, and Sean Patton—hosted by the wonderful Leo Allen (Saturday Night Live, Conan O'Brien, HBO, Comedy Central) at Whiplash

NYC Comedy Picks for Tuesday 11/24/09

Comedy genius Nick Kroll (Punch Up Your Life and Sweet), and TV/film actors & comics Samm Levine and Jason Nash (Sweet)

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): Joe Rocha of top Web film site Atom.com joining in on a lively & hilarious discussion about four-color pop culture at Comic Book Club

8:00 pm to midnight ($5): Four full hours of improv for only five bucks—tonight featuring UCBT house troupes Penthouse Riot, DeCoster, The Law Firm, Bastian, and Scootch
followed by UCBT advanced students improvising a movie—all at Harold Night

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 8:30 pm: Comedy genius & TV/movie star Nick Kroll (I Love You Man, Cavemen, The Life & Times of Tim, The League, Reno 911, Human Giant), wonderful sketch comic & comedic performer Kurt Braunohler (co-creator of Penelope Princess of Pets, Comedy Central), Morgan Murphy (staff writer for Jimmy Fallon), and stand-up comedy icon Judy Gold performing at the Housingworks Bookstore Cafe for a free weekly show hosted by brilliant stand-ups Jessi Klein (Comedy Central, VH1, NBC, CNN, Adult Swim) and Pete Holmes (Comedy Central Presents, VH1's Best Week Ever, ComedyJuice, The New Yorker): Punch Up Your Life

[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($5): Comedy genius & TV/movie star Nick Kroll (I Love You Man, Cavemen, The Life & Times of Tim, The League, Reno 911, Human Giant), comedy genius & longtime Conan O'Brien writer Andy Blitz (also recently a writer for Important Things with Demetri Martin), TV/movie Samm Levine (Neil in Freaks & Geeks, Inglorious Basterds, Entourage), popular LA stand-up & TV actor Jason Nash (House, Reno 911), 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 in Ochi's Lounge hosting guest comics Desiree Burch, Jessimae Peluso, and JC Alvarez at Dykes on Mics

9:30 pm ($5): Stand-up comics who are also TV and/or print writers—and tonight include Hannibal Buress (Saturday Night Live), John Knefel (The Onion), and host Mike Drucker (SNL, The Onion): Writers Room

[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 11/25/09

Comedy geniuses Nick Kroll, Janeane Garofalo, and Anthony Jeselnik are among the stellar performers at tonight's ComedyJuice

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] 6:00 pm to midnight: Six free hours of improvisation in The PIT's Super Free Wednesday

[TOP PICK] 7:00 pm ($5): A hilarious comedic performer trying out her new one-woman show: Jill Donnelly

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($10): Brilliant character performer Kate McKinnon (co-star of Logo's Big Gay Sketch Show) plays five very different actresses waiting to hear which of them won an Oscar (keep an eye out for the old lady, who's one of the funniest characters you'll see this year, anywhere); and foreign-born Greg Tuculescu (member of stellar sketch troupes Quiet Library and Stone Cold Fox, and superb improv troupe The Law Firm) performs a one-man show, in the double-bill Best Actress and F@#&ing Foreigners!

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): A small army of UCBT performers—well, 18 of them, including such stellar talents as Jeff Hiller, Gil Ozeri, and Jill Donnelly—performing an annual improv tradition: The Macy's Day Before Thanksgiving Day Parade

[TOP PICK] [$] [DISCOUNTED] 10:00 pm ($15 online using code LAFF, plus 2-item min.): A blowout monthly gathering of top comedy talent—tonight featuring thoroughly wonderful stand-ups Janeane Garofalo, Nick Kroll, Anthony Jeselnik, Kumail Nanjiani, and host Sean Patton—all performing at ComedyJuice

NYC Comedy Picks for Thursday 11/26/09

Tonight's recommendations for the best in NYC live comedy are sparse,

as most of the usual suspects are dark for Thanksgiving.

If you aren't at home with loved ones, though, there are a few shows to consider:

[$] 8:00 pm ($26.75 & 2-drink min.) A comedy potpourri of stand-up comics who, for whatever reason, are skipping turkey dinner to be on stage making you laugh: Carolines Thanksgiving Day Show

[$] 10:00 pm ($15 & 2-item min.): A stand-up who's performed at Showtime at the Apollo, Def Comedy Jam, and BET’s Comicview bringing along some of his pals to entertain you at the elegant Comix Comedy Club: Drew Fraser and Friends

[$] 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

For this site's typically more extensive listings, please tune in here again on Friday.

Meanwhile...

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

NYC Comedy Picks for Friday 11/27/09

Leslie Meisel (Highly Evolved Human), brilliant improv troupe The Stepfathers, and Charlie Murphy (Headlining at Carolines)

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): A new sketch show from Chris & Rebecca Smith, two members of world-class sketch troupe The Harvard Sailing Team who are married to each other: The New York Smiths

8:00 pm ($10): Nick Ross performing a show about his combating cancer, with a deliciously vibrant and adorable performance by actress Leslie Meisel as a variety of secondary characters (including the cancer itself...); and Ryan Karels (stellar improvisor in troupes Krompf, Decoster, Creep, and more) detailing the travails of riding a bike in NYC, in the double-bill Highly Evolved Human and Don't Honk at Me

[$] 8:00 pm & 10:30 pm ($49.00 & 2-drink min.) One of the most fun characters on Chappelle's Show, and the writer/star of feature film Norbit, performs with comedy friends tonight and Saturday at Carolines: Charlie Murphy's Crash Comedy

[$] 8:00 pm ($40 & 2-item min.) A 1960s comedy icon headlines tonight and Saturday at the elegant Comix Comedy Club: Robert Klein

9:00 pm (no cover, 1-item min.): NYC stand-up comics performing stand-up in Ochi's Lounge at a gay-themed show hosted by the lovely Jenny Rubin: The Back Room

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($10): Some of the finest improv in NYC from the comedy genius members of The Stepfathers

[TOP PICK] 11:00 pm ($5): The last quarter-final round of a beloved annual tradition before the not-to-be-missed semi-finals and finals Saturday night—Pat Baer's 3-on-3 Improv Tournament

[$] 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 11/28/09

Heroic comics Pat Baer (3-On-3 Improv Tournament) and Charlie Murphy (Headlining at Carolines)

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 ($5): John O'Donnell tells lots of comedic stories in his long-running one-man show The O'Donnellogues

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm, 9:30 pm & 11:00 pm ($10 for the entire evening; hang onto your ticket and go to the stand-by line for each subsequent show): The not-to-be-missed two semi-final rounds at 8:00 & 9:30 pm, and the finals at 11:00 pm, of a beloved annual tradition pitting the top improv trios in NYC against each other until one champion emerges at Pat Baer's way fun 3-on-3 Improv Tournament

[$] 8:00 pm & 10:30 pm ($49.00 & 2-drink min.) One of the most memorable characters on Chappelle's Show, and the writer/star of feature film Norbit, performing with comedy friends tonight at Carolines: Charlie Murphy's Crash Comedy

[$] 8:00 pm ($40 & 2-item min.) Wonderfully sharp and vibrant rising star Ophira Eisenberg as the opener, and a 1960s comedy icon as the headliner, tonight at the elegant Comix Comedy Club: Ophira Eisenberg and Robert Klein

[$] 8:00 pm & 10:00 pm & 11:45 ($22 & 2-drink min.) A razor-sharp comic who's performed on HBO, Comedy Central, and IFC headlining tonight at the Gotham Comedy Club: Joe DeRosa

9:00 pm ($5): Organic & energetic improv by the four guys of 4 Track!

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($10): Always fresh and imaginative world-class sketch troupe that uses song, movement, and clever scenarios to turn familiar rituals on their head (for a video about awkward goodbyes at the end of a party, please click here): The Harvard Sailing Team

[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 BECKYD, 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 this August for Outstanding Unique Theatrical Event at the magical Baby Wants Candy

10:30 pm ($5): Vibrant improv from Nick Kanellis & Peter McNerney (Statues of Liberty) and Leslie Korein, who've formed the new troupe Trike

NYC Comedy Picks for Sunday 11/29/09

Lynne Koplitz and Pete Correale headline tonight at the elegant Comix Comedy Club

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] 7:30 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] 7:30ish pm: Typically superb stand-ups performing at a free weekly LES show at Pianos hosted by Greg Johnson: The Comedians

[$] 8:00 pm ($25 & 2-item min.) Star stand-ups Lynne Koplitz (NBC, Comedy Central Presents) and Pete Correale (David Letterman, Comedy Central special The Things We Do For Love, Sirius Satellite Radio) headlining at Comix

[FREE] 9:00 pm: NYC comics Sean Donnelly, Allison Castillo, and Dan Mintz, and Ronald Reagan (80's Sax Attack from Boston), performing in the East Village's Beauty Bar at Vince Averill's & Jesse Popp's free weekly show Beauty Bar Comedy

[FREE] 10:00 pm: Stand-ups Ali Wong, Jessimae, Susan Alexander, and Danny Siegel performing at a free weekly gay-themed show at Therapy hosted by Brad Loekle: Electro Shock Therapy Comedy Hour

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