NYC Comedy Picks for Monday 10/11/10
UK star Simon Amstell and comedy genius Nick Kroll perform tonight at Whiplash...
...and things are heating up at the now more affordable ($15) and always wonderful theatrical improv show Naked in a Fishbowl
Recommendations for the best in New York City comedy tonight
(in chronological order, with top picks noted and shows over $10 marked with $) include:
[FREE] 6:00 pm: Kevin Allison (legendary MTV sketch series The State, HBO, Comedy Central, VH1, host of award-winning storytelling show Risk!) hosts this free open mic show for storytellers, in which you can put your name in a hat for the chance to tell a five-minute true story...and if it's a good one, possibly be included in Kevin's popular podcasts on the Web: Risk! Storyslam
[TOP
PICK] [$] [DISCOUNTED] 7:00
pm ($15 at the door on $18.50 online with
discount code FISHFAN):
My #1 pick for the 2007
FringeNYC Festival, this
wonderful group of actresses/improvisors portray characters as if they were
in a play, but improvise everything they say and do. The luminous performers
include Katharine Heller, Brenna Palughi, Lynne Rosenberg, Lauren Seikaly,
and Molly Knefel, each of whom is immensely appealing and quick-witted. Further,
they have an intimate, lovely chemistry with each other; and they've all committed
to baring their personal lives, thinly disguised via their characters (hence
the title's Naked). As a result, this is one of the most honest and
nuanced improvised shows you'll ever see.
In last week's show, the gals went
camping, and the "into the woods" experience turned hot when Molly Knefel's
character (who's straight) finally gave in to the insistent flirtations of
Brenna Palughi—with the first few moments of the result appearing in
the photo above. Seriously, how can you not come to see what happens tonight?
This
show used to $35, but I asked if you guys could see it for a
downtown comedy price—and
you can now catch it every week for $15 using code FISHFAN at
the door. Check out some videos of previous episodes here;
and then get in the habit of attending the Soho
Playhouse to experience the always fresh and surprising
Naked in a Fishbowl
[TOP PICK] 7:00 pm ($5): A monthly storytelling show from the wonderful Adam Wade (two-time Moth GrandSlam Storytelling Champion (2006 & 2009) and record-breaking 15-time StorySlam Champion; The New York Times Magazine; host of Real Tales of College; for Adam's award-winning tale of being an NBC page on Conan O'Brien, please click here), with guest storyteller Ed Gavagan and improv illustrator Sharon Spell at Under St. Marks: The Adam Wade from New Hampshire Show: Tales of Life, Love, and Little League
[FREE] 7:00 pm: Brilliant singer/songwriter Shayna Ferm (currently starring in the Thursday night PIT musical Grease 3: Threase), plus stand-ups Justin McClure, Chaunte Wayans, and Josh Homer performing at a free weekly show in the Manchester Pub hosted by Phoebe Robinson: Case of the Mondays Comedy
7:30 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 the Luca Lounge (222 Avenue B off 14th Street)—at John Morrison's Motel Luca
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): Thoroughly wonderful guests Arden Myrin (Conan O'Brien, Mad TV, numerous other TV shows & films; for Mad TV samples, please click here and here and here), Glenn Wool (star UK comic), Andrea Rosen (fresh, hilarious stand-up and brilliant storyteller; Variety SHAC, The Nights of Our Lives), and David Angelo (writer for Jimmy Fallon) performing stand-up in the Lolita Bar for Liam McEneaney's Tell Your Friends
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5 online or $8 at the door): Brilliant and irresistible comedic singer/songwriter Adira Amram, world-class storyteller Tom Shillue, Andy Kaufman Award winner Blaine Kneece, and Australian visitor Zoe Coombs performing at Brooklyn's Littlefield (622 Degraw Street) with sketches and more from NYC comedy royalty Kristen Schaal and Kurt Braunohler: Hot Tub Variety
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): Blowout lineup with Anthony Jeselnik (writer/performer for Jimmy Fallon; Conan O'Brien, HBO, Comedy Central Presents; debut comedy CD Shakespeare), Wyatt Cenac (star correspondent for The Daily Show), Brooke Van Poppelen (brilliant stand-up, writer, and storyteller; blogger for trutV; 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), Mark Normand (Last Comic Standing, co-host of We're All Friends Here), and Greg Stone (Opie & Anthony) performing at Aces & Eights (34 Avenue A, off 3rd Street) for John Szeluga's Not Friday
8:00 pm ($5): Two of UCBT's fine house sketch comedy troupes, Gramps' and Thunder Gulch, trying out new bits at Maude Night
[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): Comedy duo Leah Rudick & Katie Hartman, whose production at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival was proclaimed "biggest revelation" by the Guardian, performing a brand new sketch show: Skinny Bitch Jesus Meeting
[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): Former & current Saturday Night Live writers and performers trained in Chicago do long-form improv at Comiskey
[TOP PICK] [FREE] 11:00 pm: Some of the finest comics in the world—who tonight include Nick Kroll, John Mulaney, UK comedy stsrs Simon Jessi and Adam Buxton, and LA comics Hugh Moore and Matt Champagne—hosted by the wonderful Leo Allen (Saturday Night Live, Conan O'Brien, HBO, Comedy Central) at Whiplash
[FREE] 11:00 pm: If you're an audience member, Monday at 11 should be Whiplash! night (see listing above). If you're a comic who couldn't get booked on Leo's show, though, you can opt to instead practice your skills on this new stand-up open mic hosted by Michelle Wolf and Erin Lennox: Fresh
NYC Comedy Picks for Tuesday 10/12/10
Liz Miele headlines tonight 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 ($5): Jenny Dunne and Rick Andrews improvise a single moment in two characters' lives again and again, exploring three parallel realities, and the difference that a look or tone can make; and a group of improvisors make up scenes focused on one location, in the double-bill The Cascade and Mono-Piece Theatre
[TOP PICK] [$] 7:30 pm ($16.50 & 2-drink min.): A stand-up who's performed on Conan O'Brien, The Daily Show, Comedy Central's Live at Gotham, and the WE Network, and who writes the blog Cats, Comedy, and Candy (for sample cat video, please click here), headlining for one night only at the Carolines Comedy Club: Liz Miele
[TOP PICK] [FREE] 8:00 pm: Glenn Wool (star UK comic), Andrea Rosen (fresh, hilarious stand-up and brilliant storyteller; Variety SHAC, The Nights of Our Lives), Allison Castillo (Comedy Central), and Andy Haynes performing stand-up at Brooklyn's Southpaw Downstairs Lounge DownSouth (125 Fifth Avenue in Park Slope), hosted by the breathtaking Sara Schaefer (Emmy-nominated staff writer for Jimmy Fallon): Get Off Your Knees
[TOP PICK] [FREE] 8:00 pm: An all-gal lineup of NYC stand-ups Leah Dubie (co-host of Dykes on Mics), Phoebe Robinson (host of Case of the Mondays Comedy), Sassy, and Amy Albert, plus sketch troupe The Parodivas, performing at Cellar 58 (58 Second Avenue) alongside delightful host Abbi Crutchfield and comedic rapster Andrew Singer: Positively Awesome
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): Comics creators Bill Plympton (Idiots & Angels), Gabriel Rodriguez (Locke & Key), and Declan Shalvey (Thunderbolts, 28 Days Later) join super-hosts Alex Zalben, Justin Tyler, and Pete LePage in 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 The Opera, Bastian, Badman, Ragnaröck, and Robber Baron; and at 11:00 pm UCBT students studying under improv genius Neil Casey using an audience suggestion to make up an entire move (a la Neil's and Anthony Atamanuik's hilarious Two Man Movie)—all at Harold Night
9:30 pm ($5): Improvisors make up scenes as the characters in HBO's classic cop show The Wire in WireProv
[FREE] 11:00 pm: A breathtaking 40 comics are given 2 minutes each in this rapid-fire open mic stand-up show hosted with wit and energy by Jay Welch: Bring It
NYC Comedy Picks for Wednesday 10/13/10
UK & LA visiting comedy stars Simon Amstell (Do Nothing) and Kyle Kinane (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:
[FREE] 6:00 pm to midnight: Six free hours of improvisation in The PIT's Super Free Wednesday
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): Simon Amstell demonstrates why he's a star in the UK with a sly and sublimely hilarious one-man show that's distinctly different from most US comedy sets, and well worth experiencing: Simon Amstell: Do Nothing
[FREE] 8:00 pm: NYC stand-ups Ray DeVito, Katina Corrao, Jay Bois, Chris Doucette, Cary Prusa, and Subhah Agarwal performing at this free weekly show hosted by Sharon Spell: Shrink
[TOP PICK] [FREE] 8:30 pm: John Mulaney (writer/performer for Saturday Night Live; Conan O'Brien, Comedy Central Presents, VH1's Best Week Ever; for John's great bit on Weekend Update, please click here), Jessi Klein (fresh, unique, deliciously organic comic who's one of the best stand-ups in the country; staff writer for Saturday Night Live; Comedy Central, VH1, NBC, CNN, Adult Swim), Tammy Hart & Zachariah Durr, and Jay Larson performing at this free weekly comedy show at Brooklyn's Cameo (behind Lovin' Cup) hosted by Gabe Liedman and Max Silvestri: Big Terrific
[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): "Pop culture obsessed Billy Eichner takes you on a fun-filled 30 minute journey through his twisted and topical celebrity-fueled world," and Nicole Shabtai performs a one-woman show about "illustrious a 13-year-old socialite and notorious Upper East Side private schooler we all love to hate," in the double-bill Billy Eichner Goes Pop! and Citizen Rothstein
[TOP PICK] 10:30 pm ($5): Kyle Kinane (amazing visiting LA comic in town to tape his Comedy Central Presents special; for video samples, please click here and here), Aasif Mandvi (correspondent for The Daily Show), Andrea Rosen (Comedy Central's Stella; co-host of Variety SHAC), Roger Hailes (Chappelle's Show, MTV, VH1), Ted Greenberg (Emmy-winning former writer for David Letterman; The Complete Performer), and more performing at Arlene's Grocery (95 Stanton Street) hosted by the wonderful Seth Herzog (Jimmy Fallon, VH1): Sweet
[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 10/14/10
Show Business Weekly says "standout music and a genuine absurdity not to be missed:" Grease 3: Threase
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Recommendations for the best in New York City comedy tonight
(in chronological order, with top picks noted and shows over $12 marked with $) include:
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[TOP PICK] 6:30 pm ($5): A grasshopper walks into a bar. The bartender says, "You're quite a celebrity around here. We've even got a drink named after you." The grasshopper says, "You've got a drink named Steve?" A panel of NYC stand-ups and improvisors riff on and take apart jokes like that one in Joke Lab: Dissection of the Joke; plus a second comedy show titled The Interogation Room, all for just five bucks at Spank
[TOP PICK] [$] 7:00 pm ($15): Top comics and comedic storytellers—who tonight are Andrea Rosen, Tim Ellis, Eliot Glazer, Mike Camillo, and Joy Gabriel—joining brilliant sketch comic and storyteller Kevin Allison (The State) to share tales on tonight's theme "In Harm's Way" at one of the finest storytelling shows in the country: Risk!
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 ($8): The thoroughly wonderful comics of sketch troupe Fearsome—Shayna Ferm, Katherine Bryant Flaherty, Alex Goldberg, and Chris O'Connor—are joined by such other immense talents as Livia Scott and Amy Heidt to perform a new comedic musical that's very, very loosely based on a classic Travolta/Newton John vehicle: Grease 3: Threase
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): Simon Amstell demonstrates why he's a star in the UK with a sly and sublimely hilarious one-man show that's distinctly different from most US comedy sets, and well worth experiencing: Simon Amstell: Do Nothing
[$] 8:00 pm ($35 & 2-drink min.): "Pops" on the WB's The Wayans Bros. headlining tonight through Sunday at the Carolines Comedy Club: John Witherspoon
[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($12): A blowout lineup of top comics—Kristen Schaal, Reggie Watts, UK star Francesca Martinez, Jared Logan, and Mike Lawrence—performing tonight at Comedy Below Canal
[FREE] 9:00ish pm: Star UK comic Glenn Wool, Nick Vatterott, Luke Cunningham, Ben Kissel, and more performing stand-up on this weekly show at the Kabin Bar and Lounge hosted by Chesley Calloway and comedy genius Sean Patton (red-hot rising star; killer set on Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central, VH1): Comedy as a Second Language
[TOP PICK] 9:30 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] 11:00 pm ($5): Two vibrant improv troupes, C, C, & E Improv Factory and Tickles, compete for audience laughs and votes at the raucous Cage Match
NYC Comedy Picks for Friday 10/15/10
Breathtaking actress Ashley Wren Collins (The Soul Glo Project) and very special stand-up Brian Posehn (headlining at Comix)...
...and Arden Myrin hosts a blowout lineup of top comics at The Party Machine
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 ($5): In this fun show, 16 musical performers turn an audience member's suggestion into two musical fairy tales that tell what happened from the viewpoint of first the hero and then the villain, with "all the music and magic of a Disney flick...plus the darkness of the Brothers Grimm:" Once Upon a Time
[TOP PICK] 7:00 pm ($10): Marc Bonnée, member of acclaimed sketch troupe Drop Six, goes solo with this show consisting of character bits and one-man sketches loosely tied to the theme of excess: Too...
[TOP PICK] 7:30 pm ($10): Award-winning UK comic and co-star of HBO's Extras performing her one-woman show for one night only at UCBT: Francesca Martinez
[TOP PICK] [$] [DISCOUNTED] 7:30 pm & 10:00 pm ($29 at the door, or $29.13 online if you use code PLAYBILL, plus 2-item minimum): A unique organic talent who co-stars in the Comedians of Comedy tour and Comedy Central's The Sarah Silverman Program, and was a regular on Conan O'Brien, headlining tonight and Saturday at the elegant Comix Comedy Club: Brian Posehn
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): Arden Myrin (Conan O'Brien, Mad TV, numerous other TV shows & films; for Mad TV samples, please click here and here and here) and Lisa deLarios host beatbox genius Reggie Watts and wonderful stand-ups Brooke Van Poppelen, Jon Glaser, Bobby Tisdale, Hari Kondabolu, and more performing at Brooklyn's Union Hall: The Party Machine
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($10): A groundbreaking and surreal improv/sketch troupe performing with new guests each Friday and making a valid complaint: Centralia: We Were Supposed To Have Flying Cars By Now
[TOP PICK] [FREE] 8:00 pm: Anthony Jeselnik (one of my all-time favorite stand-ups; writer/performer for Jimmy Fallon; Conan O'Brien, HBO, Comedy Central Presents; debut comedy CD Shakespeare), UK stand-up star Glenn Wool, award-winning sketch troupe Murderfist, Dan Soder, Neal Stasny, Bobby Miyamoto, Matt Champagne, and many more performing at Brooklyn's Red Star (37 Greenpoint Avenue) to celebrate the 2-year anniversary of hosts Nick Turner's & Neal Stasny's Too Cool for School
[$] 8:00 pm & 10:30 pm ($38.25 & 2-drink min.): "Pops" on the WB's The Wayans Bros. headlining tonight through Sunday at the Carolines Comedy Club: John Witherspoon
[FREE] 8:00 pm: NYC stand-ups not yet announced performing at O'Hanlon's (14th Street off 1st Avenue), hosted by someone not yet announced either (Sachi, where's that weekly email notice...?): Hot Soup
[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($10): Some of the finest improv in NYC from the comedy genius members of The Stepfathers
8:00 pm ($8): Improvised scenes based on the "Missed Connections" section of Craigslist at Missed Connections Two-Prov
10:00 pm ($7): Singing improvisors who use an interview with an audience member to craft The Made-Up Musical
10:30 pm ($10): Jonathan Gabrus, Sue Galloway, and other fine improvisors make up scenes about an audience member's legal dispute at The Law Firm: Law & Disorder
[TOP PICK] 11:30 pm ($5): Dru Johnston, Noah Forman, and Alex Demers springboard off an audience suggestion to improvise an entire silly and energy-charged play in 40 minutes; especially keep an eye on Demers, who has a wild Sean Penn quality that makes you think he might explode into violence or insanity at any moment, adding to the edgy quality of The New Deal
[TOP PICK] Midnight ($5): Wonderful actress/author Ashley Wren Collins, Bill Santiago, Calise Hawkins, Inside Joke Films, and more performing at host Keisha Zollar's comedy variety show featuring stand-up, sketch, improv, video, dance, and music: The Soul Glo Project
NYC Comedy Picks for Saturday 10/16/10
Supernatural comics Chris Gethard (The Chris Gethard Show: Halloween Edition) and Brian Posehn (headlining at Comix)
Recommendations for the best in New York City comedy tonight
(in chronological order, with top picks noted and shows over $12 marked with $) include:
[TOP PICK] 7:30 pm ($10): Genius improvisors Christina Gausas, Scott Adsit, Becky Drysdale, Anthony King, and more—including writers & performers from 30 Rock, The Colbert Report, and The Daily Show—plus a rotating cast of stellar visitors, all joyously declaring Let's Have a Ball
[TOP PICK] [$] [DISCOUNTED] 7:30 pm & 10:00 pm ($29 at the door, or $29.13 online if you use code PLAYBILL, plus 2-item minimum): A unique organic talent who used to be a regular guest on Conan O'Brien, and co-stars in the Comedians of Comedy tour and Comedy Central's The Sarah Silverman Program, headlining tonight at the elegant Comix Comedy Club: Brian Posehn
[$] 8:00 pm & 10:30 pm ($38.25 & 2-drink min.): "Pops" on the WB's The Wayans Bros. headlining tonight through Sunday at the Carolines Comedy Club: John Witherspoon
[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 ($7): Organic & energetic improv by the four guys of 4 Track!
[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($12): This acclaimed 10-year-and-counting sketch troupe has "amassed a cultish following and a cast who blindly throw themselves into the most questionable of onstage situations, bless their black little hearts....join them for a hilariously unsettling look at growing older, having children, killing your dreams, and settling." For examples of the troupe's work, please click here and here, and then come see Spurn
[TOP PICK] [$] 10:00 pm ($15): Ted Greenberg (Emmy-winning David Letterman writer) performing a fun, fast-paced theatrical comedy show—complete with audience interaction and audience rides home!—at The Complete Performer
10:00 pm ($10): Jena Friedman revives her dark musical comedic parody of the American Girl Dolls, which includes such brilliant talents from the NYC comedy community as Jessica Delfino, Ben Lerman, and Jena herself at Theatre 80 (80 St. Marks Place off 1st Avenue): The Refugee Girls Revue
[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): Hilarious sketch duo Chris O'Neill and Paul Valenti describe themselves as "vaudeville gold for a 2010 crowd." Whatever. They're funny. Especially the bit with the nose. Come catch their latest material tonight at The Chris and Paul Show
[TOP PICK] Midnight ($5): A comedy genius, and star of the Comedy Central sitcom Big Lake, hosting his own extravaganza—which goes beyond a stage show to have the makings of a hit MTV series—with tonight focused on Halloween-type spookiness: The Chris Gethard Show: Halloween Edition
NYC Comedy Picks for Sunday 10/17/10
Visiting UK comics Glenn Wool and Tom Allen perform tonight at Brooklyn's Tearing the Veil of Maya
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] 6:30 pm ($5): Storyteller and science nerd Ben Lillie debuts a one-man show in which he "attempts to navigate the world of dating with an eye to the large scale structure of The Universe:"Elliptical Orbits
[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
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($7): Reggie Watts (musical improv comedy genius; Comedy Central special; Jimmy Fallon; Electric Company; Conan O'Brien's Legally Prohibited tour; for video samples, please click here), Glenn Wool (superb UK comedy star), and Tom Allen (award-winning UK comic) performing at Brooklyn's Union Hall hosted by comedy giant Eugene Mirman: Tearing the Veil of Maya
[$] 8:00 pm ($35 & 2-drink min.): "Pops" on the WB's The Wayans Bros. headlining at the Carolines Comedy Club: John Witherspoon
[FREE] 8:00 pm: Phil Hanley (Jay Leno), Jordan Carlos (The Colbert Report, Comedy Central's Live At Gotham), Mike Pomranz (writer for Comedy Central's Tosh 2.0), Beth Stelling (TBS' Live from the LOL Lounge), and Kate Berlant 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: Rory Scovel (up-and-coming stand-up worth catching; Comedy Central), Phil Hanley (Jay Leno), Josh Guarino, and Erik Bergstrom performing stand-up in the East Village's Beauty Bar at Vince Averill's & Jesse Popp's free weekly show Beauty Bar Comedy
[FREE] 9:00 pm: Typically superb stand-ups (tonight's lineup not yet announced) performing at Brooklyn's Knitting Factory (361 Metropolitan) typically hosted by Hannibal Buress: Comedy Night
[FREE] 10:00 pm: Allison Castillo (Comedy Central), Adam Lehman (Here! TV’s Hot Gay Comics), and Frank Lotti (Law & Order, Gossip Girl) performing stand-up at this free weekly gay-themed show at Therapy hosted by Brad Loekle: Electro Shock Therapy Comedy Hour
Copyright © 2010 Hy Bender
Email: hy@hyreviews.com
