Please note that these listings are updated frequently. The best way to be instantly notified about new show postings is to subscribe to my BestNewYorkComedy.com blog and allow for email notifications, and/or to follow me on Twitter (@hybender) or Instagram (@hybenderny).
That said, my top NYC comedy recommendations for April 2019 included the following:
Tuesday 4/2: Because there isn't enough strife pitting the living against each other, comics Sam Taggart, Emily Duke, and Mary Kate Doherty roast long-past historical figures and events, ranging from Rasputin to The Beat Generation to The 1968 Democratic Convention hosted by Matt Strickland: The Roast of History (9:30 pm, $12, LES' Caveat at 21-A Clinton Street; take F/J/M/Z subway to Delancey Street/Essex Street)
Wednesday 4/3: If you can edit and might enjoy a part-time job with the New York Yankees (no joke), please visit https://www.teamworkonline.com/baseball-jobs/baseballjobs/new-york-yankees/part-time-editor-publications-1955409.
Thursday 4/4: In this monthly show from Mike Drucker (hilarious stand-up and staff writer for TBS' Full Frontal with Samantha Bee; previously a staff writer for NBC's Jimmy Fallon and Comedy Central's The President Show, and contributing writer for Saturday Night Live), comics read obituaries they wrote for themselves, "honoring the lives they had and making fun of the lives they could have had." Tonight's dying-as-we-speak guests are Anthony Atamanuik (brilliantly innovative comic; star of Comedy Central's The President Show; Trump vs. Bernie, 30 Rock, Conan O'Brien; wrote A Viewer's Guide to Donald Trump for The New York Times; author of American Tantrum), Christi Chiello (Comedy Central's Roast Battle, MTV's Girl Code, TruTV, PBSKids, stellar solo show It's Christi, B*tch!, co-host of Battle of the Divas and White Chocolate), Branson Reese (Cartoon Network), Dan Wilbur (author of How Not to Read; website Better Book Titles; writer for The Onion, College Humor, McSweeney’s), and Joe Rumrill (The Chris Gethard Show; co-host of Cartoon Monsoon): My Obituary Show (7:30 pm, $10, Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell at 27-16 23rd Avenue)
Thursday 4/4: Open mic storytelling show, with each yarn-spinner whose name is picked from a basket receiving 5 minutes on stage, hosted by David Lawson (fresh, sharp, edgy storyteller; The Flyer Guy): The Astoria Bookshop Storytelling Show (7:00 pm, Free!, Astoria Bookshop at 31-29 31st Street)
Friday 4/5: Sean Patton (above right; one of the very finest stand-ups in the country; killer sets on Jimmy Fallon and Conan O'Brien; Comedy Central's Half Hour, Inside Amy Schumer, @midnight, This Is Not Happening, and The Meltdown; VH1, TruTV, IFC, Viceland; feature film Wifed Out; former co-host of Esquire Network's Best Bars in America), The Lucas Brothers (above left; Jimmy Fallon, 22 Jump Street, FOX's Lucas Bros Moving Company, Arrested Development), Shane Torres (fresh, hilarious stand-up; Conan O'Brien, Comedy Central's Stand-Up Presents and Comedy Cellar, IFC's Comedy Bang Bang, stand-up album Established 1981), Dina Hashem (Conan O'Brien, Comedy Central's Roast Battle), and more perform for this seminal monthly stand-up show: Whiplash (7:30 pm, $10, Brooklyn's Union Hall at 702 Union Street; take R subway to Union Street)
Friday 4/5: . Comics TBA pitch the worst money-themed TV series they can think of, only to have them nickle-and-dimed by a panel of TV exec judges, in this monthly show hosted by Ned Ehrbar: Bad Pitches (8:30 pm, Free!, Crystal Lake Brooklyn at 647 Grand Street; take L subway to Brooklyn's Lorimer Street or Graham Avenue)
Friday 4/5: Host Chris Gersbeck screens a "cheesy" porn movie and comics Kat Burdick (Moth Grandslam champion; webseries KCK), Jacob Williams (Stephen Colbert, Adam Devine's House Party, America's Got Talent), Jenn Wehrung (this show's producer; BBC), and Matt Fishman riff on it MST3K-style: Soft Core! (11:30 pm, $10, Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell at 27-16 23rd Avenue)
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Saturday 4/6: A top musical improv troupe that has wowed audiences around the world with its skill at making up an hour-long musical moment by moment. The plot and characters, the musical accompaniment, even the song lyrics and "choreography" are invented on the spot, with no pre-planned structure, by such ace talents as Becky Drysdale, Zack Willis, Katy Barry, Caroline Martin, Amber Ruffin, Tim Sniffen, and Jeff Hiller, plus stellar improv musicians Dan Reitz (keyboards) & Sarah Mullins (drums/percussion). Come see why this show won a FringeNYC Award for Outstanding Unique Theatrical Event: Baby Wants Candy (10:30 pm, $14, UCB Hell's Kitchen at 555 West 42nd Street)
Saturday 4/6 (also 4/13, 4/20 & 4/27): A highly talented freestyle rapping long form improv group takes the stage for an hour: North Coast (9:00 pm, $12, The PIT Underground at 123 East 24th Street)
Monday 4/8: "We're lowering our skirts & raising our standards because we’ve had it! Apparently our frantic loneliness has obliterated our standards, so we’re taking back to reigns. This month we’re taking a deep dive into our dating fails to see where we went wrong. We’ll be joined by breakup coach Chelsea Leigh Trescott, who will help us see ourselves in a new light and higher worth. So throw on your diamonds & pearls and join us for the highest caliber of self-deprecating humor" hosted by Claire Burns & Jessie Jolles: No Such Thing as Love: Dating Fails (7:00 pm, $8, The PIT Underground at 123 East 24th Street)
Monday 4/8: Superb storytellers Ophira Eisenberg (above left; one of the finest comedic storytellers and stand-ups in the country; host of weekly NPR/WNYC show Ask Me Another, author of bestselling book Screw Everyone: Sleeping My Way to Monogamy, comedy album Bangs!; NBC, CBS, Comedy Central, VH1, Showtime), Jim O'Grady (above right; The New York Times, This American Life, WNYC Radio, Moth GrandSlam Champion), and Adam Wade (in Jim O'Grady's hand; two-time Moth GrandSlam Storytelling Champion (2006 & 2009) and record-breaking 20-time StorySlam Champion; album The Human Comedy; for a sampling of Adam's award-winning tales, please click here) tell comedic tales on this month's theme Anger hosted by the wonderful David Martin: The Nights of Our Lives: Anger (9:00 pm, $7, The Magnet at 254 West 29th Street)
Wednesday 4/10: Frank Conniff (TV's Frank on Mystery Science Theater 3000; Cinematic Titanic) hosts an open mic for MST3K-style riffing on film clips of awful movies. Sign-up is open to all, and riffing happens in randomly assigned groups of three, with no advance knowledge of what's going to be screened. Whoever Frank and guest judges decide is best will get to riff with Frank at the end of the night: Frank Conniff's Open Riff Night (7:30 pm, $5 to riff or $8 to just watch, Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell at 27-16 23rd Avenue)
Wednesday 4/10: UCBT comics perform sketches and improv revolving around the final year of HBO's phenom Game of Thrones to prep you for this Sunday's Season 8 premiere: Game of Thrones: The Final Bit Show (9:00 pm, $9, UCB Hell's Kitchen at 555 West 42nd Street)
Wednesday 4/10 (also 4/17 & 4/24): For this new weekly podcast, Dave Hill (@midnight, Inside Amy Schumer, Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, This American Life; host for HBO and Cinemax; host of WFMU's The Goddamn Dave Hill Show; bands Valley Lodge and Diamondsnake; books Tasteful Nudes and Dave Hill Doesn't Live Here Anymore; comedy album Let Me Turn You On) gives his first person account of different periods throughout history, while calling bullshit on most of what Dave's saying are Jim Biederman (previous Executive Producer for numerous comedy shows, including The Kids In The Hall, The Howard Stern Radio Show, The Tom Green Show, I’m With Busey, The Whitest Kids U Know, and The Onion News) and Jodi Lennon (renowned improvisor who's performed at Chicago’s Second City, The Annoyance Theatre, and iO; writer for Billy On The Street, Hulu's Difficult People, TruTV's Impractical Jokers and At Home with Amy Sedaris): Dave Hill: History Fluffer (9:00 pm, $10, Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell at 27-16 23rd Avenue)
Friday 4/12: A show celebrating the app that redefined online dating, with the lovely and quick-witted Lane Moore (above middle; author of superb bestselling book How to Be Alone; HBO's Girls; Sex & Relationship Editor of Cosmo; writer for The Onion, McSweeney's) going on a live Tinder safari for guys while a packed audience watches her every choice with fascination. Offering comments and suggestions are stellar guest comics Aparna Nancherla (above left; one of the very finest stand-ups in the country; co-star of Super Bowl 2019 commercial, Comedy Central's Corporate, and HBO's Crashing; also performed on HBO's 2 Dope Queens, Netflix's Master of None and The Standups, TBS' Conan O'Brien, and Comedy Central's @Midnight and Half Hour; former writer for Seth Meyers; comedy album Just Putting It Out There), .Ariel Dumas (above right; staff writer for Stephen Colbert), and Sally Kohn (author of The Opposite of Hate). This show usually sells out, so I highly recommend nabbing tickets in advance online for Tinder Live (8:00 pm, $15, Brooklyn's Littlefield at 635 Sackett Street; take R subway to Union Street. PLEASE NOTE: This show has sold out online, but there'll be 50+ tickets at the door, so you might be able to get in if you arrive early. Otherwise, or in addition, you can nab tickets to the next show on Saturday May 11th here.)
Friday 4/12: Ziwe Fumudoh (writer for Showtime's Desus & Mero; previously writer for The Rundown with Robin Thede; host of hilarious webseries Baited with Ziwe) invites comics to perform pop songs, preceded by comedic presentations, with tonight's guests Charlie Bardey, Mary Beth Barone, Rachel Joravsky, Rachel Pegram, and Pat Regan: Pop Show (7:30 pm, $10, Brooklyn's Union Hall at 702 Union Street; take R subway to Union Street)
Friday 4/12: Highly talented hip-hop improv group North Coast attempts to create a Hamilton on the spot by making up a musical based on an audience suggestion of a famous historical figure: Anybody: An Improvised Historical Hip-Hopera (9:30 pm, $17 online or $20 at the door, LES' Caveat at 21-A Clinton Street; take F/J/M/Z subway to Delancey Street/Essex Street)
Saturday 4/13: Burlesque, go-go performers, and/or sex workers give you a little T&A, then open things up to a Q&A.to answer your questions about "bodies, fetishes, relationships, and other sex-related subjects off the cuff and on the spot" hosted by Dirty Lola ("sex educator, storyteller, and dildo slinger"): Sex Ed A-Go-Go (7:00 pm, $20.20 online or $22 at the door, LES' Caveat at 21-A Clinton Street; take F/J/M/Z subway to Delancey Street/Essex Street)
Saturday 4/13: Calise Hawkins, Tracy Clayton, Sameer Nameem, and Assanté join hosts Mike Brown & Dillon Stevenson in making fun of a bunch of music videos a la MST3K: Super Video Bros. (10:00 pm, $15, Brooklyn's Union Hall at 702 Union Street; take R subway to Union Street)
Friday 4/19: Storytellers Angela Cobb, Casey McGowan, Randall Otis, and Chris Calogero share cringe-worthy experiences from their pasts hosted by Brendan Busee & Ron Raganella: Shame!: The Not-So-Honorable Comedy Show (9:30 pm, $8, Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell at 27-16 23rd Avenue)
Friday 4/19: Decades before every Marvel movie was an instant classic came 1986 box office and critical disaster Howard the Duck, executive produced by no less than George Lucas. Costing $37 million, the movie made just $15 million domestically; plus it won four Golden Raspberry awards, for Worst Screenplay, Worst New Star, Worst Visual Effects, and Worst Picture. Tonight it'll be screened and mercilessly skewered by comics Frank Conniff (TV's Frank on Mystery Science Theater 3000; Cinematic Titanic; author of How to Write Cheesy Movies and 25 MST3K Films That Changed My Life In No Way Whatsoever), Kat Burdick (Moth Grandslam champion; webseries KCK), Laura Merli (Reductress), and Colin Fitzgerald (Cosmic Castoff). Their cruelty will be contrasted by exceptionally kind host Chris Gersbeck (co-host of Soft Core!, which is essentially a porn version of this show, Casual Sets, and Bunk Bed Time Open Mic): Movies R Dumb: Howard the Duck (11:00 pm, $10, Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell at 27-16 23rd Avenue)
Tuesday 4/23: Aparna Nancherla (one of the very finest stand-ups in the country; co-star of Super Bowl 2019 commercial, Comedy Central's Corporate, and HBO's Crashing; also performed on HBO's 2 Dope Queens, Netflix's Master of None and The Standups, TBS' Conan O'Brien, and Comedy Central's @Midnight and Half Hour; former writer for Seth Meyers; comedy album Just Putting It Out There), Ben Sinclair (creator and star of HBO's High Maintenance), Rob Cantrell (Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central, HBO, VHI, FX's Totally Biased, documentary Metaphysical Graffiti, High Times, comedy album Pure Uncut Joy), and more perform stand-up for host Seth Herzog (long-time staff comic for Jimmy Fallon; 30 Rock, @midnight, CBS, VH1): Sweet (9:00 pm, $14.30 in advance or $13 at the door, Chelsea Music Hall at 407 West 15th Street)
Tuesday 4/23: A love letter to beloved shows such as Pee Wee’s Playhouse and Lamb Chop’s Play-Along, comedians Joe Rumrill and Mary Houlihan invite you to a cavalcade of original costumed characters, animations, and sketches from both real humans and puppet humans" with guests Tim Platt, Steven DeSiena, Petey DeAbreu, Fareeha Khan, Edy Modica, and Francesca D'uva: Cartoon Monsoon (8:00 pm, $10, Brooklyn's Union Hall at 702 Union Street; take R subway to Union Street)
Saturday 4/27: This solo production, which debuted at last year's FringeNYC and is now enjoying a monthly revival at LES' Caveat, starts out pretending to be a scientific lecture about and demonstration of chaos theory.
But it's really a highly interactive show that uses comedy and thoughtfully structured game-play for nudging audiences to explore their wishes and desires, push past boundaries, connect with everyone around them, and be open to anything.
It's all courtesy of writer/performer Jessica Ellen Creane, who cycles between faux-shyly giving illustrated talks about such things as fractals, love, and velociraptors, making herself fearlessly vulnerable, and improvising quick-witted responses to audience choices. For example, when Creane asked me to name a goal, I replied, "writing and selling a movie." She immediately gave me the best pep talk I've ever had, stating beyond doubt that I'd succeed. In gratitude, I added, "I'll cast you in it." Without missing a beat, and fully committing to her scientist character (wearing thick black-frame glasses with no lenses), Creane tossed off, "I'm not good at acting" before moving on to help someone else. That she even thought of that line demonstrates what a superb actress Creane is...and how completely she performs in the moment.
Because this show relies so deeply on interaction, each edition will be different based on the decisions made by you and your fellow audience members. Along the same lines, how much you enjoy it, and genuinely get out of it, will depend heavily on what you bring to it.
For me, it was a **** (out of 4) show. If you come experience this—and you should—I hope you have a wonderful time too; and that it moves you closer to your dreams.
Chaos Theory (9:30, $27.63 in advance online or $30 at the door, LES' Caveat at 21-A Clinton Street; take F/J/M/Z subway to Delancey Street/Essex Street)
Copyright © 2019 Hy Bender
Email: hy@hyreviews.com
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