NYC Comedy Picks for Monday 4/24/17
Genius improvisors Scott Adsit, Tami Sagher, Neil Casey, Brian Stack, and Michael Delaney spontaneously react to being thrust into theatre scenes of plays they've never seen or read; while steadfastly keeping to the script are Broadway, TV, and/or film stars Krysta Rodriguez (NBC's Trial & Error and Smash; Broadway's First Date), Cristin Milioti (FX's Fargo, CBS' How I Met Your Mother, Broadway's Once (Tony nominated), Amy Rutberg (CBS' Bull, Netflix's Daredevil, HBO's Recount), Alvin Crawford (Broadway's The Lion King, Candide, Buddy), and Carla Briscoe (Blue Caprice, Providence), all mixing it up for actor/director Stephen Ruddy's Gravid Water (8:00 pm, $7 (always rapidly sells out of seats, but you can probably get in if you arrive early and are okay with standing), UCB Chelsea at 307 West 26th Street)
More 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—including at 8:00 pm group Poor Melissa, which features superb comics Dana Shulman & Adrian Sexton—at The PIT Underground: Super Free Monday
[TOP PICK] 7:00 pm ($7): A dozen PIT comics—who in the past have included such talents as Katie Hartman, Keisha Zollar, and Sarah Nowak—each have 5 minutes to perform a solo character piece at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): The PIT Character Showcase Hour
[FREE] 7:00 pm: Nore Davis (Inside Amy Schumer, HBO's Last Week Tonight, Boardwalk Empire, Comedy Central's Russell Simmons Presents The Ruckus, MTV) tries out new stand-up material every night through Saturday at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue): Week at the Creek: Nore Davis
7:00 pm ($7): Trio improv group Unicorn Women (Mary Bridget Welch, Virginia Hamilton, and Christine Lawless) host a show about accepting everyone at The PIT Mainstage: We Accept You: A Uni Show
[TOP PICK] [$] 7:30 pm, 9:30 pm, and 11:30 pm ($12 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Some of the finest stand-ups in the country spread among three shows at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane): Comedy Cellar Monday
7:30 pm ($7): A dozen improvisors impersonate a wide range of celebrities doing a fundraising show hosted by "Randy Newman" at The Magnet theatre: Randy Newman's Very Good Telethon
[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm ($10 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Judah Friedlander (one of the quickest minds and finest stand-ups in comedy; 30 Rock, Meet the Parents, Along Came Polly, author of bestselling cartoon book If the Raindrops United) performs a solo stand-up show at the Village Underground (130 West 3rd Street, off Sixth Avenue): Judah Friedlander Live at Village Underground
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($8): Jermaine Fowler (star of CBS sitcom Superior Donuts; star of Showtime special Give 'Em Hell, Kid; MTV’s Guy Code and Wildn Out, Comedy Central, Adult Swim), James Adomian (hilarious, super-charged character comic/impressionist; Trump Vs. Bernie, Conan O'Brien, Jimmy Fallon, finalist on Last Comic Standing; Comedy Central's @midnight, The Meltdown, and Drunk History; IFC's Comedy Bang Bang), Byron Bowers (Adam Levine's House Party, The Eric Andre Show), Nour Hadidi, Ryan Beck, and Ester Steinberg perform stand-up at Brooklyn's Littlefield (622 Degraw Street) guest-hosted by Aparna Nancherla (one of the very finest stand-ups in the country; co-star of HBO's Crashing; former writer for Seth Meyers; Conan O'Brien, @Midnight, Comedy Central Half Hour, comedy album Just Putting It Out There; opens for Tig Notaro; hosts top weekly NYC stand-up show Whiplash): Night Train
[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm ($8 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Wil Sylvince (Comedy Central, HBO, Showtime) hosts an all-star lineup of Ryan Hamilton, Dan Soder, Paul Mecurio, Liza Treyger, Nick Griffin, and more trying out fresh stand-up material at The Fat Black Pussycat Lounge (130 West 3rd Street): New Joke Night
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($7): At the UCB East theatre, an improv show somehow performed in both English and Spanish by bilingual comics—including Charlie Todd and Morgan Miller—that springboards off an interview with an audience member about an experience in a Spanish-speaking country or with a Spanish-speaking person: Fifty/Cincuenta...
...and in the second other of this double bill, singing & dancing improvisors make up a musical on the spot based on an audience member's home town: Fancy Man
8:00 pm ($7): Musical improv at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street) from group Good Catch
8:00 pm ($10): A group of actors and improvisors attempt to duplicate the success of UCBT's Gravid Water by putting improvisors in the middle of classic theatre scenes at The PIT Mainstage. UCBT uses top Broadway and improv talent for its show, making it extraordinary. The participants of this show aren't quite at that level, but the format is so strong that this might work anyway, despite the awful title: The Actor's Worst Nightmare
[FREE] 8:00 pm: Four improvisers form teams with comics they've never performed with before at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' Long Island City: The Kaleidoscope
[TOP PICK] 8:30 pm ($10): Stellar storytellers Elna Baker (bestselling author of comedic book The New York Regional Mormon Singles Halloween Dance; NPR's This American Life; writer for Glamour, Elle; for sample tales, please click here), Katharine Heller (host of podcasts Tell The Bartender and The Struggle Bus; seminal improv group Naked in a Fishbowl), and Gaster Almonte (Comedy Central) share tales of courage and/or cowardice at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Mara Wilson (former iconic child star of Matilda and Mrs. Doubtfire; author of Where Am I Now?; cast member of podcast Welcome to Night Vale): What Are You Afraid Of?
[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($7): Two scripted solo productions featuring multiple characters, with the first a one-man show by Woody Fu and the second a one-woman show by Chet Siegel, all at The Magnet theatre: Chinese Characters and Chewed Up
9:00 pm ($7): Improv teams make up scenes springboarding off 30-second videos they've never seen before at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street) hosted by improv group Ice Cold Milk: Curated Chaos
9:30 pm ($7): Four indie improv groups—My First Tattoo, Just Gravy, The Wrasslers, and Rivals—each make up scenes at The PIT Mainstage: Rivals and Friends
[FREE] 9:00 pm: NYC stand-ups perform at this free weekly stand-up show at Brooklyn's Freddy's Backroom (627 Fifth Avenue) hosted by Calvin Cato (Oxygen's My Crazy Love): Ed Sullivan on Acid
9:30 ($7): House sketch groups The Classic and Bundt try out new material at UCB Chelsea for Maude Night
9:30 pm ($7): Seven sharp female UCB performers create comedy as a fundraiser for Callisto, a nonprofit that creates technology to combat sexual assault and support survivors, at the UCB East theatre: Enthusiastic Consent: A Comedy Show To Stop Perverts
[TOP PICK] [FREE] 10:00 pm: Improvisors & stand-ups perform a show based entirely around the oddball Twitter comments of superstar musician Kanye West at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) hosted by Brian Mitchell & Jose Acevedo: Kanye Confidential: Improvised Kanye Tweets
[TOP PICK] [FREE] 10:00 pm: Dan St. Germain (enormously likeable and rapidly rising star who has several TV shows in the works; Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central Half-Hour Special, The Electric Company, MTV, VH1), Roy Wood Jr. (correspondent for The Daily Show; David Letterman, Conan O'Brien, Seth Meyers, HBO'S Def Comedy Jam, TBS' Sullivan & Son; Comedy Central one-hour special Father Figure), Joe List (HBO, David Letterman, Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central), Emily Galati (Conan O'Brien, Last Comic Standing), Derek Gaines (host of MTV's Broke A$$ Game Show), Nick Youssef (NBC's Animal Practice, host of Occasionally Awesome podcast), Jay Light, and Luz Pazos performing stand-up for this free weekly show at The Stand Comedy Club (239 Third Avenue, off 20th Street) hosted by Aaron Berg (TV series 24 Hour Rental, documentary A Universal Language): Frantic Mondays
10:00 pm ($7): Comedy groups are invited to perform any improv form (except montage) hosted by improv group My Brother's Girlfriend at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Do Something Weird with My Brother's Girlfriend
10:30 pm ($7): Improv is dominated by guys, so this is a rare treat—a dozen female improvisors "for an evening of comedy that will delight men, women, babies, and kittens," hosted by Megan Gray & Christina Dabney at The Magnet theatre: We Might Just Kiss
[MEGA-TOP PICK] [FREE; reservations go quickly, but you can probably get in if you arrive early and are okay with standing] 11:00 pm: Some of the finest comics in the world—who aren't announced in advance, but it's usually a great lineup and often an extraordinary one—at UCB Chelsea hosted by Aparna Nancherla (one of the very best stand-ups in the country; co-star of HBO's Crashing; former writer for Seth Meyers; Conan O'Brien, @Midnight, Comedy Central Half Hour, comedy album Just Putting It Out There): Whiplash
11:00 pm ($7): Short stories are used as springboards for improvised scenes in this improv form created by Louis Kornfeld at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Fact or Fiction
Monday Open Mics & Jams
4:30 pm-7:00 pm ($5 plus 1 drink min., with drinks as low as $2): Walk-in stand-up open mic with two rounds, the first providing 5-6 minutes per set and the second 2-3 minutes per set, at The Grisly Pear (107 MacDougal Street) hosted by Tuval Mor: Kickin It Open Mic
5:00 pm ($5): Two-hour open-mic for 20 stand-ups performing for 5 minutes each, with sign-up online here, at the Stand Up NY Comedy Club (236 West 78th Street): Stand Up NY Open Mic
[FREE] 6:00 pm: Open mic stand-up show that provides each performer who shows up time on stage at The Creek downstairs lounge in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) hosted by Jacob Lie & Stu Melton: Raining Buckets
6:00 pm & 8:00 pm ($5 for both comics and audience members): Open mic stand-up providing 5-7 minutes per comic, with each show running 1 hour and 45 minutes. Arrive 30 minutes before the show you want to be in to get on the signup sheet. This is a fine opportunity to perform at the only comedy club in the East Village: Eastville Comedy Club Open Mic
7:30 pm ($10; sign-up starts at 7:00 pm): Open mic for stand-ups, storytellers, singers, poets, actors, and more, with 5 minutes per performer and 25 slots available, at The Parkside Lounge (317 East Houston Street, off Avenue B) hosted by Nathan P., followed by a raucous afterparty with dancing & drink specials from 10:00 to midnight: Inspired Word's Open Mic Joint
11:00 pm ($5): Open mic stand-up, with each comic getting 5 minutes and room for 15 comics who sign up per show, at The PIT Mainstage hosted by John Field: The Power Exchange
[FREE] 11:00 pm: Open mic stand-up show that provides each performer whose name is pulled from a bucket 4 minutes on stage at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' Long Island City hosted by Joseph Robert: PBR & Scrap Paper Open Mic Stand-Up
[FREE] 11:00 pm: Improv students are welcomed onto the stage at The PIT Underground for this weekly open access show hosted by such improv talents as Gary DeNoia and Langston Belton at The PIT Underground: Base Jam
NYC Comedy Picks for Tuesday 4/25/17
The wonderful Katie Hartman (brilliant, fearless dark comedy writer/performer; sketch groups Skinny Bitch Jesus Meeting and Hartman & Carl, PIT Saturday night improv group Gypsy Danger) & Mark Vigeant host an unofficial benefit show for folks recently laid off from comedy website Seriously.TV, with guests Jo Firestone (staff writer for Jimmy Fallon; radio host of WFMU's Dr. Gameshow, live-on-stage host of The Unexpectashow and The Incredible Game Show Showcase, co-author of #1 bestselling Punderdome: A Card Game for Pun Lovers), Cocoon Central Dance Team (delightful trio of immensely talented comedic dancers/actresses and rising stars Eleanore Pienta, Tallie Medel, and Sunita Mani), Joel Kim Booster (Conan O'Brien, Billy on the Street), Dylan Marron (Ridgefield Middle School Talent Nite, Welcome to Night Vale podcast), Nore Davis (Comedy Central's Inside Amy Schumer, HBO's Last Week Tonight, MTV), and many more: A Serious Benefit for Serious People (8:00 pm, $12, Brooklyn's Littlefield at 622 Degraw Street; take R subway to Union Street)
More 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 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Broadway, TV, and film star Colin Quinn (Trainwreck, comedy national treasure) hones material for a one-man show at The Fat Black Pussycat Lounge (130 West 3rd Street): Colin Quinn: Law Abiding Criminals
[TOP PICK] 7:00 pm-11:00 pm ($7 for the whole evening): In this 4-hour extravaganza, eight singing & dancing improv groups at The Magnet make up musicals based on audience suggestions: Magnet Musical Megawatt
[FREE] 7:00 pm: Nore Davis (HBO's Last Week Tonight, Comedy Central's Inside Amy Schumer and Russell Simmons Presents The Ruckus, Showtime's Boardwalk Empire, MTV) tries out new stand-up material every night through Saturday at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue): Week at the Creek: Nore Davis
7:00 pm ($7): Improv group Honey performs and hosts other groups at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Honey and Friends
[TOP PICK] [$] 7:30 pm, 9:30 pm, and 11:30 pm ($12 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Some of the finest stand-ups in the country spread among three shows at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane): Comedy Cellar Tuesday
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($7): At this monthly game show, Christian Finnegan (co-star of A&E's Black and White; Conan O'Brien; three Comedy Central specials, Netflix special The Fun Part; TBS, VH1, MSNBC, Chappelle's Show, The Today Show), John Thibodeaux (writer for Stephen Colbert), Ally Hord (writer for Seth Meyers), and Mark Gagliardi (The Thrilling Adventure Hour) compete to see who can perform the best celebrity impressions at the UCB East theatre judged by Laura Grey (Dorothy Goes to Hollywood, Crazy Bitch/Crazy Pussy, Faeries, stellar old-time radio style theatrical podcast Horrorgasm, TBD, Klepper & Grey), and hosted by Andy Beckerman (host of podcast Beginnings, co-host of Couples Therapy) & Ramsey Ess: Snap Impression Live
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm [$] ($10.82 online, $12 at the door): Political podcast #WeThePeople goes live on stage to comment on Trump's first 100 days, with Myq Kaplan (one of the quickest minds in comedy, and rapidly rising star; finalist on Last Comic Standing, semi-finalist on America's Got Talent; David Letterman, Conan O'Brien, Seth Meyers, Jay Leno, Comedy Central Presents, comedy CDs No Kidding, Small, Dork, and Handsome, Vegan Mind Meld, and Meat Robot), Corinne Fisher (co-host of popular Guys We Fucked podcast), David Plotz (Slate Political Gabfest), Mike Pesca (The Gist), and more at Brooklyn's The Bell House (149 7th Street): #WeThePeople: 100 Days of Drumpf
[TOP PICK] [FREE] 8:00 pm: Comics creators join super-hosts Alex Zalben, Justin Tyler, and Pete LePage in a lively & hilarious discussion about four-color pop culture at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street), with giveaways of comics and gift certificates: Comic Book Club
8:00 pm ($10): An autobiographical one-woman show by Stephanie Gould about growing up with cerebral palsy at The PIT Mainstage directed by Chris Booth: Walk with Me
[FREE; plus FREE DRAFT BEER 8:00-8:30!] 8:00 pm: Anthony DeVito (Adam Devine's House Party, This American Life), Calvin Cato (Oxygen's My Crazy Love, host of Ed Sullivan on Acid), Alysia Hush, and Janet Hyde perform stand-up at Brooklyn's Two Boots Pizza Williamsburg (558 Driggs Avenue) hosted by Lucas Connolly, David Piccolomini, and Jake Fromm: Ambush Comedy
8:00 pm ($5): UCB house groups Mermaids and Ice Cold Bev make up scenes using the long improv form called The Harold at the UCB Chelsea theatre (see also 9:30 pm): Harold Night, Part 1
[TOP PICK] [$] 8:30 pm ($5 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Ryan Hamilton (one of the finest stand-ups in the country, with consistently fresh ideas and great crafting of language; Stephen Colbert, Conan O'Brien, Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central, Showtime) performs a rare NYC solo stand-up show at The Fat Black Pussycat Lounge (130 West 3rd Street): Ryan Hamilton Doing His Hour
[TOP PICK] [FREE] 8:30 pm: Jennie Sutton (former writer for David Letterman), Ross Hyzer (The New Yorker), Nick Turner (Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers, Comedy Central Half Hour, VH1), and Byron Bowers (Jimmy Kimmel, The Meltdown, The Eric Andre Show) perform stand-up hosted by Joe Pera (hilarious and genius deadpan stand-up; killer set on Seth Meyers; Conan O'Brien, Comedy Central, Adult Swim; for a very special one-minute set at Carolines, please click here; for Joe's Kaufman awards submissions, please click here and here), Charles Gould (Comedy Central), and Dan Licata (The Chris Gethard Show) at Brooklyn's NY Distilling Company (79 Richardson Street; take L subway to Lorimer Street): Dan + Joe + Charles' Show
8:30 pm ($5): Professional clowns perform a silly show in hopes of changing your life at The PIT Underground: An Unapologetic Mess: A Clown Show
[FREE] 8:30 pm (reserve your free spots by clicking here): Typically terrific stand-ups (for the line-up, usually posted by 1:00 pm, please click here) performing at The Irish Exit (978 Second Avenue, off 52nd Street, in the back room) produced every Tuesday by Mark Normand, Matt Ruby, Gary Vider, and Sachi Ezura: Hot Soup
[TOP PICK] 9:00ish pm ($10): Justin Long (NBC's Ed, Galaxy Quest, Going the Distance, Live Free or Die Hard, the Mac in Apple Computer commercials), Josh Gondelman (writer/producer for HBO's Last Week Tonight with John Oliver; Conan O'Brien, The New Yorker), Aasif Mandvi (former correspondent for The Daily Show; appearances in numerous movies & TV shows), Byron Bowers (Jimmy Kimmel, The Meltdown, The Eric Andre Show), and more performing at The Slipper Room (167 Orchard Street) hosted by Seth Herzog (long-time Jimmy Fallon staff comic; NBC's 30 Rock, Comedy Central's @midnight, VH1's Best Week Ever, CBS): Sweet
9:00 pm ($7): An improvised game of Dungeons & Dragons at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): The Campaign
9:00 pm ($7): A monthly stand-up & storytelling show in which comics—who tonight include Kevin Allison (legendary MTV sketch series The State, HBO, Comedy Central, VH1, host of award-winning storytelling show and podcast Risk!, owner of The Story Studio)—are encouraged to hold nothing back at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) produced by Caitlin Brodnick & May Wilkerson: Brutally Honest with Caitlin Brodnick
9:00 pm ($5): Brandon Scott Wolf (contributor to SNL's Weekend Update; Best Time Ever with Neil Patrick Harris), Sydnee Washington (The Unofficial Expert podcast), Wendi Starling, and Mike Lebovitz perform stand-up, plus music from Isabel Hagan, at Ridgewood Queens' The Footlight Bar (465 Seneca Avenue) produced & hosted by Gracie Canaan: Wreck the Joint
[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($7): Aparna Nancherla (one of the very finest stand-ups in the country; co-star of HBO's Crashing; former writer for Seth Meyers; Conan O'Brien, @Midnight, Comedy Central Half Hour, comedy album Just Putting It Out There; opens for Tig Notaro; hosts top weekly NYC stand-up show Whiplash), Zack Bornstein (writer for Saturday Night Live), Hallie Haas (one-woman show Masterpiece Classic: Women in Art), and Usama Siddiquee perform stand-up or sketch at the UCB East theatre hosted by Brian Park in the name of a popular comedy site: CollegeHumor Live
9:30 pm ($7): Sketch duo Two Fake Blondes (Eliza Kingsbury & Jewel Elizabeth) host an hour of character comedy at The PIT Underground: B*tches & Snitches: A Character Show
9:30 pm ($5): UCB house groups By the Book and Fluffty make up scenes using the long improv form called The Harold at the UCB Chelsea theatre (see also 8:00 pm): Harold Night, Part 2
9:30 pm ($7): Improv comedy focused on personal relationships and hosted by a father-daughter duo at The PIT Underground: Daddies Issues
[FREE] 10:00 pm: LGBTQ-friendly stand-up at Queens LIC's The Creek upstairs theatre hosted by Kaitlyn Holland, Elsa Waithe, and Sarah Kennedy: Rainbow Sprinkles
10:30 pm ($7): TJ Del Reno hosts improv groups performing at The PIT Underground: TJ Del Reno's Flying Improv Circus
11:00 pm ($5): Going beyond the classic Harold, group Moose performs whatever type of long form improv it likes at the UCB East theatre: Harold on the Run
Tuesday Open Mics & Jams
5:00 pm ($5): Two-hour open-mic for 20 stand-ups performing for 5 minutes each, with sign-up online here, at the Stand Up NY Comedy Club (236 West 78th Street): Stand Up NY Open Mic
6:00 pm ($3): A chance for gals to get on stage and improvise with veteran female comics at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street) hosted by Blair Silverman and friends: Lady Jam
6:00 pm ($5 for both comics and audience members): Open mic stand-up providing 5-7 minutes per comic, running 2 1/2 hours. Arrive 30 minutes before the show to get on the signup sheet. This is a fine opportunity to perform at the only comedy club in the East Village: Eastville Comedy Club Open Mic
[FREE] 6:00 pm: Open mic for comedy of all types providing 2 minutes for each performer (with sign-up starting at 6:00) at Queens LIC's The Creek upstairs theatre hosted by Tim Unkenholz: Butt Factory
[TOP PICK] [FREE] 8:00 pm: This weekly two-hour open mic storytelling show allows each performer 8 minutes to tell a compelling and funny tale at Queens LIC's The Creek upstairs theatre hosted by Jake Hart and a guest co-host: The Dump
[FREE] 9:00 pm: Weekly open mic for any kind of act (with sign-up starting at 8:30) at Brooklyn's Little Skips (941 Willoughby Avenue) hosted by Joe Crow Ryan: Tuesday Night Open Mic
11:00 pm ($5): Ten stand-ups whose names are drawn from a "golden bowl of destiny" will be given stage time, along with a few invited stand-ups, at The PIT Mainstage hosted by Will Purpura: Bring It
[FREE] 11:00 pm: Weekly walk-in open mic stand-up providing 3 minutes for each comic whose name is pulled from a bucket at Queens LIC's The Creek upstairs theatre hosted by Michelle Slonim: Rapid Fire
NYC Comedy Picks for Wednesday 4/26/17
Tonight's @midnight promises to be especially fun, with long-time NYC comics Ophira Eisenberg and Henry Zebrowski (now in LA), plus comedy legend Maria Bamford and genius host Chris Hardwick, at 11:30 pm and 2:10 am on Comedy Central
Julio Torres (staff writer for Saturday Night Live; Billy on the Street, HBO's High Maintenance, Louis C.K.’s Horace and Pete) hosts a talk show built around him and his friends for one night only: Night Late: Julio Torres (11:00 pm, $5, UCB Chelsea at 307 West 26th Street)
More 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-midnight: Six hours of free improvisation—including musical improv from group Vern (which includes superb singer & comic Julie A. Feltman) at 7:15 pm, such stellar improvisors as Pat Swearingen and Langston Belton in Hero Complex at 8:30 pm, and star instructors such as Dana Shulman, Adrian Sexton, Chris Booth, and sometimes even PIT owner Ali Reza Farahnakian at The Faculty at 10:00 pm, all at The PIT Mainstage: Super Free Wednesday
[TOP PICK] 6:30 pm ($5): Noah Forman & Kristen Acimovic host this new version of game show Jeopardy!, "which already totally rocks. New rules, tweaks, and surprises make it rock even harder, leading three money-grubbing contestants through a gut-busting gauntlet of tough trivia, confounding clues, and emotional soul-searching," with guest comics Connor Ratliff (brilliant improvisor & sketch comic; The Stepfathers, The George Lucas Talk Show), Michael Kayne (improv groups Baby Wants Candy, What I Did for Love), and Diana Kolsky (film Nerve; co-host of Ménage à Trois) at the UCB Chelsea theatre (307 West 26th Street): Better Jeopardy
[TOP PICK] [FREE] 7:00 pm: Phenom journalist & critic Jason Zinoman (covers comedy for The New York TImes) is interviewed about his bestselling new book Letterman: The Last Giant of Late Night by Mike Sachs at the Park Slope, Brooklyn Community Bookstore (143 Seventh Avenue): Jason Zinoman in Conversation with Mike Sachs
[TOP PICK] [$] 7:00 pm ($5 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Broadway, TV, and film star Colin Quinn (Trainwreck, comedy national treasure) hones material for a one-man show at The Fat Black Pussycat Lounge (130 West 3rd Street): Colin Quinn: Law Abiding Criminals
7:00 pm-11:00 pm ($7 for the entire evening): Four hours of improv from eight groups—plus a free improv jam at 6:00 pm—at The Magnet theatre: Magnet Megawatt
[FREE] 7:00 pm: Nore Davis (HBO's Last Week Tonight, Comedy Central's Inside Amy Schumer and Russell Simmons Presents The Ruckus, Showtime's Boardwalk Empire, MTV) tries out new stand-up material every night through Saturday at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue): Week at the Creek: Nore Davis
7:00 pm ($7): Improv group On a Friday performs with guests at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): On a Friday + Friends
[TOP PICK] 7:30 pm ($5): Settle back for an evening of Southern-style tall tales from Kevin Allison (legendary MTV sketch series The State, HBO, Comedy Central, VH1, host of award-winning storytelling show and podcast Risk!, owner of The Story Studio), Jean Grae (famed rapper and comic), Maeve Higgins (David Letterman, Last Comic Standing, co-host of Cool Kids),Shalewa Sharpe (comedy album Stay Eating Cookies), and Will Spann as Pop-Pop, an improvisational storyteller who lets questions from the audience shape his adventures as he tells them, all at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Carolyn Castiglia (Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central, VH1; host of Right Now; for sample of Carolyn as white rapper, please click here): Storytime with Pop-Pop
[TOP PICK] 7:30 pm ($10): The popular political comedy podcast Applying It Liberally goes live on stage to dissect the first 100 days of the Trump administration with hosts Keisha Zollar (HBO's Divorce, Orange Is the New Black, MTV, Comedy Central) & Andrew Kimler (NBC) and guests Dylan Marron (Ridgefield Middle School Talent Nite, Welcome to Night Vale podcast), Allison Kilkenny (MSNBC, The Nation), and Akilah Huges at Brooklyn's Littlefield (622 Degraw Street): Applying It Liberally Live: 100 Days Down
[TOP PICK] [$] 7:30 pm, 9:30 pm, 10:00 pm, and 11:30 pm ($14, plus 2-item food/drink min.): Some of the finest stand-ups in the country spread among three shows at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane) and a 10:00 pm show at Village Underground (130 West 3rd Street, off Sixth Avenue): Comedy Cellar Wednesday
7:30 pm ($5): Extending the improv showcased at UCB Chelsea's Tuesday Harold Night is this weekly show at UCB East which features house groups Horse Girl, Top Heavy, and Judy Big Mouth also making up scenes via the long improv form called The Harold: Lloyd Night
[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm ($10 plus 2-item food/drink min.): A live taping of a terrific weekly Sirius XM Radio comedy show, with stand-ups Dave Hill, Judy Gold, Nick Griffin, Dov Davidoff, Mike Vecchione, and Dave Juskow, plus music from Helio Alves and the Come to Papa Trio, all at the Village Underground (130 West 3rd Street, off Sixth Avenue) hosted by Tom Papa (host of Jerry Seinfeld-produced NBC comedy The Marriage Ref; numerous appearances on David Letterman, Conan O'Brien, Jay Leno; three Comedy Central specials): Come to Papa
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($7): Sharp storytellers Ashley Brooke Roberts, Adam Wade, Matt Dennie, and Louis Katz tell comedic tales on this month's theme Most Passionate at UCB Chelsea (307 West 26th Street) hosted by David Martin: The Nights of Our Lives: Most Passionate
8:00 pm ($7): "King Zebra has a full black cast (including Ray Morency from Off Top, David Bell, and Raquel Palmas), and we want to do an improv show based around the theme 'black lives laughter'" at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): King Zebra Safari
[FREE] 8:00 pm: Young and/or struggling NYC stand-ups performing at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) produced by Meghan O'Malley, Adrian Davidson, and Erick Hellwig: Barely Making It
8:00 pm ($7): A one-woman show by Tahlia Robinson playing "a time traveler, a self-indulgent protagonist, a deal closer, and a charming forgetful matriarch" at The PIT Underground: The Real Bubble Lives of Building 104
[TOP PICK] [$] 8:30 pm ($5 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Michelle Wolf (star stand-up who's also a star writer/correspondent for The Daily Show; previously staff writer & performer for Seth Meyers), Paul Mecurio (Stephen Colbert, Conan O'Brien, The Daily Show, Comedy Central Presents, HBO), Jim Tews (rising star; Louie, Last Comic Standing; host of Homeschooled and co-host of Fresh Out; New York Times bestselling author of Felines of New York; comedy album I Was in Band), Phil Hanley (Seth Meyers, Comedy Central Half Hour, Craig Ferguson, former host of Chemistry), and Emma Willmann (Stephen Colbert, Bravo, Oxygen) perform stand-up at The Fat Black Pussycat Lounge (130 West 3rd Street) hosted by Mike Finoia (Producer for TruTV's Impractical Jokers; host of Jamcast): Hot Seat Comedy Show
[TOP PICK] [FREE] 9:00 pm: Big Jay Oakerson (Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central Presents, Louie, Inside Amy Schumer, HBO, Showtime, MTV, IFC; stellar new comedy album Live at Webster Hall), Dave Smith, Luis J. Gomez, and other NYC comics "discussing the skankier sides of life, love, and stand-up comedy" for this weekly podcast taping at The Creek downstairs lounge in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue): Legion of Skanks
[FREE] 9:00 pm: Ben Hague (Craig Ferguson), Karen Summerton (SNL), Rob Ryan, Fumi Abe, Cate Weinberg, and Wanjiko Eke performing stand-up for this free weekly stand-up show at Lucky Jack's Pub (129 Orchard Street) produced by Lance Weiss & Brendon Fitzgibbons: Gandhi, Is That You?
9:00 pm ($10): This month's theme is Love, featuring an actual first date on stage, loveable puppets, and more from five-guy improv group No Feelings at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue): No Feelings: Love
9:00 pm ($7): Improvisors make up scenes with the lights turned off, using everyday objects to add layers of sound—like a radio play created on the spot—at The PIT Underground: Blackout: Improv in the Dark
9:00 pm ($5): Indie improv troupes perform, plus a final set by host group New Greta, at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): New Greta Has Friends: Indie Improv
[TOP PICK] 9:15 pm ($5): The instructors of UCB's classes include some of the finest improvisors in the country. In this new weekly show a bunch of them get on stage at UCB East hosted by Doug Mo and/or Ben Rameaka: Hot for Teacher: The UCB Faculty Show
[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($7): At the UCB Chelsea theatre, a one-woman show by Hallie Haas celebrating PBS and tits: Masterpiece Classic: Women in Art...
...and in the other half of this double-bill, dynamite comics Aaron Jackson, Brandon Scott Jones, Josh Sharp, Jeff Hiller, and Brian Faas promise "You are going to turn Gay, and you are going to love it:" We Will Turn You Gay
[TOP PICK] [FREE] 10:00 pm: Stand-ups perform—until the audience decides they're done!—at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' Long Island City hosted by Mark Reiss: Slaughter House Live
[TOP PICK] 10:00 pm ($7): This double-bill of one-woman shows begins with Lois Dilivio as "German pianist Olgita von Krakow teaching her last masterclass, as memories of her childhood sexual abuse crack through the surface, revealing both her damage and resilience;" and then Amanda Miller is "15-year-old Kevin sent to Camp Smile Power, an anger management camp, on a plea bargain with the Brooklyn Justice system. His crime? Throwing a rock at Donald Trump’s head" at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Olgita von Krakow's Last Masterclass and Camp Smile Power: Curing Anger One Smile at a Time
10:00 pm ($7): Improv group Pony Danza performs and hosts other indie improv groups at The PIT Underground: A Dog & Pony Show
[TOP PICK] 10:15 pm ($5): The UCB Touring Company consists of some of UCB's finest improvisors who show audiences beyond those visiting UCB's theatres in NYC and LA what improv is all about. For this monthly show, however, the traveling troupe will be strutting its stuff on the UCB East stage: UCB TourCo
Wednesday Open Mics & Jams
5:00 pm ($5): Two-hour open mic for 20 stand-ups performing for 5 minutes each, with sign-up online here, at the Stand Up NY Comedy Club (236 West 78th Street): Stand Up NY Open Mic
[FREE] 6:00 pm: Open mic stand-up show that provides each performer whose name is pulled from a bucket 5 minutes on stage at The Creek downstairs lounge in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) hosted by Kaity Neagle & Irene Hartmann: Ragtag Team Open Mic Stand-Up
6:00 pm ($5 for both comics and audience members): Open mic stand-up providing 5-7 minutes per comic, running 2 1/2 hours. Arrive 30 minutes before the show to get on the signup sheet. This is a fine opportunity to perform at the only comedy club in the East Village: Eastville Comedy Club Open Mic
[FREE] 6:00 pm: Sign up at 5:45 pm for the opportunity to make up scenes at The Magnet with veteran improvisors: Magnet Mixer Wednesday
[FREE] 6:00 pm: Your chance to improvise on stage at The PIT Mainstage hosted by Anthony Velez: Recess
[FREE] 7:00 pm: Open mic stand-up providing 4 minutes per comic. Email PhoningItInMic@gmail.com to sign up, or take a chance at lottery sign-up live between 6:45 and 7:45, at Brooklyn's Halyards Bar (406 Third Avenue) hosted by Lukas Kaiser: Comics Phoning It In
[FREE] 11:00 pm: Weekly walk-in open mic stand-up providing 3 minutes for each comic whose name is pulled from a bucket (but no actual punch or pie, that's just a lure to entice you to come) at Queens LIC's The Creek downstairs lounge hosted by Matthew Tenenbaum: Punch & Pie
11:00 pm ($5): Walk-in open mic that provides 5 minutes per comic, with sign-up at 10:00 pm (maximum of 12 comics, so arrive early), at The PIT Underground hosted by Max Halpert: Awkward High Five Open Mic
[FREE] 11:00 pm: Your chance to perform on stage with experienced improvisors at The PIT Mainstage hosted by Bernard Maynore and/or Patrick Cucuta: Improdome
[FREE] 11:15 pm: Your opportunity to perform on the stage of UCB East with improv veterans: The Improv Jam
NYC Comedy Picks for Thursday 4/27/17
Go out tonight, but set your recording device to the glorious debut of Anthony Atamanuik's quick-witted and deliciously dark impersonation of Donald Trump showcased in this new Comedy Central weekly series airing at 11:30 pm (between The Daily Show and @midnight): The President Show...
...and enjoy a spectacular collection of hilarious film clips and guest movie & TV experts hosted by super-fan Kevin Maher and friends focusing on the magical, arcane, and mind-popping (for a video sampling, please click here): Kevin Geeks Out About Wizards (9:30 pm, $16 [buying in advance is recommended, as this show crammed with rich imagery and ideas usually sells out], Brooklyn's Nitehawk Cinema at 136 Metropolitan Avenue; take the L to Bedford)
More recommendations for the best in New York City comedy tonight (in chronological order, with top picks noted and shows over $10 marked with $) include:
[$] 6:00 pm-9:00 pm ($15): This event aims to "bring together artists of various disciplines and backgrounds and foster a home for intersectional feminism. All proceeds will be donated to the ACLU." Performers include Sarah Kennedy, Chewy May, Abby Feldman, Hann Cowger, Srilatha Rajamani, and Franqi French at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Anita Flores: Nasty Women Unite Fest
[TOP PICK] 7:00 pm ($7): A play directed by the wonderful Langan Kingsley, and written by & co-starring Matt Barats & John Reynolds, about "on the night when the girls ask the boys, it's finally the teacher's turn" at the UCB Chelsea theatre: Sadie Hawkins Day: Love Knows No Bounds
[TOP PICK] [FREE] 7:00 pm: Sandi Marx (Moth StorySlam champion), Robin Gelfenbien (host of storytelling show Yum's the Word; VH1, Sirius, FringeNYC), Calvin Cato (Oxygen's My Crazy Love, host of Ed Sullivan on Acid), and Bill Chambers (Ten Foot Rat Cabaret) performing at this wonderful monthly oddball storytelling show at the KGB Bar (85 East 4th Street, off Second Avenue) featuring such treats as a trivia contest with alcoholic prizes hosted by Leslie Goshko (delightful & razor-sharp storyteller/comic/pianist; WNYC, Sirius XM, Huffington Post, Internet Action Force): Sideshow Goshko
[FREE] 7:00 pm: Nore Davis (HBO's Last Week Tonight, Comedy Central's Inside Amy Schumer and Russell Simmons Presents The Ruckus, Showtime's Boardwalk Empire, MTV) tries out new stand-up material every night through Saturday at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue): Week at the Creek: Nore Davis
7:00 pm ($7): Comics perform solo characters at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street) hosted by Sarah Smallwood Parsons & Brittany McDonald: Perfect Strangers: A Character Show
[TOP PICK] [$] 7:30 pm, 8:00 pm, 9:30 pm, 10:00 pm, and 11:30 pm ($14 per show, plus 2-item food/drink min.): Some of the finest stand-ups in the country spread among three shows at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane), and 8:00 pm & 10:00 pm shows at Village Underground (130 West 3rd Street, off Sixth Avenue): Comedy Cellar Thursday
7:30 pm ($7): Leah Bonnema (VH1, IFC's Comedy Drop, WeTV's Cinematherapy, Logo, Opie & Anthony’s Virus Channel), Joyelle Nicole, Kenice Mobley, and Ryan Schutt performing at UCB East hosted by Sean Crespo, Dan Wilbur, and Katina Corrao: Lasers in the Jungle
7:30 pm ($7): Indie improv group Screwdriverz makes up scenes at The PIT Underground: The Toolbox
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($7): Dynamite musical improvisors including Zack Willis, Aaron Jackson, Lauren Adams, Josh Sharp, Jeff Hiller, and/or more recently destroyed 10 improv groups in a row at Thursday's Cage Match. Come see why audiences can't resist how these superb comics make up stories with songs at the UCB Chelsea theatre: Rumpleteaser: Musical Improv
8:00 pm ($10): NYC stand-ups Tim Dillon, Maria Wojciechowski, Marie Faustin, Joe Glasgow, Rojo Perez, and Guitler Raphael performing at Brooklyn's Dean Street (755 Dean Street) hosted by Brian Erick: Dean Street Comedy
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): Storytellers share their true "coming out" tales, and then improvisors make up either a play or a musical based on each story at The PIT Mainstage: Thank You For Coming Out: An LGBTQ Event
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm-Midnight ($10 for the entire evening): Four veteran house improv groups, indie improv group Eaves, themed improv show Titanic (exploring love stories beyond Jack & Rose that might have taken place during the doomed voyage), and improv competition Inspirado, all for just $10 at The Magnet theatre: The Magnet's Thursday Night Out
[FREE] 8:00 pm: "Comics compete with on-the-spot tweets...and you decide the winner in real time using your smart phone" at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' Long Island City hosted by Shelby Taylor: Like Me
8:00 pm pm ($7): Improv groups Lumbercon, With Wings, and I Swear to God Carol perform scenes springboarding off audience "Throwback Thursday" suggestions—plus characters by Matt Gehring—at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): #TBT
[TOP PICK] [$] 8:30 pm ($8 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Wil Sylvince hosts Judah Friedlander, Joe Machi, Adrienne Iapalucci, Phil Hanley, and more trying out fresh stand-up material at The Fat Black Pussycat Lounge (130 West 3rd Street): New Joke Night
8:30 pm ($7): Attorney Daniel Miller lectures on the 4th Amendment and then improvisors make up scenes based on his legal teachings at The PIT Underground: Drunken Civics
[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($7): Anna Drezen (writer for Saturday Night Live; superb stand-up who blends jokes with characters, movement, and sketch; author of How May We Hate You) Brendan McLaughlin (VH1's Best Week Ever, MTV's Nikki and Sara Live), Kevin Iso (Adam Devine’s House Party), and Heather Thomson performing at UCB East hosted by rising stars Jim Tews (Louie, Last Comic Standing, New York Times bestselling author of Felines of New York) & Ashley Brooke Roberts (energetic, enormously likeable stand-up; writer for Nat Geo and MTV's Guy Code): Fresh Out
9:00 pm ($7): NYC stand-ups Jon Laster (Comedy Cellar), Nick Pupo (Halt and Catch Fire), Zach Sims (MTV), Chanel Ali, Chewy May, Dan Fisher, and Jes Tom performing at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Alex Fleming & John Bilancini: Stand and Deliver
[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($7): The writers of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert gather on the UCB Chelsea stage to perform an all-improvised Alfredo: Late Show Writers Improv
9:30 pm ($7): Stand-up, sketch, and panels discussions based around a single topic (not announced) at The PIT Mainstage: Based On
9:30 pm ($7): Improv from groups Animal Interpol and Top Secret Zoo at The PIT Underground: Animal Interpol and Top Secret Zoo
9:30 pm ($7): Lani Harms hosts interviews, sketch, characters, improv, and/or more at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Late Night with Lani
[FREE] 10:00 pm: NYC stand-ups performing at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) hosted by Dan King: Swamp Thing
[TOP PICK] 11:00 pm ($5): Last week UCB Saturday night improv group Airwolf defeated indie improv group Horse Girl in a relatively close race, 87 votes to 72. Tonight the champion, with two victories, competes with indie improv group Funky Hard Beats for your laughs and votes at UCB Chelsea's raucous Cage Match
11:00 pm ($5): "Improvisers and stand-ups do what they do best...and then switch places to try their hand at what the other does best. Performing to sold out crowds at UCBT-LA, this show is a cross-discipline Cage Match" at UCB East hosted by Boris Khaykin: Impro(vs)tandup
11:00 pm ($5): Improv with feedback at The PIT Mainstage hosted by Matthew Woods & Dan Miller: Improv MD
11:00 pm ($7): Two sitcom pilots are performed in staged readings directed by Nancy Melchert at The PIT Underground: Co-Pilots
Thursday Open Mics & Jams
5:00 pm ($5): Two-hour open-mic for 20 stand-ups performing for 5 minutes each, with sign-up online here, at the Stand Up NY Comedy Club (236 West 78th Street): Stand Up NY Open Mic
5:45 pm-8:00 pm ($5 plus 1 drink min., with drinks as low as $2): Walk-in stand-up open mic with two rounds, the first providing 4-5 minutes per set and the second 2-3 minutes per set, at The Grisly Pear (107 MacDougal Street) hosted by Tuval Mor: Kickin It Open Mic Thursday
[FREE] 6:00 pm: All-gal stand-up open mic at UCB East hosted by Anna Drezen & Sue Smith: Open Michelle: Ladies Open Mic
[FREE] 6:00 pm: Open-mic stand-up with comics' names drawn from a bucket and each chosen receiving 2 minutes—and if that goes well, maybe a hug (but not actual puppies)—at The Creek's downstairs lounge in Queens' Long Island City hosted by Ross Parsons & Trey Galyon: Free Puppies
6:00 pm ($5 for both comics and audience members): Open mic stand-up providing 5-7 minutes per comic, running 2 1/2 hours. Arrive 30 minutes before the show to get on the signup sheet. This is a fine opportunity to perform at the only comedy club in the East Village: Eastville Comedy Club Open Mic
6:00 pm ($3): A weekly improv jam open to the audience in which the number of participants on stage is determined by a roll of the dice at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street) hosted by Jon Monje, Glorillis Tavarez, Trumane Alston, and Julien Darmon: Chance Encounters Jam
6:30 pm ($5): If you're a gal who'd like to try stand-up but are wary of being vulnerable in a tough male-dominated room, this show may be the perfect opportunity for you—an all-female open mic, with the first 15 comics to sign up (starting at 5:50 pm) getting 3 minutes each on stage at The PIT Underground: Ladies Night Open Mic
7:00 pm ($2, which includes a free beer or water): Open mic stand-up providing a whopping 10 minutes per comic. Email PhoningItInMic@gmail.com with subject line Phoning Thursday to sign up; or take a chance at lottery sign-up live between 6:45 and 7:45 at Brit Pack Studios (34 Pell Street, 2nd Floor) hosted by Ian Fidance: Comics Phoning It In
[FREE] 7:00 pm: In this free Magnet show, audience members (signing in at 6:00) can join in with a veteran improv group to make up scenes on the spot: Magnet Mixer Thursday
[FREE] 8:00 pm: A recorded-for-podcast walk-in open mic providing 5 minutes on stage for whatever you want to perform—stand-up, sketch, song—with names drawn from a bucket at The Creek's downstairs lounge in Queens' Long Island City hosted by Mike Mercadal & Will Watkins: Unsung Heroes
[FREE] 10:30 pm: Walk-in stand-up open mic (signup at 10:00 pm) at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Chelsea Condren, Kate Moran, and Kristin Seltman: Late Night Snack Open Mic
10:30 pm ($3): A chance for you to get on stage and improvise with PIT faculty at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Thursday After Class Jam
[FREE] 11:00 pm: An open-mic stand-up show that's first come, first serve, with each comic getting 3 minutes on stage at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) hosted by Matt Anderson: Barf Up the Jokes
NYC Comedy Picks for Friday 4/28/17
An ace stand-up who's the star co-host of Saturday Night Live's Weekend Update; a former correspondent for The Daily Show and staff writer for Saturday Night Live; has also performed on David Letterman, Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers, The Today Show, and The View; and starred in a Comedy Central Half Hour and in Netflix special Michael Che Matters headlines tonight and Saturday at Carolines: Michael Che (7:30 pm & 10:00 pm, $46.50 plus 2-drink min. (buy in advance online, as this is likely to sell out), Carolines Comedy Club at 1626 Broadway)
More 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 ($10): A sketch comedy double-bill from Dinosaur Jones, a group that's "part adventure, part absurdity, and all comedy" and The Executives, a tie-wearing group that leverages physical comedy, all at The Magnet theatre: Dinosaur Jones and The Executives
[TOP PICK] [$] 7:00 pm, 7:30 pm, 8:00 pm, 8:45 pm, 9:30 pm, 10:00 pm. 10:30 pm, 11:30 pm, and 12:15 am ($20-$24 per show, plus 2-item food/drink min.): Some of the finest stand-ups in the country spread among four shows at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane), the 7:30, 9:30, and 11:30 shows at Village Underground (130 West 3rd Street, off Sixth Avenue), and the 8:00 pm & 10:00 pm shows at The Fat Black Pussycat Lounge (130 West 3rd Street): Comedy Cellar Friday
[FREE] 7:00 pm: Nore Davis (HBO's Last Week Tonight, Comedy Central's Inside Amy Schumer and Russell Simmons Presents The Ruckus, Showtime's Boardwalk Empire, MTV) tries out new stand-up material tonight and Saturday at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue): Week at the Creek: Nore Davis
7:00 pm pm ($10): A one-man show by Carol A. Jantsen having fun with motivational speaking at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): How to Help the Self When the Self Needs Help
7:00 pm ($7): Nine-person improv group The Internet Disagrees makes stuff up at The PIT Mainstage: The Internet Disagrees: This is Last Minute But...
[TOP PICK] [$] 7:30 pm ($7): At the UCB Chelsea theatre, "Becky Abrams is determined to go on a date with every boy she can, and you're damn right that she's going to enjoy it while she does:" A Date with Every Boy...
...and in the second other of this double bill, Mark Vigeant springboards off audience suggestions to create and launch a website on the spot: Let's Make a Website
7:30 pm ($10): "Five comics connect their stand-up sets into one giant mutant set" at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Molly Horan: Human Centipede Comedy Show
7:30 pm ($10): Five veteran improvisors make stuff up at The PIT Underground as troupe Lead McEnroe
[$] 7:30 pm ($12): Improv group Bucky makes up one long scene in the same location (a winning form that's helped such teams as Death by Roo Roo win a whole lot of Cage Match victories)—and, when SNL is on break, sometimes includes star Sasheer Zamata (whenever that happens, consider this a TOP PICK)—at the UCB East theatre: Bucky: Thank F#@% It's Friday!
[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm ($16.82 online, $20 at the door—includes free beer and wine): At this special edition of the best sexy NYC storytelling show, the touring company— Anita Flores, Bobby Hankinson, Karolena Theresa, and Jen Keefe—tell tales of erotic encounters gone awry at The Pleasure Chest (1150 Second Avenue, between 60th & 61st Streets) hosted by the wonderful Natalie Wall: Awkward Sex...and the City
8:00 pm ($7): Anna Grace Carter drinks while describing the plot of an actual musical (could be famous or obscure), and then musical improvisors—who typically include Jay Malsky, Henry Koperski, and members of the groups [title of team] and/or Royals—attempt to recreate it based on her semi-drunken details at The PIT Mainstage: Drunk Musical: The Musical
[FREE] 8:00 pm: Will Miles (co-host of Comedy Night at the Knit; TruTV, The Chris Gethard Show; Steve Martin's Comedy MasterClass; comedy album Good Year), Katie Hannigan (MTV’s Inside Joke), Tamer Kattan, Tanael Joachim, Brian Bahe, and Albert Kirchner perform stand-up at the HiFi Bar (169 Avenue A) produced by Gary Levitt & Matt Schwartzer and hosted by Ashley Morris: I Don't Get It Stand-Up
8:00 pm ($7): A play about a high school student finding a genie who can grant three wishes at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Pop Punk High
8:00 pm ($5): A 90-minute variety show featuring stand-up, sketch, improv, and music at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) hosted by Tom Brink & Keele Howard-Stone: Wolf Spirit with Tom and Keele
[TOP PICK] 8:30 pm ($10): Before this Magnet show, audience members may anonymously submit written confessions, secrets, rants, advice and opinions which will be used onstage by the improvisors—who include such talents as Phoebe Tyers and Sebastian Conelli: The Friday Night Sh*w
[TOP PICK] [$] 9:00 pm ($12): Some of the finest improv in the country from brilliant comics Connor Ratliff, Shannon O'Neill, Alexandra Dickson, Silvija Ozols, and/or Michael Delaney forming a seamless and hilarious group mind at UCB Chelsea—the all-star members of The Stepfathers
[TOP PICK] [$] 9:00 pm ($12): Cipha Sounds (Hot 97, Chappelle's Show) thought it would be cool if a hip-hop star told tales and then improvisors made up scenes based on them. This monthly show is the result, with a "secret" music celebrity "mesmerizing the crowd with amazing stories and linguistic darts to spark the creativity of some of the best improvisers in NYC," the latter being Anthony Atamanuik, Natasha Rothwell, Brandon Gardner, Lydia Hensler, Christian Capozzoli, and/or Shaun Diston at the UCB East theatre: Take It Personal: The Hip-Hip Improv Show
9:00 pm ($10): Improvisors Sean Reidy & Sam Jackel first confess "very real things" to each other and the audience, and then use the details to create an entire town of characters on the spot at The PIT Underground: SEAM Presents "The Confession"
9:00 pm ($10): Eight-person sketch comedy group Peephole performs at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Peephole
[$] 9:30 pm ($15): A musical parody of the Star Wars movies with periodic solid moments, and that includes superb comics Rebecca Vigil & Evan Kaufman (Your Love, Our Musical), and terrific singer Tarik Davis (whose "bromance" duet with Evan as Finn & Poe is the highlight of the show). Unfortunately, most of the time the script doesn't quite hit the mark; but if you're a die-hard fan, you might get a kick out of this production playing through May 6th at The PIT Mainstage: Star Wars: The Farce Awakens
9:30 pm ($7): Stand-ups Amanda Baramki, Alyssa Wolf, Chanel Ali, Ashley Bez, and Christian Polanco perform at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Jessica Watkins: Homespun Comedy
[TOP PICK] 10:00 pm ($10): Musical improv group Premiere—which typically features the best improv piano player in the biz, Frank Spitznagel—springboards off an audience suggestion to create a complete story with song and dance at The Magnet theatre: Premiere: The Improvised Musical
10:00 pm ($7): Improvisors make up scenes that somehow involve "the exciting world of hobbyhorse competition" at The PIT Underground: Hobbyhorse: The Exhibition
[TOP PICK] [$] 10:30 pm ($12): Brandon Scott Wolf (contributor to SNL's Weekend Update; Best Time Ever with Neil Patrick Harris), Josh Sharp (superb sketch writer/performer; MTV, IFC's How Shit Works, co-host of Cool Shit/Weird Shit), Adam Sokol (Good Trek/Bad Trek), and Jeff Scheen perform stand-up, sketch, or improv at UCB East hosted by Brandon Scott Jones, Justin Tyler, and/or Alden Ford: Gentrify
[TOP PICK] [$] 10:30 pm ($12): Superb improvisors James Dwyer, Craig Rowin, Connor O'Malley, Matt Fisher, Sue Galloway, Brian Faas, Matt Moses, and Shaun Diston make up scenes about an audience member's legal dispute at the UCB Chelsea theatre: The Law Firm: Law & Disorder
10:30 pm ($7): Superb comics Jay Malsky, Adrian Sexton, and Chris Booth host this musical rebel show, which is designed "to remind you the times in which we are living are not normal. Music has always been on the forefront of every movement, so come enjoy an evening of protest songs from folk to hip-hop while donating to an organization that will resist the 45th Administration" at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): The Underground Cabaret Resistance: Protest Songs
11:00 pm ($7): Comics (not announced) perform at The PIT Mainstage hosted by Ishamail Gaynor: Weirdos and Misfits Comedy Show
[FREE] 11:00 pm: NYC stand-ups performing at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) produced & hosted by Chris Gersbeck, Lauren Hope Krass, and/or Peter Bandyk: Casual Sets
[TOP PICK] 11:00 pm ($7): Singing improvisors who love spy movies create on the spot "a highly confidential musical narrative" based on an audience suggestion at The Magnet theatre: The Agency: Musical Improv For Your Eyes Only
[TOP PICK] Midnight ($7): After nearly six years, Matt Denne & Josh Sharp are closing the curtain on hosting this show together. Helping them bid adieu are Connor Ratliff, J.D. Amato, Hunter Nelson, Molly Thomas, Maelle Doliveux, Three Dogs (Ken Beck, Alex French, Cory Palmer), and a video by Tom Levin, all at the UCB East theatre: Cool Shit / Weird Shit: Final Matt & Josh Show
[TOP PICK] Midnight ($7): Dara Katz & Betsy Kenney host a crazed parody of a dance tournament featuring "amateur (or worse) teams performing choreographed dances" for a rotating panel of comic judges—and you—at the UCB Chelsea theatre: Nationals: An Amateur Comedy Dance Tournament
[FREE] Midnight: Comics present "sure-fire, can’t miss, get-in-on-the-ground-floor, knock your socks off ideas that will not only make a lot of money but will make lives better across the board" and then request your money (whether you give is entirely up to you) at Queens LIC's The Creek upstairs theatre hosted by Ben Conrad & Dan King: Snake Oil
Friday Open Mics & Jams
[FREE] 5:00 pm: Walk-in open mic (signup at 4:30 pm), with 5 minutes per comic, storyteller, poet, or singer, at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Sydney Beveridge & Davey Melch: Queens Open Mic Fridays
5:00 pm ($5): Two-hour open-mic for 20 stand-ups performing for 5 minutes each, with sign-up online here, at the Stand Up NY Comedy Club (236 West 78th Street): Stand Up NY Open Mic
5:45 pm ($5 for both comics and audience members): Open mic stand-up providing 5-7 minutes per comic, running 1 hour. Arrive 30 minutes before the show to get on the signup sheet. This is a fine opportunity to perform at the only comedy club in the East Village: Eastville Comedy Club Open Mic
6:00 pm ($5): A weekly walk-in stand-up open mic at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Friday Night Mics
[FREE] 6:00 pm: An open-mic show on a lottery system (sign-ups happen at 5:45-6:00 pm) at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' Long Island City hosted by Shalewa Sharpe & Courtney Fearrington: Thug Passion
6:30 pm ($3): PIT improv veterans mix with improv novices on-stage at The PIT Underground for Happy Hour
[FREE] 8:00 pm: An open-mic show that's first come, first serve (sign-up starts at 7:30 pm), with each comic getting 5 minutes on stage at The Creek downstairs lounge in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) hosted by Seena Jon: Mic and Cheese
NYC Comedy Picks for Saturday 4/29/17
Aparna Nancherla (one of the very finest stand-ups in the country; co-star of HBO's Crashing; former writer for Seth Meyers; Conan O'Brien, @Midnight, Comedy Central Half Hour, comedy album Just Putting It Out There; opens for Tig Notaro; hosts top weekly NYC stand-up show Whiplash), Jo Firestone (staff writer for Jimmy Fallon; radio host of WFMU's Dr. Gameshow, live-on-stage host of The Unexpectashow and The Incredible Game Show Showcase, co-author of #1 bestselling Punderdome: A Card Game for Pun Lovers), Julio Torres (staff writer for Saturday Night Live; Billy on the Street, HBO's High Maintenance, Louis C.K.’s Horace and Pete), Marina Franklin (Trainwreck, Louie, Jay Leno, Last Comic Standing, Chappelle's Show), Found Footage Festival (hilariously odd amateur videos discovered by Joe Pickett & Nick Prueher), Cocoon Central Dance Team (delightful trio of immensely talented comedic dancers/actresses and rising stars Eleanore Pienta, Tallie Medel, and Sunita Mani), Gary Richardson, Luther Bangert, Joe Bonacci, and Michael Canfield perform at this benefit for the Brooklyn Free Clinic: This Won't Hurt (7:00 pm, $15-$20, The Bell House at 149 7th Street; take R subway to 9th Street or F/G to Fourth Avenue)
More 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] 2:30 pm: A rare daytime stand-up show, providing comics with different challenges each month at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) hosted by Peggy O'Leary & Lindsay Boling: Late Late Breakfast
6:00 pm ($5): Four Indie improv troupes performing at The Magnet theatre: The Rundown
6:00 pm ($7): Brooke Eliot & Christina Friel perform duo improv at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Madonna and Child
6:00 pm ($7): Solo improv by Dion Flynn (frequent sketch comic on Jimmy Fallon) at The PIT Mainstage: Works Well With Others
6:30 pm ($10): A one-woman show by Tahlia Robinson playing "a time traveler, a self-indulgent protagonist, a deal closer, and a charming forgetful matriarch" at The PIT Underground: The Real Bubble Lives of Building 104
[TOP PICK] [$] 7:00 pm ($12): Improv group Women and Men interview audience members about a weird and/or wild birthday, wedding, bar mitzvah, or other social gathering and then make up scenes based on those anecdotes at the UCB East theatre: Women and Men: Party Jumpin'
[TOP PICK] [$] 7:00 pm, 7:15 pm, 8:00 pm, 8:45 pm, 9:15 pm, 10:00 pm, 10:30 pm, 11:15 pm, and 12:15 am ($20-$24 per show, plus 2-item food/drink min.): Some of the finest stand-ups in the country spread among four shows at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane), the 7:15, 9:15, and 11:15 shows at Village Underground (130 West 3rd Street, off Sixth Avenue), and the 8:00 pm & 10:00 pm shows at The Fat Black Pussycat Lounge (130 West 3rd Street): Comedy Cellar Saturday
7:00 pm ($10): Springboarding off the Food Network's Cutthroat Kitchen, this show pits three improv groups against each other by making them meet multiple challenges while encouraging them to try to sabotage each other at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street) hosted by Harry Marker: Cutthroat Improv
7:00 pm ($10): Improv group Big Black Car 2 makes up scenes at The PIT upstairs theatre: BBC2
[FREE] 7:00 pm: Nore Davis (HBO's Last Week Tonight, Comedy Central's Inside Amy Schumer and Russell Simmons Presents The Ruckus, Showtime's Boardwalk Empire, MTV) tries out new stand-up material one last night at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue): Week at the Creek: Nore Davis
[TOP PICK] [$] 7:30 pm ($12): Improv powerhouses Charlie Todd, Jeff Hiller, Jim Santangeli, Natasha Rothwell, Brandon Gardner, Chelsea Clarke, Kevin Hines, Erik Tanouye, and John Timothy at UCB Chelsea interview an audience member about where he or she grew up and then "turn that town's tourist attractions, landmarks, hangouts, local celebrities, urban legends, and more into a hilarious show made up on the spot:" The Curfew: Not From Around Here
[TOP PICK] 7:30 pm ($10): "Created in 1995 at the iO Theater in Chicago, The Armando Diaz Experience is the longest running improv show ever. A guest monologist—who tonight is Chris Duffy—takes a suggestion from the audience and shares true personal tales. These stories are then brought to life by a rotating cast of improv all-stars—and occasionally Armando himself" at The Magnet theatre: The Armando Diaz Experience
[TOP PICK] 7:30 pm ($8): David Feldman (Comedy Central Half Hour, co-creator of The Jack and Triumph Show) debuts this live-on-stage version of his podcast interviewing comics, with tonight's guests Sean Donnelly (David Letterman, Conan O'Brien, Comedy Central Half Hour, Last Comic Standing, MTV) and Pat Dixon (Comedy Central Presents, FOX, VH1, E!, host of New York City Crime Report podcast) at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue): The David Feldman Show
7:30 pm ($10): Improvisors Katie Hammond & Daniel Tepper create a musical on the spot based on a location invented by an audience member at The PIT Underground: What Town? (The Musical)
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($10): Improv groups Gypsy Danger (which includes brilliant comics Katie Hartman and Evan Kaufman, and which will make up a feature film on the spot) and The Baldwins (which includes brilliant comics Micah Sherman and Sarah Nowak) make stuff up at The PIT Mainstage: Gypsy Danger: The Improvised Movie and The Baldwins
[$] 8:00 pm comedy, 9:30 pm music ($25): This fundraiser for immigrant assistance programs features comedy from Dave Hill (one of the most original and hilariously sharp alternative comics in the country; @midnight, Inside Amy Schumer, Ful 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), Matt Koff (writer for The Daily Show), Selena Coppock (Amazon's Red Oaks, VH1, author of book The New Rules for Blondes), Tim Ellis (Onion News Network, FringeNYC; comedic music album Casual Pimpin'), Melanie Martinez (VH1, PBS), Calvin Cato (Oxygen's My Crazy Love, host of Ed Sullivan on Acid), and Becky Yamamoto (Web series Uninspired); plus music by band Modern Beast at 9:30 pm, and an art show by Sally Erskine, all at Brooklyn's Littlefield (622 Degraw Street): No Walls Party: Immigration Rights Benefit
8:00 pm ($5): Philadelphia comics Beth Eisenberg & Ralph Andracchio screen oddball porn clips to kick off interviews with a wide range of people at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' Long Island City: Beth & Ralph’s Porn Stash
8:00 pm ($10): Emmy Blotnick (rising star; staff writer & warm-up comic for Comedy Central's spectacular The President Show; writer for Comedy Central's @midnight, Roast of Rob Lowe, and Not Safe with Nikki Glaser; MTV's Nikki and Sara Live, VH1's Best Week Ever), J. P. McDade, Ali Kolbert, and Craig Friedman perform stand-up at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street) hosted by Will Abeles: Hey Guys!
[TOP PICK] [$] 8:30 pm ($12): Improv group Airwolf—with big talents Molly Lloyd, Tim Martin, Achilles Stamatelaky, Eddie Dunn, Ben Rameaka, and Adam Fruccie—make up scenes about terrible audience experiences related to a home at UCB East: Airwolf: Let's Go Back to Your Place
[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($10): A highly talented freestyle rapping long-form improv group makes up scenes with fierce musical energy at The PIT Underground: North Coast
[TOP PICK] [$] 9:00 pm ($12): An improvised apocalypse from sharp comics John Murray, Sean Casey, Jackie Jennings, Caroline Cotter, Joanna Bradley, David Bluvband, and Zach Cherry at the UCB Chelsea theatre: Goat
[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($10): Sharp improvisors Peter McNerney & Rick Andrews make up scenes at The Magnet as comedy duo Trike
[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($10): A live version of the popular podcast Tinder Tales that provides stories of Tinder dates, dating advice, and fun games, with guests Carolyn Castiglia (Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central, VH1; host of Right Now; for sample of Carolyn as white rapper, please click here), Casey James Salengo, and Maurice Licorish at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by David Piccolomini: Tinder Tales Live
9:30 pm ($10): Improvisors make up scenes of a relationship springboarding off an audience-supplied wedding announcement in The New York Times at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Forever: Improv Inspired by NYT Wedding Announcements
9:30 pm ($10): A 5-man improv group consisting of Matt Higgins, Rory Scholl, Patrick McCartney, Jay Rhoderick, and Nick Balanan organically makes up weird scenes at The PIT Mainstage: Rutger Hauer Players
[TOP PICK] [$] 10:00 pm ($12): A powerhouse group of improvisors—Zhubin Parang (writer for The Daily Show), Michael Kayne (Baby Wants Candy, Diamond Lion), Natasha Vaynblat (one-woman show United Federation of Teachers), Casey Jost (former writer for NBC's Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and TruTV's Impractical Jokers), and Lui Vega—springboard scenes off interviewing an audience member about his or her love life at the UCB East theatre: What I Did For Love
[TOP PICK] [FREE] 10:00 pm: Comics chat about utterly bizarre news stories at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) hosted by Brent Gill: Infauxmation
[TOP PICK] 10:30 pm ($10): Long form improv about the behavior of a theatrical troupe both on-stage and off-stage, revolving around a different show biz theme—which this week is Experimental Theatre Edition—at The Magnet theatre: The Cast: Experimental Theatre Edition
[TOP PICK] [$] 10:30 pm ($12): At UCB Chelsea, improv group Grandma's Ashes—which includes stellar talents Ryan Karels, Morgan Grace Jarrett, Brandon Scott Jones, and more—takes your written secrets and turns them into very funny improv scenes: Grandma's Ashes: We Won't Tell
10:30 pm ($7): Improv group Physically Bold Comedy performs, and hosts stand-up by Alyssa Limperis, and characters by Nanie Mendez and Eric Feuer, all at The PIT Underground: Physically Bold Comedy
11:00 pm ($7): A six-person group sings songs about plants and conquering evil, and also hosts guests, at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Moff Póres Presents The Last Earth Day
[FREE] 11:00 pm: Stand-ups performing at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) produced by Fredric Goldstein and hosted by Judith George: Last Stop Laughs
[TOP PICK] 11:30 ($7): A game show that describes itself as follows: "Ever talk to a straight guy and think, 'Jesus Christ you're boring!' Join gay-ass hosts Dave Mizzoni & Matt Rogers as they gay up the straights through games and trivia. Life lines include one woke woman and a wise queer. Come witness the ultimate test of who Is honorarily Gay As Fuck!" at the UCB East theatre: GAYme Show
11:30 pm ($5): Comics pretend to be infants at The PIT Underground: Babies Night
[FREE] Midnight: "A psychedelic journey through space-time. The stand-ups on this show have seen the other side. They have surfed the waves of consciousness and mastered their superego to a near shamanic level. They are here to guide you on a quest of understanding and wonder. Also, they're going to be tripping balls" at Queens LIC's The Creek upstairs theatre hosted by "the spirit animal of Evan Jones:" The Only One Tripping
Saturday Open Mics & Jams
4:00 pm ($5; your ticket provides $3 off a drink at nearby Pioneers Bar): Walk-in lottery style open mic (sign-up starting at 2:45 pm) at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Swing Riders Open Mic
[FREE] 5:00 pm-7:00 pm: Walk-in comedy open mic (lottery system, with sign-up starting at 4:30 pm) providing each selected comic 4 minutes on stage at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Chris Gersbeck & Veronica Garza: Murray Povich Mic
[FREE] 7:00 pm: Walk-in open mic, with names drawn from a bucket (sign-up starts at 6:50 pm), and a designated beer drinker on stage who might chime in at any moment to riff with you during your set, at Queens LIC's The Creek downstairs lounge hosted by Amy Shanker, Brett Hiker, and Cameron Ford: Power Hour Open Mic
[FREE] 9:00 pm: Walk-in open mic for character bits, stand-up, etc. at Queens LIC's The Creek downstairs lounge hosted by Elise Edwards: Discount Disco
[TOP PICK] [FREE] Midnight: Improv is dominated by guys...and for no good reason. A way to help remedy this situation are shows like this one, which is an open improv jam for any gal wanting to participate, at any experience level, at the UCB Chelsea theatre: The Lady Jam
NYC Comedy Picks for Sunday 4/30/17
My favorite FringeNYC 2016 show (out of over 60 seen) was a production taking place entirely inside a box, written & performed by breathtakingly talented sketch comic/actress/writer/singer Dominique Salerno (for my review, please click here). This amazing production is now enjoying a revival, starting tonight, running Sundays at 8:30 pm through June 11th. Take advantage of this chance to experience The Box Show (8:30 pm, $18, The PIT Mainstage at 123 East 24th Street)
More recommendations for the best in New York City comedy tonight (in chronological order, with top picks noted and shows over $10 marked with $) include:
[FREE] Noon-2:00 pm: The NYC comedy and other performing arts communities gather to discuss surviving, thriving, and taking action over the next four years of a White House adminstration that's increasingly less funny. Plus there's usually free coffee and/or donuts. Join in at Under St. Marks (94 St. Marks Place, off First Avenue) hosted by comedic storytellers Brad Lawrence & Cyndi Freeman: The Underground Service
[$] 2:00 pm ($20): This musical with puppets is a family-friendly and interactive reinvention of the fairy tale The Three Billy Goats that urges the audience to work at improving the environment. Today's performance at The PIT Mainstage is the NYC premiere of Gruff!
[FREE] 5:30 pm & 7:00 pm: Comics screen their short comedy films at The Magnet theatre: Magnet Video Lab
[TOP PICK] 6:00 pm ($8): Aparna Nancherla (one of the very finest stand-ups in the country; co-star of HBO's Crashing; former writer for Seth Meyers; Conan O'Brien, @Midnight, Comedy Central Half Hour, comedy album Just Putting It Out There; opens for Tig Notaro; hosts top weekly NYC stand-up show Whiplash), Joe Pera (hilarious and genius deadpan stand-up; killer set on Seth Meyers; Comedy Central, Adult Swim; for a very special one-minute set at Carolines, please click here; for Joe's latest Kaufman awards submissions, please click here and here; co-host of the Dan + Joe + Charles Show), Rae Sanni (New York Magazine), Zach Sims, Talib Babb, Catherine Cohen, and Steven Markow performing stand-up at Brooklyn's Sunnyvale (1031 Grand Street) hosted by Harris Mayersohn: Just a Show
6:00 pm ($7): Duo musical improv set on a cruise ship at The PIT Underground: Jiji & Viv's Ship of Dreams
6:00 pm ($5): Three NYC improv groups that are independent (i.e., not a house team of any particular improv school/theatre) compete for audience member laughs and votes at UCB East hosted by Lou Gonzalez, Chrissie Gruebel, and Brian Urreta of improv group The Mannequin Room: Indie Cage Match
7:00 pm ($7): Two teams of comics & actors compete for your laughs and votes at The PIT Mainstage, with the only prize being Bragging Rights
7:00 pm ($7): Matt Smith McCormick celebrates The Ellen Show sitcom's coming out-iversary with Kendall Ketchum & Oscar Aydin at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): The Matt Show
[TOP PICK] [$] 7:30 pm ($12) and 9:30 pm [FREE]: UCB Chelsea's signature improv comedy extravaganza, which typically includes superstars in the improv world such as Shannon O'Neill and Anthony Atamanuik, and sometimes network TV & movie stars such as Amy Poehler and Horatio Sanz: ASSSSCAT 3000
[TOP PICK] [$] 7:30 pm, 8:00 pm, 9:30 pm, 10:00 pm, and 11:30 pm ($14 per show, plus 2-item food/drink min.): Some of the finest stand-ups in the country spread among seven shows, with three shows at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane), and the 8:00 & 10:00 pm shows at Village Underground (130 West 3rd Street, off Sixth Avenue): Comedy Cellar Sunday
7:30 pm ($7): NYC stand-ups Gary Vider (America's Got Talent 2015 finalist; for great Conan O'Brien set, please click here; for more jokes, please click here), Doug Smith (Conan O'Brien, co-host of See You In Hell), Sarah Tollemache (Comedy Central), Evan Williams, Mike Lebovitz, and Nina Daniels perform stand-up at UCB East produced by Kara Klenk (writer for MTV's Girl Code & Guy Code and contributor to Broad City) and hosted by Blair Socci (MTV's Ladylike): If You Build It
7:30 pm ($5): Dana Shulman and friends are improv group Student Driver, which hosts two indie improv troupes making up scenes and then performs itself, all at The PIT Underground: Student Driver: Indie Road
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($10): Aparna Nancherla (one of the very finest stand-ups in the country; former writer for Seth Meyers; Conan O'Brien, @Midnight, Comedy Central Half Hour, comedy album Just Putting It Out There; opens for Tig Notaro; hosts top weekly NYC stand-up show Whiplash), Jo Firestone (staff writer for Jimmy Fallon; radio host of WFMU's Dr. Gameshow, live-on-stage host of The Unexpectashow and The Incredible Game Show Showcase, co-author of #1 bestselling Punderdome: A Card Game for Pun Lovers), Giulia Rozzi (Comedy Central's This Is Not Happening and The Jim Gaffigan Show, Chelsea Lately, writer for MTV's Girl Code, VH1, Playgirl Magazine, host of First Set, comedy album True Love), and Rae Sanni (New York Magazine) perform stand-up and then sit down to chat with host Evan Rocha at Brooklyn's C'mon Everybody (325 Franklin Avenue): The Talking Show
8:00 pm ($7): Improv, sketch, and possibly other comedy forms in this variety show hosted by improv group Empress at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Empress' New Groove
8:30 pm ($7): A team of over a dozen improvisors create a complete feature film on the spot springboarding off an audience suggestion at The PIT Underground: Picture Show
8:30 pm ($5): Claudia Cogan (Last Comic Standing, MTV, Logo, here! TV), Lawrence DeLoach, Frank Liotti, and Ayanna Dookie perform stand-up at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Babe Parker & Davey Stevey Dave: Neato Bedito
[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($10): Duo improv from Louis Kornfeld & Rick Andrews at The Magnet theatre: Kornfeld & Andrews
9:30 pm ($7): Improv group Higgins looks at the Instagram photos of audience members and then uses them as springboards for comedy scenes at the UCB East theatre: Higgins: The Instagram Show
[ALMOST FREE] 10:00 pm ($1): This improv show is based on a Mullaney Chain (pioneered by Kevin Mullaney) in which the host invites a guest to improvise with him or her, then the guest independently invites a third person, who then invites a fourth person, and so on, creating a one-time-only lineup that will be a surprise to everyone involved at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street) hosted by Kurt Guenther: The Telephone Show
Sunday Open Mics, Open Stages, and Jams
[FREE] 3:00 pm: An improv jam celebrating diversity in comedy that lets audience members—whose names are drawn from a bucket—perform with sharp improv/sketch group Astronomy Club (which includes Keisha Zollar and Jonathan Braylock) at the UCB East theatre: Diversity Improv Jam
[FREE] 4:00 pm: An unusually early walk-in open-mic stand-up show (put your name in the bucket) at The Creek downstairs lounge in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) hosted by Sam Rose: Bucket! We'll Do it Live!
[FREE] 5:00 pm: Walk-in stand-up lottery style open mic that provides 4 minutes per comic at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Andrea Shapiro & Chris Gersbeck: Bunk Bed Time Open Mic
5:30 pm ($3): Email Michelle Thomas at improv10000hrs@gmail.com to improvise with experienced PIT performers at The PIT Underground: 10K Jam Jam
9:30 pm ($5): Open-mic comedy, with 3-5 minutes per walk-in performer who signs up (first come, first serve) at The PIT Underground, hosted by Will Neville: Amateur Night at the Gemini
[FREE] 10:00 pm: An open-mic stand-up show (sign up is at 9:45 pm) providing 5 minutes for each comic whose name is pulled from the bucket at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) hosted by Ian Kitchen: The Grandstand
[FREE] 11:00 pm: The only open-stage show for entire groups of improvisors and sketch comics, running weekly at UCB East hosted by Austin Rodrigues: Bring Your Own Team: Improv/Sketch Team Jam
Copyright © 2017 Hy Bender
Email: hy@hyreviews.com
