NYC Comedy Picks for Monday 4/4/16
If you're funny and a talented writer, consider submitting a short story to my fiction anthology Ghosts on Drugs. I have hundreds of submissions from fantasy/SF/horror writers, but almost no comics; and this is a great opportunity to land a prestigious book credit, plus upfront pay and a share of the royalties. Full details are here.
Hilarious character comic Katie Hartman (half of Skinny Bitch Jesus Meeting, frequently collaborates with David Carl) performs a one-woman sketch show in which she manages the difficult feat of being over-the-top and beautifully vulnerable at the same time. Come experience this brilliant rising star in her most fearless show to date: The Onion Show (7:00 pm, $5, The PIT Upstairs Theatre 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] 6:00 pm to midnight: Six free hours of improvisation at The PIT downstairs lounge: Super Free Monday
7:00 pm ($5): Women are 50% of the population but receive only about 12% of the top movie roles. This show addresses that by flipping gender roles and letting actresses be the stars in famous movie scenes at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): The Boss Will See You Now
[TOP PICK] [$] 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): Sketch comedy from two sharp house groups at The Magnet theatre: Magnet Sketch Teams
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($15; no min.): Gary Gulman hosts a dozen stand-ups trying their best to make you laugh as they audition to perform a set on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno at The Stand Comedy Club (239 Third Avenue, off 20th Street): The Tonight Show Stand-Up Auditions
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): "Bob Eimicke, a 62 year old lawyer and father who has zero comedy experience, converted from Catholicism to Judaism in order to marry his Jewish wife...and his son is making him talk about it on stage. Everyone's going to have a great time, except for Bob" at the UCB Chelsea theatre: My Dad Dumped Jesus...
..and in the second half of this double-bill, sketch group One Idiot performs the parody Tennessee Williams' "What The Horse Saw"
[TOP PICK] 8:00 ($5): TV & movie star Janeane Garofalo, Jonathan Braylock (Broad City, The Jim Gaffigan Show), and an interview with Mike Bento (#BlackLivesMatter, Unite Against Fascism) at UCB East hosted by Nat Townsen: Downtown Variety Hour
8:00 pm ($8): Liza Treyger, Justin WIlliams, David Angelo, Ryan Beck, and more performing stand-up at Brooklyn's Littlefield (622 Degraw Street) guest-hosted by Jean Grae: Night Train
8:00 pm ($5): Producers, writers, and other staff members of TruTV show Impractical Jokers improvise scenes at The PIT upstairs theatre: Impractical Jokers Staff Infection
[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 ($5): Frank Conniff (TV's Frank on Mystery Science Theater 3000) hosts as "Moodsy, the Clinically Depressed Owl showing weird/crappy old cartoons in between sets," with guests Liz Miele, Lucas Connelly, Melissa Stokowski, and Harmon Leon at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue). Described by Patton Oswalt as "like a kid's show done in Bosnia," it's Frank Conniff's Cartoon Dump
[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($5): "Adrian Sexton is a woman who's heard 'Yo, Adrian!' throughout her entire life, but it was only recently that she became obsessed with the Rocky franchise. Over the past few months she has had in-depth discussions about the films with a bunch of guys in The PIT community, so she decided to bring them all together to discuss the characters, talk about the controversy of Creed being snubbed by the Academy Awards, women (or lack thereof) in the films, the fights and—of course—the montages! Don't be a bum! Go the distance and get to" The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Yo, Adrian!: A Rocky Balboa Symposium
9:00 pm ($7): Talented comics perform solo characters at The Magnet theatre hosted by Ari Miller & Elena Skopeto: Character Bash
9:30 ($5): House sketch groups Charles and Nipsey try out new material at UCB Chelsea for Maude Night
9:30 pm ($5): A hip-hop musical parody of Orange is the New Black, but set in an animal shelter for dogs and cats, with book and lyrics by Catya McMullen and direction Michael Raine at The PIT upstairs theatre: Locked Up B*tches
9:30 pm ($5): Improv veterans Brandon Gardner, Chelsea Clarke, Phil Jackson, and/or Steve Theiss hosting & performing in a show at UCB East with guest improvisors: Improv Nerds
[TOP PICK] [FREE] 10:00 pm: Ari Shaffir, Dan Soder, Joe List, Adrienne Iapalucci, Amber Nelson, Felonious Munk, Joel Walkowski, Ry Doon, and Joe Prainoand performing stand-up at one of best comedy clubs in NYC at absolutely no cost to you (feel encouraged to order food and//or drinks, but you don't have to) for 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
[FREE] 10:00 pm: NYC stand-ups performing at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) hosted by Peggy O'Leary: Creek Cave Live
10:30 pm ($7): Five improv duos each make up scenes at The Magnet theatre: The Duo Show
[MEGA-TOP PICK] [FREE] 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 best stand-ups in the country; writer for Late Night with Seth Meyers; Conan O'Brien, @Midnight, Last Comic Standing). Reservations go quickly, but you can probably get in if you arrive early and are okay with standing: Whiplash
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 whose name is pulled from a bucket 3 minutes on stage. Arrive at around 5:45 to sign up, or wait for the late bucket at 6:15, to perform at The Creek downstairs lounge in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) hosted by Matt Anderson: First Stop Open Mic
6:00 pm & 8:00 pm (no cover, 1 drink min. 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
[FREE] 10:30 pm: Improv veterans Brandon Gardner, Chelsea Clarke, and Phillip Jackson hosting & performing in a show at UCB East with improvisors taken from the audience...and who may include you: Improv Nerds Jam
11:00 pm ($3): Open mic stand-up, with each comic getting 5 minutes and room for 15 comics who sign up per show, at The PIT upstairs theatre 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 downstairs lounge for this weekly open access show hosted by Gary DeNoia & Langston Belton: Base Jam
NYC Comedy Picks for Tuesday 4/5/16
Laugh-packed career interviews with Mike Lawrence and Myq Kaplan here.
New Yorker contributors Lily Karlin & Blythe Roberson host this acclaimed comedy show exploring the human condition with comics Joe Pera (hilarious and genius deadpan stand-up; 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), Carly Ann Filbin, Jen Spyra, Gayatri Rajagopalan, Ned Riseley, and Rachel Wenitsky: Life is Pain (8:00 pm, $8, Brooklyn's Union Hall at 702 Union Street; take R subway to Union Street)...
...and Jamie LeeLo interviews Gayle King (co-anchor of CBS This Morning, Editor-At-Large for O The Oprah Magazine, The Oprah Winfrey Show) and Kevin Avery (writer for HBO's Last Week Tonight with John Oliver), with musical improv from the spectacular Rebecca Vigil (rising star who's a powerhouse improv singer with a lightning-quick wit; FringeNYC 2015's Your Love Our Musical, The Vigilante): Brunch Night with Jamie LeeLo (7:30 pm, $20 plus 2-drink min., 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-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
[TOP PICK] 7:00 pm ($10): A monthly storytelling show from the wonderful Adam Wade (two-time Moth GrandSlam Storytelling Champion (2006 & 2009) and record-breaking 20-time StorySlam Champion; The New York Times Magazine; host of Whatever Happened to the Nerds? and cast member of The Nights of Our Lives; for a sampling of Adam's award-winning tales, please click here), featuring guest storyteller Michele DeBella Lewis at at The Kraine Theatre (85 East 4th Street, off Second Avenue): The Adam Wade from New Hampshire Show: Tales of Life, Love, and Little League
[TOP PICK] [$] 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] [FREE] 7:30 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 (and if you can't make it, watch in online here): Comic Book Club
7:30 pm ($5): A weekly showcase for brand new shows—sketch, solo, readings, what have you—this time focused on Math, Science and Humanities at The PIT downstairs lounge hosted by the wonderful Ronny Pascale: Pilot Season
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): 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 music celebrity—who tonight is Wyclef Jean from the Fugees—"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 Chelsea theatre: Take It Personal: The Hip-Hip Improv Show
[TOP PICK] [FREE] 8:00 pm: Conner O'Malley (staff writer/performer for Seth Meyers), Ana Fabrega (The Chris Gethard Show), Tim Dillon, and Zach Sims perform stand-up hosted by the hilarious Joe Pera, Charles Gould, and Dan Licata at Brooklyn's The Shanty (79 Richardson Street; take L subway to Lorimer Street): Dan + Joe + Charles' Show
8:00 pm ($5): Giulia Rozzi (Jimmy Kimmel, Chelsea Lately, writer for MTV's Girl Code, VH1, Playgirl Magazine, co-host of Stripped Stories, comedy album True Love), Andy Beckerman (co-host of Beginnings, Snap Impression), and Matt Smith perform and/or are interviewed for this monthly show about obsessions with pop culture at UCB East hosted by Damian Bellino & Anne Rodeman: So Into It: A Fanatic Variety Show
8:00 pm ($10): Boston comics from group Improv Asylum and from YouTube's Simply Unemployable perform sketch comedy at The PIT upstairs theatre (123 East 24th Street): The T
[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
8:30 pm ($5): Sharp improvisors and guest improv groups join host Skycopter (which includes the incredible David Carl) to make up one-act plays on the spot at The PIT downstairs lounge: Act One
9:00ish pm ($7): Adrienne Iapalucci (David Letterman, Last Comic Standing, VH1), Jeff Leach (UK comic), Jordan Carlos (writer/correspondent for The Nightly Show; MTV's Guy Code, Girl Code, Guy Court, HBO's Girls, Comedy Central, VH1, Adult Swim), 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 ($5): NYC stand-ups tell stories for this podcast being recorded live on stage at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Sam Haft & Tommy Kang: Comedy Llama
9:00 pm ($5): Improvisors make up a half hour show of a television series that never existed, made up of excerpts from previous episodes that never aired. This month they reenact the never-happened beloved TV family The Petersons in classic phantom CBS sitcom Petering Out at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Clip Show: A TV Sketch Show
9:30 pm ($5): A one-woman show from the talented Natasha Vaynblat (improv group What I Did For Love) playing a variety of characters including a child magician, a superstitious landlord, and a horny grandma at the UCB East theatre: Out Sick
9:30 ($5): Long form improv known as The Harold from UCB Chelsea house groups Higgins and Women & Men: Cheating on Harold
[FREE] 10:00 pm: A frat-themed comedy show at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) hosted by Carmen Lagala, Billy Prinsell, and Samantha Ruddy: Creek Brothers
[TOP PICK] [FREE] 11:00 pm: Mike Lawrence, Rich Vos, Dan Soder, Bonnie McFarlane, and other stand-ups pair up to brutally insult each other and then be judged for the effectiveness of their viciousness at The Stand Comedy Club (239 Third Avenue, off 20th Street) hosted by Luis J. Gomez: The RoastMasters
[FREE] 11:00 pm: A mix of superb and up-and-coming stand-ups performing at this free weekly show at UCB East hosted by Matteo Lane (Comedy Central): Chemistry
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 ($5): A chance for writers and actors to walk in and try out sketches on stage (casting begins at 5:45 pm) at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street) hosted by Kristen O'Brien: Cold Cream
6:00 pm (no cover, 1 drink min. 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] [ALMOST FREE] 6:30 pm ($1): In this delightful weekly open-mic show, each comic has 3-5 minutes to try out a character-based bit (e.g., for a solo show, sketch, or audition) at The PIT downstairs lounge, typically hosted by Jamie Aderski: Personality Disorder Character Jam
[FREE] 6:30 pm: Weekly stand-up open mic, with walk-ins tossing names into a hat and set length determined by the number of comics who show up, at Bunga's Den (137 West 14th Street, between Sixth & Seventh Avenues) hosted by Jimmy LeChase and/or Justin Perez: Townies Open Mic
[TOP PICK] [FREE] 7:00 pm: Open mic storytelling show, with each yarn-spinner whose name is picked from a basket receiving 5 minutes on stage, at the Astoria Bookshop (31-29 31st Street) hosted by David Lawson (The Flyer Guy at Solocom 2015): The Astoria Bookshop Storytelling Show
[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 downstairs lounge hosted by Jake Hart and a guest co-host: The Dump
[FREE] 8:00 pm: Weekly open mic for any kind of act (with sign-up starting at 7:30) at Brooklyn's Goodbye Blue Monday (1087 Broadway) hosted by Joe Crow Ryan: Goodbye Blue Monday
[ALMOST FREE] 10:30 pm ($1): A chance for you to get on stage and improvise with PIT faculty at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Tuesday After Class Jam
11:00 pm ($3): A breathtaking 40 comics are given 2 minutes each in this rapid-fire open-mic stand-up show at The PIT upstairs theatre hosted with wit and energy by Jay Welch: 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
[ALMOST FREE] 11:00 pm ($1): A weekly improv jam for students at all levels to work on their skills at The PIT downstairs lounge hosted by Elke Reid and/or David Frasure: Study Hall
NYC Comedy Picks for Wednesday 4/6/16
It's a great night to be at Brooklyn's Annoyance Theatre, which at 7:00 pm features stand-up by superb comics Ted Alexandro, Jo Firestone, Ryan Hamilton, and Anna Drezen hosted by Josh Gondelman: The Sensible Show; and at 9:30 pm features a one-man show of "stand-up and tap dancing" by the wonderful Joe Pera (hilarious and genius deadpan stand-up; 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): Joe Pera: My Railroad (7:00 pm and 9:30 pm, $5 per show, Brooklyn's The Annoyance Theatre at 367 Bedford Avenue; take J/M/Z to Marcy Avenue or L to Lorimer 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 free hours of improvisation—including an open-to-all improv jam at 6:00 pm; group Lovers, which includes the spectacular Dana Shulman and Tracy Mull at 7:00 pm; and PIT owner Ali Farahnakian & friends at 10:25 pm—at The PIT upstairs theatre: Super Free Wednesday
7:00 pm-11:00 pm ($7 for the entire evening): Four hours of improv from eight groups—plus a free improv jam at 6:00 pm—at The Magnet theatre: Magnet Megawatt
[TOP PICK] [$] 7:30 pm, 8:00 pm, 9:30 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 an 8:00 pm show at Village Underground (130 West 3rd Street, off Sixth Avenue): Comedy Cellar Wednesday
7:30 pm ($5): Pat Dixon, Shane Torres, Sarah Tollemache, and Saurin Choksi perform stand-up and then improv games at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Jacob Williams (America's Got Talent, Wild 'N Out): Stand-Up Wars
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): Dynamite musical improvisors including Jeff Hiller, Aaron Jackson, Ashley Ward, and/or Lauren Adams make up stories with songs at the UCB Chelsea theatre: Rumpleteaser: Musical Improv...
...and in the other half of this double-bill, a hospital drama parody: Dr. Brothers
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($10): A fake QVC show featuring "musical numbers, 80s montages, the apocalypse, dracula, multiple homicides, and two different marriages failing" at Brooklyn's The Annoyance Theatre (367 Bedford Avenue; take J/M/Z to Marcy Avenue or L to Lorimer Street): Bargain Bin Sale of a Lifetime
[FREE] 8:00 pm: This monthly game show asks roommates to answer questions testing how well they know each other (a la The Newlywed Game) at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) hosted by Tim Unkenholz & Joe Welkie: Roomie Raiders
[FREE] 8:00 pm: NYC stand-ups performing at Brooklyn's Don Pedro (90 Manhattan Avenue) hosted by Bryan Yang & Tyler Rothrock: Comedy Comida
[FREE] 9:00 pm: Big Jay Oakerson (Comedy Central Presents, HBO, Showtime, MTV), Luis J. Gomez, Dave Smith, and other NYC stand-ups performing live on stage for this podcast show at The Creek downstairs lounge in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue): Legion of Skanks
[FREE] 9:00 pm: NYC stand-ups performing for this free weekly stand-up show at Lucky Jack's Pub (129 Orchard Street) produced by Kyle Fincham, Lance Weiss, and Brendon Fitzgibbons: Gandhi, Is That You?
9:00 pm ($5): Erik Bergstrom (cartoonist/author of Grimmer Tales, The New Yorker, blogger for Comedy Central), Jacqueline Novak (smart, funny stand-up; Inside Amy Schumer, College Humor, author of How to Weep in Public), Tim Dillon, and Dina Hashem performing stand-up at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Jessica Watkins: Homespun Comedy
[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
9:30 ($5): Over a dozen talented female improvisors—including Lauren Adams, Natasha Vaynblat, and/or Caitlin Bitzegaio, plus guests who tonight include Jo Firestone—parody all-gal opinion shows such as The View, making up most of the show on the spot based on a loose outline at the UCB Chelsea theatre. The result is often proof that "less is more," but if you're very patient there are worthwhile moments to be had from The Female Gaze
[TOP PICK] 10:00 pm ($5; no min.): Ari Shaffir (Conan O'Brien, host of Comedy Central's This Is Not Happening, HBO's Down and Dirty, National Lampoon, Comedy Central special Passive Aggressive), Rachel Feinstein (finalist on Last Comic Standing; Inside Amy Schumer, HBO, The Apprentice, opens for Sarah Silverman on tour), Pete Lee (Comedy Central Half Hour, Last Comic Standing), and more performing stand-up for this super-affordable weekly club show at The Stand Comedy Club (239 Third Avenue, off 20th Street): $5 Funnies: Ari Shaffir, Rachel Feinstein, Pete Lee, and More
[FREE] 10:00 pm: NYC stand-ups do sets "and then have a discussion about what's going on in the world and the mysteries of life" at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue), hosted by Chris Laker: The Show
[TOP PICK] 10:15 pm ($5): Stellar improvisors Charlie Todd & Kevin Hines provide color commentary on improv sets by other top improvisors at UCB East for this monthly event: Play by Play
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" performing at UCB Chelsea hosted by Boris Khaykin: Impro(vs)tandup
[FREE] 11:15 pm: A gay-themed opportunity to perform improv—especially musical improv—on the UCB East stage: ...XYZ Jam
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
[FREE] 5:30 pm: Walk-in open mic storytelling show, with each yarn-spinner (selected via names from a bucket) getting up to 8 minutes to tell a true and funny tale at Astoria Queens comedy venue QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Vincent Chang: Flynn's Mic
6:00 pm (no cover, 1 drink min. 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 upstairs theatre hosted by Anthony Velez & Parker Denton: 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] 7:30 pm: Your opportunity to get on stage for an improv jam at UCB East hosted by Hot for Teacher: Hot for Teacher: Student Lounge
11:00 pm ($3): Open mic stand-up show, with each comic whose name is selected from a bucket getting on stage for 3-5 minutes (depending on the number of comics) at The PIT downstairs lounge: The Camel Butt
[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 upstairs theatre hosted by Matthew Tenenbaum: Punch & Pie
[FREE] 11:00 pm: Your chance to perform on stage with experienced improvisors at The PIT upstairs theatre hosted by Bernard Maynore and/or Patrick Cucuta: Improdome
NYC Comedy Picks for Thursday 4/7/16
A version of Moby Dick in space, with an extra twist: "the show is performed in an entirely dark theater, with the only light emanating from the duo’s custom-built million-color LED space helmets, creating a unique otherworldly aesthetic:" Moby Alpha (9:00 pm, $20, The PIT Loft at 154 West 29th 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 $) include:
[FREE] 7:00 pm: Jim Tews (Last Comic Standing, co-host of Fresh Out) tries out stand-up material tonight, Friday, and Saturday at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue): Week at the Creek: Jim Tews
[TOP PICK] [$] 7:30 pm ($27.25 & 2-drink min.): A brilliant, unique, and Emmy Award winning staff writer for Inside Amy Schumer who's also performed on Jimmy Fallon,Comedy Central Presents, and Ugly Americans, and starred in his hour-long the Comedy Central special White Precious, headlines for one night only at the Carolines Comedy Club: Kurt Metzger
[TOP PICK] [$] 7:30 pm, 8:00 pm, 9:30 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 an 8:00 pm show at Village Underground (130 West 3rd Street, off Sixth Avenue): Comedy Cellar Thursday
[TOP PICK] 7:30 pm ($5): Improvisors remake a blockbuster film (suggested by the audience) in the style of indie filmmaker Wes Anderson at The PIT downstairs lounge: Wes Anderson Remakes Your Favorite Movie
7:30 pm ($5): Calise Hawkins, Tony Deyo, Robert Dean, Katie Hannigan, and Sharon Spell performing stand-up at UCB East hosted by Sean Crespo, Dan Wilbur, and Katina Corrao: Lasers in the Jungle
[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm ($20): "Comics improvise scenes based on audience suggestions, and are systematically eliminated by audience votes during the show until only one player remains," with tonight's superb improvisors Rebecca Vigil, Evan Kaufman, Tracy Mull, Langston Belton, Rachel Rosenthal, Rory Scholl, Will Nunziata, and Josh Eakright, all at the Highline Ballroom (431 West 16th Street) hosted by Devin James Heater: BeerProv
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): A sketch show about disabilities, and the art of theatre, at the UCB Chelsea theatre: Bent But Not Broken...
...and in the second half of this double-bill, a soap-operish play with a large cast: Ocean's Lake
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): The greatest science fiction anthology radio show of all time was X Minus One. Improvisors who know their genre history created this show in which they make up scenes of awe, mystery, and wonder at The PIT upstairs theatre—with an opening act from Greg Triggs (Broadway's Next Hit Musical) improvising 1940's-style tunes based on your suggestions: X Plus One
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm-Midnight ($10 for the entire evening): Four veteran house improv groups, themed improv show Object Work ("the inanimate comes alive before your very eyes and the laws of the natural world are twisted, bent, and finally broken"), and improv competition Inspirado, all for just $10 at The Magnet theatre: The Magnet's Thursday Night Out
[FREE] 8:00 pm: "A new game show where three contestants get quizzed on random topics; raps, video games, different types of soda. We'll even have a few comics drop by" at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) hosted by Marvin Lattimore: A Night of Thrill-Vila
8:00 pm ($5): Three improv house groups make up scenes for an hour at Brooklyn's The Annoyance Theatre (367 Bedford Avenue; take J/M/Z to Marcy Avenue or L to Lorimer Street): Detention + Selfish Green Men + Dim Wit
8:30 pm ($5): Improvisors springboard scenes off of actual NYC police reports of oddball crimes at The PIT downstairs lounge: Internal Investigation
8:40ish pm (no cover, 1 drink min.): NYC stand-ups performing stand-up at Brooklyn's Franklin Bar and Lounge (739 Franklin Street) hosted by Khalid A. Rahmaan & Mike Eltringham: It's Sooo Up and Coming
[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($10): A comedic play written and starring Ian Lockwood & Sophie Zucker, and directed by Philip Markle, in which "Baby Jessica was the first child to fall down a well, thereby capturing the nation’s attention and becoming America’s sweetheart overnight. Baby Ian will be the second" at Brooklyn's The Annoyance Theatre (367 Bedford Avenue; take J/M/Z to Marcy Avenue or L to Lorimer Street): Baby Ian Falls Down a Well
9:00 pm ($5): NYC stand-ups (not announced) performing at UCB East hosted by Ashley Brooke Roberts and/or Jim Tews: Fresh Out
[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): The razor-sharp writers of Late Night with Seth Meyers gather on the UCB Chelsea stage to perform an all-improvised show at Seth Meyers Writers: Crate Night With Set Fires
9:30 pm ($10): Comics who all met at Brown University perform scripted comedy at The PIT upstairs theatre: Rad Motel Sketch Comedy
[FREE] 10:00 pm: Christian Polanco (MTV's Middle of the Night) performs a 30-minute set, with a 15-minute opening from Molly Austin (TruTV), at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) hosted by Jenn Welch & Tom Lisi: The Half-Hour Hour
[FREE] 10:30 pm: "A curated hour of eclectic comedic material written in a week with no rehearsals" at Brooklyn's The Annoyance Theatre (367 Bedford Avenue; take J/M/Z to Marcy Avenue or L to Lorimer Street): The Holy Fuck Comedy Hour
[MEGA-TOP PICK] 11:00 pm ($5): Two of the finest Improv groups in the country, Fuck That Shit and Airwolf, compete for your laughs and votes at UCB Chelsea for tonight's especially awesome Cage Match
11:00 pm ($5): UCB comics write & perform news-based comedy at the UCB East theatre: NY2: We're Also the News
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
6:00 pm ($3): 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 downstairs lounge: Ladies Night Open Mic
[FREE] 6:00 pm: Stand-up open mic in which 15 walk-ins whose names are drawn from a bucket get to tell jokes on stage for 4 minutes each at UCB East hosted Brandon Scott Wolf & Paul Oddo: Thursday Night 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 upstairs theatre in Queens' Long Island City hosted by Ross Parsons & Trey Galyon: Free Puppies
6:00 pm (no cover, 1 drink min. 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
[ALMOST FREE] 6:00 pm ($1): A weekly improv jam for 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
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: A weekly improv jam hosted by group Salt at Brooklyn's The Annoyance Theatre (367 Bedford Avenue; take J/M/Z to Marcy Avenue or L to Lorimer Street): The Blender
[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: Walk-in open mic (with names selected from a bucket) to do anything you want for 5 minutes—"chat, rant, plug, tell a story, be a character, play a game, review a new religion"—for a podcast recorded at The Creek downstairs lounge in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) hosted by Mike Guild & Mike Mercadal: The Open Mic Podcast
[ALMOST FREE] 10:30 pm ($1): 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 downstairs lounge in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) hosted by Patrick Hastie: Beer, Booze, and Bits
NYC Comedy Picks for Friday 4/8/16
"For over 10 years, you have been able to count on the UCBW to bring you hot comedy wrestling action each and every Thursday night at Cage Match. For an unprecedented 11th year, UCBW will present its signature show—the grandpappy of 'em all—WrestleSlamMania XI! Rivalries have been brewing, and everything will come to a full boil when the full roster of UCBW MegaStars appears in the squared circle! Hilarious real wrestling matches live! Get your tickets NOW! Only 14,000 seats available!:" WrestleSlamMania XI (Midnight, $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 $) include:
[TOP PICK] [$] 7:00 pm, 7:30 pm, 8:45 pm, 9:30 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) and the 7:30, 9:30, and 11:30 shows at Village Underground (130 West 3rd Street, off Sixth Avenue): Comedy Cellar Friday
7:00 pm ($7): Improv "that's been scientifically designed to make you laugh but never make you think" at The Magnet theatre: Junk Food
[FREE] 7:00 pm: Jim Tews (Last Comic Standing, co-host of Fresh Out) tries out stand-up material tonight and Saturday at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue): Week at the Creek: Jim Tews
7:00 pm ($5): Three improv teams compete in this cutthroat battle for laughs. What's different about this cage match is it's determined by a human judge, the audience...and a dog. If there's a tie between the votes of the judge and audience, the guest canine will decide the fates of everyone based on which bowl this dog goes to first. It all happens at Brooklyn's The Annoyance Theatre (367 Bedford Avenue; take J/M/Z to Marcy Avenue or L to Lorimer Street): Dog Fight
[TOP PICK] 7:30 pm ($10): At UCB Chelsea, ace improvisors Connor Ratliff, Molly Lloyd, Terry Withers, and more somehow create an improvised murder mystery on the spot—with the audience helping to commit the crime: The Terry Withers Mysteries
7:30 pm ($10): 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!
7:30 pm ($5): A house sketch group that includes the wonderful Sarah Nowak performs at The PIT downstairs lounge: National Scandal
7:30 pm ($10): Phoebe Robinson, Boris Khaykin, and AC Roe performing at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Derek Humphrey: Headliner's Ball
[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm ($20): From the team that created the amazing Hold On To Your Butts: Kyle Schaefer, Nick Abeel, Matt Zambrano, and foley artist Blair Busbee create live on stage "a 'shot for shot' parody of the first chapter in the most epic fantasy trilogy of all time" directed by the highly talented Kristin McCarthy Parker at The PIT upstairs theatre (123 East 24th Street): Fly, You Fools!
[FREE] 8:00 pm: Phoebe Robinson, Doug Smith, and more performing stand-up, plus improv from the Pin-Up Squirrels, at the HiFi Bar (169 Avenue A) hosted produced by Gary Levitt & Matt Schwartzer and guest-hosted by Caitlin Peluffo: I Don't Get It Stand-Up
8:00 pm ($10): "A teen drama in which everyone has a secret. (hint: they’re all gay). On the outside it’s a typical high school with science fairs, basketball games, and homecoming dances, but below the surface it’s filled with secrets, betrayal, and most importantly drama...with a new episode each week!" at Brooklyn's The Annoyance Theatre (367 Bedford Avenue; take J/M/Z to Marcy Avenue or L to Lorimer Street): Lake Homo High
8:00 pm ($5): Comedy trio Eli Sairs, Joel Walkowski, and Jeff Wesselschmidt performs at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue): Wildcats
[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 Sebastian Conelli (2014 Cage Match Champion The Enemy): The Friday Night Sh*w
[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($10): Some of the finest improv in the country from brilliant comics Connor Ratliff, Jordan Klepper, Silvija Ozols, Shannon O'Neill, Alexandra Dickson, 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 ($10): Cipha Sounds (Hot 97, Chappelle's Show) thought it would be cool if a hip-hop star told tales and then improvisors made up scenes based on them. This monthly show is the result, with a "secret" music celebrity "mesmerizing the crowd with amazing stories and linguistic darts to spark the creativity of some of the best improvisers in NYC," the latter being Anthony Atamanuik, Natasha Rothwell, Brandon Gardner, Lydia Hensler, Christian Capozzoli, and/or Shaun Diston at the UCB East theatre: Take It Personal: The Hip-Hip Improv Show
[$] 9:00 pm ($20): A version of Moby Dick in space, with an extra twist: "The show is performed in an entirely dark theater, with the only light emanating from the duo’s custom-built million-color LED space helmets, creating a unique otherworldly aesthetic" at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Moby Alpha
9:00 pm ($10): Two improv groups each make up a musical on the spot at The PIT downstairs lounge: [title of team] and Royals
9:30 pm ($5): Comics "perform kooky bits based off online videos. The goal of the show is primarily to be louder than the jazz music coming from upstairs" at Brooklyn's The Annoyance Theatre (367 Bedford Avenue; take J/M/Z to Marcy Avenue or L to Lorimer Street) hosted by Matt Barats: Louder Than Jazz
[$] 9:30 pm ($20): This Harry Potter parody is crippled by a mediocre script, but is spared from being an utter waste of time by inventive direction from the highly talented Kristin McCarthy Parker (Hold On To Your Butts), and a large and mostly likeable cast (including the wonderful Langston Belton...who doesn't get to do nearly enough) at The PIT upstairs theatre: Puffs, or Seven Increasingly Eventful Years at a Certain School of Magic & Magic
[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($10): Storytellers Mara Wilson (former iconic child star of Matilda and Mrs. Doubtfire; currently a writer; cast member of podcast Welcome to Night Vale) and more share tales of relationships in front of a panel of comics and therapy experts who then give advice at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Lynn Bixenspan & Morgan Pielli: Relationshit
[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm ($20; no min.): Ted Alexandro, Judah Friedlander, Bonnie McFarlane, Monroe Martin, and more performing at The Stand Comedy Club (239 Third Avenue, off 20th Street): The Stand Friday
[TOP PICK] 10:00 pm ($10): Musical improv group Premiere—which 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
[TOP PICK] 10:00 pm ($5): Petey DeAbreu invites several of his comic friends—who tonight are Krystyna Hutchinson & Corinne Fisher (hosts of the Guys We Fucked podcast), Mike Coscarelli (Social Villains podcast), Adam Palmeter, and Watkins the Mentalist—to joke around with him at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue): Petey's World
[TOP PICK] 10:30 pm ($10): 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 ($10): Kevin Mccaffrey (David Letterman), Ramy Youssef (Nickelodeon), Blair Socci (MTV), Mary Houlihan (Comedy Central), and Travis Rust performing stand-up, sketch, storytelling, or improv at UCB East hosted by Brandon Scott Jones, Justin Tyler, and/or Alden Ford: Gentrify
10:30 pm ($5): This variety show features stand-up, characters, dance, improv, and/or more at Brooklyn's The Annoyance Theatre (367 Bedford Avenue; take J/M/Z to Marcy Avenue or L to Lorimer Street) hosted by Carmen Christopher: The Juice
[TOP PICK] 11:30 pm ($5): Comics who are friends of Chris Booth savage him for his 40th birthday at The PIT downstairs lounge: Roast for Chris Booth
[TOP PICK] Midnight ($5): This monthly stand-up, storytelling, and carny show brings the blog And I Am Not Lying to life on stage, with storytelling from Mara Wilson (former iconic child star of Matilda and Mrs. Doubtfire; currently a writer; cast member of podcast Welcome to Night Vale), Gastor Almonte, and host Jeff Simmermon (NPR's This American Life), stand-up from Carmen Lynch (David Letterman, Last Comic Standing finalist, Comedy Central) and Aaron Glaser (Jimmy Fallon, Wolf of Wall Street; host of Midnight Stand-Up), snake dancing by Zoe Ziegfeld, and electronic rock by Wake Island at the UCB East theatre: And I Am Not Lying
[$] Midnight ($30 at the door or $22.09 in advance online—please arrive early to nab a seat): NYC comics perform stand-up in the nude (audience members can choose to be clothed or naked) at Queens LIC's The Creek upstairs theatre: The Naked Show
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 Kimberly Sparkle Stewart & Sydney Beveridge: 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 (no cover, 1 drink min. 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
[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
[ALMOST FREE] 6:00 pm ($1): Walk-in open mic that allows everyone to get on stage at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): $1 Mic
[ALMOST FREE] 6:00 pm ($1): PIT improv veterans mix with improv novices on-stage at the downstairs lounge 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
[FREE] 11:00 pm: Walk-in stand-up open mic (signup at 10:30 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
NYC Comedy Picks for Saturday 4/9/16
Michelle Wolf (star stand-up who's also a star writer/correspondent for The Daily Show, and previously for Seth Meyers; MTV's Girl Code, IFC), Roy Wood Jr. (correspondent for The Daily Show; David Letterman, HBO'S Def Comedy Jam, TBS' Sullivan & Son, Comedy Central), Frank Conniff (TV's Frank on Mystery Science Theater 3000; Cinematic Titanic), David Feldman (Emmy winner, co-creator of The Jack and Triumph Show), and host John Fugelsang (former host of America's Funniest Home Videos): John Fugelsang and Friends (8:00 pm, $10, Brooklyn's Union Hall at 702 Union 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] 6:00 pm ($5): The University of Pennsylvania’s all-gal sketch & musical comedy troupe performs at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Bloomers
[TOP PICK] 6:00 pm ($5): Silly PowerPoint presentations fueled by alcohol, with this month's topic Guilty Pleasures, at Brooklyn's Littlefield (622 Degraw Street): Drunk TED Talks
[FREE] 6:00 pm: Ben Conrad, Lizzy Mazzucchelli, Will Carey, and Will Watkins each perform a different 10-minute stand-up every Saturday in April at The Creek's upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) hosted by Grant Lindahl: The 8
6:00 pm ($5): Four Indie improv troupes performing at The Magnet theatre: The Rundown
6:30 pm ($5): International improvisors use their native languages & diverse backgrounds to make up scenes in unique ways at The PIT downstairs lounge: Passport
[TOP PICK] [$] 7:00 pm, 7:15 pm, 8:45 pm, 9:15 pm, 10:30 pm, 11:15, and 12:15 am ($20-$24 per show, plus 2-item food/drink min.): Some of the country's finest stand-ups spread among the 7:00, 8:45, 10:30, and 12:15 shows at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane), and the 7:15, 9:15, and 11:15 shows at Village Underground (130 West 3rd Street, off Sixth Avenue): Comedy Cellar Saturday
[TOP PICK] 7:00 pm ($10): Improv group Big Black Car 2, plus improv group The Quitters, make up scenes at The PIT upstairs theatre: BBC2 and The Quitters
[FREE] 7:00 pm: Jim Tews (Last Comic Standing, co-host of Fresh Out) tries out stand-up material one last night at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue): Week at the Creek: Jim Tews
7:00 pm ($10): "On every improv team there is the glue, the person who just tries to hold shit together while everyone descends into madness around them. Longtime UCB performer Silvija Ozols gathers some of her favorite gluey types to perform a fully improvised show. Will they stick to each other? Or will they end up huffing themselves into oblivion? Has this analogy been taken too far or is there room for one last pun? GLUE be the judge!" at the UCB East theatre: Gluebag
7:00 pm ($5): Two improv groups performing at Brooklyn's The Annoyance Theatre (367 Bedford Avenue; take J/M/Z to Marcy Avenue or L to Lorimer Street): Gun Club + Shadows Form
[TOP PICK] 7:30 pm ($10): 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 DJ Louie XIV—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
7:30 pm ($7): Political activists and pundits mix with comics at this political comedy show that makes fun of the news at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Electoral Dysfunction
7:30 pm ($5): Alyson Goodman performs a one-woman show about the awkwardness of growing up at The PIT downstairs lounge: I'm Fine
7:30 pm ($8): Leah Bonnema (Comedy Central), Myka Fox (SNL freelance contributor), Liz Magee, and more performing stand-up at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Lauren Krass: Laughter School Special
[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 upstairs theatre: Gypsy Danger: The Improvised Movie and The Baldwins
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($10): A comedic play written by Rollie Williams, with a cast of four, in which "a deadly collapse traps you and the other miners deep and dark, down beneath the surface of the Earth with almost no hope of rescue" at Brooklyn's The Annoyance Theatre (367 Bedford Avenue; take J/M/Z to Marcy Avenue or L to Lorimer Street): Dark Down Deep Down Dark
8:00 pm ($5): NYC stand-ups performing at Queens LIC's The Creek upstairs theatre hosted by Peggy O'Leary & Lucas Connolly: Hard, Lonely, and Vicious
[TOP PICK] 8:30 pm ($10): 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): An improvised apocalypse from superb comics Anthony Atamanuik, John Murray, Sean Casey, Jackie Jennings, Joanna Bradley, Chad Carter, and/or Joel Weidel at the UCB Chelsea theatre: Goat
[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($10): A freestyle rapping long-form improv group that includes such talents as Evan Kaufman (Your Love Our Musical) takes the stage for nearly an hour at The PIT downstairs lounge: North Coast
9:00 pm ($10): Emmy award winning writer Brian McCann (Conan O'Brien) hosts a fully improvised talk show in which he interviews members of the audience—maybe including you—at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Talk. Show.
9:00 pm ($10): Sharp improvisors Nick Kanellis & Alex Marino make up scenes at The Magnet as comedy duo Trike
9:00 pm ($10): NYC stand-ups performing for this weekly show at Brooklyn's The Experiment Comedy Gallery (20 Broadway) hosted by Camille Harris, Camille Theobald, Michael Lewis, and/or Mo Fathelb: The Weekend Drop
9:00 pm ($5): NYC stand-ups performing at Queens LIC's The Creek upstairs theatre hosted by Elise Edwards: Discount Disco
[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($10): NYC's heavy metal version of a sketch troupe, which provides odd, unsettling, and fearless dark comedy, won the ECNY Award for Best Sketch Group, was written up by Jason Zinoman in The New York Times, and performs tonight at The PIT upstairs theatre: Murderfist
9:30 pm ($5): Long-form improv with a playful title directed by Conner O'Malley at Brooklyn's The Annoyance Theatre (367 Bedford Avenue; take J/M/Z to Marcy Avenue or L to Lorimer Street): Michael Jordan Steakhouse
9:30 pm ($5): Stand-ups and improvisors performing at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Patrick Holbert: End of the Line Comedy
[TOP PICK] 10:00 pm ($10): A powerhouse group of improvisors—Zhubin Parang (writer for The Daily Show), Michael Kayne (Baby Wants Candy, Diamond Lion), Langan Kingsley (rising star; sketch group Beige, one-woman show The Dicewoman Cometh), Aaron Jackson (Fuck That Shit, Newsadoozies), Natasha Vaynblat (one-woman show United Federation of Teachers), and Nate Dern (News Editor for Funny or Die)—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] 10:00 pm ($5): "Starting in 1982, the city of Atlanta threw an annual party called Freaknik which essentially became the largest black spring break party in the country. The party became so big and wild that the city shut it down for good in 1996. But comedians Andy Sandford and Noah Gardenswartz are bringing Freaknik back...to Long Island City. 'Comedy Freaknik' will be a lot like the original Freaknik, except it’s going to happen once a month, and it will be a comedy show hosted by three white guys. That’s basically the only difference" at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' Long Island City: Freaknik
[MEGA-TOP PICK] [$] 10:30 pm ($20): Charismatic and hilarious rising star David Carl transforms into Gary Busey—and portrays child-like Busey doing a one-man version of the psychologically complex masterpiece Hamlet. The result is consistently inventive, joyful, and laugh-out-loud funny. This was my second favorite show—out of 196—at the 2014 FringeNYC, went on to further acclaim at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and is one of the funniest shows in New York, period. David is reviving his show for a run through this summer at The PIT Loft, starting tonight. If you haven't seen GBOMH, don't miss this wonderful opportunity to do so at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street). And if you have, share it with a loved one who's been deprived of GBOMH: Gary Busey's One-Man Hamlet (As Performed by David Carl)
[TOP PICK] 10:30 pm ($10): 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
[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 each week—which tonight is Motivational Seminar—at The Magnet theatre: The Cast: Motivational Seminar Edition
[TOP PICK] 10:30 pm ($10): A sketch comedy troupe that includes Kristen Bartlett & Jason Gore performs at The PIT downstairs lounge with guest comic Jo FIrestone: Bridge & Tunnel with Jo Firestone
10:30 pm ($5): "A monthly show produced by Anthony Oberbeck; every show is new, every show is beautiful" at Brooklyn's The Annoyance Theatre (367 Bedford Avenue; take J/M/Z to Marcy Avenue or L to Lorimer Street): Beautiful Horses
[TOP PICK] 11:00 pm ($10): The best title of any show tonight, about a reanimated hand that goes on a sexual rampage set to music—for a video preview, please click here— at at The PIT upstairs theatre (123 East 24th Street): The Disembodied Hand That Fisted Everyone to Death: The Musical
[FREE] 11:00 pm: The stellar Keith Alberstadt (David Letterman, Seth Meyers, VH1, contributor to SNL's Weekend Update) and other stand-ups performing at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Tommy Kang: Last Stop Laughs
11:30 pm ($5): Comics performing at UCB East hosted by non-musicians Matt Radlow & Betsy Kenney: Matt and Betsy Do Music
[TOP PICK] Midnight ($5): "Real-life lovers Diana Kolsky & Murf Meyer bring you the live counterpart to their saucy podcast, a fun, ballsy, raucous variety show about the audience" at the UCB Chelsea theatre: Menage a Trois Radio After Dark
[FREE] Midnight: "Food sketches, street food interviews, and live cooking" at The Creek downstairs lounge in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue): So You Think You Can Rap
Saturday Open Mics and 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 3:45 pm) at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Swing Riders Open Mic
[FREE] 4:00 pm: An unusually early weekly open mic stand-up show, with names drawn out of a bucket, at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) hosted by Rachel Coleman: Let's Be Friends
[FREE] 5:00 pm: Reserved (via email annevictoriaclark+workout@gmail.com) and walk-in (time permitting) stand-up & sketch open mic providing each comic 5 minutes at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Meggie Spellman & Anne Victoria Clark: The Workout Open Mic
[FREE] 9:00 pm: Walk-in open mic for character bits, stand-up, etc. at Queens LIC's The Creek upstairs theatre hosted by Elise Edwards: Discount Disco
NYC Comedy Picks for Sunday 4/10/16
The wonderful Leslie Goshko & James Bewley host an oddball tribute to classic TV series The Lawrence Welk Show with a small army of comedic musical guests: Wunnerful Wunnerful! (9:30 pm, $20 plus two-item min., Joe's Pub at 425 Lafayette Street between East 4th Street & Astor Place)...
...and Arthur Meyer (staff writer for Jimmy Fallon; co-author of food parody book FUDS), Opus Moreschi (former staff writer for The Colbert Report), The Reformed Whores (raunchy comedic singing duo Marie Cecile Anderson & Katy Frame; CBS’ The Doctors; albums Ladies Don't Spit and Don't Beat Around the Bush), and more performing stand-up or music hosted by Aaron Glaser: Powerhouse (8:00 pm $10, Brooklyn's Union Hall at 702 Union 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:
5:30 pm ($5): Improvisors who cut across all regions and schools come together for one evening at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Supernova
6:00 pm ($7): Short form improv (vs. long forms such as The Harold) at The Magnet theatre: The Short Form Show
6:30 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 superb improvisors Amey Goerlich & Ryan Karels (half of revered improv group Krompf): Indie Cage Match
7:00 pm ($5): Three scripted shows for the price of one at Brooklyn's The Annoyance Theatre (367 Bedford Avenue; take J/M/Z to Marcy Avenue or L to Lorimer Street): Triple Feature
[FREE] 7:00 pm: NYC stand-ups Steve Forrest, Julia Solomon, Sam Evans, Anthony Devito, Carmen Lagala, and Charles Gould performing at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Dan Fisher, Shaun Murphy, and Mark Walton: Any Given Sunday
[FREE] 7:00 pm: NYC stand-ups performing at Bunga's Den (137 West 14th Street, between Sixth & Seventh Avenues) hosted by Jimmy LeChase: Church!
[TOP PICK] 7:30 pm ($10) and 9:30 pm [FREE]: UCB Chelsea's signature improv comedy extravaganza, which typically includes superstars in the improv world such as Shannon O'Neill and Anthony Atamanuik, and sometimes network TV & movie stars such as Amy Poehler and Horatio Sanz: ASSSSCAT 3000
[TOP PICK] [$] 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 five shows, with three shows at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane), and the 8:00 pm & 10:00 pm shows at Village Underground (130 West 3rd Street, off Sixth Avenue): Comedy Cellar Sunday
[TOP PICK] 7:30 pm ($7): Comedic storytelling at The Magnet theatre hosted by Alexis Lambright: The Griot Show
[$] 7:30 pm ($20): A version of Moby Dick in space, with an extra twist: "The show is performed in an entirely dark theater, with the only light emanating from the duo’s custom-built million-color LED space helmets, creating a unique otherworldly aesthetic" at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Moby Alpha
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 downstairs lounge: Student Driver Indie Road
8:00 pm ($5): Ryan Hamilton (Conan O'Brien, Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central, Showtime), Michelle Biloon, Greg Stone, Ester Steinberg, Ken Schultz, and Andrew Tavin performing stand-up at UCB East guest-hosted by Tim Dillon: If You Build It
8:00 pm & 10:00 pm ($15; no min.): Ari Shaffir, Christian Finnegan, Pete Lee, and more performing stand-up at The Stand Comedy Club (239 Third Avenue off 20th Street): The Stand Sunday
[FREE] 8:30 pm: Award-winning NYC-based Irish comedian Colum Tyrrell performs a one-man show he'll be doing at the upcoming Edinburgh Fringe Festival...but you can see it here for free at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue): The Hookers & Blow Show
8:30 pm ($5): Improvisors Andrew Warner & Zach Cherry interview an audience member about his or her favorite movie and then make up their own version of the film on the spot—plus long-form improv groups Your Future and The Testosterones 2020—at Brooklyn's The Annoyance Theatre (367 Bedford Avenue; take J/M/Z to Marcy Avenue or L to Lorimer Street): Andrew and Zach Ruin Your Favorite Movie
8:30 pm ($5): "The audience decides who will start a food fight when improvisers sit down to a potluck dinner" at The PIT downstairs lounge: Food Fight
[TOP PICK] [$] 9:00 pm ($20; SOLD OUT, but if you arrive early you can get on a waiting list to take the seats of no-shows): Special guest Ira Glass (host of This American Life) joins sharp improvisors Louis Kornfeld & Rick Andrews to make up scenes at The Magnet theatre: Kornfeld & Andrews—and Ira Glass!
9:00 pm ($7): Typically solid stand-ups perform at Brooklyn's Knitting Factory (361 Metropolitan Avenue) hosted by Will Miles, Clark Jones, and/or Kenny DeForest: Comedy Night at the Knit
[TOP PICK] [FREE—plus FREE FOOD!] 9:30 pm to grab a seat and eat, 10:00 pm for screening: Come watch a new episode of The Jim Gaffigan Show with an audience—and posibly have the opportunity to ask questions afterwards of somone who works on the show. Plus, typically, free pizza! ("Yes. Free. Food. It's what Jim would want.") It all happens at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue): The Jim Gaffigan Show Official Watch Party
[FREE] 10:00 pm: Group Medusa turns a calamity selected by the an audience member into an improvised documentary live on stage at The Creek downstairs lounge in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue): Medusa Presents Improv Against Humanity
Sunday Open Mics & Open Stages
[FREE] 4:00 pm: An unusually early walk-in open-mic stand-up show (put your name in the bucket, drawings every half hour), providing 4 minutes per comic at The Creek downstairs lounge in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue): Intestinal Fortitude
[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
[ALMOST FREE] 5:00 pm ($1): Sign up at 4:30 pm to do improv with experienced PIT performers at The PIT downstairs lounge hosted by Sasha Capelli, Eitan Levine, and Shaina Stigler: 10K Jam Jam
5:15ish pm (no cover, 1 drink min.): Weekly open mic stand-up, with comics selected from names tossed into a bucket starting at 4:55 pm, at Brooklyn's Legion Bar (790 Metropolitan Avenue) hosted by Aaron Glaser, Irene Hartmann, and/or Carlos Delgado: Sunday Open Mic
9:30 pm ($3): Open-mic comedy, with 3-5 minutes per walk-in performer who signs up (first come, first serve) at The PIT downstairs lounge, 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] 10:00 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 © 2016 Hy Bender
Email: hy@hyreviews.com
