>NYC Comedy Picks for Monday 8/21/17
Today kicks off the annual Brooklyn Comedy Festival, running every night through August 27th. Among the vibrant choices is this world premiere screening of a unified cut of The Onion's entire 2012 webseries Sex House satirizing America's reality show culture (for a trailer, please click here), followed by a Q&A with the director and writers of the series hosted by Sean Joseph Patrick Carney (host of Humor and the Abject podcast) and Darcie Wilder (author of Literally Show Me a Healthy Person): Sex House (7:30 pm, $16, Brooklyn's Nitehawk Cinema at 136 Metropolitan Avenue; take the L to Bedford)...
...and also part of the Brooklyn Comedy Festival is this stand-up show starring Bob the Drag Queen (winner of Season 8 of RuPaul's Drag Race) and Matteo Lane (Seth Meyers, Comedy Central, MTV's Guy Code & Girl Code), plus performances by Alotta McGriddles, Lady Bearica Andrews, Papusa Smear, and host Sandy Devastation, with music by DJ Ten Yards: Bob the Drag Queen: Queen for the People (7:30 pm & 10:30 pm, $30, Brooklyn's Knitting Factory at 361 Metropolitan Avenue)...
...or see this Brooklyn Comedy Festival show starring extreme character comic Brett Davis (HBO's Animals; TruTv's Jon Glaser Loves Gear; creator/host of weekly Manhattan cable TV show The Special Without Brett Davis; winner of the 2015 Andy Kaufman Award) with guests Seth Herzog (long-time staff comic for Jimmy Fallon; 30 Rock, @midnight, CBS, VH1; host of Sweet), Lorelei Ramirez (host of Do Something), Bardia Salimi (host of Hell House), Andrew Tisher, Steve Whalen, and Sebastian Dinatale: The Special Without Brett Davis: Live in Brooklyn (8:00 pm, $10, Brooklyn's Union Hall at 702 Union Street; take R subway to Union Street)...
...or if you're a fan of Game of Thrones, check out this free weekly show in which comics Christian Finnegan, Michael Lewis, Samantha Bednarz, and Jeremy Kaplowitz discuss the final episodes of this spectacular season of GoT hosted by Nicki Wright: Panel of Thrones (7:30 pm, Free!, Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell at 27-16 23rd Avenue)
Other notable shows this Monday include:
[TOP PICK] 6:00 pm ($7): UCB comics perform solo character bits at the UCB Chelsea theatre: UCBT Character Showcase
[FREE] 6:00 pm to midnight: Six free hours of improvisation—including at 8:00 pm the groups Thunderbuster (with ace comics Chris Booth and Jen Clark) and The Department (with the superb Dana Shulman)—all at The PIT Underground: Super Free Monday
[TOP PICK] 7:30 pm ($7): Improv trio Doppelganger—consisting of Sasheer Zamata, Keisha Zollar, and Nicole Byer—created fresh, brilliant improv before each of its rising stars went off to be famous. Nicole is probably in LA right now, but Sasheer and Keisha are reuniting to make up scenes based on audience suggestions at the UCB East theatre: Doppelganger
[TOP PICK] [$] 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
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($8): Jeffrey Joseph (Jay Leno, HBO, FOX's In Living Color, Comedy Central), Janelle James (@midnight, SeeSo's Night Train), Tim Dillon (Last Comic Standing), Katie Hannigan (MTV’s Inside Joke), Noah Garfinkel, and Calvin Evans perform stand-up at Brooklyn's Littlefield (635 Sackett Street; take R subway to Union Street) hosted by the wonderful Wyatt Cenac (former star correspondent for The Daily Show; writer for South Park, Adult Swim; albums Comedy Person and Brooklyn): Night Train
[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($5): Terrific character comics perform solo bits demonstrating their impressive talent at UCB East hosted & directed by Michael Hartney plus a co-host (last month it was Timothy Dunn, who was a perfect partner for Michael). This is one of my favorite shows, and I especially recommend checking it out if you're a producer, casting director, or other industry pro in search of sharp comedy actors: Characters Welcome
[TOP PICK] [FREE] 10:00 pm: Mark Normand (one of the very finest stand-ups in the country; Conan O'Brien, Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, stellar Comedy Central special Don't Be Yourself; Comedy Central Half Hour, Inside Amy Schumer, @midnight, Last Comic Standing, VH1's Best Week Ever; comedy album Still Got It; opens for Amy Schumer), Joe List (David Letterman, Conan O'Brien, Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central Half Hour, comedy albums So Far No Good and Are You Mad at Me?), and other stand-ups perform 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
[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 finest stand-ups in the country; co-star of HBO's Crashing and Netflix's Master of None; former writer for Seth Meyers; Conan O'Brien, @Midnight, Comedy Central Half Hour, comedy album Just Putting It Out There): Whiplash
NYC Comedy Picks for Tuesday 8/22/17
Andy Blitz (above right; 7-time Emmy-nominated and long-time writer/performer for Late Night with Conan O'Brien; has also written for Comedy Central's Review and Important Things with Demetri Martin, Netflix's Master of None—which Andy also co-exec produced, Adult Swim's Eagleheart, MTV's Human Giant, etc.; a thoroughly unique stand-up whose sets—ranging from talking peanut butter to jet-flying cats—tend to be unforgettable) hosts this benefit show for Charlottesville victims, with guests Todd Barry (above left; David Letterman, Conan O'Brien, Comedy Central Presents, FX's Louie, HBO's Flight of the Conchords and Bored to Death, Adult Swim, co-star of feature film The Wrestler, star of delightful documentary The Crowd Work Tour), Bobby Tisdale (staff writer for Jimmy Fallon; voice of Zeke on Bob's Burgers; numerous other TV credits, and NYC downtown comedy pioneer), Starlee Kine (This American Life, The New York Times Magazine, host of podcast Mystery Show), and Jeffrey Joseph (Jay Leno, HBO, FOX's In Living Color, Comedy Central) performing stand-up, plus music by A.C. Newman: Comedy and Music to Benefit Charlottesville Victims (9:00 pm, $10, The Slipper Room at 167 Orchard Street)...
...while day #2 of the annual Brooklyn Comedy Festival (running through August 27th) includes this screening of a performance film starring the Cocoon Central Dance Team (delightful trio of immensely talented comedic dancers/actresses and rising stars Eleanore Pienta, Tallie Medel, and Sunita Mani—who will also perform live on stage!), with cameos by Reggie Watts, Kate Berlant, and more directed by Rachel Wolther & Alex H. Fischer: Cocoon Central Dance Team: Snowy Bong Bongs Across the North Star Combat Zone (7:30 pm, $16, Brooklyn's Nitehawk Cinema at 136 Metropolitan Avenue; take the L to Bedford; PLEASE NOTE: As of Monday night, this show has SOLD OUT)...
...or see this Brooklyn Comedy Festival stand-up show with T.J. Miller (red-hot comedy star; David Letterman, Stephen Colbert; co-star of HBO's Silicon Valley, HBO's Crashing, and former ABC sitcom Carpoolers; co-star of numerous movies including Deadpool, Transformers: Age of Extinction, How to Train Your Dragon 2, Big Hero 6, Cloverfield, and Get Him to the Greek; for vintage videos, please click here), 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), Liza Treyger (fresh, fierce, fearless stand-up; Seth Meyers, Comedy Central Half Hour, Chelsea Lately), Janelle James (@midnight, SeeSo's Night Train with Wyatt Cenac), Michael Joyce, Simmons McDavid, and Lane Pieschel hosted by Rob Haze (Adam Devine's House Party, Viceland's Flophouse): The Fancy Show (8:00 pm, $12, Brooklyn's Littlefield at 635 Sackett Street; take R subway to Union Street; PLEASE NOTE: As of Monday night, this show has SOLD OUT)
Other notable shows this Tuesday include:
[TOP PICK] [$] 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 ($7 for the whole evening): In this 4-hour extravaganza, eight singing & dancing improv groups—all typically led by the best improv pianist in the biz, Frank Spitznagel—at The Magnet make up musicals based on audience suggestions: Magnet Musical Megawatt
[TOP PICK] [$] 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 Village Underground (130 West 3rd Street, off Sixth Avenue): Comedy Cellar Tuesday
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($12): Hari Kondabolu (David Letterman, Conan O'Brien, Jimmy Kimmel, Comedy Central Presents, @midnight; former writer & correspondent for FX's Totally Biased), Matteo Lane (Seth Meyers, Comedy Central, MTV's Guy Code & Girl Code), Christi Chiello (Comedy Central's Roast Battle, MTV's Girl Code, TruTV, co-host of Battle of the Divas), Casey James Salengo (Comedy Central Stand-Up Presents), Jordan Carlos (HBO's Girls, Comedy Central's Broad City and The Nightly Show, Showtime), and Sydnee Washington (host of The Warm Up) perform stand-up at Brooklyn's Union Hall (702 Union Street; take R subway to Union Street) hosted by Sharron Paul (College Humor) & Calvin Cole (TBS' Just for Laughs): Cheap Date Comedy Show
[FREE] 8:00 pm (no charge, but you must RSVP): Comics who create material for Above Average perform, including Joel Kim Booster (Conan O'Brien, Comedy Central Stand-Up Presents special, Billy on the Street; for Joel's Conan set, please click here), Sean Donnelly (David Letterman, Conan O'Brien, Comedy Central Half Hour, Last Comic Standing, MTV), Blair Socci (MTV's Girl Code and Ladylike), Matt Rogers (co-host of the GAYme Show), Rae Sanni (New York Magazine), and host Matt Star, all at the Brooklyn Brewery (79 North 11th Street): Above Average Live
[TOP PICK] [FREE] 8:30 pm: Michelle Wolf (star stand-up who's also a star writer/correspondent for The Daily Show; previously staff writer & performer for Seth Meyers), Ronny Cheng (correspondent for The Daily Show), Nore Davis (HBO's Last Week Tonight, Comedy Central's Inside Amy Schumer and Russell Simmons Presents The Ruckus, Showtime's Boardwalk Empire, MTV), and Joey Dundale perform stand-up hosted by Dan Licata, Joe Pera, and Charles Gould at Brooklyn's The Shanty (79 Richardson Street; take L subway to Lorimer Street): Dan + Joe + Charles' Show
[TOP PICK] [$] 8:30 pm ($10 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Two long headlining sets on this stand-up double-bill starring Monroe Martin (David Letterman, Jimmy Fallon, finalist on Last Comic Standing, Netflix's Master of None) and Derek Gaines (host of MTV's Broke A$$ Game Show) at The Fat Black Pussycat Lounge (130 West 3rd Street): Monroe Martin and Derek Gaines: No Need for Apologies
[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
[FREE] 10:30 pm (Free! using online code COMP; no min.): Stand-ups pair up to brutally insult each other and then be judged for the effectiveness of their viciousness by veteran comics such as Big Jay Oakerson and Rich Vos at The Stand Comedy Club (239 Third Avenue, off 20th Street) hosted by Luis J. Gomez: The RoastMasters (PLEASE NOTE: As of Monday night, this show has SOLD OUT)
NYC Comedy Picks for Wednesday 8/23/17
As part of the Brooklyn Comedy Festival, superb comics Nimesh Patel (exceptionally sharp & funny; Comedy Central, TruTV; written for Chris Rock hosting the 2016 Oscars; co-host of Broken Comedy), Matteo Lane (Seth Meyers, Comedy Central, MTV's Guy Code & Girl Code), Liza Treyger (fresh, fierce, fearless stand-up; Seth Meyers, Comedy Central Half Hour, Horace and Pete, Chelsea Lately), and more perform stand-up hosted by Mike Lebowitz: Comedians You Should Know (9:00 pm, $5, Brooklyn's Gutter Bar: Bowling and Fine Brews at 200 North 14th Street)...
...and also part of the Brooklyn Comedy Festival, an interactive comedy game show in which contestants compete on spelling ability and the audience is invited to sabotage them, featuring Will Miles (co-host of Comedy Night at the Knit; TruTV, The Chris Gethard Show; Steve Martin's Comedy MasterClass; comedy album Good Year), Casey James Salengo (Comedy Central Stand-Up Presents special), and Tom Cowell (writer for Comedy Central), plus music from band Andy Frasco & The UN, all hosted by Alex Greer: We Bee Spelling (8:30 pm, $12.21 online or $15 at the door, Brooklyn's Union Pool (484 Union Avenue)...
...and also as part of the Brooklyn Comedy Festival, three of the finest comics in the country—Jo Firestone, Mark Normand, and Michelle Wolf—perform stand-up hosted by Becca Beberaggi: Paste Magazine Presents Jo Firestone, Mark Normand, and Michelle Wolf (9:00 pm, Brooklyn's William Vale at 111 North 12th Street; PLEASE NOTE: This show has SOLD OUT)...
...Ilana Glazer (co-star of Comedy Central red-hot hit Broad City) delivered superb stand-up shows last Wednesday, in which she did a great long set and also had two sharp comedy friends do great long sets; and since those went so well, Ilana's doing it again tonight and next Wednesday, with both an early and late show: Ilana Glazer and Friends (7:30 pm and 9:30 pm, $10, Brooklyn's Littlefield at 635 Sackett Street;—take R subway to Union Street; PLEASE NOTE: All performances have SOLD OUT. However, you might be able to nab tickets via the Fan Exchange)...
...and The Chris Gethard Show's Riley Soloner is most famous for his over-the-top Vacation Jason, an eternal id whose sole missions in life are to party and create chaos. Come enjoy this character so infectious that when Chris Gethard was pitching his show to Comedy Central years ago, one executive was more interested in Vacation Jason than in Geth: Night Late: Vacation Jason Edition (11:00 pm, $5, UCB Chelsea at 307 West 26th Street)
Other notable shows this Wednesday include:
[FREE] 6:00 pm-midnight: Six hours of free improvisation—including dynamite comics Adrian Sexton and Jay Malsky in The Community Players at 7:00 pm, musical improv from group Vern (which includes superb singer & comic Julie A. Feltman) at 7:30 pm, such stellar improvisors as Pat Swearingen and Langston Belton in Hero Complex at 8:30 pm, and star instructors such as Dana Shulman, Adrian Sexton, Chris Booth, and sometimes even PIT owner Ali Reza Farahnakian at The Faculty at 10:30 pm, all at The PIT Mainstage: Super Free Wednesday
[TOP PICK] [$] 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 ($7): A dozen comics create an on-stage episode of Game of Thrones in which "women rise up and take back Westeros; it's All Men Must Die (with jokes)" at the UCB Chelsea theatre: Dames of Thrones
[TOP PICK] [$] 7:30 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): Comedy Cellar Wednesday
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($10): "A love letter to beloved shows such as Pee Wee’s Playhouse and Lamb Chop’s Play-Along, comedians Joe Rumrill and Mary Houlihan invite you to a cavalcade of original costumed characters, animations, and sketches from both real humans and puppet humans" with guests Tim Platt, Steven DeSiena, Tessa Skara, and Jaboukie Young-White, all performing at Brooklyn's Union Hall (702 Union Street; take R subway to Union Street) as part of the the Brooklyn Comedy Festival: Cartoon Monsoon
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($7): Writer/performers Jim O'Grady (The New York Times, This American Life, WNYC Radio, Moth GrandSlam Champion), Adam Wade (two-time Moth GrandSlam Storytelling Champion (2006 & 2009) and record-breaking 20-time StorySlam Champion; album "The Human Comedy;" for a sampling of Adam's award-winning tales, please click here), Matt Dennie (MTV, IFC, co-host of ool Shit/Weird Shit), and Jeff Hiller (30 Rock, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, musical improv group Rumpleteaser) tell comedic tales on this month's theme Back to School at UCB Chelsea (307 West 26th Street) for David Martin's The Nights of Our Lives
[TOP PICK] [$] 8:30 pm ($15 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Robert Kelly (Louie, Trainwreck, HBO, CBS, two Comedy Central specials) performs a one-man stand-up show at The Fat Black Pussycat Lounge (130 West 3rd Street): Robert Kelly: Hard R
9:00 pm ($10): Five-guy sketch/improv group No Feelings stages the new White House communications team holding a press conference at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue): No Feelings: Bannon's Folly
NYC Comedy Picks for Thursday 8/24/17
Dave Hill (one of the most original and hilariously sharp alternative comics in the country; @midnight, Inside Amy Schumer, Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, This American Life; host for HBO and Cinemax; host of WFMU's The Goddamn Dave Hill Show; books Tasteful Nudes and Dave Hill Doesn't Live Here Anymore; comedy album Let Me Turn You On), Phil Costello (Dave's bandmate in groups Valley Lodge and—with Moby—Diamondsnake), and Greg Barris (MTV's All That Rocks, host of Heart of Darkness) perform Dave's epic email exchange with a Norwegian black metal record label while pretending to be "Lance, a teenager living with his parents in Gary, Indiana who also just so happens to be the lead singer and sole member of the most extreme, brutal, and Satanic black metal band of all-time, WitchTaint, and hopes to get signed on the strength of one excruciatingly bad song called Necrodreamraper.” To get a feel, visit Dave's website devoted to these emails, The Black Metal Dialogues, and then come enjoy the stage version that's part of the Brooklyn Comedy Festival: Witch Taint Live (8:00 pm; $10, Brooklyn's Union Hall at 702 Union Street; take R subway to Union Street)...
...and also part of the Brooklyn Comedy Festival is this stand-up show featuring Liza Treyger (above right; fresh, fierce, fearless stand-up; Seth Meyers, Comedy Central Half Hour, Chelsea Lately), Michelle Buteau (above left; VH1's Morning Buzz and Best Week Ever, Comedy Central's Key & Peele, FOX's Enlisted, Craig Ferguson, Last Comic Standing, @midnight, comedy album Shut Up), Janelle James (above middle; @midnight, SeeSo's Night Train with Wyatt Cenac), Corinne Fisher (co-host of popular podcast Guys We Fucked), and Emma Willmann (Stephen Colbert, @midnight, Sirius XM) hosted by Rosebud Baker: Generation Why? (8:00 pm, $15, Brooklyn's Knitting Factory at 361 Metropolitan Avenue)...
...or go to Manhattan to experience superb singer & comic Julie A. Feltman (musical improv group Vern, musical parody series Unauthorized!) host a sketch & cabaret show as Judy Garland, joined by ace singer/impersonators Matt Giroveanu (Broadway's Next Hit Musical, Vern) as Frank Sinatra and Jay Malsky (above right; see directly below for UCB Chelsea shows Jay Malsky Slept With My Boyfriend and The Kellyanne Show happening at 9:30 pm) as Elaine Stritch, with Jody Shelton (co-writer of hit parody 50 Shades: The Musical; renowned musical improv group Baby Wants Candy) on piano: The Judy Garland Show (7:00, $7, The PIT Mainstage at 123 East 24th Street)...
...and then come see Jay Malsky, a super-charged & hilarious character comic who sings beautifully. This (mostly) one-man musical he's created shows off all of Jay's strengths, as he plays a variety of women whose boyfriends he stole. Enjoy this polished version—with musical direction by Jody Shelton, choreography by Zak Sommerfield, and extra vocals by David Carl & Taylor Ortega—that's now a part of the UCB schedule (I saw it raw when it debuted last year at Solocom...and it was the best show of the festival): Jay Malsky Slept With My Boyfriend! (8:00 pm; $7—which includes a second show that co-stars Jay and is also likely to be terrific, The Kellyanne Show: UCB Chelsea at 307 West 26th Street)...
...and while you're at UCB, stick around for NYC's premium improv competition. Last week indie group Miles From Pete (Desi Domo, Waylen Roche, Josh Tobin, and Scott Vicari) performed a brilliant 25-minute monoscene, with Desi Domo (above) especially proving herself an outstanding comedic talent who merits keeping an eye on. This group that's not affiliated with any school essentially crushed three of the guys from UCB Saturday night improv team What I Did For Love (which had been on a 6-week winning streak), attracting 67 votes to 27. New champion MFP tonight faces UCB Lloyd Night group Zaddy, competing for your laughs and votes at the raucous Cage Match (11:00 pm, $5, UCB Chelsea at 307 West 26th Street)
Other notable shows this Thursday include:
[FREE] 7:00 pm-10:00 pm: An improv jam open to all at 7:00 pm, Annoyance Theatre veteran improvisor show Michael Jordan Steakhouse at 8:00 pm, and a stand-up show at 9:00 pm featuring Bowen Yang (Comedy Central's Broad City; member of sketch group Pop Roulette; co-host of podcast Las Culturistas), Christi Chiello (Comedy Central's Roast Battle, MTV's Girl Code, TruTV, co-host of Battle of the Divas), and more, all at Greenpoint's Brooklyn Bazaar (150 Greenpoint Avenue, in the cellar) hosted by Danny Groh as part of the Brooklyn Comedy Festival: DogSlam Comedy
[TOP PICK] [$] 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
8:00 pm ($10): A raunchy musical about high school seniors and aliens from outer space plotting to harvest our genitals begins a 10-show run tonight through September 18th at The PIT Mainstage from writer Joe Kelly, musical director Jonathan Evans, and director Griffin Osborne: Aliens Coming: The Musical
8:00 pm ($7): A two-man comedic play about star Redd Foxx, who had a legendary stand-up career and hit TV series; "yet toward the end of his infamous life the IRS took everything he had...so he decided to give a fuck" written by Laurence Maslon, and starring Kareem M. Lucas as Redd Foxx and Adam McNulty as an IRS agent at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Redd, Black, and Blue
[TOP PICK] [$] 8:30 pm ($8 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Michelle Wolf, Melissa Villaseñor, Liza Treyger, Nimesh Patel, Seaton Smith, Keith Alberstadt, Alingon Mitra, and more try out new stand-up material at The Fat Black Pussycat Lounge (130 West 3rd Street): New Joke Night
9:00 pm ($7): A rotating cast of professional clowns perform a silly show in hopes of changing your life at The PIT Underground hosted by Joe Galan & Kim Kaiser: An Unapologetic Mess: A Clown Show
NYC Comedy Picks for Friday 8/25/17
As part of the Brooklyn Comedy Festival, enjoy Chris Gethard (comedy genius; star of HBO 90-minute special Career Suicide; star of Fusion's The Chris Gethard Show; co-star of Mike Birbiglia film Don't Think Twice; host of Webby-winning podcast Beautiful Stories From Anonymous People; The Office, Comedy Central, IFC; author of A Bad Idea I'm About to Do and Weird New York), Emmy Blotnick (brilliant rising star stand-up; staff writer for Comedy Central's The President Show; former 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), Shalewa Sharpe (Keith and the Girl; comedy album Stay Eating Cookies), Joyelle Nicole, Alex English, and Jaboukie Young-White perform stand-up, with music from DJ Donwill, and hosted by Michelle Buteau (VH1's Morning Buzz and Best Week Ever, Comedy Central's Key & Peele, FOX's Enlisted, Craig Ferguson, Last Comic Standing, @midnight, comedy album Shut Up): A Night of Really Funny People in Brooklyn (8:00 pm, $12, Brooklyn's Littlefield at 635 Sackett Street;—take R subway to Union Street)...
...or join the lovely Natalie Wall (above right) in celebrating the Fourth Year Anniversary of her best sexy storytelling show in NYC, which tonight features Krystyna Hutchinson (above left; co-host of popular Guys We Fucked podcast, Carson Daly), Angela Perrone (above middle; sketch group Dark Times, improv group Former Children), and Care Stigs (Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central, VH1; host of Right Now; for sample of Care (formerly Carolyn Castiglia) as white rapper, please click here) telling tales of erotic encounters gone awry: Awkward Sex...and the City (8:00 pm; $16.82 online or $20 at the door—which includes free beer and wine; The Pleasure Chest at 1150 Second Avenue, between 60th & 61st Streets)...
...or come marvel at world-class singing improvisors Evan Kaufman & Rebecca Vigil interviewing an audience couple about their love life and then turning it into a musical—with breathtaking skill (see my review of their award-winning FringeNYC 2015 shows here). Part of the Brooklyn Comedy Festival, I highly recommend the phenomenal Your Love, Our Musical (7:30 pm; $10, which is super cheap—;this show has regularly sold out at $18 at other venues; Brooklyn's Union Hall at 702 Union Street; take R subway to Union Street)
Other notable shows this Friday include:
[TOP PICK] [$] 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 ($15 cover for FBPL shows, $24 cover for CC & VU shows, 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
8:00 pm ($7): A two-man comedic play about star Redd Foxx, who had a legendary stand-up career and hit TV series; "yet toward the end of his infamous life the IRS took everything he had...so he decided to give a fuck" written by Laurence Maslon, and starring Kareem M. Lucas as Redd Foxx and Adam McNulty as an IRS agent at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Redd, Black, and Blue
[TOP PICK] [$] 9:00 pm ($12): Some of the finest improv in the country from brilliant comics Connor Ratliff, Shannon O'Neill, Alexandra Dickson, Michael Delaney, and/or Silvija Ozols forming a seamless and hilarious group mind at UCB Chelsea—the all-star members of The Stepfathers
[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($10): Will Miles (co-host of Comedy Night at the Knit; TruTV, The Chris Gethard Show; Steve Martin's Comedy MasterClass; comedy album Good Year), Josh Johnson (writer for Jimmy Fallon; Comedy Central Half Hour, Kevin Hart's Hart of the City), Wanjiko Eke (MTV), and Sarah Lazarus perform stand-up at Brooklyn's Union Hall (702 Union Street; take R subway to Union Street) hosted by Mamoudou N’Diaye & Yedoye Travis as part of the Brooklyn Comedy Festival: The Resistance Comedy
[TOP PICK] [$] 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
Midnight ($7): "You have been cordially invited to the Mad Queen's birthday spectacular, and no mad birthday would be complete without an appearance by The Fiend. The Fiend must be fed, so The Queen has decided to kill two birds with one stone: Any performance that does not meet the Queen's Standard will be fed to The Fiend!" with potential victims Corin Wells, Patrick Keene, Melanie Owens, and Arti Gollapudi performing at the UCB East theatre: Cool Shit / Weird Shit: The Mad Queen's Birthday Monstrosity
NYC Comedy Picks for Sunday 8/27/17
As part of the Brooklyn Comedy Festival, a free panel discussion about diversity in writing for late night TV sponsored by NBC and NBCUniversal TIPS (Talent Infusion Programs), with Kate Sidley (staff writer for Stephen Colbert), Nedaa Sweiss (staff writer for James Corden), and more TBA: Writers Panel: Diversity in Late Night (3:00 pm-4:30 pm, Free!, Brooklyn's Knitting Factory at 361 Metropolitan Avenue)...
...and the closing night live show of the Brooklyn Comedy Festival (the fest officially ends Sunday, but the only show tomorrow is a series of short film screenings) is like a box of chocolates—the performers will be a surprise, but the chances you'll like at least a few of them: Brooklyn Comedy Fest Closing Night Surprise Party (8:00 pm-Midnight, $15, Greenpoint's Brooklyn Bazaar at 150 Greenpoint Avenue)...
...or if you prefer live game shows based on physical comedy, check out funny dancers competing for your laughs and votes at Dancing with the Star Stuffs (doors 10:00 pm, show 10:30 pm; $8; Reckless Theatre at 527 West 29th Street, between Tenth & Eleventh Avenues)
Other notable shows this Saturday include:
[TOP PICK] [$] 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-$24 per show, plus 2-item food/drink min.): Some of the finest stand-ups in the country spread among four shows at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane), the 7:15, 9:15, and 11:15 shows at Village Underground (130 West 3rd Street, off Sixth Avenue), and the 8:00 pm & 10:00 pm shows at The Fat Black Pussycat Lounge (130 West 3rd Street): Comedy Cellar Saturday
[TOP PICK] [$] 7:30 pm ($12): Improv powerhouses Charlie Todd, Jeff Hiller, Jim Santangeli, Natasha Rothwell, Brandon Gardner, Chelsea Clarke, Kevin Hines, Erik Tanouye, and John Timothy at UCB Chelsea interview an audience member about where he or she grew up and then "turn that town's tourist attractions, landmarks, hangouts, local celebrities, urban legends, and more into a hilarious show made up on the spot:" The Curfew: Not From Around Here
[TOP PICK] [$] 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 takes the stage for an hour at The PIT Underground: North Coast
9:30 pm ($10): A raunchy musical about high school seniors and aliens from outer space plotting to harvest our genitals continues its run through September 18th at The PIT Mainstage from writer Joe Kelly, musical director Jonathan Evans, and director Griffin Osborne: Aliens Coming: The Musical
[TOP PICK] [$] 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
10:00 pm ($10): Kenny Warren invites comedians to his "barbershop" to get their hair cut and talk comedy at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) co-hosted by Barry Ribs & Larry Beyah: Comics Cutting Comics
[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 at The Magnet theatre: The Cast
[FREE] Midnight: "Mother Oslo (a.k.a. Oslo The Gay Black Metal Southerner) will host and read scriptures from the most unholy book of all eternity. The Black Metal Bible. Come for the damnation, stay for the sacrifice" at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue): Black Metal Chvrch
NYC Comedy Picks for Sunday 8/27/17
Tim Girrbach (half of comedic musical duo Squirm & Germ) and friends perform "your favorite 1980s soundtrack songs, re-imagined by a German überfan and a saxophone quartet at his birthday party. Come rock out with Manheim Tuttlingen, his Frauleins, and The Garden State Saxophone Quartet as they crank out his all-time favorite hits from Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Back to the Future, The Goonies, Sixteen Candles, The NeverEnding Story, and more. Filled with lederhosen-dropping surprises, it's a comedic character concert created as a homage to Tim's German dad, directed/choreographed by Wendy Seyb (HBO's & Broadway's The Pee Wee Herman Show, The Toxic Avenger Musical)." For one night only: Birthday Sax (9:30 pm, $15, Joe's Pub at 425 Lafayette Street, between East 4th Street & Astor Place)...
...and there's nothing more unpredictable on a stage than an animal. In this endearing monthly show, improvisors perform along with their real-life pets—tonight featuring Katie Hammond & her dog Vern and Angela Perrone & her dog Francis, plus other improvisors including Dana Shulman (rising star; host of Student Driver, improv group Poor Melissa), Rory Scholl, TJ Del Reno, and wonderfully humane host Kerstin Porter (sketch show BoogieManja, sketch/improv group The Pin-Up Squirrels), all making up scenes for Pet Prov (7:00 pm, $7, The PIT Loft at 154 West 29th Street)
Other notable shows this Sunday include:
[TOP PICK] [$] 1:30 pm, 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 four 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 ($7): Matt Koff (staff writer for The Daily Show), Josh Rabinowitz (writer for Comedy Central's Broad City; TruTV's Friends of the People), Kelsey Caine (Miss New York State finalist; for a video sample, please click here), Liz Magee, Hoodo Hersi, and Brandon Ash Mohammed perform stand-up at UCB East produced by Kara Klenk (writer for MTV's Girl Code & Guy Code and contributor to Broad City) and hosted by Alison Leiby (sharp, fresh, likeable stand-up; staff writer for Comedy Central's The President Show; VICE; host of It's a Long Story): If You Build It
[TOP PICK] [$] 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
8:00 pm ($7): A two-man comedic play about star Redd Foxx, who had a legendary stand-up career and hit TV series; "yet toward the end of his infamous life the IRS took everything he had...so he decided to give a fuck" written by Laurence Maslon, and starring Kareem M. Lucas as Redd Foxx and Adam McNulty as an IRS agent at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Redd, Black, and Blue
[FREE] 9:00 pm: Seaton Smith (rising star stand-up; HBO's Girls, FOX's Mulaney, Seth Meyers, Inside Amy Schumer, The Nightly Show), Drew Michael (writer for Saturday Night Live), Ayanna Dookie (co-host of King Hippo Comedy), Chris Laker, Lisa Curry, and Khalid A. Rahmaan perform stand-up at Brooklyn's Knitting Factory (361 Metropolitan Avenue) hosted by Will Miles, Kenny DeForest, and/or Clark Jones: Comedy Night at the Knit
Copyright © 2017 Hy Bender
Email: hy@hyreviews.com
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