NYC Comedy Picks for Monday 8/8/18
A one-woman show by Jena Friedman (wry dark comedy stand-up and rising star; former producer for The Daily Show, former staff writer for David Letterman) that was a hit at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival—and will be taped for broadcast later this month—but you can see live for one night only at UCB: Jena Friedman: American C*nt (8:00 pm, $5, UCB East at 153 East 3rd 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 $) include:
[FREE] 6:00 pm to midnight: Six free hours of improvisation at The PIT downstairs lounge: Super Free Monday
[TOP PICK] [$] 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 four shows at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane) and a 7:30 pm show at Village Underground (130 West 3rd Street, off Sixth Avenue): Comedy Cellar Monday
7:30 pm & 9:00 pm ($10): The first episode of a serialized radio play about the town of Cold Lake, Minnesota celebrating its bicentennial: "From the ice fishing fleets, to local artist Linda Klaver's open mic night at Debbie's Bar/Bait Shop, fortunes will rise and fall like the snow—which, actually, only falls. Unless there's a gust of wind, then it rises. Kinda:" written & directed by Colin Waitt, and produced by Kristin McCarthy Parker & Stephen Stout, at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): From Cold Lake: August
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($8): Jermaine Fowler (creating & starring in new CBS sitcom; star of Showtime special Give 'Em Hell, Kid; MTV’s Guy Code and Wildn Out, Comedy Central, Adult Swim), Sara Schaefer (inventive, luminous comic; former co-star of MTV's The Nikki and Sara Show; Emmy-nominated staff writer for Jimmy Fallon; VH1's Best Week Ever; co-host of hit podcast You Had to Be There), Barry Rothbart (Conan O'Brien, Jay Leno, Comedy Central, MTV's Punk'd, IFC's Do Whatever), Eliza Skinner (Conan O'Brien, Showtime, MTV, TBS, AMC, host of Turnt Up in LA), Nimesh Patel (Comedy Central, co-host of Broken Comedy), and Elicia Sanchez performing stand-up at Brooklyn's Littlefield (622 Degraw Street) guest-hosted by Aparna Nancherla (one of the best stand-ups in the country; writer for Seth Meyers; Conan O'Brien, @Midnight, comedy album Just Putting It Out There; opens for Tig Notaro; hosts top weekly NYC stand-up show Whiplash): Night Train
[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm ($15; no min.): Judah Friedlander (one of the quickest minds and very finest stand-ups in comedy; 30 Rock, Meet the Parents, Along Came Polly, author of bestselling cartoon book If the Raindrops United), Dan Soder (smart, edgy rising star; Conan O'Brien, Comedy Central hour-long special Not Special, Comedy Central Half Hour, Inside Amy Schumer, MTV's Guy Code and Guy Court, VH1), Pete Lee (Comedy Central Half Hour, Last Comic Standing), Matteo Lane (Comedy Central, MTV's Guy Code & Girl Code, host of Chemistry), Jim Florentine (Comedy Central, MTV), Derek Gaines (host of MTV's Broke A$$ Game Show), and Paul Virzi (FOX, Spike TV) performing stand-up at The Stand Comedy Club (239 Third Avenue, off 20th Street): The Stand Monday: Judah Friedlander, Dan Soder, Matteo Lane, Pete Lee, and More
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): At UCB Chelsea, a sketch show about the NYC subway: BEENG BOONG: The Great & Powerful MTA...
...and in the second half of this double-bill, a play directed by the wonderful Langan Kingsley, and written by & co-starring Matt Barats & John Reynolds, about "on the night when the girls ask the boys, it's finally the teacher's turn:" Sadie Hawkins Day: Love Knows No Bounds
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($10): Mike Cabellon, Adrien Pellerin, Katie Sicking have written and star in this musical about "three Millennial janitors who band together to launch a promising enterprise that breaks every promise from boom to bust; it's never about the product, it’s an excuse to give a TED Talk" at The PIT upstairs theatre (123 East 24th Street): Meet the CEOs: A Start-Up Musical
[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): Myq Kaplan (one of the quickest minds in comedy, and rapidly rising star; finalist on Last Comic Standing; David Letterman, Conan O'Brien, Jay Leno, Comedy Central Presents, comedy CDs Small, Dork, and Handsome, Vegan Mind Meld, and Meat Robot) hosts this monthly show, with tonight's guests Rebecca Vigil (rising star powerhouse improv singer; Your Love Our Musical, The Vigilante), Chris "Shockwave" Sullivan (amazing human boombox; The Daily Show, The Electric Company, Freestyle Love Supreme, co-host of Battlicious), Phoebe Robinson (Seth Meyers, Last Comic Standing, Broad City, MTV’s Girl Code, Totally Biased, co-host of 2 Dope Queens), The Lucas Brothers (Jimmy Fallon, 22 Jump Street, FOX's Lucas Bros Moving Company, Arrested Development), Nat Towsen (VICE, College Humor, host of Downtown Variety), Gina Brillon, and Minori Hinds r performing at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue): Myq Kaplan & Friends
9:30 ($5): House sketch groups Hot Bird and Pretty Boys try out new material at UCB Chelsea for Maude Night
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: Amber Nelson (dynamic stand-up & character comic; Comedy Central, TruTV's Almost Genius; sketch group Murderfist), Matteo Lane (Comedy Central, MTV's Guy Code & Girl Code, host of Chemistry), Jim Florentine (Comedy Central, MTV), Nick Mullen, Noah Gardenswartz, Patrick Schroeder, Corey Reppond, and Ramon Rivas performing stand-up at one of the best comedy clubs in NYC, The Stand (239 Third Avenue off 20th Street), at absolutely no charge (feel encouraged to order food and//or drinks, but you don't have to) guest-hosted by Chris Millhouse: Frantic Mondays: Amber Nelson, Matteo Lane, Jim Florentine, and More
[TOP PICK] 10:30 pm ($7): Storytellers share their true "coming out" tales, and then improvisors make up either a play or a musical based on each story at The Magnet theatre hosted by Laura (Dubbs) Weinblatt: Thank You For Coming Out: An LGBTQ Event Pride Night
[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 typically 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 ($5 for both comics and audience members): Open mic stand-up providing 5-7 minutes per comic, with each show running 1 hour and 45 minutes. Arrive 30 minutes before the show you want to be in to get on the signup sheet. This is a fine opportunity to perform at the only comedy club in the East Village: Eastville Comedy Club Open Mic
7:30 pm ($10; sign-up starts at 7:00 pm): Open mic for stand-ups, storytellers, singers, poets, actors, and more, with 5 minutes per performer and 25 slots available, at The Parkside Lounge (317 East Houston Street, off Avenue B) hosted by Nathan P., followed by a raucous afterparty with dancing & drink specials from 10:00 to midnight: Inspired Word's Open Mic Joint
[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
[FREE] 10:30 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
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
NYC Comedy Picks for Tuesday 8/9/16
A monthly wild pun competition hosted by father-daughter duo Fred Firestone and Jo Firestone (exceptionally inventive and irresistible rising star; The Chris Gethard Show, radio host of WFMU's Dr. Gameshow, live-on-stage host of The Unexpectashow and The Incredible Game Show Showcase, co-author with Fred of #1 bestselling Punderdome: A Card Game for Pun Lovers), with 18 audience members competing in Punderdome 3000 (8:00 pm, $10—sold out of advance seats, but there'll be tickets at the door; Brooklyn's Littlefield at 622 Degraw Street; take R subway to Union Street)
More recommendations for the best in New York
City comedy tonight
(in chronological order, with top picks noted and shows
over $10 marked with $) include:
[TOP PICK] 7:00 pm-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] [$] 7:30 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] 7:30 pm ($5): Will Stephen (writer for Saturday Night Live) and Trevor Bachman (composer/vocalist) are interviewed about "that one song you'll never forget" at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Patrick Cartelli & Evan Forde Barden: Repeater: A Little Show About Big Songs
[TOP PICK] 7:30 pm ($5): Ten women each perform a short form monologue about her relationship with her mother (for a video sample, please click here) at The PIT downstairs lounge hosted by Eliza Simpson: The Mother Line Story Project
[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 & 9:15 pm ($5 per show): House groups at UCB Chelsea perform the classic improv form The Harold at Harold Night
[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm ($15; no min.): Judah Friedlander (one of the quickest minds and very finest stand-ups in comedy; 30 Rock, Meet the Parents, Along Came Polly, author of bestselling cartoon book If the Raindrops United), Mike Lawrence (nerd persona but razor-sharp mind has made this stand-up a rapidly rising star; staff writer for Emmy-winning Inside Amy Schumer; frequently invited lightning wit on @midnight; star of upcoming Comedy Central Snapchat series You're Wrong with Mike Lawrence; Conan O'Brien, Seth Meyers, Comedy Central Half Hour, John Oliver's NY Stand-Up, comedy album Sadamantium), Rich Vos (stand-up star on two seasons of Last Comic Standing and on Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn; Comedy Central Presents; Opie & Anthony radio show), Jim Florentine (Comedy Central, MTV), Adrienne Iapalucci (David Letterman, Last Comic Standing, VH1), and Aida Rodriguez performing stand-up at The Stand Comedy Club (239 Third Avenue, off 20th Street): The Stand Tuesday: Judah Friedlander, Mike Lawrence, Rich Vos, Jim Florentine, and More
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($10; no min.): Dan Soder (smart, edgy rising star; Conan O'Brien, Comedy Central hour-long special Not Special, Comedy Central Half Hour, Inside Amy Schumer, MTV's Guy Code and Guy Court, VH1), Big Jay Oakerson (Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central Presents, Louie, Inside Amy Schumer, HBO, Showtime, MTV, IFC; co-host of podcasts Legion of Skanks and The SDR; stellar new comedy album Live at Webster Hall), Big Jay Oakerson (Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central Presents, Louie, Inside Amy Schumer, HBO, Showtime, MTV, IFC; co-host of podcasts Legion of Skanks and The SDR; stellar new comedy album Live at Webster Hall), Phoebe Robinson (Seth Meyers, Last Comic Standing, Broad City, MTV’s Girl Code, Totally Biased, co-host of 2 Dope Queens), Nore Davis (Inside Amy Schumer, HBO's Last Week Tonight, Boardwalk Empire, Comedy Central's Russell Simmons Presents The Ruckus, MTV), Matteo Lane (Comedy Central, MTV's Guy Code & Girl Code, host of Chemistry), and Janelle James (SeeSo's Night Train with Wyatt Cenac) performing at Queens LIC's The Standing Room (4738 Vernon Blvd.) hosted by JC & Tracey Carnazzo: Race & Sex: Dan Soder, Big Jay Oakerson, Phoebe Robinson, and More
8:00 pm ($5): Making great use of UCB East's previous incarnation as an indie movie theatre, tonight features screenings of select films running five minutes or less—most of them funny—crafted in the style of TV pilots. The shorts receiving the most audience votes get to continue with additional episodes, while the others are "canceled" at Channel 101
8:00 pm ($5): Erin Fenton & Danielle Grace use sketches and music to pay tribute to Alanis Morissette at The PIT upstairs theatre: It Isn't Ironic
[FREE] 8:30 pm: Eliza Skinner (Conan O'Brien, Showtime, MTV, TBS, AMC, host of Turnt Up in LA), Rae Sanni, Tim Barnes, Sam Evans, and Pat Brown performing stand-up at Cake Shop (152 Ludlow Street, between Rivington & Stanton) hosted by Liza Treyger (Comedy Central Half Hour, Chelsea Lately): Cakeshop Comedy
[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
9:00 pm ($7): Brandon Scott Wolf (contributor to SNL's Weekend Update), Adrian Sexton (Unauthorized: The Musical series), Jared Dryden, Ganesh Nair, and Jenn Wehrung make up TED Talks at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Ryan Stanisz: Stand-Ups Improvise TED Talks
9:00 pm ($5): A showcase for two brand new scripted shows—sketch, solo, or what have you—every week at The PIT downstairs lounge produced by the wonderful Ronny Pascale: Pilot Season
[FREE] 9:00 pm): NYC stand-ups Scotland Green, Michelle Slonim, Bob Hansen, Damien Holmes, and Amy Shanker performing at Brooklyn's Tender Trap (66 Greenpoint Avenue; take J/M/Z to Marcy Avenue or L to Lorimer Street) hosted by Tim Unkenholz & Justin Hancock: Buttery Riffz
[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): Joe Zimmerman (Conan O'Brien, Comedy Central Half Hour, Last Comic Standing), Claudia Cogan (Last Comic Standing, MTV, Logo, here! TV), Anthony DeVito (Adam Devine's House Party), and Irene Morales present funny lectures on silly topics—e.g., "Octopuses: Squishy Satans of the Sea"—at the UCB East theatre produced by Kara Klenk and hosted by Jim Tews: Homeschooled—A Comedic Lecture Series
[TOP PICK] [FREE] 10:30 pm: Stand-ups (Erik Bergstrom & Eli Sairs, Emily Winter vs. Courtney Maginnis, Nick Mullen vs. Stavros Halkias, and Samantha Ruddy vs. Dina Hashem) pair up to brutally insult each other and then be judged for the effectiveness of their viciousness by comic judges Mike Lawrence, Rich Vos, and Sean Donnelly at The Stand Comedy Club (239 Third Avenue, off 20th Street) hosted by Luis J. Gomez: The RoastMasters
11:00 pm ($5): Going beyond the classic Harold, group Sleuth performs different forms of longform improv at the UCB East theatre: Harold on the Run
Tuesday Open Mics & Jams
5:00 pm ($5): Two-hour open-mic for 20 stand-ups performing for 5 minutes each, with sign-up online here, at the Stand Up NY Comedy Club (236 West 78th Street): Stand Up NY Open Mic
6:00 pm ($5 for both comics and audience members): Open mic stand-up providing 5-7 minutes per comic, running 2 1/2 hours. Arrive 30 minutes before the show to get on the signup sheet. This is a fine opportunity to perform at the only comedy club in the East Village: Eastville Comedy Club Open Mic
[FREE] 6:00 pm: Open mic for comedy of all types providing 2 minutes for each performer (with sign-up starting at 6:00) at Queens LIC's The Creek upstairs theatre hosted by Tim Unkenholz: Butt Factory
[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] 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
NYC Comedy Picks for Wednesday 8/10/16
Possibly the funniest duo sketch show in NYC, from Dylan Marron (Welcome to Nightvale, 2015 Drama Desk Nominee) and Jo Firestone (exceptionally inventive and irresistible rising star; The Chris Gethard Show, radio host of WFMU's Dr. Gameshow, live-on-stage host of Punderdome 3000 and The Incredible Game Show Showcase), who give you "a real-time middle school talent show performed by two grown adults:" Ridgefield Middle School Talent Nite (8:00 pm, $5, UCB Chelsea at 307 West 26th Street)...
...and then later Jo Firestone (co-author of #1 bestselling Punderdome: A Card Game for Pun Lovers) hosts her "anything might happen comedy chaos" monthly show that tonight celebrates the Olympics by asking you to "watch as incredibly unfit comedian-types compete in challenges solely requiring physical strength and agility. Who will take home the gold? Who will roll away in shame? Come find out." Featuring Jo, Tyler Richardson, Sandy Honig, Chris Garner, Ryan Haney, and more: Jo Firestone Presents The Unexpectashow (11:00 pm, $5, UCB Chelsea at 307 West 26th Street)
More recommendations for the best in New York
City comedy tonight
(in chronological order, with top picks noted and shows
over $10 marked with $) include:
[FREE] 6:00 pm-midnight: Six 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 ($5): Carolyn Castiglia (Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central, VH1; for sample of Carolyn as white rapper, please click here), Kevin Barnett (MTV's Guy Code, #FAIL Comedy Central, TruTV's Friends of the People, Sleepwalk With Me, College Humor), Bowen Yang (Broad City), Zack Bornstein (Jimmy Kimmel Live), Anthony DeVito (Adam Devine's House Party), and Drew Dowdey performing stand-up at Brooklyn's The Annoyance Theatre (367 Bedford Avenue; take J/M/Z to Marcy Avenue or L to Lorimer Street) hosted by Evan Kaufman (genius musical improvisor of Your Love Our Musical and North Coast; VH1): The Sensible Show
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 ($12-$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
[TOP PICK] [$] 7:30 pm ($20, plus 2-item minimum if you purchase a seat; no min. if you buy a standing room ticket; either way, price includes free slices of homemade ice cream cakes!): Peter Grosz (Veep, Inside Amy Schumer, former writer for Seth Meyers and The Colbert Report, star of over 100 Sonic fast-food commercials), Selena Coppock (author of book The New Rules for Blondes), Sandi Marx (7-time Moth StorySlam winner), and Adam Linn (The Moth Mainstage) tell true tales for this Fifth Year Anniversary show at the The Gallery of Poisson Rouge (158 Bleecker Street) hosted by Robin Gelfenbien (storyteller and singer/songwriter; VH1, AMC, Sirius Radio) with free ice cream cakes made by Robin herself: Yum's the Word: 5th Year Anniversary Show
7:30 pm ($5): Erica Hernandez & Natalie Rich perform a two-person comedy about a high school in its last week of Senior year at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Gimme an F
7:30 pm ($5): Expanding the UCB longform improv showcased on Harold Night is this weekly show at UCB East which features three house groups making up scenes on the spot: Lloyd Night
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($15; no min.): Judah Friedlander (one of the quickest minds and very finest stand-ups in comedy; 30 Rock, Meet the Parents, Along Came Polly, author of bestselling cartoon book If the Raindrops United), Dan Soder (smart, edgy rising star; Conan O'Brien, Comedy Central hour-long special Not Special, Comedy Central Half Hour, Inside Amy Schumer, MTV's Guy Code and Guy Court, VH1), Joe List (HBO, David Letterman, Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central), Jim Florentine (Comedy Central, MTV), Christian Finnegan (co-star of A&E's Black and White; Conan O'Brien; three Comedy Central specials, Netflix special The Fun Part; TBS, VH1, MSNBC, Chappelle's Show, The Today Show), Sarah Tollemache, and Tim Dillon performing stand-up at The Stand Comedy Club (239 Third Avenue, off 20th Street): The Stand Wednesday: Judah Friedlander, Dan Soder, Joe List, Jim Florentine, and More
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): Comics Justin Charity, Jason DeMarco, Ben Hopkins, and Zoe Camp deliver silly PowerPoint presentations fueled by alcohol, with this month's topic Animation, at Brooklyn's Littlefield (622 Degraw Street): Drunk TED Talks: Get Animated
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($8): Movie & TV clips of Muppet Gonzo's best moments screened at Brooklyn's Union Hall, plus "Muppet-themed drink specials, cool giveaways, and more:" The Muppet Vault: Gonzo the Great
[FREE] 8:00 pm: Comedic storytellers Sean O. Brien, Joseph Robert, Nathaniel Cocoa-Bates, and Ritchie Redding performing on the premise "Sometimes people are dicks. Then they tell us about it onstage. It's great!" at Brooklyn's Over the Eight (594 Union Ave) for this monthly show hosted by Jake Hart & Nick Padilla: Antagonist Storytelling Series (ASS)
[FREE] 8:00 pm: Young and/or struggling NYC stand-ups performing at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) produced by Meghan O'Malley, Adrian Davidson, and Erick Hellwig: Barely Making It
[TOP PICK] [$] 8:30 pm ($5 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Sam Morril (Stephen Colbert, Conan O'Brien, Comedy Central Half Hour) performs a solo stand-up show at The Fat Black Pussycat Lounge (130 West 3rd Street): Sam Morril: You've Changed
8:30 pm ($5): Stand-ups guide you through "a typical day at school" at Brooklyn's The Annoyance Theatre (367 Bedford Avenue; take J/M/Z to Marcy Avenue or L to Lorimer Street) hosted by Lillian DeVane, Guitler Raphael, and Kofi Thomas: Hall Pass
8:30 pm ($5): Chris Roberti hosts sketch, improv, and/or more at The PIT downstairs lounge: Chris Roberti Presents
[TOP PICK] [FREE] 9:00 pm: Big Jay Oakerson (Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central Presents, Louie, Inside Amy Schumer, HBO, Showtime, MTV, IFC; stellar new comedy album Live at Webster Hall), Dave Smith, Luis J. Gomez, and other NYC comics "discussing the skankier sides of life, love, and stand-up comedy" for this weekly podcast taping at The Creek downstairs lounge in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue): Legion of Skanks
[FREE] 9:00 pm: Sean Donnelly, Rob Little, Langston Kerman, Meghan Hanley, Scotland Green, Paul Schissler, and JP Roy 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): Casey Balsham, Derek Humphrey, Jacob Williams, Chris James, and Tori Piskin performing at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Chris Gersbeck: Everythign Is Dumbn: A Comedy & Music Showcase
9:00 pm ($5): An improv pianist plays for four improv acts—two of which are musical improv—at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): The Piano Show
[TOP PICK] 9:15 pm ($5): The instructors of UCB's classes include some of the finest improvisors in the country. In this new weekly show a bunch of them get on stage at UCB East hosted by Doug Mo and/or Ben Rameaka: Hot for Teacher: The UCB Faculty Show
[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): Top improvisors Connor Ratliff, Shannon O'Neill, Brandon Scott Jones, and/or Molly Thomas "talk to one person for less than 10 minutes and let them know how they die 45 minutes later" at the UCB Chelsea theatre: We Know How You Die
9:30 pm ($5): A five-woman play described as follows: "After graduating college, sorority sisters make a pact to come together during various periods in their life at that time of the month to celebrate their sisterhood. They soon learn, even if you belong to the most prestigious sorority of beavers, life can get messy—PERIOD! It’s Sisterhood of Traveling Pants meets Requiem for a Dream if it was written by a teenage girl with a cast that have all done at least two improv classes and background work on HBO’s Girls" at Brooklyn's The Annoyance Theatre (367 Bedford Avenue; take J/M/Z to Marcy Avenue or L to Lorimer Street): Blood Pact
[TOP PICK] 10:00 pm ($5; no min.): Dan Soder (smart, edgy rising star; Conan O'Brien, Comedy Central hour-long special Not Special, Comedy Central Half Hour, Inside Amy Schumer, MTV's Guy Code and Guy Court, VH1), Joe List (HBO, David Letterman, Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central), Jim Florentine (Comedy Central, MTV), Pete Lee (Comedy Central Half Hour, Last Comic Standing), Adrienne Iapalucci (David Letterman, Last Comic Standing, VH1), Aida Rodriguez, and Ian Lara performing stand-up at The Stand Comedy Club (239 Third Avenue, off 20th Street): $5 Funnies: Dan Soder, Joe List, Jim Florentine, 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): Improvisors make up scenes about obsessions at the UCB East theatre: The Fix
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: 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
[FREE] 6:00 pm: Open mic stand-up show that provides each performer whose name is pulled from a bucket 5 minutes on stage at The Creek downstairs lounge in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) hosted by Kaity Neagle & Irene Hartmann: Ragtag Team Open Mic Stand-Up
6:00 pm ($5 for both comics and audience members): Open mic stand-up providing 5-7 minutes per comic, running 2 1/2 hours. Arrive 30 minutes before the show to get on the signup sheet. This is a fine opportunity to perform at the only comedy club in the East Village: Eastville Comedy Club Open Mic
[FREE] 6:00 pm: Sign up at 5:45 pm for the opportunity to make up scenes at The Magnet with veteran improvisors: Magnet Mixer Wednesday
[FREE] 6:00 pm: Your chance to improvise on stage at The PIT upstairs theatre hosted by Anthony Velez & Parker Denton: Recess
[FREE] 7:00 pm: Four booked NYC stand-ups, plus one open spot for an audience member whose name is pulled from a bucket, plus drop-in spots for up to five TV-credited comics who care to walk in! Spots are at least 5 minutes each, but go up by a minute per comic for every TV-credited drop-in spot that isn't filled (e.g., if no drop-ins appear, every comic will receive up to 10 minutes per set). It all happens at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) hosted by Daniel Ahrens: Drop-In/The Bucket
[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
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 downstairs lounge 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
[FREE] 11:15 pm: Your opportunity to perform on the stage of UCB East with improv veterans at UCB East hosted by members of improv group What I Did For Love: Rotisserie Jam
NYC Comedy Picks for Thursday 8/11/16
In this unique show, Giulia Rozzi (Comedy Central's This Is Not Happening and The Jim Gaffigan Show, Chelsea Lately, writer for MTV's Girl Code, VH1,comedy album True Love), interviews comics as they share rare and embarrassing footage of one of their first sets—and will also perform new material for comparison's sake. Tonight's wonderful guests are Adira Amram (spectacular comedic singer & dancer; Funny or Die; album Hot Jams for Teens), Seaton Smith (rising star stand-up; HBO's Girls, FOX's Mulaney, Seth Meyers, Inside Amy Schumer, The Nightly Show), Rob Cantrell (Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central, HBO, VHI, FX's Totally Biased, documentary Metaphysical Graffiti, High Times), and Selena Coppock (author of book The New Rules for Blondes): First Set (8:00 pm, $7, Brooklyn's Union Hall at 702 Union Street; take R subway to Union Street)...
...and Gary Denoia plays stars Vin Diesel and Nicolas Cage "reading a children's book and exploring the book's theme with the audience:" The Education Hour With Vin Diesel and Nic Cage (9:00 pm, $5, The PIT Downstairs Lounge at 123 East 24th Street)
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] 7:30ish pm ($5): Marina Franklin (Trainwreck, Louie, Jay Leno, Last Comic Standing, Chappelle's Show), Sam Morril (Stephen Colbert, Conan O'Brien, Comedy Central Half Hour, America's Got Talent), Matteo Lane (Comedy Central, MTV's Guy Code & Girl Code, host of Chemistry), Hadiyah Robinson (BET's Comic View), and Simeon Goodson performing stand-up for the One Year Anniversary of this show at Brooklyn's Frank's Cocktail Lounge (660 Fulton Street; take G to Fulton Street or A/C to Lafayette Avenue) hosted by Brian Parise & Janelle James: It's All Happening
[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
7:30 pm ($5): Musical improv about summer romance at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Divas Unmasked: Summer Lovin'
7:30 pm ($5): Matt Goldich (staff writer for Seth Meyers; Comedy Central, VH1), Chelsea White (MTV), Tim Dillon, Minori Hinds, and Ken Schultz performing stand-up at UCB East hosted by Sean Crespo, Dan Wilbur, and Katina Corrao: Lasers in the Jungle
7:30 pm ($5): Pro storytellers, plus a storytelling open mic, on this month's theme of Escape at Astoria Queens comedy venue QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Lori Baird: Talk Therapy Stories: Escape
[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm ($10): A comic excavation of teen angst artifacts (journals, letters, poems, lyrics, home movies, stories, and more) are shared by their original authors before total strangers at Brooklyn's Littlefield (622 Degraw Street): Mortified
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): Kirsten O'Brien & Evan Zelnick screen and comment on clips from terrible films with actors early in their careers who later became stars—and now wish these dreadful artifacts of their rise to fame didn't exist, including 1991's Cool as Ice, 2008's The Happening, and 2011's Love, Wedding, Marriage, at The PIT downstairs lounge: Straight to DVD
[TOP PICK] 8:00 ($5): At UCB Chelsea, a sketch show in which "after an unexpected fart shakes the foundation of their marriage, Off-Off-Off Broadway's favorite married couple decide to separate, sharing custody of their adult son:" 'Til Death Do Us Fart...
...and in the second half of this double-bill, "Dr. Brothers is the hottest young doctor at Williamsburg General. But after a long hiatus doing non-profit charity surgery on Taliban soldiers, Dr. Brothers' brother Dr. Brothers wants back in the rotation. Will Dr. Brothers forgive his brother, Dr. Brothers, and save the hospital and/or a patient? And in the B plot, can three young interns pass their prostate exam exams and become official doctors?:" Dr. Brothers
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm-Midnight ($10 for the entire evening): Four veteran house improv groups, themed improv show American Dream (long-form improv that explores what it means to grow up in America and dream big US dreams), and improv competition Inspirado, all for just $10 at The Magnet theatre: The Magnet's Thursday Night Out
8:00 pm ($10): Sketch comedy from a six-person troupe at The PIT upstairs theatre: Sunday School Dropouts
[TOP PICK] [FREE—and FREE BEER!] 8:00 pm: Comics Val Roder, Karolena Theresa, Jamie Brickhouse, and Nathaniel Cocca-Bates share their shit stories—needing to go at the worst moments, major accidents in pants, and so on—at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) hosted by the spectacular Natalie Wall: Awkward Poop...and the City
8:00 pm ($5): Two 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 + Gun Club
[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($10): Stand-up, sketch, and/or improv from Aparna Nancherla (one of the best stand-ups in the country; writer for Seth Meyers; Conan O'Brien, @Midnight, comedy album Just Putting It Out There; opens for Tig Notaro; hosts top weekly NYC stand-up show Whiplash), Aaron Nemo, Alison Klemp, Mamoudou N’Diaye, Matt DeCaro, Mike Breen, and improv group Fire Fire Fire, all performing at Brooklyn's The Annoyance Theatre (367 Bedford Avenue; take J/M/Z to Marcy Avenue or L to Lorimer Street) hosted by Dylan Evans: Business Casual
9:00 pm ($5): NYC stand-ups performing at UCB East hosted by Ashley Brooke Roberts and/or Jim Tews: Fresh Out
9:00 pm ($5): "Social media meets improv as graduates of the PIT Improv Program transform their innermost tweet- and blog-length thoughts into scene after scene, all inspired by a single suggestion" at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Biscuit Out
9:00 pm ($5): Stories from duos Brian Uretta & Lou Gonzalez, Calvin Cole & Caitlin Puckett, and Dave Ebert & Krista Jensen at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Jenna Marucci & Aileen Think: Jenna & Aileen Think You're Great
[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): Strong lineup of Jermaine Fowler (creating & starring in new CBS sitcom; star of Showtime special Give 'Em Hell, Kid; MTV’s Guy Code and Wildn Out, Comedy Central, Adult Swim), Naomi Ekperigin (dynamite rising star stand-up; writer for Comedy Central's Broad City and Hulu's Difficult People; MTV, VH1, FX), Zack Bornstein (Jimmy Kimmel Live), and Mary Houlihan performing stand-up, plus sketches and more, at the UCB Chelsea theatre in the name of a popular comedy site: College Humor Live
9:30 pm ($5): Stand-ups who are single each perform a set and then participate in a dating game show, choosing among three mystery contestants based on their dating profiles at The PIT upstairs theatre (123 East 24th Street): Tinderella
[TOP PICK] [$] 10:00 pm ($15; no min.): Judah Friedlander (one of the quickest minds and very finest stand-ups in comedy; 30 Rock, Meet the Parents, Along Came Polly, author of bestselling cartoon book If the Raindrops United), Sean Patton (one of the finest stand-ups in the country; killer sets on Jimmy Fallon and Conan O'Brien, Comedy Central Half Hour, VH1, feature film Wifed Out; co-host of Esquire Network's Best Bars in America; frequent guest host of Whiplash), Pete Lee (Comedy Central Half Hour, Last Comic Standing), Jim Florentine (Comedy Central, MTV), Luis J. Gomez, and Alex Pavone performing stand-up at The Stand Comedy Club (239 Third Avenue, off 20th Street): The Stand Thursday: Judah Friedlander, Sean Patton, Pete Lee, Jim Florentine, and More
[FREE] 10:00 pm: NYC stand-ups performing at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) hosted by Justin Williams & Akash Bhasin: Death Comedy Jam
[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
[FREE] 10:30 pm: NYC stand-ups performing at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) produced & hosted by Chris Gersbeck, Lauren Hope Krass, and/or Peter Bandyk: Casual Sets
[TOP PICK] 11:00 pm ($5): Last week The Mannequin Room made dummies of Foxhole, driving it back into the ground with a 108-20 win. Tonight the plastic champions face improv group Steakhouse, competing for your laughs and votes at UCB Chelsea's raucous Cage Match
11:00 pm ($5): A double-bill of one-person shows, from Amanda Giobbi and Tom Sanchez, at The PIT upstairs theatre (123 East 24th Street): Commitment Ceremony
11:00 pm ($5): I have no idea what this show is about, but it's hosted by Gary Richardson, John Reynolds, Carmen Christopher, and Joey Dundale at the UCB East theatre: $$$
Thursday Open Mics & Jams
5:00 pm ($5): Two-hour open-mic for 20 stand-ups performing for 5 minutes each, with sign-up online here, at the Stand Up NY Comedy Club (236 West 78th Street): Stand Up NY Open Mic
5:45 pm-8:00 pm ($5 plus 1 drink min., with drinks as low as $2): Weekly walk-in stand-up open mic with two rounds, the first providing 4-5 minutes per set and the second 2-3 minutes per set, at The Grisly Pear (107 MacDougal Street) hosted by Tuval Mor: Kickin It Open Mic Thursday
[FREE] 6:00 pm: 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 downstairs lounge in Queens' Long Island City hosted by Ross Parsons & Trey Galyon: Free Puppies
6:00 pm ($5 for both comics and audience members): Open mic stand-up providing 5-7 minutes per comic, running 2 1/2 hours. Arrive 30 minutes before the show to get on the signup sheet. This is a fine opportunity to perform at the only comedy club in the East Village: Eastville Comedy Club Open Mic
[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
6:30 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] 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] 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
[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 upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) hosted by Patrick Hastie: Beer, Booze, and Bits
NYC Comedy Picks for Friday 8/12/16
There may be no better way to see Mel Gibson's infamous 2004 film The Passion of the Christ than with a bunch of New York comics crucifying it with their sharp observations at The PIT upstairs theatre: God Awful Movies Live (7:00 pm, $25, 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 $) include:
[TOP PICK] [$] 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 ($12): Stand-ups Maeve Higgins, Tim Dillon, Mike Cannon, Subhah Agarwal, and Crissle have fun with pop culture at Brooklyn's Union Hall (702 Union Street; take R subway to Union Street) hosted by Mike Brown & Brandon Collins: Comedy Outliers
7:00 pm ($7): Comedic storytelling at The Magnet theatre hosted by Alexis Lambright: The Griot Show
[TOP PICK] 7:30 pm ($10): At the UCB Chelsea theatre, a sketch show based on the experiences of comedy couple John Murray & Silvija Ozols as Silvija tried to get pregnant: Infertile...
...and in the second other of this double bill, a typically brilliant parody of Seinfeld made up on the spot: Improvised Seinfeld
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 ($10): Two improv groups each make up a musical on the spot at The PIT downstairs lounge: [title of team] and Royals
7:30 pm ($10): Monster sketch comedy at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Terrorbird
7:30 pm ($10): Blair Socci (MTV's Ladylike), Jordan Temple, and Gibran Saleem 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 ($10): Crescent Inverness, a vampire who hates the idea of being a vampire, introduces you to the very bad 2003 horror movie Collinsville, made on a $10,000 budget in 7 days, and accompanies it with songs and characters all inspired by this shit show disaster" at Brooklyn's The Annoyance Theatre (367 Bedford Avenue; take J/M/Z to Marcy Avenue or L to Lorimer Street): Masters of Mumblecore
[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm & 10:00 pm ($20; no min.): Judah Friedlander, Pete Lee, Jim Florentine, and more performing stand-up at The Stand Comedy Club (239 Third Avenue, off 20th Street): The Stand Friday
[FREE] 8:00 pm: Justy Dodge (co-host of Married to Comedy podcast and Too Much Information on comicalradio.com; "I was kind of a tomboy growing up. Like, I had Barbies, but only because my Ninja Turtles needed bitches;" for dark bio video, please click here), Nick Vatterott (Conan O'Brien, Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central's The Half Hour, MTV, Second City), Clark Jones (co-host of Comedy Night at the Knit), Erik Bransteen, Ronnie Fleming, and Joe Gerics performing at the HiFi Bar (169 Avenue A) produced by Gary Levitt & Matt Schwartzer and guest-hosted by Francesca Day: I Don't Get It Stand-Up
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, Silvija Ozols, Shannon O'Neill, Don Fanelli, 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 ($10): Five veteran improvisors make stuff up at The PIT downstairs lounge as troupe Lead McEnroe
9:00 pm ($10): Various NYC sketch comedy groups performing at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Boogie Manja
[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($10): Storytellers Carolyn Castiglia (Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central, VH1; for sample of Carolyn as white rapper, please click here) 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
9:30 pm ($10): An autobiographical one-woman show by Molly Vivian about "suffering a minor traumatic brain injury that led to bed rest, stream of bad luck, angst, healing, and growth, through a mix of upbeat and quirky songs, multimedia, dance, and stories" at The PIT upstairs theatre (123 East 24th Street): The Minor Traumatic Year
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
[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 Christi Chiello, Molly Austin, Ramon Rivas II, and Mike Cannon—to joke around with him, plus performances by Joe Pera (Seth Meyers, Adult Swim) and Seth Zakula & Dustin Hanson, 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): Comics perform stand-up, storytelling, sketch, and/or improv at UCB East hosted by Brandon Scott Jones, Justin Tyler, and/or Alden Ford: Gentrify
10:30 pm ($5): Wes Haney & Bardia Salimi perform duo sketch comedy at Brooklyn's The Annoyance Theatre (367 Bedford Avenue; take J/M/Z to Marcy Avenue or L to Lorimer Street) : Clam Up
10:30 pm ($10): Eight stand-ups compete for laughs by telling jokes on topics handed to them just this morning at The PIT downstairs lounge refereed by Jenn Welch & Will Neville: The Stand-Up Showdown
10:30 pm ($5): NYC indie improv groups and host Dreamboat perform at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Dreamboat and Friends
11:00 pm ($10): Comics who all met at Brown University perform scripted comedy at The PIT upstairs theatre: Rad Motel Sketch Comedy
11:00 pm ($5): A rotating pool of improvisors perform in groups of five at Brooklyn's The Annoyance Theatre (367 Bedford Avenue; take J/M/Z to Marcy Avenue or L to Lorimer Street): Singles Motel
[TOP PICK] Midnight ($5): This monthly storytelling, stand-up, and carny show brings the blog And I Am Not Lying to life on stage, with storytelling from Joe Zimmerman (Conan O'Brien, Comedy Central Half Hour, Last Comic Standing), and host Jeff Simmermon (NPR's This American Life), stand-up from Natalie McGill and Evan Williams, and burlesque from Bimini Cricket and Tiny Dee, all performing at the UCB East theatre: And I Am Not Lying
[TOP PICK] [FREE] Midnight: Pot stand-up from "highly talented comics who have been highly recommended from people who are thought highly of in the business. Oh, and they'll be high" at Queens LIC's The Creek upstairs theatre typically hosted by Clayton English & Noah Gardenswartz: High Five
Friday Open Mics & Jams
[FREE] 5:00 pm: Walk-in open mic (signup at 4:30 pm), with 5 minutes per comic, storyteller, poet, or singer, at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Sydney Beveridge & Davey Melch: Queens Open Mic Fridays
5:00 pm ($5): Two-hour open-mic for 20 stand-ups performing for 5 minutes each, with sign-up online here, at the Stand Up NY Comedy Club (236 West 78th Street): Stand Up NY Open Mic
5:45 pm ($5 for both comics and audience members): Open mic stand-up providing 5-7 minutes per comic, running 1 hour. Arrive 30 minutes before the show to get on the signup sheet. This is a fine opportunity to perform at the only comedy club in the East Village: Eastville Comedy Club Open Mic
[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] 6:30 pm ($1): PIT improv veterans mix with improv novices on-stage at the downstairs lounge for Happy Hour
7:00 pm ($5): Show up at 6:45 pm to place your name in a dog bowl for the chance to get called up on stage and jam with veteran improvisors at Brooklyn's The Annoyance Theatre (367 Bedford Avenue; take J/M/Z to Marcy Avenue or L to Lorimer Street): Dog Fight
[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
[TOP PICK] [FREE] Midnight: Improv is dominated by guys...and for no good reason. A way to help remedy this situation are shows like this one, which is an open improv jam for any gal wanting to participate, at any experience level, at the UCB Chelsea theatre: The Lady Jam
NYC Comedy Picks for Saturday 8/13/16
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: Murderfist (9:30 pm, $10, 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: Emily Winter, Patrick Hastie, Jared Dryden, and Mike Mercadal each perform a different 10-minute stand-up every Saturday in February 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 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 7:15, 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): "Join filmmaker George Lucas (Radioland Murders) as he embarks upon an exciting new career as a comedian and talk show host! He'll be joined by his hilarious talk show sidekick, Jar-Jar Binks, as they revolutionize the talk show format the same way Lucas once revolutionized cinema," with guests TBD at the UCB East theatre hosted by brilliant improvisor Connor Ratliff (The Stepfathers) & Shaun Diston: The George Lucas Talk Show
[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
7:30 pm ($5): Clown guests join clown host Icky Shirley Dangle performing a silly show at The PIT downstairs lounge: An Unapologetic Mess: A Clown Show
7:00 pm ($5): Sketch group PEP shares clips from fake shows that never actually at Queens LIC's The Creek upstairs theatre: Clip Show: A Sketch Show
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): All Aboard the Butter Cruise + Selfish Green Men
[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 Corinne Fisher—takes a suggestion from the audience and shares true personal tales. These stories are then brought to life by a rotating cast of improv all-stars—and occasionally Armando himself" at The Magnet theatre: The Armando Diaz Experience
[TOP PICK] 7:30 pm ($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
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 ($8): Leighann Lord, Becky Yamamoto, Kerry Coddett, and other female and/or LGBTQ stand-ups performing at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Kate Moran: The Revolution
8:00 pm ($10): Real-life roommates Arti Gollapudi & Julian Williams invite over a bunch of their comedy friends—David Bluvband, Janie Stolar, Patti Harrison, Amy Zimmer, Lawrence DeLoach, Andrew Turowski, and Eric Feurer—to hang out and be funny at Brooklyn's The Annoyance Theatre (367 Bedford Avenue; take J/M/Z to Marcy Avenue or L to Lorimer Street): Get in the House
[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm & 10:00 pm ($25; no min.): Gary Gulman, Sean Patton, Pete Lee, Sherrod Small, Aaron Berg, Ben Bailey (8:00 pm only) and Roy Wood Jr. (10:00 pm only) performing stand-up at The Stand Comedy Club (239 Third Avenue, off 20th Street): The Stand Saturday
[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm & 10:00 pm ($15 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Top comics (not announced) are interviewed at The Fat Black Pussycat Lounge (130 West 3rd Street): Inside Joke
[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
8:00 pm ($5): Nick Vatterott (Conan O'Brien, Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central's The Half Hour, MTV, Second City), Alex English, Dan Perlman, and more performing stand-up 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): 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
[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($10): An improvised apocalypse from sharp comics John Murray, Sean Casey, Jackie Jennings, Glenn Boozan, Joanna Bradley, Chad Carter, and Caroline Cotter at the UCB Chelsea theatre: Goat
[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($10): Sharp improvisors Nick Kanellis & Peter McNerney make up scenes at The Magnet as comedy duo Trike
9:00 pm ($10): Sketch & character comics perform in hopes of being discovered ("Are you an SNL scout? If so, we'd love you to come. Are you someone else? You can come, we guess, but we don't really care one way or the other") at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): SNL Come Scout Us
[FREE] 9:00 pm: Evan Morrison, Jason Burke, David Agyekum, Anthony Devito, and Amy Rose Ranger performing stand-up at Brooklyn's Art Cafe & Bar (884-886 Pacific Street) hosted by Ben Totushek & Koshin Egal: The Human Citizen Comedy Show
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 ($6): Amber Nelson (dynamic stand-up & character comic; Comedy Central, TruTV's Almost Genius; sketch group Murderfist), Khalid Rahmaan, and more performing stand-up or improv at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) guest-hosted by Lindsay Theisen: 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
[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): Using real horror films purchased in local gas stations and bodegas, the hosts select specific clips to play for 30 seconds, pause, and then ask the improvisers to finish the scene. Will anyone survive at The PIT downstairs lounge? Attend at your own peril, with hosts J. W. Crump: Gas Station Horror
[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 Tech Booth Takeover—at The Magnet theatre: The Cast: Tech Booth Takeover Edition
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
19:30 pm ($5): Cole Orloff spearheads a rotating cast of comics performing characters and sketch at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): No Man's Land
[FREE] 11:00 pm: Stand-ups performing at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) produced by Fredric Goldstein: 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
[FREE] Midnight: "A psychedelic journey through space-time. The stand-ups on this show have seen the other side. They have surfed the waves of consciousness and mastered their superego to a near shamanic level. They are here to guide you on a quest of understanding and wonder. Also, they're going to be tripping balls" at Queens LIC's The Creek upstairs theatre hosted by "the spirit animal of Evan Jones:" The Only One Tripping
[FREE] Midnight: Comics compete in freestyle rap battles and rap games at The Creek downstairs lounge in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) hosted by Noah Savage and DJ’d by Will Winner: So You Think You Can Rap
Midnight ($5): Indie improv groups Hot Mess and Darcy make up scenes at UCB Chelsea hosted by indie group The St. Louis Rams: Indie Improv Showcase
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 2:45 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-7:00 pm: Walk-in comedy open mic (lottery system, with sign-up starting at 4:30 pm) providing each selected comic 4 minutes on stage at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Chris Gersbeck & Veronica Garza: Murray Povich Mic
[FREE] 6:00 pm: Put your name in a bucket for this open mic for stand-up, sketch, music, or anything else you want to work out on stage at Brooklyn's The Annoyance Theatre (367 Bedford Avenue; take J/M/Z to Marcy Avenue or L to Lorimer Street) hosted by Josh Bates & Brian Pisano: Make Out Party: An Open Mic
[FREE] 9:00 pm: Walk-in open mic for character bits, stand-up, etc. at Queens LIC's The Creek downstairs lounge hosted by Elise Edwards: Discount Disco
NYC Comedy Picks for Sunday 8/14/16
It may be premature after just two days of FringeNYC, but am guessing the funniest and best-written comedic play at the festival is Pucker Up and Blow, a brilliant exploration of power in show business penned by Daniel Reitz, directed by Paul Schnee, and starring delightfully nuanced actor Will Dagger. There are four performances left, including tonight at 7:15 pm at Venue #13, The Players Theatre (115 Macdougal Street). To explore all 200 shows at this essential theatre & multi-arts fest, which is running through August 28th, please click here.
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
[TOP PICK] 6:00 pm ($7): A guest monologist—who tonight is Beth Newell (Reductress)—takes a suggestion from the audience and shares true personal tales. These stories are then brought to life by 10 female improvisor—including Megan Gray—at the Magnet theatre: That's What She Said
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—An Inconvenient Truth 2, Camp Madrigal, and Flower Power Hour—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: Groups are provided with the titles of improv forms that don't actually exist and have 24 hours to create that form so they can perform it tonight at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue): Pluto Presents Fake Forms
[FREE] 7:00 pm: NYC stand-ups Missy Baker, Joel Walkowski, Mehran Khaghani, Eric Monical, and Ronnie Fleming 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
[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 ($14 per show, plus 2-item food/drink min.): Some of the finest stand-ups in the country spread among three shows at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane) and the 8:00 pm & 10:00 pm shows at Village Underground (130 West 3rd Street, off Sixth Avenue): Comedy Cellar Sunday
[TOP PICK] [$] 7:30 pm ($15; no min.): Sean Patton (one of the finest stand-ups in the country; killer sets on Jimmy Fallon and Conan O'Brien, Comedy Central Half Hour, VH1, feature film Wifed Out; co-host of Esquire Network's Best Bars in America; frequent guest host of Whiplash), Joe List (HBO, David Letterman, Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central), Pete Lee (Comedy Central Half Hour, Last Comic Standing), Christian Finnegan (co-star of A&E's Black and White; Conan O'Brien; three Comedy Central specials, Netflix special The Fun Part; TBS, VH1, MSNBC, Chappelle's Show, The Today Show), Luis J. Gomez, and Sarah Tollemache performing at The Stand Comedy Club (239 Third Avenue, off 20th Street): The Stand Sunday: Sean Patton, Joe List, Pete Lee, and More
7:30 pm ($5): Comics find new takes on popular songs via "staged readings, dramatic recitations, updated lyrics, mimed interpretations, covers of classics...they sky's the limit" at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street) hosted by Matt Zambrano (Fly You Fools!, The Story Pirates): Lyric Nouveau
7:30 pm ($7): Sketch from a nine-person comedy group at the Magnet theatre: Stuck
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
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): Rebecca Vigil (rising star powerhouse improv singer; Your Love Our Musical, The Vigilante), Julio Torres (inventive experimental stand-up/sketch comic), Nore Davis (Inside Amy Schumer, HBO's Last Week Tonight, Boardwalk Empire, Comedy Central's Russell Simmons Presents The Ruckus, MTV), Emma Willmann (Bravo, Oxygen, AxisTV’s Live at Gotham), Jess Salomon, and Jake Adams performing music or stand-up at UCB East hosted by Kara Klenk (Comedy Central, Spike, Nickelodeon): If You Build It
8:30 pm ($5): This themed improv show is based on the premise that "The human body is 70% water. The other 30% is a potent mixture of blood, shit, piss, and cum. Come hear real stories about the most disgusting things humans and the surrounding world are capable of, and then watch as they are brought to life on stage" at Brooklyn's The Annoyance Theatre (367 Bedford Avenue; take J/M/Z to Marcy Avenue or L to Lorimer Street): The Annoyance Presents Improv: Blood Shit Piss Cum...
...and in the second half of this double-bill, improvisors make up scenes based off of a Spotify playlist that the audience creates:" The Annoyance Presents Improv: The Annoyance Radio 111.1
8:30 pm ($5): Each stand-up screens a movie clip he or she loves before performing a set—with tonight's comics Liz Barrett, Jill Weiner, Emil DeRosa, and Kevin Seamon—at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Justin Angermeyer & Caitlin Mckee: Roll Credits
8:30 pm ($5): Students of Gary Austin, the founder of The Groundlings, performing improv at The PIT downstairs lounge: Gary Austin's The Classroom
[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($10): Duo improv from Louis Kornfeld & Rick Andrews at The Magnet theatre: Kornfeld & Andrews
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
[FREE] 9:00 pm: Group Medusa turns a calamity selected by the an audience member into an improvised documentary live on stage at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue): Medusa Presents Improv Against Humanity
[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 excellent second season of The Jim Gaffigan Show (Episode #4, dealing with the NYC comedy scene, is especially hilarious) with an audience—and possibly have the opportunity to ask questions afterwards of someone involved with the show. Plus, free food—probably 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
[ALMOST FREE] 10:30 pm ($1): This improv show is based on a Mullaney Chain (pioneered by Kevin Mullaney) in which the host invites a guest to improvise with him or her, then the guest independently invites a third person, who then invites a fourth person, and so on, creating a one-time-only lineup that will be a surprise to everyone involved at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street) hosted by Kurt Guenther: The Telephone Show
Sunday Open Mics & Open Stages
[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
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
[ALMOST FREE] 5:30 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
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 downstairs lounge 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
