NYC Comedy Picks for Week of February 14, 2011

NYC Comedy Picks for Monday 1/14/11

Michael Showalter Kurt Braunohler and Kristen Schaal

It's a night for couples, with Michael Showalter & friend (Whiplash), and Kurt & Kristen (Hot Tub Variety)

 

Recommendations for the best in New York City comedy tonight

(in chronological order, with top picks noted and shows over $12 marked with $) include:

 

[FREE] 6:00 pm: Kevin Allison (legendary MTV sketch series The State, HBO, Comedy Central, VH1, host of award-winning storytelling show Risk!) hosts this free open mic show for storytellers, in which you can put your name in a hat for the chance to tell a five-minute true story...and if it's a good one, possibly be included in Kevin's popular podcasts on the Web: Risk! Storyslam

7:00 pm ($5): Jenny Dunne and Rick Andrews improvise a single moment in two characters' lives again and again, exploring three parallel realities, and the difference that a look or tone can make; and duo improv by friends who, by a wild coincidence, have the same name, in the double-bill The Cascade and We're Matt Weir

[TOP PICK] 7:30 pm ($12): At this terrific annual tradition, "Three hot New York singles will ask outrageous questions to determine which of our hilarious PITizens will be their Valentine. The winners get a date and the losers get prizes that are way too inappropriate to mention here. Two winning couples from past shows have gone on to get married and have babies!" Really, how many shows can say that?: The PIT Dating Game

[FREE] 7:30 pm: Jessimae Peluso (Last Comic Standing, The Tyra Banks Show), Taylor Clark, James Parkinson, Daniel Tirado, and John F. O'Donnell performing at a free weekly show in the Manchester Pub hosted by Phoebe Robinson: Case of the Mondays Comedy

8:00 pm ($5): Sketch comedy hosted by Madcar, and featuring such talents as Jeff Hiller and Katie Schorr, about the inevirable Valentine's Day subject: Love Sucks!

[MEGA-TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($12): A small army of superb comedic writers, storytellers, and stand-ups—including Elna Baker, Adam Wade, Tom Shillue, Sara Schaefer, Seth Herzog, Ben Lerman, Katina Corrao, and Erin & Her Cello—sharing their tales of being turned down at Brooklyn's The Bell House for this special Valentine's Day edition of Jon Friedman's wonderful The Rejection Show

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($6.50 online or $8 at the door): The hilarious Found Footage Festival (oddball videos not to be missed), Sandra Bauled (YouTube star, MTV), and The Pajama Men (UK sketch comedy stars) performing at Brooklyn's Littlefield (622 Degraw Street) with sketches and more from NYC comedy royalty Kristen Schaal and Kurt Braunohler: Hot Tub Variety

9:30 pm ($5): Two of UCBT's fine house sketch comedy troupes, Onassis and Gramp's, trying out new bits at Maude Night

9:30 pm ($5): A one-woman show from Julie Ann Dulude about being raised by strict Catholic parents: Bless This Mess

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 11:00 pm: Some of the finest comics in the world—who tonight include Michael Showalter (MTV's The State, comedy troupe Stella, writer/star of feature films The Baxter and Wet Hot American Summer and Comedy Central's Michael & MIchael Have Issues), Todd Barry (HBO, David Letterman, Conan O'Brien, Comedy Central Presents, The Sarah Silverman Program, Adult Swim, feature films The Wrestler and Pete Smalls is Dead), and Dan St. Germain (quick-witted rising star; Jimmy Fallon, MTV; for reenactment of Dan's breakup, please click here)—at Whiplash

[FREE] 11:00 pm: If you're an audience member who loves stand-up, Monday at 11 should be Whiplash! night (see listing above). If you're a comic who couldn't get booked on UCBT's all-star show, though, you can opt to instead practice your skills at this stand-up open mic hosted by Michelle Wolf and the hilarious Erin Lennox (for a sample of Erin's dynamite Seriously Sports show, please click here): Fresh

 

 

NYC Comedy Picks for Tuesday 2/15/11

Christian Finnegan The Pajama Men

Eugene Mirman and The Pajama Men perform tonight at Seth Herzog's Sweet

 

Recommendations for the best in New York City comedy tonight

(in chronological order, with top picks noted and shows over $10 marked with $) include:

 

7:00 pm ($5): Six improvisors play themselves on stage (similar to Naked in a Fishbowl) in Self Image ; and in the second half of this double-bill, eight improvisors trace the storylines of characters at a single event suggested by an audience member in Hell Buffalo

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 8:00 pm: Adira Amram (fresh, hilarious rising star singer/songwriter), Dave Hill (one of the most original and hilariously sharp alternative comics in the country; HBO, Comedy Central, MTV, VH1, NPR, star of The King of Miami, band Diamondsnake, champion rapper; The New York Times, The Huffington Post, The Dave Hill Explosion), comedy duo Team Submarine, and musical guests Stephanie Fagan & Bryan Condon performing at Brooklyn's The Royal Oak (594 Union Avenue) along with sketches from Moon regulars such as co-producer Jordan Clifford and hosts Nat Towsen & Bob Walles: The Moon Show

8:00 pm ($10): The worlds of "magic, mind-reading, and mutilation" are explored by Matthew Holtzclaw and Prakash Puru: Strange Things

8:00 pm to Midnight ($5): Four full hours of improv for only five bucks—tonight featuring UCBT house troupes Very Good Kiss, Ragnaröck, CAPTCHA, Sandino, Grandma's Ashes; and at 11:00 pm an improv show that begins and ends with the same scene—all at Harold Night

[FREE] 8:00 pm: NYC stand-ups Claudia Cogan (Last Comic Standing, 50 First Jokes), Noah Levin, and Annie Lederman performing at Cellar 58 (58 Second Avenue) hosted by comedic rapper Andrew Singer and the delightful Abbi Crutchfield: Positively Awesome

[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($5): Eugene Mirman (Conan O'Brien, Comedy Central Presents, HBO's Flight of the Conchords, VH1, Adult Swim; pioneer of NYC downtown comedy), The Pajama Men (UK sketch comedy duo visiting NYC for a four-night run starting Wednesday 2/16 at Brooklyn's St. Ann's Warehouse), and Giulia Rozzi (VH1, Playgirl Magazine, co-host of Dive comedy and Stripped Stories) performing at Ella (9 Avenue A) hosted by the wonderful Seth Herzog (Jimmy Fallon, VH1): Sweet

9:00 pm ($5): NYC stand-ups Dan St. Germain (quick-witted rising star; Jimmy Fallon, MTV; for reenactment of Dan's breakup, please click here), Mike Lawrence (shrewdly funny curmudgeon), Matt Maragno, and Wil Sylvince performing at the Ace of Clubs (9 Great Jones Street, underneath Acme Bar & Grill) hosted by Joe DeRosa (HBO’s Down and Dirty, Comedy Central Presents) and Jared Logan (Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central): Righteous Kill

9:30 pm ($5): Comedy duo Leah Rudick & Katie Hartman, whose production at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival was proclaimed "biggest revelation" by the Guardian, performing a brand new sketch show: Skinny Bitch Jesus Meeting

[FREE] 11:00 pm: A breathtaking 40 comics are given 2 minutes each in this rapid-fire open mic stand-up show hosted with wit and energy by Jay Welch: Bring It

 

 

NYC Comedy Picks for Wednesday 2/16/11

John Lutz & Scott Adsit

30 Rock stars John Lutz & Scott Adsit continue to blow the roof off UCBT as razor-sharp improv duo John & Scott

 

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's Super Free Wednesday

7:00 pm ($5): Rob Lathan performs an oddball (even for Rob) sketch show about a guy whose face is stuck at the point of orgasm, ably abetted by sketch genius Kate McKinnon, at Permanent Nutface Gary

[$] 7:30 pm ($16.50 & 2-drink min.)  A long-time staff writer for Saturday Night Live headlining one night only at the Carolines Comedy Club: Colin Jost

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): Pamela Murphy's autobiographical show is the best-scripted one-act to grace UCBT in the past year, performed with wit, grace, and pitch-perfect comedic timing (for video samples of Pam's work, please click here). Don't miss Jane Borden of Time Out New York's pick for Best Solo Show of 2010: Pamela Murphy: The C Word

...and for the other half of this double-bill, sketch troupe Bleak! performs a show about internal strife: Stomachtown

[TOP PICK] [$] [DISCOUNTED] 8:00 pm ($16.50 in advance by following instructions here): An acclaimed UK-based sketch comedy duo kicking off a four-night run at Brooklyn's St. Ann's Warehouse (38 Water Street): The Pajama Men

8:00 pm ($5): NYC stand-ups Pat Dixon, Molly Knefel, Rob Pavaronian, Alison Castillo, Brendan McLaughlin, and Lance Weiss performing at Brooklyn's Hank's Rootin' Tootin' Saloon (46 Third Avenue at Atlantic) for this free weekly show hosted by Brooke Van Poppelen (brilliant stand-up, writer, and storyteller; TLC, blogger for trutV; for stand-up videos about overindulging at 30 and impersonating Morrisey, please click here and here) and Giulia Rozzi (VH1, Playgirl Magazine, co-host of Stripped Stories): Dive Comedy

[FREE] 8:30 pm: NYC stand-ups Andrea Rosen (HBO, Variety SHAC), Dan Soder (VH1), Pat O'Shea (E!), George Gordon (Comedy Central), and Asie Montarez (MTV)—plus musical guests Myq Kaplan & Micah Sherman—performing at the East Village's Angels and Kings for this free weekly show hosted by delightful dark humor comic Jena Friedman: Entertaining the Bartender

[FREE] 9:00 pm: Music from The Bitter Poet, plus NYC stand-ups Katie Healy-Wurzburg, Jacqueline Kabat, Boris Khaykin, and Paul Case performing at this free weekly show at Luca Bar (119 St. Marks Place) hosted by Sharon Spell: Shrink

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): Scott Adsit (cast member of 30 Rock, and co-writer/director/producer & cast member of Adult Swim's awesome & Emmy-winning Moral Orel) teaming up with fellow 30 Rock actor John Lutz (who previously spent six years as a staff writer for Saturday Night Live) to form a super-smart and hilarious new improv duo who should not be missed: John & Scott

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 11:00 pm: Host Justin Purnell (The Colbert Report) providing as many as a dozen guests packed into 75 minutes performing stand-up, improv, sketch, and occasionally acts that defy categorization. The level of talent can vary wildly, but for some (like me), that's part of the laid-back fun; and this is often one of the most amazing comedy shows in town. Come support the experimentation, and periodic magical surprises, that this uniquely organic rollercoaster of a show makes possible—and don't forget to toss $1 in the bucket on your way out: School Night

 

 

NYC Comedy Picks for Thursday 2/17/11

Lecy Goranson  Kimmy Gatewood

Lecy Goranson and Kimmy Gatewood both make rare NYC appearances tonight at Dealing with My Feelings

Recommendations for the best in New York City comedy tonight

(in chronological order, with top picks noted and shows over $12 marked with $) include:

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7:00 pm ($12): Terrific NYC stand-ups Tom Shillue (Comedy Central Presents), Victor Varnado (Conan O'Brien), James Smith (Comedy Central), Rory Albanese (Executive Producer of The Daily Show), Chuck Nice (VH1's Best Week Ever), Jon Fisch (In the Tank), Tom McCaffrey (The Onion), Michael Somerville (Wingman), and Dan Naturman (Last Comic Standing) performing with host Sean Donnelly at Comedy Below Canal

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($10): A blowout lineup of Lecy Goranson (Becky from Roseanne), Kimmy Gatewood (The Apple Sisters, briefly visiting from LA), Corn Mo (wonderful singer/songwriter; .357 Lover), Matt Higgins (Centralia), Joe Schiappa (MTV, Nathan + Joe), Will Nunziata (Dystopia Gardens), and AndrewAndrew (Time Out New York) express themselves through poetry and dance in a show hosted by Nathan Phillips: Dealing With My Feelings

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): Brilliant improvisor Scott Adsit (cast member of 30 Rock, co-writer/director/producer & cast member of Adult Swim's awesome & Emmy-winning Moral Orel, UCBT's John & Scott) and veteran improvisor Rachel Hamilton perform as a duo—if Scott gets out of shooting 30 Rock in time tonight—as Hamilton & Adsit

[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm ($31.25 & 2-drink min.) A Los Vegas-based stand-up & writer/actress who's performed on HBO, Showtime, Comedy Central, MTV, TBS, E!, and Chelsea Lately, and is headlining tonight through Sunday at Carolines: Whitney Cummings

[TOP PICK] [$] [DISCOUNTED] 8:00 pm ($16.50 in advance by following instructions here): An acclaimed UK-based sketch comedy duo kicking off a four-night run at Brooklyn's St. Ann's Warehouse (38 Water Street): The Pajama Men

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): The unsinkable Mamrie Hart and her comedy partner Stephen Soroka are Best of Friends, and their new sketch show educates you about how to effectively promote it when you tell all your friends to see it: BoF: It's Pronounced 'Boaf'!; and in the other half of this double-bill, an interesting idea that doesn't really get pulled off from adorable comics Geoff Garlock and Emily Strachan: Gettin' Quaid

[TOP PICK] [$] 9:00 pm ($15): 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 Mortified

[FREE] 9:00ish pm: Typically terrific NYC stand-ups performing on this weekly show at the Kabin Bar and Lounge hosted by Chesley Calloway and (throughout February) by the wonderful Brooke Van Poppelen: Comedy as a Second Language

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): Kurt Braunohler (Comedy Central, Penelope: Princess of Pets, Hot Tub Variety), and Michele Carlo (The Moth) joining sensual hosts Margot Leitman (VH1, Spike TV) and Giulia Rozzi (MTV, VH1.com) in telling true tales on tonight's theme "Faking It"—plus raunchy comedic songs from Ben Lerman—at the best sexy storytelling comedy show in NYC: Stripped Stories

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($8): A unique sports-themed stand-up, sketch comedy, and interview show hosted by Scott Rogowsky and Neil Janowitz that features both professional sports stars and comics doing sports-themed comedy—with tonight's guests Christian Finnegan (co-star of TBS' Are We There Yet?; three Comedy Central specials; commentator on MNBC's Countdown with Keith Oberman and VH1's Best Week Ever; Chappelle's Show, The Today Show), and Matt Oberg & Matt Walton (hosts of The Onion's SportsDome!: 12 Angry Mascots

[$] 10:00 pm ($31.25 & 2-drink min.) A provocative comedy star who's written for Richard Pryor, Red Foxx, and Saturday Night Live, and performed on Chappelle's Show and David Letterman, headlining through Sunday at Carolines: Paul Mooney

[TOP PICK] 11:00 pm ($5): Genius improv troupe Outlook of the Poet (Jon Gabrus, Ben Rodgers, and Gavin Speiller) competes with delightfully named improv troupe Very Good Kiss for audience laughs and votes at the raucous Cage Match

 

 

NYC Comedy Picks for Friday 2/18/11

Grease 3 : Threase

There are only two more nights to catch star UK sketch comedy duo The Pajama Men

 

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): Some of The Magnet's finest comics—including the brilliant and delightful Lauren Olson (powerhouse one-woman show Our Condolences at last year's FringeNYC)—team up with Magnet co-owner Armando Diaz to deliver sketch comedy in Good Morning, Ladies!

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 7:30 pm: Myq Kaplan (finalist on the most recent Last Comic Standing; Jay Leno, Comedy Central Presents half-hour special, hot new comedy CD Vegan Mind Meld), Colin Jost (longtime staff writer for Saturday Night Live), and Raquel D'Apice, plus the usual sketch comedy gang, and musical band Fortress of Solitude, all performing at Karma Lounge with hosts Pat Stango & Blaine Perry for this endearingly oddball monthly comedy show: Don't Touch Me There

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($10): The thoroughly wonderful comics of sketch troupe Fearsome—Shayna Ferm, Katherine Bryant Flaherty, Alex Goldberg, and Chris O'Connor—are joined by such other immense talents as Livia Scott and Amy Heidt to perform a new comedic musical that's very, very loosely based on a classic Travolta/Newton John vehicle: Grease 3: Threase

[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm & 10:30 pm ($31.25 & 2-drink min.) A Los Vegas-based stand-up & writer/actress who's performed on HBO, Showtime, Comedy Central, MTV, TBS, E!, and Chelsea Lately, and is headlining tonight through Sunday at Carolines: Whitney Cummings

[TOP PICK] [$] [DISCOUNTED] 8:00 pm ($16.50 in advance by following instructions here): An acclaimed UK-based sketch comedy duo performing the third of their four-night run at Brooklyn's St. Ann's Warehouse (38 Water Street): The Pajama Men

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($10): Jordan Klepper and Laura Grey perform an acclaimed sketch show in which "they're bringing their baggage to the stage and dumping it all on you in Baggage; and in the other half of this double-bill, very smart and somewhat nerdy comics Dan St. Germain (MTV; quick-witted rising star) and Jared Logan (Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central, co-host of Righteous Kill) doing a show about history's most infamous rivalries in They Hated Each Other

[TOP PICK] [FREE—plus FREE OPEN BAR!] 8:00 pm doors/free drinks, 9:00 pm show: A special ECNY award nominee showcase—sponsored by Ocean Spray, which from 8:00 to 9:00 pm will give you any drink you like that goes with Ocean Spray at no charge—featuring Myq Kaplan (finalist on the most recent Last Comic Standing; Jay Leno, Comedy Central Presents half-hour special, hot new comedy CD Vegan Mind Meld), last year's ECNY award-winning sketch troupe Murderfist, superb storyteller John Flynn (The Nights of Our Lives), Craig Baldo (Conan O'Brien, Comedy Central), and Robert Dean performing at Brooklyn's Coco 66 for hosts Nick Turner's & Jason Saenz's Too Cool for School

[FREE] 8:00 pm: Sharp NYC stand-ups (not announced) performing at O'Hanlon's (14th Street off 1st Avenue): Hot Soup

[$] 8:30 pm & 10:30 pm ($25 & 2-drink min.) A series regular on Mad TV who's also performed on HBO, CBS, NBC, ABC, WB, and such movies as The Hangover, Old School, and Bad Santa headlining tonight and Saturday at the Gotham Comedy Club: Bryan Callen

[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($10): Some of the finest improv in NYC from the comedy genius members of The Stepfathers

[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($7): Comedy veterans Miriam Tolan (The Daily Show), Jodi Lennon (Exit 57), and Ari Voukydis perform an improvised play in What a Year!

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($10): Always fresh and imaginative world-class sketch troupe that uses song, movement, and clever scenarios to turn familiar rituals on their head (for a video about awkward goodbyes at the end of a party, please click here) delivering a brand new collection of sketches titled Ms. Larsen's Class: The Harvard Sailing Team

10:00 pm ($7): Singing improvisors who use an interview with an audience member to craft The Made-Up Musical

10:30 pm ($10): Jonathan Gabrus, Sue Galloway, and other fine improvisors make up scenes about an audience member's legal dispute at The Law Firm: Law & Disorder

11:30 pm ($5): Michael Short pulling off the enormously difficult feat of performing an improv show with multiple characters all by himself: Legion

[TOP PICK] Midnight ($5): "For the last 1,157 years, the NY Academy of Talent has been home to the hottest and freshest acting talent not accepted to an accredited university. This showcase is our students' chance to show the world their process and their product (and their headshots!). Many casting agents, talent managers, artistic producers, and other important "industry people" have received postcards and voicemails informing them of the event. They are not required to RSVP. So come enjoy the proverbial fruits of our students' six months of growth as they ripen and fall from our talent tree. Refreshments will not be served." This delightful-sounding one-night-only event is hosted by Anthony King (brilliant Artistic Director of UCBT) and Jim Santangeli (Reuben Williams), and features such genuine rising stars as Mamrie Hart, Shannon Coffey, and Katie Schorr: NY Academy of Talent: Showcase For Industry (& Parents!)

 

 

NYC Comedy Picks for Saturday 2/19/11

Chris Gethard Whitney Cummings

Chris Gethard won't let you laugh tonight (The Chris Gethard Show) but Whitney Cummings will (headlining at Carolines)

 

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] [$] [DISCOUNTED] 7:00 pm & 9:30 pm ($16.50 in advance by following instructions here): An acclaimed UK-based sketch comedy duo performing their final two shows tonight of their run at Brooklyn's St. Ann's Warehouse (38 Water Street): The Pajama Men

[TOP PICK] 7:30 pm ($10): Genius improvisors Anthony King, Christina Gausas, Ed Herbstman, Becky Drysdale, and more—plus a rotating cast of stellar visitors who've included writers & performers from 30 Rock, The Colbert Report, and The Daily Show—all joyously declaring Let's Have a Ball

7:30 pm ($5): Improv veterans Mark Grenier, Louis Kornfeld, and Charlie Whitcroft making up a play on the spot in Theory of Everything

[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm & 10:30 pm ($31.25 & 2-drink min.) A Los Vegas-based stand-up & writer/actress who's performed on HBO, Showtime, Comedy Central, MTV, TBS, E!, and Chelsea Lately, and is headlining tonight and Sunday at Carolines: Whitney Cummings

[$] 8:00 pm & 10:00 pm & 11:45 pm ($25 & 2-drink min.) A series regular on Mad TV who's also performed on HBO, CBS, NBC, ABC, WB, and such movies as The Hangover, Old School, and Bad Santa headlining at the Gotham Comedy Club: Bryan Callen

9:00 pm ($10): UCBT house improv troupe Ragnaröck subs for Death by Roo Roo for one night only, "taking your most embarrassing and horrifying stories" and turning them into improv fun: Scarred for Life

9:00 pm ($7): Organic & energetic improv by the four guys of 4 Track!

9:30 pm ($10): "A cabaret of darkly funny songs and topical sketch comedy about culture and politics," following sold out shows at Joe's Pub: Political Subversities

[TOP PICK] [$] [DISCOUNTED] 10:00 pm ($15 both online and at the door using discount code SBWC, otherwise $20): This top musical improv troupe has wowed audiences around the world with its skill at making up an hour-long musical moment by moment. The plot and characters, the musical accompaniment, even the song lyrics and the "choreography" are invented on the spot, with no pre-planned structure. Come see why BWC won a FringeNYC Award last year for Outstanding Unique Theatrical Event by catching tonight's edition of Baby Wants Candy

[TOP PICK] [$] 10:00 pm ($15): Ted Greenberg (Emmy-winning David Letterman writer) performing a fun, fast-paced theatrical comedy show—complete with audience interaction and audience rides home!—at The Complete Performer

[TOP PICK] 10:30 pm ($10): An all-star improv troupe led by brilliant UCBT artistic director Anthony King: Reuben Williams

10:30 pm ($5): Vibrant improv from Nick Kanellis & Peter McNerney (Statues of Liberty) and Leslie Korein as comedy trio Trike

[TOP PICK] 11:00 pm ($10): Sketch duo Chris O'Neill and Paul Valenti describe themselves as "vaudeville gold for a 2011 crowd." Whatever. They're funny. Especially the bit with the nose. Come catch their latest material tonight at The Chris and Paul Show

[TOP PICK] Midnight ($5): One of the most fascinating performers in comedy (star of Comedy Central's Big Lake, The Stepfathers, The Nights of Our LIves, Weird New York) hosting his own extravaganza—which goes beyond a stage show to have the makings of a hit MTV series—with guests including Shannon O'Neill, Will Hines, Bethany Hall, Don Fanelli, and Fran Gillespie...with this special show forbidding anyone in the audience from laughing!: The Chris Gethard Show

[$] 12:30 am ($31.25 & 2-drink min.) A provocative comedy star who's written for Richard Pryor, Red Foxx, and Saturday Night Live, and performed on Chappelle's Show and David Letterman, headlining through Sunday at Carolines: Paul Mooney

 

 

NYC Comedy Picks for Sunday 2/20/11

 

Two of NYC's finest, Dave Hill and Brooke Van Poppelen, perform stand-up tonight at It Is It

 

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] [$] [DISCOUNTED] 5:00 pm ($18.50 online using discount code ADVANCE ): One of the very best shows at FringeNYC 2010 was an award-winning comedy from NYC's own Faye Lane, a luminous storyteller and singer who will charm your socks off—and possibly give you a moon pie to boot—at the Soho Playhouse's downstairs Huron Club. Please read my review by clicking here, and then take advantage of this revival running Sundays through April 17th to experience the hilarious and unforgettable Faye Lane's Beauty Shop Stories

6:30 pm ($5): Two shows audition for spots on The Magnet lineup (unfortunately, with no info posted beyond their titles): Sneaky Beatings and LD50

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 7:00 pm: Blowout lineup of wonderful stand-ups & storytellers Dave Hill (one of the most original and hilariously sharp alternative comics in the country; HBO, Comedy Central, MTV, VH1, NPR, star of The King of Miami, band Diamondsnake, champion rapper; The New York Times, The Huffington Post, The Dave Hill Explosion), Brooke Van Poppelen (brilliant stand-up, writer, and storyteller; blogger for trutV; TLC; co-host of Dive Comedy; for stand-up videos about overindulging at 30 and impersonating Morrisey, please click here and here), Adam Wade (two-time Moth GrandSlam Storytelling Champion (2006 & 2009) and record-breaking 15-time StorySlam Champion; The New York Times Magazine; host of hilarious monthly storytelling extravaganzas Real Tales of College and The Adam Wade show; for Adam's award-winning tale of being an NBC page on Conan O'Brien, please click here), Mark Normand (co-host of We're All Friends Here), and Josh Rabinowitz (College Humor) performing at this free LES stand-up show at Pianos hosted by Adam Lowitt (producer at The Daily Show): It Is It

[TOP PICK] 7:30 pm ($10) and 9:30 pm [FREE]: UCBT's signature improv comedy extravaganza, which typically includes stars in the improv world, and sometimes even TV & movie stars such as Amy Poehler and Horatio Sanz: ASSSCAT 3000

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($7): TV & movie star Kristen Schaal (one of the funniest women alive; shining star correspondent on The Daily Show; co-star of HBO's Flight of the Conchords; Comedy Central Presents half-hour special; star of UK TV series Penelope: Princess of Pets; co-author of bestselling book The Sexy Book of Sexy Sex), Craig Baldo (Conan O'Brien, VH1), and more performing at Brooklyn's Union Hall hosted by comedy giant Eugene Mirman: Pretty Good Friends

[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm ($31.25 & 2-drink min.) I had the pleasure of catching this last night. A killer opening set by Julian McCullough (Comedy Central Presents) is followed by Los Vegas-based writer/actress Whitney Cummings, who proves herself to be one of the very finest stand-ups in the country—bold, shrewdly observant about men and women, and lightning-quick with the audience. Whitney's credits include HBO, Showtime, Comedy Central, MTV, TBS, E!, and Chelsea Lately. Don't miss her headlining this one last evening at Carolines: Julian McCullough and Whitney Cummings

[FREE] 8:00 pm: Seth Herzog (staff comic for Jimmy Fallon; Comedy Central, CBS, VH1, movie star; host of Sweet), Jeffrey Joseph (Jay Leno), Jason Good (Comedy Central), Tom Sibley (creator of SubwayDouchery.com), and Doug Smith (One Trick Pony) performing at RG Daniels' free weekly show at the Three of Cups East Village lounge: Sunday Night Stand-Up

8:00 pm ($5): Two tough guys from the 1930s will explain the ins and outs of Hollywood at sketch show Listen Kid! ; and comedy duo Jen Sanders & Joel Jones "take the fragile stuff that makes us human and mock it mercilessly in sharp, funny, and tightly-written sketches" in Answer Man

[FREE] 9:00 pm: Kurt Braunohler (Comedy Central; co-creator & co-star of UK TV series Penelope: Princess of Pets; co-host of Hot Tub Variety), DJ Roofeeo, Al Jackson, Dan Soder, Justin Silver, and Damien Lemon performing at Brooklyn's Knitting Factory (361 Metropolitan Avenue) hosted by the wonderful Hannibal Buress (staff writer for 30 Rock, Saturday Night Live; David Letterman, Jimmy Fallon, Louie, Comedy Central): Comedy Night

[FREE] 9:00 pm: Brilliant singer/songwriter/stand-up Mindy Raf, plus Pat O'Shea (host of Ed Sullivan on Acid), Danny Rouhier, Nick Maritato, and Dan Enfield performing in the East Village's Beauty Bar at Vince Averill's & Jesse Popp's free weekly show Beauty Bar Comedy

9:30 pm ($5): Two improv groups competing for audience laughs and votes—yes, like UCBT's Cage Match, but with less well-known troupes and an escalating challenge component—at Magnet Inferno

[FREE] 10:00 pm: All-gal stand-up lineup of Giulia Rozzi (Jimmy Kimmel, MTV, VH1, Playgirl Magazine, co-host of Dive comedy and Stripped Stories), Liz Miele (Comedy Central), and Dana Lovecchio performing at this free weekly gay-themed show at Therapy hosted by Brad Loekle: Electro Shock Therapy Comedy Hour

 

 

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