NYC Comedy Picks for Week of February 4, 2013

NYC Comedy Picks for Monday 2/4/13

Wry stand-up Aparna Nancherla performs at Wyatt Cenac's Night Train;
Kevin Allison tells of the time My High School Boyfriend Was Gay...

...and Hannibal Buress celebrattes his 30th birthday at Brooklyn's Knitting Factory

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] [ALMOST FREE] 6:00 pm ($1): Leslie Goshko (delightful & razor-sharp storyteller/comic; WNYC, Sirius XM, Huffington Post, host of Sideshow Goshko) guest-hosts (while Cammi Climaco is out of town) this weekly hour-long open mic storytelling show, with six audience members chosen from a bucket of names getting to tell tales for 6-7 minutes each at The PIT downstairs lounge: Leslie Goshko's Storytelling Open Mic

6:00 pm ($5 cover for comics, no cover for audience with code HyReviews, plus 1-drink min.): The perfect show for short attention spans—open mic stand-up with 4 1/2 minutes per set and 20 comics crammed into 2 hours—at the Greenwich Village Comedy Club (99 MacDougal Street) for John Morrison's Village Motel

6:00 pm & 8:00 pm (no cover, 1 drink min. for both comics and audience members): Open mic stand-up providing 5-7 minutes per comic, with each show running 1 hour and 45 minutes. Arrive 30 minutes before the show you want to be in to get on the signup sheet. This is a fine opportunity to perform at the only comedy club in the East Village: Eastville Comedy Club Open Mic

[FREE] 6:00 pm: An open mic stand-up show, with 10 comics each performing for 5 minutes, at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' Long Island City hosted by Abigoliah Schamaun & Peggy O'Leary: Dicks Open Mic

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 6:30 pm: Comics performing funny characters audition at UCB Chelsea to appear in the most prestigious comedy festival in Canada: Just for Laughs Character Auditions

7:00 pm ($5): Storytellers Robby Weinstein, Anna Roisman, Gabrielle Sinclair, and Dreama Briley tell tales about their nerdy past at The Magnet guest-hosted by Willy Appelman (while Adam Wade is out of town): Adam Wade's Whatever Happened to the Nerds?

[FREE] 7:30 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

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 One and One Bar's Downstairs Nexus Lounge (76 1st Street, corner of First Avenue) hosted by Nathan P., followed by a raucous afterparty with dancing & drink specials from 10:00 to midnight: Inspired Word's Open Mic Joint

[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm ($12 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Great lineup of Amy Schumer (one of the very finest stand-ups in the country; Conan O'Brien, Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central Presents, Last Comic Standing, 30 Rock), John Mulaney (one of the finest stand-ups in the country; writer/performer for Saturday Night Live; Conan O'Brien, Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central Presents, one hour special & CD/DVD New in Town, VH1's Best Week Ever; for John's great bit on Weekend Update, please click here), Nick Griffin (David Letterman, Jay Leno, Comedy Central Presents), Keith Alberstadt (David Letterman, VH1, contributor to SNL's Weekend Update), and Dan Naturman (David Letterman, Jay Leno) performing stand-up at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane) hosted by Ardie Fuqua: Amy Schumer, John Mulaney, Nick Griffin, and More

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($8 at the door or $9.47 online): Todd Barry (David Letterman, Conan O'Brien, Comedy Central Presents, FX's Louie, HBO's Flight of the Conchords and Bored to Death, Adult Swim, feature films The Wrestler and Pete Smalls is Dead), Mike Drucker (Jimmy Fallon; freelance writer for SNL, The Onion, McSweeney's), Aparna Nancherla (delightfully wry stand-up; writer for FX's Totally Biased), Hari Kondabolu (Conan O'Brien, Jimmy Kimmel, Comedy Central Presents, FX's Totally Biased), and Doogie Horner performing at Brooklyn's Littlefield (622 Degraw Street) hosted by Wyatt Cenac (The Daily Show): Night Train

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): Inspired by the popular blog My High School Boyfriend Was Gay, this superb show at UCB East "celebrates our most tragic, hilarious, and heinous teenage memories, full of chaste hugs, Grease sing-alongs, and trips to the stage door to accost the cast of Rent," with true stories tonight from Kevin Allison (legendary MTV sketch series The State, HBO, Comedy Central, VH1, host of award-winning storytelling show Risk!), Giulia Rozzi (Jimmy Kimmel, MTV, VH1, Playgirl Magazine, co-host of Dive comedy and Stripped Stories), Eliot Glazer (Eliot's Sketch Pad, It Gets Betterish), with hosts Damian Bellino, and the super-delightful Camille Harris whose piano playing and singing will make you grin and dance in your seat: My High School Boyfriend Was Gay

8:00 pm ($8): Improv troupe Maybe Sherman makes up scenes involving mobsters at The PIT upstairs theatre: MafiaProv

[FREE] 8:00ish pm: Mark Normand (hilarious stand-up; Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central; co-host of Hot Soup and We're All Friends Here), Joyelle Johnson (opens for Maria Bamford), Erik Bergstrom (cartoonist/author of Grimmer Tales, The New Yorker, blogger for Comedy Central's Indecision 2012), Zach Sims, Nate Fridson, and more performing stand-up at Brooklyn's Grand Victory Bar (245 Grand Street) for this twice-a-month extravaganza hosted by Nick Maritato and the razor-sharp & delightful Erin Lennox (co-host of The Orphanage; for a sample of Erin's dynamite Seriously Sports show, please click here) and Nick Maritato: DTF

8:00 pm ($5): UCBT star & Chris Gethard Show icon Riley Soloner is a sweet and silly comic almost impossible to not like. His character Vacation Jason is over-the-top ridiculous, which means Riley has to walk a tightrope between getting laughs and creating a reality believable enough to make us care about what's going on. This first attempt at a sketch show falters on the latter; and I'd encourage Riley to be bolder about doing sharp, smart comedy, even with dumb characters, as he moves forward with his young and promising career. But script aside, there are worse ways to spend 30 minutes then watch Riley on stage while you're wearing a show-supplied Hawaiian lei of flowers around your neck: Vacation Jason's Island Flavors...

...and in the other half of this UCB Chelsea double-bill, a two-man sketch show by Matt Dennie & Josh Sharp that very loosely springs off the real events of the title but is mostly meta-comedy. I would've preferred something meatier, especially given the fascinating subject—436 people killed by a tiger whose damaged teeth made it difficult to eat anything other than humans—but there's lots of energy and performance talent here, making this a solid first-time effort: Maneater: The True Story of the Champawat Tigress

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 9:00 pm: Red-hot rising star Hannibal Buress (former staff writer for 30 Rock, Saturday Night Live; David Letterman, Jimmy Fallon, Louie, The Eric Andre Show, host of Comedy Night, one-hour Comedy Central special Animal Furnace) celebrates his 30th birthday with Cipha Sounds and more at Brooklyn's Knitting Factory (361 Metropolitan Avenue): Hannibal Turns 30

[FREE] 9:00 pm: Celebrating this show's 9th Year Anniversary are Ben Lerman (nuanced raunchy comedic singer/songwriter; Logo TV's NewNowNext, Sirius Radio's Frank DeCaro Show), DC Benny (Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central, ABC's The Unusuals), Giulia Rozzi (Jimmy Kimmel, MTV, VH1, Playgirl Magazine, co-host of Dive comedy and Stripped Stories), DJ Hazard, Dave Lester, Samantha Bednarz, Richard James, and more at Brooklyn's Freddy's Backroom (627 5th Avenue) with host Pat O'Shea: Ed Sullivan on Acid

[FREE] 9:00 pm: The Lucas Brothers (Jimmy Fallon), Kurt Metzger (Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central Presents, Ugly Americans), Al Jackson (Comedy Central Presents, Last Comic Standing, Upload with Shaq, MTV), Jared Freid, and more performing stand-up at Brooklyn's Bar Matchless back room (557 Manhattan Avenue, near the G subway's Nassau Avenue stop) hosted by Nimesh Patel, Mike Denny, and/or Michael Che: Broken Comedy

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($10): Acclaimed Chicago-based improv duo Colleen Doyle & Jason Shottstroupe make up scenes about couples at The PIT upstairs theatre: Dummy

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): Two UCB Chelsea house sketch troupes try out new bits: Chunk (which includes Zhubin Parang, Emmy-winning writer for The Daily Show) and Beige (which includes Dan Hodapp, who last August co-starred in FringeNYC smash hit Tail! Spin!): Maude Night: Chunk and Beige

[FREE] 9:30 pm: Following a club format, hosts Nore Davis & Andrew Short perform stand-up throughout for a total of 25 minutes, two comics each perform a 15-minute set—who tonight are Neil Constantine and Brandon Collins—and then Warren Holstein closes out the show with a 20-minute set, all at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' Long Island City: On the Road

9:30 pm ($5): 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

[$] 10:00 pm ($12 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Marina Franklin (developing into one of the finest stand-ups in the country, with an uncommonly gentle, graceful style that's pure joy; Last Comic Standing, Chappelle's Show, Craig Ferguson, VH1, Comedy Central's Premium Blend), Sherri Shepherd (co-host of The View), Mark Normand (hilarious stand-up; Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central; co-host of Hot Soup and We're All Friends Here), Greer Barnes (David Letterman, Chappelle Show, For the Love of the Game), Andrew Schulz (MTV2's Guy Code), Godfrey (Comedy Central Presents, Louie, 30 Rock, VH1; films Zoolander, Original Gangsters, Soul Plane; 7 Up Yours ads), Modi (HBO's The Sopranos, Comedy Central), and Sam Morril (Comedy Central) performing at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane) hosted by Ardie Fuqua: Marina Franklin, Sherri Shepherd, Mark Normand, and More

10:00 pm ($5): A rotating cast of veteran improvisors make up scenes based on improvised monologues from tonight's guest Robert Weinstein at The Magnet theatre: The Armando Diaz Experience

[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

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 11:00 pm: Some of the finest comics in the world—who are no longer being announced in advance, but it's virtually always a great lineup—at UCB Chelsea hosted by someone wonderful: Whiplash

[ALMOST FREE] 11:00 pm ($1): 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 exceptionally supportive stand-up open mic at The PIT upstairs theatre hosted by Jarrid Reed: Fresh

NYC Comedy Picks for Tuesday 2/5/13

Amy Schumer is at Comedy Cellar, Sweet, and ComedyJuice; The Story Collider explores Love & Science...

...Opus Moreschi, head writer of The Colbert Report, is interviewed about his career at Beginnings;
Michael Showalter tells stories in Brooklyn at Geeking Out

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] [ALMOST FREE] 6:00 pm ($1): In this delightful weekly open mic show, each comic has 3 minutes to try out a character-based bit (e.g., for a solo show, sketch, or audition) at The PIT downstairs lounge, hosted by Jen Kwok (Comedy Central) and Keisha Zollar (Doppelganger): Imposter Open Mic

[ALMOST FREE] 6:00 pm ($1): Open-mic sketch that allows you to either perform a sketch with your own performers or bring in pages for the audience to perform at The PIT upstairs theatre, followed by feedback on your bit from PIT "sketch-perts:" Pens & Pencils

[FREE] 6:30 pm: Open mic for comedy of all types (with sign-up starting at 6:00) at Queens LIC's The Creek upstairs theatre hosted by Chesley Calloway (co-host of renowned Comedy as a Second Language): The Ches Club

[TOP PICK] 7:00 pm ($10 at the door, $12.75 in advance online; the latter is highly recommended since this will probably sell out): Personal stories about the intersection of science and love from biologist Kelly Weinersmith, storyteller Peter Aguero, comic book artist Zach Weinersmith, novelist Diana Spechler, and journalists Robin Marantz Henig, Samantha Henig, and Jon Ronson at Brooklyn's Union Hall hosted by Ben Lillie & Erin Barker: The Story Collider: Love & Science

[TOP PICK] 7:00 pm-Midnight ($7 for the whole evening): In this 5-hour extravaganza, four of The Magnet's singing improv troupes make up a musical on the spot based on an audience suggestion: Mint Condition and Legned (at 7:00) and Aquarius and BEEES! (at 8:30); followed at 10:15 by a free show that lets audience members join in with musical improv troupe BEEES! to make up stories in song: Magnet Musical Megawatt

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 7:00 pm: A podcast crossover, with guests Matt & Brett Love Comics joining super-hosts Alex Zalben, Justin Tyler, and Pete LePage in a lively & hilarious discussion about four-color pop culture at Fontana's (105 Eldridge Street), with giveaways of comics and gift certificates: Comic Book Club

7:00 pm ($5): Two-person improv that launches from two chairs at The PIT downstairs lounge hosted by Gabe Capone & Kate Defeo: Two Chairs

[FREE] 7:00 pm: This weekly 2-hour open mic storytelling show allows each performer a full 8 minutes to tell a compelling and funny tale at Queens LIC's The Creek downstairs lounge hosted by Jake Hart and guest-hosted tonight by Mike Guild (A Funny Thing): Jake Hart's Open-Mic Storytelling Show

7:30 pm-9:15 pm ($5): Long form improv known as The Harold from UCB Chelsea house troupes Bucky, GoodGirl, and The Regulars at this first half of Harold Night

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): Wow. Interviews with Opus Moreschi (head writer of The Colbert Report), Reggie Watts (musical improv comedy genius; Conan O'Brien, Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central special, IFC's Comedy Bang Bang, Electric Company; for video samples, please click here), Chris Gethard (brilliant improvisor and comedic storyteller; star of Comedy Central sitcom Big Lake and Manhattan Cable Access' The Chris Gethard Show; The Stepfathers, The Nights of Our Lives, author of new bestseller A Bad Idea I'm About to Do and Weird New York), Andrew WK (music, partying), and Marnie Stern (Kill Rock Stars) about "their earliest creative experiences and the nuances of having a creative career" for a weekly podcast that once a month goes live on the UCB East stage with hosts Andy Beckerman & Mark Bisi: Beginnings

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($10 at the door or $12.75 online): A show featuring storytellers, book & TV writers, and stand-ups focusing on various aspects of being a fan, with tonight's guests 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; author of bestselling book Mr. Funny Pants), Juliet Hope Wayne (Moth GrandSlam Winner), Jeff Simmermon (NPR's The American Life, Moth StorySlam Champion, host of And I Am Not Lying), and Carolyn Castiglia (Last Comic Standing, VH1; for sample of Carolyn as white rapper, please click here) performing at Brooklyn's Union Hall with hosts Kerri Doherty & Nate Fernald: Geeking Out

[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm ($12 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Amy Schumer (one of the very finest stand-ups in the country; Conan O'Brien, Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central Presents, Last Comic Standing, 30 Rock, great new DVD/CD Amy Schumer: Mostly Sex Stuff), Nick DiPaolo (star stand-up, with numerous appearances on David Letterman, Jay Leno, Louie; Emmy-nominated comedy writer, talk show host), Lenny Marcus (David Letterman, MTV), Keith Robinson (HBO, Comedy Central, Wanda Sykes Show), Robert Kelly (Louie, Comedy Central, Opie & Anthony), and Jeff Lamp (Jay Leno) performing stand-up at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane) hosted by William Stephenson: Amy Schumer, Nick DiPaolo, and More

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm (no cover, 1 drink min.): Joe Pera (hilarious deadpan Andy Kaufman-like stand-up; one time I saw Joe sing beautifully and then smash three dozen plates to pieces; more recently he ended his set by slicing milk; for reasons to hire Joe, please click here), Al Jackson (Comedy Central Presents, Last Comic Standing, John Oliver's NY Stand-Up, Upload with Shaq, MTV), Greg Warren (Comedy Central Presents), Emily Heller (Comedy Central; staff writer for Rooftop Comedy; for ruminations on pregnancy, please click here), Zach Broussard (Onion News Network, sketch troupe Fambly), and Barbara Gray performing stand-up on this week's theme Dedicated to the One I Love at Sidewalk NYC (94 Avenue A) produced by Chenoa Estrada, Emily Heller, and George Gordon and hosted tonight by Josh Gondelman & George Gordon: The Afterlife: Dedicated to the One I Love

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm (just $10, and no drink minimum): A dozen stand-ups audition to perform a set on Comedy Central at The Stand Comedy Club (239 Third Avenue & 20th Street): Comedy Central's New Faces Showcase

[FREE] 8:00 pm: NYC stand-ups (not announced) performing at Queens LIC's The Creek upstairs theatre hosted by Joe Pera, Charles Gould, and/or Dan Licata: Dan + Joe + Charles' Show

8:00 pm ($8): Sketch comedy at The PIT upstairs theatre from troupe National Scandal

[FREE] 8:30 pm: Typically sharp NYC stand-ups (for an update, please click here) performing at Cake Shop (152 Ludlow Street, between Rivington & Stanton) hosted by Kate Berlant (MTV, CNN, notable hair): Crime & Punishment

[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($5): Amy Schumer (one of the very finest stand-ups in the country; Conan O'Brien, Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central Presents, Last Comic Standing, 30 Rock, great new DVD/CD Amy Schumer: Mostly Sex Stuff), Christian Finnegan (Conan O'Brien, co-star of TBS' Are We There Yet?; three Comedy Central specials; MSNBC, VH1's Best Week Ever, Chappelle's Show, The Today Show), RG Daniels (host of Sunday Night Stand-Up), NIck Stevens (host of AMC's Action Park), and more performing at The Slipper Room (167 Orchard Street) hosted by Seth Herzog (Jimmy Fallon, VH1): Sweet

9:15 pm-Midnight ($5): Long form improv known as The Harold from UCB Chelsea house troupes Salmon Diane, Sherlock & Cookies, and Guthrie—plus advanced improv students "get too close or too far from each other" for Intimacy Issues—at this second half (continued from 7:30 pm) of Harold Night

9:30 pm ($5): A storytelling show paired with song parodies at The PIT downstairs lounge hosted by Anna Roisman & Katie Haller: You Probably Think This Song is About You

9:30 pm ($5): A monthly stand-up competition at UCB East in which "new and emerging stand-up comics face off against each other in front of a panel of judges eager to provide unsolicited advice and even more unsolicited scores"—the judges being Brian Cichocki and Shannon Coffey. Tonight's contestants are Naomi Ekperigin, Katie Hannigan, Scott Schachter, Emmy Harrington, and Jason Sprung: Stand-Up Smackdown

[TOP PICK] [$] 10:00 pm ($12 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Dave Attell (one of the most respected stand-ups in the biz; star of Showtime's Dave's Old Porn and Comedy Central's Insomniac; HBO, David Letterman, Conan O'Brien, Jay Leno, The Daily Show, Comedy Central Presents), John Mulaney (one of the finest stand-ups in the country; writer/performer for Saturday Night Live; Conan O'Brien, Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central Presents, one hour special & CD/DVD New in Town, VH1's Best Week Ever; for John's great bit on Weekend Update, please click here), Sherri Shepherd (co-host of The View), Gregg Rogell (Conan O'Brien, Jay Leno, Louie, Comedy Central), Godfrey (Comedy Central Presents, Louie, 30 Rock, VH1; films Zoolander, Original Gangsters, Soul Plane; 7 Up Yours ads), Sherrod Small (writer/performer on TBS' Are We There Yet?, Comedy Central, VH1), and Mike Vecchione (Last Comic Standing, Howard Stern), performing stand-up at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane) hosted by William Stephenson: Dave Attell John Mulaney, Sherri Shepherd, and More

[TOP PICK] [$] 10:00 pm ($15 & 2-drink min.): Amy Schumer (one of the very finest stand-ups in the country; Conan O'Brien, Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central Presents, Last Comic Standing, 30 Rock, great new DVD/CD Amy Schumer: Mostly Sex Stuff), Jessica Kirson (Jay Leno, Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central, HBO, Showtime, Bravo, VH1, Logo one-woman show My Cookie's Gone), Rob Cantrell (Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central, VHI, documentary Metaphysical Graffiti, High Times), Mark Normand (hilarious stand-up; Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central; co-host of Hot Soup and We're All Friends Here), Maddog Mattern (Sirius Radio, Howard Stern TV; to see Maddog handle a heckler, please click here), Susan Prekel (Comedy Central), and Eleanor J. Kerrigan performing stand-up at the Gotham Comedy Club hosted by Jared Logan (rising star; Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central, CNN, TBS): ComedyJuice

[FREE] 10:00 pm: Big Jay Oakerson (Comedy Central Presents, HBO, Showtime, MTV), Luis J. Gomez, Dave Smith, and other NYC stand-ups performing live on stage for this podcast show at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' Long Island City: Legion of Skanks

[ALMOST FREE] 11:00 pm ($1): 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: Open-mic stand-up at UCB East hosted by Boris Khaykin, John Trowbridge, and/or Katie East: Tuesday Night Open Mic

NYC Comedy Picks for Wednesday 2/6/13

Nick Vatterott and Frank "MST3K" Conniff perform stand-up at Hot Soup...

...Cyndi Freeman performs burlesque at the storytelling & sideshow extravaganza And I Am Not Lying;
delightful comic Ellena Chmielewski wrote & directs a 30 minute romantic comedy: Standards & Practices...

...and at 10:30 on Comedy Central is a new episode of the finest sketch comedy series to grace TV in years: Kroll Show

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: Open-mic stand-up for 15 comics performing for 5 minutes each at Queens LIC's Laughing Devil Comedy Club (4738 Vernon Blvd.)—with drinks at half price: Happy Hour Open Mic

[FREE] 6:00 pm: Open-mic stand-up providing 3 minutes per comic at Queens LIC's The Creek upstairs theatre hosted by Max Corbel & Benel Germosen: Cracking It

7:00 pm-12:30 am ($7 for the entire evening): Magnet house troupes Dr. Champagne, Flower GIrl, The Wrath, Featherweight, Chet Watkins, Brick, Horses, and Bloomer performing improv, followed by a free audience interactive show with Bloomer at 11:30 pm: The Magnet's Megawatt

[FREE] 7:00 pm to midnight: Five free hours of improvisation at The PIT upstairs theatre: Super Free Wednesday

7:00 pm ($5): "Christine Holt and Mary Guiteras both worked at The Magician, a bar in NYC's Lower East Side. It was there that they realized they loved being oddballs. Sometimes they’d get in trouble because they’d be so busy being odd, they’d forget about their customers. Now they do it on stage," and are tonight joined by Erin Lennox and Margaret Lyons for this show mixing stand-up, storytelling, and improv at The PIT downstairs lounge: Bartenders: Ladies' Night

7:30 pm ($5): Expanding the UCB longform improv showcased on Harold Night is this weekly show at UCB East which tonight features troupes Huxtable and City Mouse: Lloyd Night

[TOP PICK] [FREE] Seating at 8:30, show at 9:00 pm (RSVP to confirm your spot at FreeComedyWednesdays@gmail.com): Frank Conniff (TV's Frank on Mystery Science Theater 3000; Cinematic Titanic), Nick Vatterott (Conan O'Brien, Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central's The Half Hour, MTV, Second City, 2012 Andy Kaufman Award), Emily Heller (Comedy Central; staff writer for Rooftop Comedy; for ruminations on pregnancy, please click here), Joe List (HBO, Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central), and more performing stand-up at Ella (9 Avenue A) produced by Mark Normand, Matt Ruby, Gary Vider, and Sachi Ezura: Hot Soup

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): Wonderful improvisor Ellena Chmielewski co-wrote and directed this comedy mini-play about modern romance at UCB Chelsea co-written & co-starring John Zachary Townsend (and which, barring last-minute snags, I'll finally be attending tonight): Standards & Practices...

...and in the other half of this sketch comedy double-bill, "Four traveling salespeople whose car broke down in your suburban neighborhood. They've come knocking... but what are your neighbors doing behind those doors?! The Partners are determined to find out, and sell some patented Ice Mix™ in the process:" Former Business Partners: Everything Must Go

[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm ($14 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Nick DiPaolo (star stand-up, with numerous appearances on David Letterman, Jay Leno, Louie; Emmy-nominated comedy writer, talk show host), Tom Papa (host of Jerry Seinfeld-produced NBC comedy The Marriage Ref; numerous appearances on David Letterman, Conan O'Brien, Jay Leno; three Comedy Central specials), Keith Robinson (HBO, Comedy Central, Wanda Sykes Show), Robert Kelly (Louie, Comedy Central, Opie & Anthony), and Jeff Lamp (Jay Leno) performing at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane) hosted by Ardie Fuqua: Nick DiPaolo, Tom Papa, and More

[FREE] 8:00 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' Long Island City, hosted by Chris Laker: The Show

[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($10 at the door or $11.80 in advance online): Storytelling, stand-up, and carny join forces to bring the blog And I Am Not Lying to life on stage, hosted by Jeff Simmermon (NPR's This American Life, The Moth), and tonight featuring storytelling by Jeff, Brad Lawrence (Moth GrandSlam Champion, FringeNYC, co-host of The Standard Issues), and Daisy Rosario; stand-up by Sasheer Zamata (highly charming, innovative rising star; host of UCBT's School Night, member of red-hot improv troupe Doppelganger, sketch troupe The Prom, and Harold Night troupe Bucky); sideshow antics by Abigoliah Schamaun; and burlesque by Cherry Pitz (a.k.a. Cyndi Freeman) and Magdalena Fox, all at Under St. Marks (94 St. Marks Place, off First Avenue): And I Am Not Lying

[FREE] 9:00 pm: Al Jackson (Comedy Central Presents, Last Comic Standing, John Oliver's NY Stand-Up, Upload with Shaq, MTV), Selena Coppock (author of upcoming book The New Rules for Blondes), Victor Varnado (Conan O'Brien, Jimmy Kimmel, Comedy Central, NBC's My Name is Earl, Adult Swim, Comedy Central’s The Awkward Comedy Show; films Pluto Nash, End of Days, A Guy Thing), Neil Constantine, Joe Larsonm and Monroe Martin performing stand-up at this free weekly comedy show at Lucky Jack's Bar (129 Orchard Street) produced by Kyle Fincham, Lance Weiss, and Brendon Fitzgibbons: Gandhi, Is That You?

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): Superb improvisors including Charlie Todd, John Murray, and John Frusciante "gather around the couch to turn each others' bizarre tales and armchair philosophies into an evening of improv comedy. It's like hanging out with your friends, except that your friends are really funny and need to suddenly turn their stories into improv scenes" at the UCB Chelsea theatre: The Living Room

[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($5): Superb improvisors—and actual brothers—Will Hines and Kevin Hines make use of their intimate knowledge of each other to gracefully invent scenes (hopefully without any fighting) at UCB East performing as duo The Brothers Hines

[$] 9:45 pm ($14 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Jessica Kirson (Jay Leno, Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central, HBO, Showtime, Bravo, VH1, Logo one-woman show My Cookie's Gone), Sherri Shepherd (co-host of The View), Gregg Rogell (Conan O'Brien, Jay Leno, Louie, Comedy Central), Godfrey (Comedy Central Presents, Louie, 30 Rock, VH1; films Zoolander, Original Gangsters, Soul Plane; 7 Up Yours ads), and Sherrod Small (writer/performer on TBS' Are We There Yet?, Comedy Central, VH1), performing stand-up at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane) hosted by Ardie Fuqua: Jessica Kirson, Sherri Shepherd, and More

[TOP PICK] 10:00 pm ($5): The instructors of UCB's classes include some of the finest improvisors in the country. In this weekly show a bunch of them get on stage at UCB East, along with hosts Betsy Stover and Ari Voukydis: Hot for Teacher: The UCB Faculty Show

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 10:00 pm: Rising stand-up stars—Jared Logan, Mike Lawrence, Mark Normand, Dan. St. Germain, Pat Dixon, Emily Heller, Michael Che, Joe List, and/or Nick Turner—at Queens LIC's The Creek upstairs theatre: The Regulars

10:00 pm ($5): Two-person improv scenes from Haldane McFall & Brad Stuart, Elke Reid & Giovanni Vargas, and more at The PIT downstairs lounge hosted by Donna Lobello and tonight's guest partner Meredith Hackman: I Trust (Two-Prov)

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 11:00 pm: The wonderful Sasheer Zamata (Doppelganger) hosts 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. (Tonight's scheduled guests include Katey Healy-Wurzburg, Adam Newman, and Luke Thayer; for the complete list, please click here.) Come support the experimentation, and periodic magical surprises, that this uniquely organic rollercoaster of a weekly show at UCB Chelsea makes possible—and don't forget to toss $1 in the bucket on your way out: School Night

[FREE] 11:00 pm: Open-mic stand-up running until 1:00 am, with time divided evenly between performers (up to five minutes), at The Creek downstairs lounge in Queens' Long Island City with host Rob Stern: Bucket 'O Buckets

[FREE] 11:00 pm: Your opportunity to perform on the stage of UCB East with improv veterans, hosted by UCBT Harold Night house troupe Grandma's Ashes: The Improv Jam

[TOP PICK] [$] 11:30 pm ($10 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Uncensored stand-up from Big Jay Oakerson (Comedy Central Presents, HBO, Showtime, MTV), Jena Friedman (wry dark comedy stand-up and rising star; producer for The Daily Show, former staff writer for David Letterman, host of Entertaining the Bartender), Kurt Metzger (Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central Presents, Ugly Americans), Chris Distefano (Comedy Central, MTV2's Guy Code), and Mike Vecchione (Last Comic Standing, Howard Stern) performing at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane) hosted by Ardie Fuqua: The Nasty Show: Big Jay Oakerson, Jena Friedman, Kurt Metzger, and More

NYC Comedy Picks for Thursday 2/7/13

Stellar writer/editors tell true tales about their experiences with online dating at The OkCupid Show...

...former child actress Mara Wilson is interviewed at Running Late with Scott Rogowsky;
sly musical duo The Reformed Whores sing at Stripped Stories

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] [FREE] 6:00 pm:Adam Wade (two-time Moth GrandSlam Storytelling Champion (2006 & 2009) and record-breaking 18-time StorySlam Champion; The New York Times Magazine; host of hilarious monthly storytelling extravaganzas The Adam Wade Show, Tales of the Cosmos, and Whatever Happened to the Nerds?; for a sampling of Adam's award-winning tales, please click here) and Peter Aguero (Conan O'Brien, Moth GrandSlam Champion, WNYC's Moth Radio Hour, The BTK Band) guest-host (while John Flynn is busy elsewhere) this weekly open mic storytelling show at UCB East, with each performer given a whopping eight minutes to captivate & impress: Oh, Hey Guys!

[ALMOST FREE] 6:00 pm ($1): PIT musical improv troupe Adorable mixes with musical improv novices on-stage at the downstairs lounge for Pitch

[FREE] 6:00 pm: Open-mic stand-up with comics' names drawn from a bucket and each chosen receiving two minutes—and if that goes well, maybe a hug (but not actual puppies)—at The Creek's upstairs theatre in Queens' Long Island City hosted by Ross Parsons & Trey Galyon: Free Puppies

[TOP PICK] 6:30 pm ($5): Veronica Osorio co-writes & stars in a sketch show springboarding off a classic talk show format: The Johnny Carson Show Starring Veronica Osorio...

...and in the other half of this UCB Chelsea stage, Sasheer Zamata (highly charming, innovative rising star; host of UCBT's School Night, member of red-hot improv troupe Doppelganger, sketch troupe The Prom, and Harold Night troupe Bucky) and Avery Monsen are guests at a talk show in which they're asked to show their most embarrasing videos, hosted by Jon Bershad & Nicole Pasquale!: Not On My Reel: A Clip Show

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 7:00 pm: A show about true tales of sex, love, and "the best dating site on Earth," with tonight's stortellers Steve Heisler (writer for Variety and The AV Club), Lauren Bans (writer/editor of GQ), Ryan O'Connell (writer/editor of Thought Catalog), and Charla Lauriston (stand-up) performing at the Housingworks Bookstore Cafe with hosts Adam Jacobson and the lovely Michelle Markowitz: The OkCupid Show

7:00 pm ($5): Two singing improv troupes make up entire musicals on the spot in this double-bill at The PIT downstairs lounge: Punchbowl and THEM

[FREE] 7:00 pm: In this free Magnet show, audience members (signing in at 6:00) can join in with improv troupe Hello Laser to make up scenes on the spot: Magnet Mixer

[TOP PICK] 7:30 pm ($5): Myq Kaplan (one of the quickest minds in comedy, and rapidly rising star; finalist on most recent Last Comic Standing; David Letterman, Conan O'Brien, Jay Leno, Comedy Central Presents, hit comedy CD Vegan Mind Meld), Collin Moulton (Showtime), Stone & Stone (Comedy Central, Last Comic Standing), and "a special guest" performing at UCB East hosted by Dan Allen & Ray Devito: Sacapuntas!

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): Comedy genius Chris Gethard combines storytelling and stand-up to create an unforgettable 30-minute set featuring tales of his birth, the Bio TV series I Survived, and more at UCB Chelsea for one night only: Chris Gethard for the Half Hour

[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm ($14 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Ted Alexandro (one of the very finest stand-ups in the country; David Letterman, Conan O'Brien, Jimmy Kimmel, two Comedy Central Presents half-hour specials; frequently opens for Louis C.K.), Nick DiPaolo (star stand-up, with numerous appearances on David Letterman, Jay Leno, Louie; Emmy-nominated comedy writer, talk show host), Tom Papa (host of Jerry Seinfeld-produced NBC comedy The Marriage Ref; numerous appearances on David Letterman, Conan O'Brien, Jay Leno; three Comedy Central specials), Gregg Rogell (Conan O'Brien, Jay Leno, Louie, Comedy Central), and Keith Robinson (HBO, Comedy Central, Wanda Sykes Show) performing at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane) hosted by William Stephenson: Ted Alexandro, Nick DiPaolo, Tom Papa, and More

[TOP PICK] [FREE—plus FREE BEER!] 8:00 pm: Politically incorrect stand-ups compete in this unique show for which each comic performs a set and then has to provide biting commentary on a popular online video. The audience then votes on who was the most savagely funny and has won the right to return the following month. Tonight's combatants are Justy Dodge (co-host of 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), Andy Fiori (MTV), Jesse Jones (MTV), Sean Lynch, and Mike Gaffney performing at The Creek's upstairs theatre in Queens' Long Island City hosted by Mike Feeney: On the Offensive

[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm ($20): A former roommate & drinking buddy of such comedy giants as David Cross and Marc Maron performs a one-man show that was such a hit at August's FringeNYC it's been extended indefinitely. Please read my review by clicking here, and Jason Zinoman's New York Times review by clicking here; and then come share an intimate hour with Matt Graham at the Soho Playhouse's downstairs Huron Club so he can explain life and meaning and why This Too Shall Suck

8:00 pm ($5): Two singing improv troupes make up entire musicals on the spot in this double-bill at The PIT downstairs lounge: Hemlock and Dagger

8:00 pm-MIdnight ($7 for the entire evening): The Magnet house troupes Nintendo, Junior Varsity, The Boss, and Hello Laser performing improv for two hours, followed at 10:00 pm by Round Trip (long form improv that tells the story of a group of characters over the course of three separate monoscenes, directed by legendary improvisor Armando Diaz), and then at 11:00 improv competition Inspirado (like UCBT's Cage Match, but with a game-like challenge component), tonight featuring last week's winner vs. Chet Watkins: The Magnet's Night Out

8:00 pm (no cover, 1 drink min.): Storytellers Tricia Alexandro, Amy Stiller, and Lianne Stokes, plus musical guest Cosmos Sunshine, performing for this twice-monthly storytelling show at 2A (25 Avenue A & 2nd Street) hosted by Jenny Rubin: Here's the Story

[FREE] 8:00 pm: Open-mic free speech at this monthly show that dates back to 1755 London and tonight provides five minutes per person on the topic Internet Freedom at Brooklyn's Pacific Standard (82 Fourth Avenue) hosted by Nat Townsen (co-host of The Moon Show): Cogers: Internet Freedom Edition

[TOP PICK] [$] 8:30 pm ($15): Nick DiPaolo (star stand-up, with numerous appearances on David Letterman, Jay Leno, Louie; Emmy-nominated comedy writer, talk show host), Carmen Lynch (David Letterman, Last Comic Standing finalist, Comedy Central), Joe List (HBO, Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central), Dante Nero (Comedy Central), and more performing stand-up at The Stand Comedy Club (239 Third Avenue & 20th Street): Nick DiPaolo, Carmen Lynch, Joe List, and More

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 9:00ish pm: Terrific NYC stand-ups (the lineup is typically announced around 3:00 pm; for an update, please click here) performing on this free weekly show at the Kabin Bar and Lounge hosted by Chesley Calloway and comedy genius Sean Patton: Comedy as a Second Language

[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($5): Mike Lawrence (nerd persona but razor-sharp mind has made this stand-up a rapidly rising star; Conan O'Brien, Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central's John Oliver's NY Stand-Up), Brooke Van Poppelen (MTV's Girl Code; trutV, TLC, co-host of Dive Comedy; for stand-up videos about overindulging at 30 and impersonating Morrisey, please click here and here), Al Jackson (Comedy Central Presents, Last Comic Standing, John Oliver's NY Stand-Up, Upload with Shaq, MTV), Pat Dixon (Comedy Central Presents, FOX, VH1, E!, host of Nearly Naked Lady Comedy Hour), and Barbara Gray (SF Sketchfest) performing stand-up at UCB East hosted by Adam Conover and/or Emily Heller: Fresh Out

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($8): Mara Wilson (child star in Matilda, Mrs. Doubtfire, Miracle on 34th Street), Mike Drucker (Jimmy Fallon; freelance writer for SNL, The Onion, McSweeney's), Ryan Hunter & Taige Jensen (authors of Coloring For Grown-Ups), and Dan Klein (Rejected Pitches, Big Time Pranks) performing & interviewed at The PIT upstairs theatre with host Scott Rogowsky (The Onion): Running Late with Scott Rogowsky

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): Guy Branum (Chelsea Lately, writer for Totally Biased) and Michael Soviero (two-time Moth StorySlam winner) joining sensual hosts Margot Leitman (Conan O'Brien, VH1, Spike TV) and Giulia Rozzi (Jimmy Kimmel, MTV, VH1.com, Playgirl Magazine, co-host of Dive Comedy) telling erotic true tales on this month's theme "Weird Feeling"—plus hot songs from The Reformed Whores—at the best sexy storytelling comedy show in NYC: Stripped Stories

[TOP PICK] [$] 9:30 pm ($22 & 2-drink min.) A razor-sharp stand-up who's performed on HBO’s Bored to Death and Down and Dirty, as well as FX's Louie and radio show Opie & Anthony, starred in his own Comedy Central Presents half-hour special, and created the comedy CDs The Depression Auction and Return of the Depression Auction headlining tonight and Sunday at the Carolines Comedy Club: Joe DeRosa

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): Improvisors make up one-act plays on the spot at The PIT downstairs lounge, produced by Dan Hodapp & Micah Sherman: The Scene

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 10:00 pm: A jaw-dropping dark comedy group, which includes members of ace sketch troupe Murderfist, will terrify Manhattan for an hour at the Comedy Bar (134 West 29th Street): The Cowmen

[TOP PICK] [$] 10:30 pm ($5 & 2-item food/drink min.) Comics heckle a genre feature film—with tonight's victim the 1970 absurd Jeff Bridges/James Mason/Burgess Meredith action flick The Yin and Yang of Mr. Go (for a scene of Jeff Bridges fighting a 7-foot tall man, please click here) at Queens LIC's Laughing Devil Comedy Club (4738 Vernon Blvd.): Devil Science Theater 3000

[TOP PICK] 11:00 pm ($5): After crushing last week's opponent 110-39, troupe A Sparrow tonight defends its crown against one of the best improv groups in NYC, Grandma's Ashes, at UCB Chelsea competing for your laughs and votes at the raucous Cage Match

11:00 pm ($5): A sketch comedy radio show/podcast live on the UCB East stage, with tonight's parody sequel Die Hard 6: Left Handed Radio

[TOP PICK] [$] Midnight ($14 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Uncensored stand-up from Dave Attell (one of the most respected stand-ups in the biz; star of Showtime's Dave's Old Porn and Comedy Central's Insomniac; HBO, David Letterman, Conan O'Brien, Jay Leno, The Daily Show, Comedy Central Presents), Jena Friedman (wry dark comedy stand-up and rising star; producer for The Daily Show, former staff writer for David Letterman, host of Entertaining the Bartender), Kurt Metzger (Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central Presents, Ugly Americans), Chris Distefano (Comedy Central, MTV2's Guy Code), and Wil Sylvince (Comedy Central, BET's Comic View) performing at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane) hosted by Big Jay Oakerson (Comedy Central Presents, HBO, Showtime, MTV): The Nasty Show: Dave Attell, Big Jay Oakerson, Jena Friedman, Kurt Metzger, and More

NYC Comedy Picks for Friday 2/8/13

TV & movie star T.J. Miller gets his juices going at The Big Gulp and then headlines at the Gotham Comedy Club;
Tony Award winner Cady Huffman joins singing & dancing improvisors at The Made-Up Musical...

...David Alan Grier headlines at Carolines; Camille Harris sings at Earworm

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: 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 with hosts Erin Lennox and Eli Sairs: The Orphanage

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 7:00 pm: T.J. Miller (David Letterman, Opie & Anthony; co-star of ABC sitcom Carpoolers; co-star of numerous movies including Cloverfield and Get Him to the Greek; for video samples, please click here), Nick Vatterott (Conan O'Brien, Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central's The Half Hour, MTV, Second City, 2012 Andy Kaufman Award), Joe List (HBO, Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central), Adam Newman (Comedy Central, MTV, College Humor, comedy CD Not for Horses), and Anthony DeVito performing at Brooklyn's Legion Bar (790 Metropolitan Avenue) hosted by Jack Wilkinson & Morgan Mille: The Big Gulp

[$] 7:00 pm ($20 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Tom Papa (host of Jerry Seinfeld-produced NBC comedy The Marriage Ref; numerous appearances on David Letterman, Conan O'Brien, Jay Leno; three Comedy Central specials), Hannibal Buress (former staff writer for 30 Rock, Saturday Night Live; David Letterman, Jimmy Fallon, Louie, The Eric Andre Show, host of Comedy Night, one-hour Comedy Central special Animal Furnace), Greer Barnes (David Letterman, Chappelle Show, For the Love of the Game), Lenny Marcus (David Letterman, MTV), and Jeff Lamp (Jay Leno) performing at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane) hosted by Keith Robinson (HBO, Comedy Central, Wanda Sykes Show): Tom Papa, Hannibal Buress, and More

7:00 pm ($7): Scoresby performs Improv that flows from moment to moment, with no sweeps or tag outs—"each exit starts a new scene, while performers use devices ranging from monologues to in-scene questions to break into characters and relationships quicker and deeper" at The Magnet theatre, plus a second improv troupe: Scoresby plus Doctor Balloon

7:00 pm ($8): A one-man show from Zach Zimmerman (iO, Annoyance Theatre, Baby Wants Candy) that asks "What is gay? What is funny? What is gay and also funny?" at The PIT upstairs theatre: Straight Man

7:00 pm ($8): "Lana and Lena L’Amour are two broads who know their way around the ins and outs of love—especially the ins and outs! Together they'll whip up songs right off the tops of their perfectly quaffed noggins about L’Amour, L’Sex and maybe even you and your L’lover. Accompanied by their ex-husband, incomparable piano player Frank Spitznagel" at The PIT downstairs lounge: Valentine's Day at Lounge L'Amour

[FREE] 7:00 pm: Open-mic stand-up, with 3 minutes per comic (unless not many folks show up, in which case there'll be more time), with names drawn out of a bucket at UCB East in the bar area ("Hot Chicks Room") hosted by Nate Dern and Paul Oddo: The Friday Night Hot Chicks Mic

[TOP PICK] 7:30 pm ($10): Stone Cold Fox is the only sketch troupe (vs. improv troupe) to ever be honored with an ongoing spot on the prestigious UCB Chelsea weekend schedule. It’s earned this slot because its cast is one of the finest in comedy, with each performer strong enough for potential stardom. I haven't yet seen this run of the show, but have heard good things about the material co-written & directed by superb comic scripter Michael Trapp: Stone Cold Fox: All Keyed Up

[TOP PICK] 7:30 pm ($10): Amber Nelson (fearless, innovative rising star; sketch troupe The Prom, co-host of The Dream Show and Mustache Party), Ashley Brooke Roberts (co-host of The Dream Show), Rob Stern, and Naomi Ekperigin performing stand-up at UCB East hosted by Halle Kiefer & Dan Chamberlain: Splitsider and Tumblr's Dog and Pony Show

[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm & 10:00 pm ($25 & 2-drink min.): One of the most hilarious and red-hot sketch comedy & comedic actors in the biz, TV & film star T.J. Miller (David Letterman, Opie & Anthony; co-star of ABC sitcom Carpoolers; co-star of numerous movies including Cloverfield and Get Him to the Greek; for video samples, please click here), headlines tonight and Saturday at the Gotham Comedy Club: T.J. Miller

[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm & 10:30 pm ($42 & 2-drink min.) A star from In Living Color who Comedy Central has named one of the 100 greatest stand-ups headlining tonight and Saturday at the Carolines Comedy Club: David Alan Grier

[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm ($20): Marina Franklin (developing into one of the finest stand-ups in the country, with an uncommonly gentle, graceful style that's pure joy; Last Comic Standing, Chappelle's Show, Craig Ferguson, VH1, Comedy Central's Premium Blend), 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), Big Jay Oakerson (Comedy Central Presents, HBO, Showtime, MTV), Mike Vecchione (Last Comic Standing, Howard Stern), and more performing stand-up at The Stand Comedy Club (239 Third Avenue & 20th Street): Marina Franklin, Rich Vos, Big Jay Oakerson, and More

8:00 pm ($10): A dozen writers & performers perform brand new sketch comedy at The PIT upstairs theatre: Big Business

[FREE] 8:00 pm: Stand-up, sketch, videos, and more at Queens LIC's The Creek upstairs theatre with Jeffrey Joseph and hosts Ron Krasnow & Joel Walkowski: The Short Bus

[FREE] 8:00 pm: An open mic show that's first come, first serve (sign-ups start at 7:30 pm), with each comic getting five minutes on stage at The Creek downstairs lounge in Queens' Long Island City: Mic and Cheese

[TOP PICK] 8:30 pm ($10): Magnet improvisors play a fun game in which they all stay on stage at all times, and alternate between speaking roles and playing inanimate objects: Medusa

[$] 8:45 pm ($24 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Tom Papa (host of Jerry Seinfeld-produced NBC comedy The Marriage Ref; numerous appearances on David Letterman, Conan O'Brien, Jay Leno; three Comedy Central specials), Hannibal Buress (former staff writer for 30 Rock, Saturday Night Live; David Letterman, Jimmy Fallon, Louie, The Eric Andre Show, host of Comedy Night, one-hour Comedy Central special Animal Furnace), Gregg Rogell (Conan O'Brien, Jay Leno, Louie, Comedy Central), Greer Barnes (David Letterman, Chappelle Show, For the Love of the Game), and Jeff Lamp (Jay Leno) performing at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane) hosted by Keith Robinson (HBO, Comedy Central, Wanda Sykes Show): Tom Papa, Hannibal Buress, and More

[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($10): Some of the finest improv in NYC from comedy geniuses Chris Gethard and Shannon O'Neill, plus stellar comics Silvija Ozols, Zach Woods, Michael Delaney, Will Hines, and Connor Ratliff, performing at UCB Chelsea—the all-star members of The Stepfathers

[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($10): A gathering of comedic musicians, who tonight include Camille Harris ((irresistible rising star singer/sketch comic/cutie; featured player on The Moon Show, co-host of My High School Boyfriend Was Gay) The Reformed Whores (raunchy comedic singing duo Marie Cecile Anderson & Katy Frame; new album Ladies Don't Spit), and Marc Engberg performing at UCB East hosted by superb musical group Summer & Eve (for samples, please click here): Earworm Funny Music Party Show

[TOP PICK] [$] [DISCOUNTED] 9:00 pm (FREE TICKETS if you reserve in advance by calling (212) 260-2445 and mention HyReviews.com, but there's still a 2-drink min. per person): Big Jay Oakerson (Comedy Central Presents, HBO, Showtime, MTV), Carmen Lynch (David Letterman, Last Comic Standing finalist, Comedy Central), Wil Sylvince (Comedy Central, BET's Comic View), and more performing at the only comedy club in the East Village: Eastville Comedy Club

9:30 pm ($10): A PIT improv troupe making up a musical on the spot after a friendly greeting: Hello

9:30 pm ($5): "Each month the Buttski & Glasscock Talent Agency brings you the best of the worst this small town has to offer. As only two career-savvy former showgirls can, they comb through Craigslist ad after Craigslist ad; but you will determine which act gets a one-year contract:" at The PIT downstairs lounge: Buttski & Glasscock's New Talent Blowout

[TOP PICK] 10:00 pm ($10): Singing improvisors at The Magnet—plus tonight's special guest Cady Huffman (movie & TV star, and Tony Award winner for playing sex-bomb Ulla in Broadway's The Producers) using an interview with an audience member to craft The Made-Up Musical

[$] 10:00 pm ($20): Rachel Feinstein (finalist on Last Comic Standing; Comedy Central, HBO, The Apprentice, opens for Sarah Silverman on tour), Big Jay Oakerson (Comedy Central Presents, HBO, Showtime, MTV), Pat Dixon (Comedy Central Presents, FOX, VH1, E!, host of Nearly Naked Lady Comedy Hour), Mike Vecchione (Last Comic Standing, Howard Stern), and more performing stand-up at The Stand Comedy Club (239 Third Avenue & 20th Street): Rachel Feinstein, Big Jay Oakerson, and More

[FREE] 10:00 pm: NYC stand-ups (not announced) performing sets to be used as audition tapes—so they'll be trying extra hard to make you laugh—at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' Long Island City: Caught on Tape

[$] 10:30 pm ($24 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Marina Franklin (developing into one of the finest stand-ups in the country, with an uncommonly gentle, graceful style that's pure joy; Last Comic Standing, Chappelle's Show, Craig Ferguson, VH1, Comedy Central's Premium Blend), Hannibal Buress (former staff writer for 30 Rock, Saturday Night Live; David Letterman, Jimmy Fallon, Louie, The Eric Andre Show, host of Comedy Night, one-hour Comedy Central special Animal Furnace), Greer Barnes (David Letterman, Chappelle Show, For the Love of the Game), Mike Vecchione (Last Comic Standing, Howard Stern), and Dan Naturman (David Letterman, Jay Leno) performing at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane) hosted by William Stephenson: Marina Franklin, Hannibal Buress, and More

10:30 pm ($10): Sasheer Zamata (highly charming, innovative rising star; host of UCBT's School Night, member of red-hot improv troupe Doppelganger, sketch troupe The Prom, and Harold Night troupe Bucky), Streeter Seidell (Editor-in-Chief of College Humor; Jimmy Kimmel, MTV's Pranked), JC Coccoli (Comedy Central, MTV, VH1, WB; looks great in a hat, and in fur looks like a Lannister), and more performing at UCB East hosted by Brandon Scott Jones, D'Arcy Carden, Justin Tyler, Emily Axford, and/or Alden Ford: Gentrify

[TOP PICK] 10:30 pm ($10): Fran Gillespie, Jon Gabrus, Sue Galloway, Matt Fisher, Craig Rowin, Nate Lang, and/or other superb improvisors at UCB Chelsea making up scenes about an audience member's legal dispute: The Law Firm: Law & Disorder

11:00 pm ($5): "A scandalous night of down-right-sexy improv" that begins with "a blank, white, virgin, and untouched canvas; Mr. O and Ms. X will color you, go outside the lines, and make sure you leave with no skin left uncovered. The stage will be the frame and everyone’s the painting" at The PIT downstairs lounge: Yes, Yes, Yes...And

[TOP PICK] 11:30 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 Laura Grey (stellar old-time radio style theatrical podcast Horrorgasm, improv troupe Salmon Diane, sketch/improv duo Klepper & Grey): The Friday Night Sh*w

[TOP PICK] [FREE] Midnight: NYC stand-ups—sometimes stellar ones—pushing boundaries for a show designed for looseness and experimentation at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' Long Island City with hosts Jacqueline Novak and Chris Laker: Permission to Fail

Midnight ($5): Gary Vider (hilarious writer & deadpan stand-up; for sample jokes, please click here), John Moses, Yamaneika Saunders, and more performing at a showcase of NYC stand-ups not yet represented by a manager or agent at UCB East hosted by Luke Thayer & JL Cauvin: Unmanageable Stand-Ups

[FREE] Midnight: This show might not be much fun for audience members, but it's an amazing opportunity if you want to perform sketch for free and with almost zero hurdles on the prestigious UCB Chelsea stage. Plus it's hosted by members of Maude troupe Fambly, typically including such wonderful talents as Nicole Byer and Veronica Osorio: Liquid Courage

[TOP PICK] [$] 12:15 am ($20 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Dave Attell (one of the most respected stand-ups in the biz; star of Showtime's Dave's Old Porn and Comedy Central's Insomniac; HBO, David Letterman, Conan O'Brien, Jay Leno, The Daily Show, Comedy Central Presents), Big Jay Oakerson (Comedy Central Presents, HBO, Showtime, MTV), Greer Barnes (David Letterman, Chappelle Show, For the Love of the Game), Mike Vecchione (Last Comic Standing, Howard Stern), and Dan Naturman (David Letterman, Jay Leno) performing stand-up at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane) hosted by William Stephenson: Dave Attell, Big Jay Oakerson, and More

NYC Comedy Picks for Saturday 2/9/13

T.J. Miller headlines one last night at Gotham, and David Alan Grier concludes his run 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:

[FREE] 4:00 pm: An unusually early weekly open mic stand-up show ("starts late enough to sleep off that hangover but ends just in time to begin a new one") at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' Long Island City hosted by Jhoel Walkowski & Evan Davis: The Amateur Hour

6:00 pm ($5): Improv troupes Superheroes of the 1970s, Middlebrow, and Sad Kids at The Magnet kicking off your Saturday evening: The Rundown

[TOP PICK] 7:00 pm ($5): A comedy quiz show full of heavily researched quirky facts in which sharp contestants receive points if their answers are correct but get more points if their answers are "quite interesting" at UCB East created & hosted by Katey Healy-Wurzburg: The Fascinator...

...and in the other half of this double-bill, UCBT house manager and tech guy supreme Pat Baer hosts a show about the very medium you're using to read this: 404ing It: Breaking (Down) the Internet

7:00 pm ($8): Veteran improv troupe SidViscous performs its signature longform, described as "a spontaneous stream-of-consciousness journey into the uncharted recesses of the mind," at The PIT downstairs lounge: SidViscous: The Fever Dream

7:30 pm ($7): Sharp Magnet improvisors "perform organic freeform improvisation in two mind-blowing parts; the only rule is that there are no rules:" The Weave

7:30 pm ($10): Talented improvisors at UCB Chelsea interview an audience member about where he or she grew up and then "turn that town's tourist attractions, landmarks, hangouts, local celebrities, urban legends, and more into a hilarious show made up on the spot:" The Curfew: Not From Around Here

[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm & 10:00 pm & 11:45 pm ($25 & 2-drink min.): One of the most hilarious and red-hot sketch comedy & comedic actors in the biz, TV & film star T.J. Miller (David Letterman, Opie & Anthony; co-star of ABC sitcom Carpoolers; co-star of numerous movies including Cloverfield and Get Him to the Greek; for video samples, please click here), headlines one last night at the Gotham Comedy Club: T.J. Miller

[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm & 10:30 pm ($42 & 2-drink min.) A star from In Living Color who Comedy Central has named one of the 100 greatest stand-ups headlining one last night at the Carolines Comedy Club: David Alan Grier

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 8:00ish pm: Wonderful comics Amber Nelson & Ashley Brooke Roberts host a free variety show featuring stand-up, sketch, character acts, music, and/or who knows what else, with tonight featuring Nick Vatterott (Conan O'Brien, Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central's The Half Hour, MTV, Second City, 2012 Andy Kaufman Award), MIchael Kupperman, Neal Stastny, Chris Doucette, and more performing at the Comedy Bar (134 West 29th Street): The Dream Show

[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm ($20): Hannibal Buress (former staff writer for 30 Rock, Saturday Night Live; David Letterman, Jimmy Fallon, Louie, The Eric Andre Show, host of Comedy Night, one-hour Comedy Central special Animal Furnace), Rachel Feinstein (finalist on Last Comic Standing; Comedy Central, HBO, The Apprentice, opens for Sarah Silverman on tour), Big Jay Oakerson (Comedy Central Presents, HBO, Showtime, MTV), Stuckey & Murray (terrific comedic singing duo; Chelsea Lately, NBC, VH1, Fuse), and Paul Virzi (FOX, Spike TV) performing stand-up at The Stand Comedy Club (239 Third Avenue & 20th Street): Hannibal Buress, Rachel Feinstein, Big Jay Oakerson, Stuckey & Murray, and More

8:00 pm ($10): Two of the most respected PIT improv troupes performing on this weekly double-bill: Big Black Car and The Baldwins

[FREE] 8:00 pm: NYC stand-ups Alison Leiby, Jeff Wesselschmidt, and Brendan Eyre, improv troupe Butts, and more performing at Queens LIC's The Creek upstairs theatre hosted by Peggy O'Leary: Hard, Lonely, and Vicious

[TOP PICK] 8:30 pm ($10): Mike Lawrence (nerd persona but razor-sharp mind has made this stand-up a rapidly rising star; Conan O'Brien, Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central's John Oliver's NY Stand-Up), Aparna Nancherla (delightfully wry stand-up; writer for FX's Totally Biased), Calise Hawkins (Jimmy Fallon, Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central, writer for Playboy.com), Greg Johnson (Sirius Radio host), Yannis Pappas, and Brad Austin performing stand-up at UCB East guest-hosted by Sean Donnelly: If You Build It

[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($10): One of the gutsiest and most hilarious troupes in comedy history—with honors including being Cage Match Champion for three years in a row, and winning the 2011 ECNY Award for Best Improv Group—UCB Chelsea's genius improvisors Death by Roo Roo

9:00 pm ($7): Magnet improvisors team up with poets at Kiss*Punch*Poem

9:30 pm ($8): A comedy improv troupe that's performed with Cirque de Soleil and appeared in the film Mystery Team performs a mix of sketch and improv at The PIT upstairs theatre: Gentleman Party

[TOP PICK] [$] 10:00 pm ($20): Hannibal Buress (former staff writer for 30 Rock, Saturday Night Live; David Letterman, Jimmy Fallon, Louie, The Eric Andre Show, host of Comedy Night, one-hour Comedy Central special Animal Furnace), Joe DeRosa (razor-sharp rising star stand-up; HBO’s Bored to Death and Down and Dirty, Comedy Central Presents, comedy CD The Depression Auction),Rachel Feinstein (finalist on Last Comic Standing; Comedy Central, HBO, The Apprentice, opens for Sarah Silverman on tour), Big Jay Oakerson (Comedy Central Presents, HBO, Showtime, MTV), Kurt Metzger (Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central Presents, Ugly Americans), and Paul Virzi (FOX, Spike TV) performing stand-up at The Stand Comedy Club (239 Third Avenue & 20th Street): Hannibal Buress, Joe DeRosa, Big Jay Oakerson, Kurt Metzger, and More

[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

[FREE] 10:00 pm: Charming stand-ups Erin Judge, Abbi Crutchfield, Carrie Gravenson, and Kaytlin Bailey have been touring around the country, but you can see them tonight for free at Queens LIC's The Creek upstairs theatre: Pink Collar Comedy Tour

[TOP PICK] 10:30 ($8): NYC's heavy metal version of a sketch troupe, which doesn't always ht the mark but provides odd, unsettling, and fearless dark comedy—and in 2011 won the ECNY Award for Best Sketch Group—performing at The PIT downstairs lounge: Murderfist: Late and Dirty

[TOP PICK] 10:30 pm ($10): At UCB Chelsea, improv troupe Grandma's Ashes—which includes stellar talents Ryan Karels, Morgan Grace Jarrett, Brandon Scott Jones, and more—promises to "take your stories of the tragic and depraved and scatter them into laughter:" Grandma's Ashes Gets Dark

[TOP PICK] 10:30 pm ($10): UCBT improv troupe Airwolf—which includes such talents as John Frusciante, Molly Lloyd, Tim Martin, and Emily Axford, and has so far crushed 10 improv groups in a row at Cage Match, entirely owns the UCB East stage tonight at Airwolf: Let's Go Back to Your Place

10:30 pm ($7): Nick Kanellis & Peter McNerney perform at The Magnet as comedy duo Trike

[TOP PICK] [$] 11:00 pm ($24 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Dave Attell (one of the most respected stand-ups in the biz; star of Showtime's Dave's Old Porn and Comedy Central's Insomniac; HBO, David Letterman, Conan O'Brien, Jay Leno, The Daily Show, Comedy Central Presents), Hannibal Buress (former staff writer for 30 Rock, Saturday Night Live; David Letterman, Jimmy Fallon, Louie, The Eric Andre Show, host of Comedy Night, one-hour Comedy Central special Animal Furnace), Gregg Rogell (Conan O'Brien, Jay Leno, Louie, Comedy Central), Greer Barnes (David Letterman, Chappelle Show, For the Love of the Game), Russ Meneve (Conan O'Brien, Jay Leno), and Lenny Marcus (David Letterman, MTV) performing stand-up at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane) hosted by Erik Rivera: Dave Attell, Hannibal Buress, and More

11:00 pm ($10): Nick Carrillo, Langston Belton, and Devin James Heater perform a post-apocalyptic improvised comedy—exploring the relationship of three men trapped in a Generic Underground Shelter—at The PIT upstairs theatre: G.U.S.

Midnight ($5): "Jason Saenz and Riley Soloner have invited the worst people in NYC to come and talk about their sh*tty situations in front of a studio audience in hopes that they can better themselves and turn their lives around. HAHAHA! Just kidding! We're exploiting these people for ratings!" Typically including a mob of comics (not announced this month) performing at the UCB Chelsea theatre: Late Night Trash

[FREE] Midnight: Stand-up and sketch (performers not announced) at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' Long Island City: Kingmaker Sketch

[FREE] Midnight: A weekly chance for you to shine at The Magnet, as students and veteran improvisors share the stage to form "rare and wonderful one-night-only teams," with sign-up starting at 11:30 pm: Magnet Mixer

[TOP PICK] [$] 12:45 am ($20 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Dave Attell (one of the most respected stand-ups in the biz; star of Showtime's Dave's Old Porn and Comedy Central's Insomniac; HBO, David Letterman, Conan O'Brien, Jay Leno, The Daily Show, Comedy Central Presents), Jena Friedman (wry dark comedy stand-up and rising star; producer for The Daily Show, former staff writer for David Letterman, host of Entertaining the Bartender), Kurt Metzger (Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central Presents, Ugly Americans), Greer Barnes (David Letterman, Chappelle Show, For the Love of the Game), Joe List (HBO, Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central), and Andy Hendrickson performing at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane) hosted by Big Jay Oakerson (Comedy Central Presents, HBO, Showtime, MTV): Dave Attell, Big Jay Oakerson, Jena Friedman, Kurt Metzger, and More

NYC Comedy Picks for Sunday 2/10/13

Joe DeRosa headlines at Carolines; Jena Friedman will lift your spirits at Fooling Around with Casey Jost

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] 4:00 pm: An unusually early walk-in open mic stand-up show at The Creek downstairs lounge in Queens' Long Island City: Face-Plant Comedy Showcase

6:00 pm ($8): "Becky Flaum thinks she’s Julia Roberts. And Sandra Bullock, Meg Ryan, Drew Barrymore, even Katherine Heigel. But her high cinematic hopes for her love life get in the way of reality on her quest to find the perfect co-star." This one-woman show is at The PIT upstairs theatre: Hopeless Romantic Comedy

[FREE] 5:00 pm: "Short-form improv teams battle it out for the most points and a prize. C’mon, admit it! You miss the quick-witted fun and audience involvement of short-form improv. A different short-form team joins Mishmash! each month and struts their stuff for a panel of judges (including one judge chosen from the audience) until a winner emerges. There will be a series of completely improvised scenes, stories and musicals all based on your suggestions. Come ready to shout out suggestions, and even shout at the judges," at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' Long Island City: The Scrimmage

[FREE] 5:30 pm: Open-mic stand-up, with 3 minutes per comic (unless not many folks show up, in which case there'll be more time), with names drawn out of a bucket at UCB East in the bar area ("Hot Chicks Room") hosted by Emmy Blotnick, Matt Nedostup, and/or Sachi Ezurafor: Sledgehammer

6:00 pm ($5): Open-mic stand-up that includes professional feedback on each comic's 5-minute set at Queens LIC's Laughing Devil Comedy Club (4738 Vernon Blvd.): Mic-Shop: Open Mic Workshop

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 7:00 pm: TV & Broadway stand-up star Colin Quinn performs bits from a show he's developing for an off-Broadway run that looks at US history "from the Founding Fathers to the Kardashians" at Queens LIC's The Creek upstairs theatre: Unconstitutional with Colin Quinn

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

[TOP PICK] [$] 7:30 pm ($22 & 2-drink min.) A razor-sharp stand-up who's performed on HBO’s Bored to Death and Down and Dirty, as well as FX's Louie and radio show Opie & Anthony, starred in his own Comedy Central Presents half-hour special, and created the comedy CDs The Depression Auction and Return of the Depression Auction headlining at the Carolines Comedy Club: Joe DeRosa

7:30 pm ($5): Improv troupes not affiliated with any comedy school compete at UCB East for audience laughs and votes—and the privilege to go on to perform at the primary Cage Match show at UCB Chelsea—in this show hosted by the delightful Amey Goerlich & Ryan Karels (Krompf): Indie Cage Match

[FREE] 7:30 pm: Sketch, improv, and more at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' Long Island City from comedy troupe Froduce

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): Jimmy Fallon writer Casey Jost performs sketch, and also interviews comics Jena Friedman (wry dark comedy stand-up and rising star; producer for The Daily Show, former staff writer for David Letterman, host of Entertaining the Bartender) and Seth Herzog (staff comic for Jimmy Fallon; 30 Rock, Comedy Central, CBS, VH1, film actor; host of Sweet), plus musical group The Sky Captains of Industry, all performing at The PIT upstairs theatre: Fooling Around with Casey Jost

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): From Dan Hodapp & Micah Sherman (producers of The Scene), improvisors make up one-act plays on the spot at The PIT downstairs lounge, with tonight's groups including Pumpkin, Ryanna, Bad Intentions, and The Lottery: Act One

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): Some of the best improvisors at The Magnet theatre gather as Whizbang

[$] 8:00 pm ($14 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Tom Papa (host of Jerry Seinfeld-produced NBC comedy The Marriage Ref; numerous appearances on David Letterman, Conan O'Brien, Jay Leno; three Comedy Central specials), Keith Alberstadt (David Letterman, VH1, contributor to SNL's Weekend Update), Greer Barnes (David Letterman, Chappelle Show, For the Love of the Game), Jeff Lamp (Jay Leno), and Sam Morril performing stand-up at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane) hosted by Ardie Fuqua: Tom Papa, Keith Alberstadt, and More

8:00 pm ($7): Rob Cantrell (Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central, VHI, documentary Metaphysical Graffiti, High Times), Joe List (HBO, Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central), Damien Lemon (MTV2's Guy Code, Comedy Central, The Amazing Spider-Man), and John F. O'Donnell performing stand-up at Brooklyn's Union Hall hosted by Caroline Creaghead: Creaghead & Company

[FREE] 8:00 pm: Ben Kronberg (Jimmy Kimmel, Comedy Central, MTV, ABC), Adam Lowitt (Co-Executive Producer of The Daily Show), Mike Canon (MTV's Failosophy), and more performing at the Three of Cups lounge (83 First Avenue at 5th Street) hosted by RG Daniels: Sunday Night Stand-Up

[$] 8:00 pm ($15): Four attorneys—J-L Cauvin, Alex Barnett, Matt Ritter, and Kevin Israel—have banded together to tour as stand-up comics and will perform tonight at The Stand Comedy Club (239 Third Avenue & 20th Street): Comedians At Law

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 9:00 pm: Kyle Grooms (Comedy Central Presents, Chappelle's Show), Paul Virzi (FOX, Spike TV), Damien Lemon (MTV2's Guy Code, Comedy Central, The Amazing Spider-Man), and MC Mr. Napkins (a.k.a. Zach Sherwin) performing stand-up, plus music from DJ Roofeeo, at Brooklyn's Knitting Factory (361 Metropolitan Avenue) hosted by the wonderful Hannibal Buress (former staff writer for 30 Rock, Saturday Night Live; David Letterman, Jimmy Fallon, Louie, The Eric Andre Show, host of Comedy Night, one-hour Comedy Central special Animal Furnace): Comedy Night

[FREE] 9:00 pm: NYC stand-ups Matteo Lane, Dan Wilbur, Barbara Gray, and Danny Cruz performing in the East Village's Beauty Bar for this free weekly show hosted by Adam Sokol, Brad Austin, and/or Nate Fridson: Comedy at the Beauty Bar

9:00 pm ($5): Improv veterans Brandon Gardner, Chelsea Clarke, and Phillip Jackson hosting & performing in a show at UCB East with guest improvisors: Improv Nerds

9:30 pm ($5): Sketch comedy at The Magnet, tonight from troupes Fat Kids and Risky Bottom: Magnet Sketch Teams

[ALMOST FREE] 9:30 pm ($1): Open-mic stand-up, with four minutes per comic, at The PIT downstairs lounge hosted by Molly Austin & Mike Brown: Vicious Cycle

[TOP PICK] [$] 9:45 pm ($14 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Marina Franklin (developing into one of the finest stand-ups in the country, with an uncommonly gentle, graceful style that's pure joy; Last Comic Standing, Chappelle's Show, Craig Ferguson, VH1, Comedy Central's Premium Blend), Gary Gulman (David Letterman, Jay Leno, Last Comic Standing, Tourgasm, Comedy Central hour-long special), Nick Griffin (David Letterman, Jay Leno, Comedy Central Presents), Dan Soder (Comedy Central, VH1; for set about being a hypochondriatic drug user, please click here), and Modi (HBO's The Sopranos, Comedy Central) performing at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane) hosted by Ardie Fuqua: Marina Franklin, Gary Gulman, Nick Griffin, and More

10:00 pm ($5): 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] 11:00 pm: Open-mic show for sketch and character bits running 3-5 minutes at The Magnet. Everyone who signs up—at 10:30 pm at the box office—is likely to get onstage: Sketch in Progress

[$] 11:30 pm ($14 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Jermaine Fowler (FOX’s new In Living Color, MTV, Adult Swim's The Eric Andre Show), Louis Katz (Jimmy Fallon, HBO, Comedy Central Presents), Wil Sylvince (Comedy Central, BET's Comic View), Godfrey (Comedy Central Presents, Louie, 30 Rock, VH1; films Zoolander, Original Gangsters, Soul Plane; 7 Up Yours ads), and Mike Vecchione (Last Comic Standing, Howard Stern) performing stand-up at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane) hosted by Ardie Fuqua: Jermaine Fowler, Louie Katz, and More

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