NYC Comedy Picks for Week of January 26, 2015

NYC Comedy Picks for Monday 1/26/15

TV Alert: Louis CK is on David Letterman
(and please note Louis' Madison Square Garden show tomorrow
has been canceled due to the anticipated snowstorm...);
Martin Short, Tony Danza, Alan Alda, and Susan Sarandon
are hosted by Regis Philbin on The Late Late Show;
Amanda Peet is on Conan O'Brien;
John Gemberling, Ken Marino, and Tymberlee Hill are on @midnight

Broad City writer Naomi Ekperigin and Broad City co-star Ilana Glazer perform at UCB East's Stand-Up Spotlight

Recommendations for the best in New York City comedy tonight

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

[TOP PICK] 6:30 ($5): Naomi Ekperigin (writer for Broad City and Hulu's Difficult People; MTV, VH1, FX) performs stand-up for 40 minutes, with an opening set by Ilana Glazer (co-star of Broad City) at the UCB East theatre: Stand-Up Spotlight

[TOP PICK] 7:00 pm ($5): Writer Allyson Morgan (2014 Tribeca Film Festival) and director Kristin McCarthy Parker (PIT hit Hold Onto Your Butts), and assorted actors put on a reading of Allyson's TV pilot Neighbors in which "Melanie, a single gal in the city, gets a new horrible neighbor every week" at The PIT upstairs theatre: Neighbors

[FREE] 7:00 pm to midnight: Five free hours of improvisation—which include group Jean Pool at 7:00 pm featuring the spectacular David Carl and Becky Krause—at The PIT downstairs lounge: Super Free Monday

[TOP PICK] [$] 7:30 pm, 9:30 pm, and 11:15 pm ($12 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Tonight's stand-ups include Joe Machi, Ryan Hamilton, Ralph Harris, Lenny Marcus, and Marina Franklin (hosting) at the 7:30 show; Todd Barry, Nick Griffin, Greer Barnes, Dan Soder, and Wil Sylvince (hosting) at the 9:30 show; and Paul Mecurio, Joe Matarese, Big Jay Oakerson, Lori Palminteri, Monroe Martin, and Godfrey (hosting) at the 11:15 show, with all shows at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane): Comedy Cellar Monday

[MEGA-TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5; sold out of seats, but you can probably get in if you arrive early and don't mind standing): Top improvisors crash into classic theatre scenes played by Broadway, off-Broadway, and TV stars—tonight including Rachel Dratch (Saturday Night Live), Mike Birbiglia (one of the finest stand-up comedians in the country; feature film Sleepwalk with Me), and Ellie Kemper (star of upcoming Netflix series Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt)—at UCB Chelsea for actor/director Stephen Ruddy's Gravid Water

[TOP PICK] 8:00 ($5): Aparna Nancherla (one of the finest stand-ups in the country, with a delightfully wry style and lightning-quick mind; Conan O'Brien, Last Comic Standing, @midnight, Totally Biased, recently opened for Tig Notaro at Town Hall), Christine Bullen (stellar character comic; sketch group Goodbye Handsome, one-woman show My Melonbasket), Kara Klenk (writer for VH1's Girl Code and Guy Code; Comedy Central, Spike, Nickelodeon; host of If You Bring It), Abbi Crutchfield, Sue Smith, and Rekha Shankar being interviewed and/or performing at UCB East hosted by the memorable Katie Kester: The Later Show

[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm ($29): The only FringeNYC show to ever include a barbershop quartet singing about alcohol and three rounds for each audience member (for my full review, which includes a rave for the spectacular Nicole DiMattei, please click here) is now playing as a perfect show for a date every Friday & Saturday night at the West Village's Soho Playhouse (15 Vandam Street, in the downstairs Huron Club): The Imbible: A Spirited History of Drinking

8:00 pm ($8 at the door or $9.47 online): Hasan Minhaj (correspondent for The Daily Show), Brooks Wheelan (Saturday Night Live), Liza Treyger (co-host with Sabrina Jalees of How Many Questions?), and Tanael Joachim performing stand-up at Brooklyn's Littlefield (622 Degraw Street) guest-hosted by Phoebe Robinson (Comedy Central's Broad City, MTV’s Girl Code, FX’s Totally Biased, Glamour Magazine): Night Train

8:00 pm ($5): Two actors perform from different famed plays and an improviser crashes into the scripted scenes at The PIT upstairs theatre directed by Meg Griffiths Anderson: The Actor's Worst Nightmare

[FREE] 8:00 pm: Four improvisers form teams with comics they've never performed with before at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' Long Island City: The Kaleidoscope

8:30 pm ($7): Political comic Jamie Kilstein (Conan O'Brien, CNN, MSNBC, Showtime, Citizen Radio) performs stand-up, and then leads his friends springboarding improv scenes off of "social and political stories from the lives of audience members" at The Magnet theatre: A People's Guide to Comedy

[CANCELED DUE TO SNOWSTORM] 9:30 pm ($5): The two UCB Chelsea house sketch groups scheduled to perform tonight—the daring, out-of-the-box brilliant, and hysterical Legs for Days, and Roanoke—have been canceled due to the anticpated snowstorm Maude Night will be back next week.

[CANCELED DUE TO SNOWSTORM] 9:30 pm ($5): Improv veterans Brandon Gardner, Chelsea Clarke, Phillip Jackson, and/or Steve Theiss normally host & perform at UCB East at this time. However, the show has been canceled due to the anticipated snowstorm. Improv Nerds will be back next week.

[FREE] 10:00 pm: Cipha Sounds (Chappelle's Show, MTV, Hot 97), Brooks Wheelan (Saturday Night Live), Justy Dodge (co-host of Married to Comedy podcast and Too Much Information on comicalradio.com; "I was kind of a tomboy growing up. Like, I had Barbies, but only because my Ninja Turtles needed bitches;" for dark bio video, please click here), Crystian Ramirez, Joe Bartnick, Lisa Corrao, and Vladimir Caamano performing stand-up for this free weekly show at The Stand Comedy Club (239 Third Avenue & 20th Street) hosted by Aaron Berg (TV series 24 Hour Rental, documentary A Universal Language): Frantic Mondays: Cipha Sounds, Brooks Wheelan, Justy Dodge, and More

10:00 pm ($7): Improv is dominated by guys, so this is a rare treat—a dozen female improvisors "for an evening of comedy that will delight men, women, babies, and kittens," hosted by Megan Gray at The Magnet theatre: We Might Just Kiss

[CANCELED DUE TO SNOWSTORM] 11:00 pm: Normally, some of the finest comics in the world perform at UCB Chelsea's wonderful Whiplash. However, the show has been canceled tonight due to the anticipated snowstorm. Whiplash will be back as usual next week.

Monday Open Mics & Jams

5:00 pm ($5): Two-hour open-mic for 20 stand-ups performing for 5 minutes each, with sign-up online here, at the Stand Up NY Comedy Club (236 West 78th Street): Stand Up NY Open Mic

[FREE] 6:00 pm: Open mic stand-up show that provides each performer whose name is pulled from a bucket 5 minutes on stage—and also allows everyone play Bingo!—at The Creek downstairs lounge in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) hosted by Julia Lundy & Veronica Elizabeth: Bingo Open Mic

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

7:30 pm ($10; sign-up starts at 7:00 pm): Open mic for stand-ups, storytellers, singers, poets, actors, and more, with 5 minutes per performer and 25 slots available, at The Parkside Lounge (317 East Houston Street, off Avenue B) hosted by Nathan P., followed by a raucous afterparty with dancing & drink specials from 10:00 to midnight: Inspired Word's Open Mic Joint

[FREE] 10:00 pm: Open mic stand-up show that provides each performer whose name is pulled from a bucket 4 minutes on stage at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' Long Island City hosted by Joseph Robert: PBR & Scrap Paper Open Mic Stand-Up

[CANCELED DUE TO SNOWSTORM] 10:30 pm: Brandon Gardner, Chelsea Clarke, and Phillip Jackson normally host an improv jam at UCB East at this time, but won't tonight because of the anticipated snowstorm. Improv Nerds Jam will be back next week.

11:00 pm ($3): Open mic stand-up, with each comic getting 5 minutes and room for 15 comics who sign up per show, at The PIT upstairs theatre hosted by Kat Toledo and/or Alan Shain: The Power Exchange

[FREE] 11:00 pm: Improv students are welcomed onto the stage at The PIT downstairs lounge for this weekly open access show hosted by Gary DeNoia & Langston Belton: Base Jam

Best Inexpensive Stand-Up, Improv, Sketch, and Storytelling

Upright Citizens Brigade Chelsea
(307 West 26th Street; 150-seater; shows free-$10; one of the most respected comedy theatres in the world)

Upright Citizens Brigade East
(153 East 3rd Street; 99-seat main theatre, bar area for open mics; shows free-$10)

The PIT
(123 East 24th Street; 99-seat upstairs theatre, 40-seat downstairs theatre; shows free-$20)

The Magnet
(254 West 29th Street; 60-seat theatre; shows $5-$10)

The Creek and the Cave
(Queens' Long Island City; 40-seat theatre upstairs, 25 downstairs; virtually all shows free)

The Annoyance Theatre
(367 Bedford Ave. in Brooklyn; J/M/Z to Marcy or L to Lorimer; 50-seat theatre; shows free-$10)

Best NYC Stand-Up Comedy Clubs

Comedy Cellar
(117 MacDougal Street; among the finest daily stand-up lineups in the world; 2-item min.)

The Stand
(239 Third Avenue; recent competitor to Comedy Cellar; no drink min.—support this policy!)

Carolines Comedy Club
(1626 Broadway; focuses on the world's top headliners, who perform hour-long sets; 2-drink min.)

Gotham Comedy Club
(208 West 23rd Street; headliners on weekends, specialty & lineup shows weekdays; 2-drink min.)

Eastville Comedy Club
(85 East 4th Street; strong weekend lineups; no cover using code HyReviews; 2-drink min.)

Greenwich Village Comedy Club
(99 MacDougal Street; convenient if Comedy Cellar's sold out; no cover using code HyReviews; 2-drink min.)

Comic Strip Live
(1568 Second Avenue, off 81st; Upper East Side club with typically solid lineups; 2-drink min.)

Stand Up NY
(236 West 78th Street, off Broadway; Upper West Side club with typically solid lineups; 2-drink min.)

Laughing Devil/The Standing Room/The Standing Room
(4738 Vernon Blvd., by #7 train; Queens LIC club; free cover Fri-Sat with code LICVIP; 2-drink min.)

NYC Comedy Picks for Tuesday 1/27/15

TV Alert: David Letterman and Tony Danza are hosted
by Regis Philbin on The Late Late Show;
Patton Oswalt is on Jimmy Fallon (repeated from 1/6);
Wyatt Cenac is on Carson Daly (repeated from 10/27/14);
Jim Norton, John Roy, and Kurt Braunohler are on @midnight;
episode 3 of the final season of Kroll Show airs at 10:30 pm on Comedy Central

Between the blizzard and the NYC transit system shutting down, on Monday night most comedy venues (and Broadway theatres, for that matter) canceled their shows.

The snowstorm turned out to be a normal one for NYC, not the historic one predicted, and so most comedy shows are back on track for tonight.

A major cancellation that's too late to reverse is Louis CK's final Madison Square Garden show, which was scheduled for 8:00 pm. After the incredible feat of virtually selling out four MSG shows in a row—which translates to selling over 60,000 tickets for an NYC stage within a few weeks—the 15,000+ fans who'd planned to see Louis tonight will have to accept refunds instead. On the up side, Louis released a new stand-up video album today via his website that includes many of the finest bits from the MSG show (including a brilliant sequence about what it's like to be on a plane holding a crying baby...). To purchase the album, titled Louis CK: Live From the Comedy Store, for a mere $5 please click here.

All that said, back to daily listings:

Recommendations for the best in New York City comedy tonight

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

[TOP PICK] 7:00 pm-11:00 pm ($7 for the whole evening): In this 4-hour extravaganza, five of The Magnet's singing improv groups make up a musical on the spot based on an audience suggestion, followed at 10:15 by a free show that lets audience members join in with a musical improv group to make up stories in song: Magnet Musical Megawatt

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 7:00 pm: Comics creators join 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 (and if you can't make it, watch in online here): Comic Book Club

[TOP PICK] 7:00 pm ($5): Talented and occasionally vulgar couple Kirsten O'Brien & Mickey Hawtrey "bring their rarely sexual but often hilarious pillow talk to the stage in this 40-minute sketch and improv show" at The PIT downstairs lounge: Parakeets

7:30 pm-9:15 pm ($5): Long form improv known as The Harold from UCB Chelsea house groups Grammer, Side Piece, and The Enemy at this first half of Harold Night

[$] 7:45 pm, 9:30 pm, and 11:15 pm ($12 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Tonight's stand-ups include Ryan Hamilton, Nick Griffin, and Marina Franklin at the 7:30 show, and Kurt Metzger, Wil Sylvince, and Sam Morril at the 11:15 how, with all three shows at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane): Comedy Cellar Tuesday

[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm ($15 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Dave Attell hosts this show (which is not being taped for TV) featuring Rachel Feinstein (finalist on Last Comic Standing; Inside Amy Schumer, HBO, The Apprentice, opens for Sarah Silverman on tour), Phil Hanley (Craig Ferguson, Comedy Central, host of Chemistry), and more performing stand-up at the Village Underground (130 West 3rd Street, off Sixth Avenue): Dave Attell's Comedy Underground

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5; no min.): Mike Lawrence (nerd persona but razor-sharp mind has made this stand-up a rapidly rising star; Conan O'Brien, Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central Half Hour, John Oliver's NY Stand-Up, comedy album Sadamantium), Giulio Gallarotti, Danny Palmer, and more performing stand-up at The Stand Comedy Club (239 Third Avenue & 20th Street): $5 Funnies: Mike Lawrence and More

[FREE] 8:00 pm: NYC stand-ups Alison Zeidman, Andrea Ilene Shapiro, Neal Stastny, Ryan Beck, and Carly Ann Filbin performing at Bunga's Den (137 West 14th Street, between Sixth & Seventh Avenues) hosted by Lukas Kaiser & John Szeluga: Amazingtown

8:00 pm ($5): NYU improv troupe Hammerkatz and improvisor/stand-up Gary Richardson perform at UCB East hosted by Bill Stiteler & Tony Zaret: School Drools

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 8:30 pm (reserve your free spots by clicking here): Typically terrific stand-ups (for the line-up, usually posted by 1:00 pm, please click here) performing stand-up at The Irish Exit (978 Second Avenue, off 52nd Street, in the back room) produced every Tuesday by Mark Normand, Matt Ruby, Gary Vider, and Sachi Ezura: Hot Soup

[FREE] 9:00 pm: NYC stand-ups (not yet announced) performing at this free weekly show at Brooklyn's The Alligator Lounge (600 Metropolitan Avenue) hosted by Robert Dean, Sachi Ezura, and/or Steve O'Brien: Comedy at Alligator Lounge

9:15 pm-Midnight ($5): Long form improv known as The Harold from UCB Chelsea house groups Smalls, Greg, and Women & Men at this second half (continued from 7:30 pm) of Harold Night

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): The brilliant Todd Bieber (Director of Content and Production for UCB Comedy) spearheads this show that screens the work of the UCB video division, and also hosts live stand-up and sketch, all at the UCB East theatre: UCB Comedy Live

[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 downstairs lounge in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue): Legion of Skanks

[TOP PICK] [$] 10:30 pm ($15 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Dave Attell hosts this show (which is not being taped for TV) featuring Kurt Metzger (staff writer for Inside Amy Schumer; Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central special White Precious, Comedy Central Presents, Ugly Americans), Sherrod Small (writer/performer on TBS' Are We There Yet?, Comedy Central, VH1), Monroe Martin (finalist on this season's Last Comic Standing), and more performing stand-up at the Village Underground (130 West 3rd Street, off Sixth Avenue): Dave Attell's Comedy Underground

[MEGA-TOP PICK] 11:00 pm ($5; SOLD OUT of seats, but you can probably get in if you arrive early and are okay with standing): Chris Gethard (comedy genius; Broad City, Conan O'Brien, The Office, IFC; author of A Bad Idea I'm About to Do and Weird New York, plus My Comedy Album) has been tirelessly running his The Chris Gethard Show on Manhattan Public Access cable and waiting for something good to happen. After years, it has; a cable network is about to pick it up. And to celebrate, the show is returning to where it began...the UCB Chelsea theatre: The Chris Gethard Show

[FREE] 11:00 pm: A mix of superb and up-and-coming stand-ups (not announced) performing at this free weekly show at UCB East hosted by Phil Hanley: Chemistry

Tuesday Open Mics & Jams

5:00 pm ($5): Two-hour open-mic for 20 stand-ups performing for 5 minutes each, with sign-up online here, at the Stand Up NY Comedy Club (236 West 78th Street): Stand Up NY Open Mic

[TOP PICK] [ALMOST FREE] 6:00 pm ($1): In this delightful weekly open-mic show, each comic has 3-5 minutes to try out a character-based bit (e.g., for a solo show, sketch, or audition) at The PIT downstairs lounge, hosted by Jamie Aderski: Personality Disorder Character Jam

[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 Green Room, followed by feedback on your bit from PIT "sketch-perts:" Pens & Pencils

6:00 pm (no cover, 1 drink min. for both comics and audience members): Open mic stand-up providing 5-7 minutes per comic, running 2 1/2 hours. Arrive 30 minutes before the show to get on the signup sheet. This is a fine opportunity to perform at the only comedy club in the East Village: Eastville Comedy Club Open Mic

[FREE] 6:00 pm: Open mic for comedy of all types providing 2 minutes for each performer (with sign-up starting at 6:00) at Queens LIC's The Creek upstairs theatre hosted by Tim Unkenholz: Butt Factory

[FREE] 6:30 pm: Weekly stand-up open mic, with walk-ins tossing names into a hat and set length determined by the number of comics who show up, at Bunga's Den (137 West 14th Street, between Sixth & Seventh Avenues) hosted by Jimmy LeChase and/or Justin Perez: Townies Open Mic

[FREE] 6:30 pm: Weekly stand-up open mic (with sign-up starting at 6:00) at People's Republic of Brooklyn (247 Smith Street) hosted by Dustin Drury: This Is Happening Open MIc

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 8:00 pm: This weekly two-hour open mic storytelling show allows each performer 8 minutes to tell a compelling and funny tale at Queens LIC's The Creek downstairs lounge hosted by Jake Hart and a guest co-host: The Dump

[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($5): Open mic stand-up that's first come, first serve (signup starts at 8:30) and provides each performer 5 minutes—or 4 minutes plus 2 minutes of feedback!—at the Producer's Club (358 West 44th Street): Train Wreck Open Mic Stand-Up

[FREE] 10:15 pm: In this free Magnet show, audience members can join in with musical improv group Pillow Talk to make up stories in song on the spot: Musical Magnet Mixer

11:00 pm ($3): A breathtaking 40 comics are given 2 minutes each in this rapid-fire open-mic stand-up show at The PIT upstairs theatre hosted with wit and energy by Jay Welch: Bring It

[FREE] 11:00 pm: Weekly walk-in open mic stand-up providing 3 minutes for each comic whose name is pulled from a bucket at Queens LIC's The Creek upstairs theatre hosted by Michelle Slonim: Rapid Fire

[ALMOST FREE] 11:00 pm ($1): A weekly improv jam for students at all levels to work on their skills at The PIT downstairs lounge hosted by Elke Reid and David Frasure: Study H all