NYC Comedy Picks for Week of January 4, 2016

NYC Comedy Picks for Monday 1/4/16

If you're funny and a talented writer, consider subnitting a short story to my fiction anthology Ghosts on Drugs. I'm being flooded with submissions from fantasy/SF/horror writers, but not many comics; and this is a great opportunity to land a prestigious book credit, plus upfront pay and a share of the royalties. Full details are here.

Phenom comics Jo Firestone (above), Sasheer Zamata, and Janeane Garofalo perform stand-up and/or are interviewed by host Nat Towsen at Downtown Variety Hour (8:00 pm, $5, UCB East at 153 East 3rd Street)

More recommendations for the best in New York City comedy tonight
(in chronological order, with top picks noted and shows over $10 marked with $) include:

[FREE] 6:00 pm to midnight: Six free hours of improvisation—which include groups Lovers & The Future at 8:00 pm featuring the spectacular Dana Shulman, Tracy Mull, and David Carl—at The PIT downstairs lounge: Super Free Monday

[TOP PICK] 6:30 pm ($5): Stand-ups Doug Smith & Matt Wayne (hosts of popular monthly Creek show See You in Hell) each perform a half hour set at the UCB East theatre: Stand-Up Spotlight: Doug Smith & Matt Wayne

[TOP PICK] [$] 7:30 pm, 9:30 pm, and 11:30 pm ($12 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Some of the finest stand-ups in the country spread among three shows at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane): Comedy Cellar Monday

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): A sketch show and a theatre parody on the UCB Chelsea stage: This Show Will Get a Cease and Desist and One Idiot: Tennessee Williams' "What The Horse Saw"

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($15; no min.): Judah Friedlander (one of the quickest minds and very finest stand-ups in comedy; 30 Rock, Meet the Parents, Along Came Polly, author of bestselling cartoon book If the Raindrops United), Pat Dixon (Comedy Central Presents, FOX, VH1, E!), Chris Distefano (David Letterman, Comedy Central, MTV2's Guy Code), and more performing stand-up at The Stand Comedy Club (239 Third Avenue off 20th Street): The Stand Monday: Judah Friedlander and More

8:00 pm ($5): Producers, writers, and other staff members of TruTV show Impractical Jokers improvise scenes at The PIT upstairs theatre: Impractical Jokers Staff Infection

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

[TOP PICK] 8:30 pm ($5): Frank Conniff (TV's Frank on Mystery Science Theater 3000) hosts as "Moodsy, the Clinically Depressed Owl showing weird/crappy old cartoons in between sets," with guests TBA at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue). Described by Patton Oswalt as "like a kid's show done in Bosnia," it's Frank Conniff's Cartoon Dump

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): Two UCB Chelsea house sketch groups try out new material: Charles (which includes Caitlin Brodnick, Ann Carr, Rob Cuthill, and James III) and Nipsy (which includes Griffin Newman and Alex Viola): Maude Night: Charles and Nipsy

9:30 pm ($5): Improv veterans Brandon Gardner, Chelsea Clarke, Phil Jackson, and/or Steve Theiss hosting & performing in a show at UCB East with guest improvisors: Improv Nerds

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 10:00 pm: Your chance to experience one of the best comedy clubs in NYC at absolutely no charge (feel encouraged to order food and//or drinks, but you don't have to), with a different stand-up lineup every Monday—tonight featuring Chris Gethard, Monroe Martin, Pete Lee, Josh Gondelman, Corinne Fisher, Sarah Tollemache, and more—at The Stand Comedy Club (239 Third Avenue, off 20th Street) hosted by Aaron Berg (TV series 24 Hour Rental, documentary A Universal Language): Frantic Mondays: Chris Gethard and More

10:15 pm ($7): Paired improvisors performing at The Magnet theatre: The Duo Show

[MEGA-TOP PICK] [FREE] 11:00 pm: Some of the finest comics in the world-who aren't announced in advance, but it's usually a great lineup and often an extraordinary one—at UCB Chelsea hosted by Aparna Nancherla (one of the best stand-ups in the country; writer for Late Night with Seth Meyers; Conan O'Brien, @Midnight, Last Comic Standing). Reservations go quickly, but you can probably get in if you arrive early and are okay with standing: Whiplash

Monday Open Mics & Jams

4:40 pm-7:00 pm ($5 plus 1 drink min., with drinks as low as $2): Walk-in stand-up open mic with two rounds, the first providing 5-6 minutes per set and the second 2-3 minutes per set, at The Grisly Pear (107 MacDougal Street) hosted by Tuval Mor: Kickin It Open Mic

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

[FREE] 6:00 pm: Open mic stand-up show that provides each performer whose name is pulled from a bucket 3 minutes on stage. Arrive at around 5:45 to sign up, or wait for the late bucket at 6:15, to perform at The Creek downstairs lounge in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) hosted by Matt Anderson: First Stop Open Mic

6:00 pm & 8:00 pm (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] 10:30 pm: Improv veterans Brandon Gardner, Chelsea Clarke, and Phillip Jackson hosting & performing in a show at UCB East with improvisors taken from the audience...and who may include you: Improv Nerds Jam

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

[FREE] 11:00 pm: Open mic stand-up show that provides each performer whose name is pulled from a bucket 4 minutes on stage at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' Long Island City hosted by Joseph Robert: PBR & Scrap Paper Open Mic Stand-Up

[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

NYC Comedy Picks for Tuesday 1/5/16

If you're funny and a talented writer, consider submitting a short story to my fiction anthology Ghosts on Drugs. I'm being flooded with submissions from fantasy/SF/horror writers, but not many comics; and this is a great opportunity to land a prestigious book credit, plus upfront pay and a share of the royalties. Full details are here.

Sasheer Zamata (cast member of Saturday Night Live), Chris "Shockwave" Sullivan (amazing human boombox; The Daily Show, The Electric Company, Freestyle Love Supreme, co-host of Battlicious), Jeffrey Joseph (Jay Leno, HBO, FOX's In Living Color, Comedy Central), NIck Stevens (host of AMC's Action Park and Discovery's Money on the Menu; VH1, ESPN), and more performing at this weekly show hosted by Seth Herzog (long-time Jimmy Fallon staff comic; NBC's 30 Rock, Comedy Central's @midnight, VH1's Best Week Ever, CBS): Sweet (9:00 pm, $7, The Slipper Room at 167 Orchard Street)

More recommendations for the best in New York City comedy tonight
(in chronological order, with top picks noted and shows over $10 marked with $) include:

[TOP PICK] 7:00 pm-11:00 pm ($7 for the whole evening): In this 4-hour extravaganza, eight singing & dancing improv groups at The Magnet make up musicals based on audience suggestions: Magnet Musical Megawatt

[TOP PICK] 7:00 pm ($5): Brilliant improvisors Rebecca Vigil, Evan Kaufman, and more perform for this unique show in which "a computer beeps at random intervals, might be 2 seconds, might be 10 minutes. Every time it beeps, and only when it beeps, the performers jump into a new scene. What happens when nothing you can do can make the scene go longer nor end sooner? When only this instant is guaranteed?" at The PIT upstairs theatre: /Switch/

[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 The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street), with giveaways of comics and gift certificates (and if you can't make it, watch in online here): Comic Book Club

7:00 pm ($5): Music, characters, and sketch from Paul Valenti, Tim Girrbach, Jenn Dodd, and more at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by The Dreamstalks (Karen Bray & Zach Miko): The Dreamstalks' Birthday Party Spectacular

7:30 pm & 9:15 pm ($5 per show): House groups at UCB Chelsea perform the classic improv form The Harold at Harold Night

7:30 pm ($5): A showcase for two brand new shows—sketch, solo, readings, what have you—every week at The PIT downstairs lounge hosted by the wonderful Ronny Pascale: Pilot Season

8:00 pm ($5): Nine-person improv group The Internet Disagrees makes stuff up at The PIT upstairs theatre: The Internet Disagrees Presents Hashtag This

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 8:30 pm: Great lineup of Jo Firestone (exceptionally inventive and irresistible rising star; The Chris Gethard Show, radio host of WFMU's Dr. Gameshow, live-on-stage host of Punderdome 3000, The Unexpectashow, and The Incredible Game Show Showcase), Jermaine Fowler (creating & starring in new CBS sitcom; star of Showtime special Give 'Em Hell, Kid; MTV’s Guy Code and Wildn Out, Comedy Central, Adult Swim), Sasheer Zamata (cast member of Saturday Night Live), Kevin Avery (staff writer for HBO's Last Week With John Oliver), Wendi Starling, and Chris Thayer performing at Cake Shop (152 Ludlow Street, between Rivington & Stanton) hosted by Peggy O'Leary: Cakeshop Comedy

[TOP PICK] 8:30 pm ($5): Superb improvisors and guest improv groups join host Skycopter (which includes the incredible David Carl) to make up one-act plays on the spot at The PIT downstairs lounge: Act One

9:00 pm ($5): Stand-up Drew Michael performs an hour-long set in preparation for recording a second comedy album (his first is titled Lovely) at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue): An Exhausting Evening with Drew Michael

[FREE] 9:00 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] 10:00 pm ($5; no min.): Stand-ups Dan Soder, Nick DiPaolo, Rich Vos, Bonnie McFarlane, and more performing for this super-affordable weekly club show at The Stand Comedy Club (239 Third Avenue, off 20th Street): $5 Funnies at The Stand

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 10:00 pm (reserve your free spots by clicking here): Typically terrific stand-ups (for the line-up, usually posted by 1:00 pm, please click here) performing at The Irish Exit (978 Second Avenue, off 52nd Street, in the back room) produced every Tuesday by Mark Normand, Matt Ruby, Gary Vider, and Sachi Ezura: Hot Soup

10:00 pm ($5): "Social media meets improv as graduates of the PIT Improv Program transform their innermost tweet- and blog-length thoughts into scene after scene, all inspired by a single suggestion" at The PIT downstairs lounge: Biscuit Out

[TOP PICK] 11:00 pm ($5): Dynamite musical improvisors including Jeff Hiller, Aaron Jackson, Ashley Ward, and Lauren Adams make up stories with songs at the UCB Chelsea theatre: Rumpleteaser: Musical Improv

[FREE] 11:00 pm: A mix of superb and up-and-coming stand-ups performing at this free weekly show at UCB East hosted by Matteo Lane (Comedy Central): 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

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

[FREE] 8:00ish pm: The debut of the first-ever all-gal stand-up open mic at this venue, with sign-up at 8:00 pm and the show soon after at Brooklyn's The Experiment Comedy Gallery (20 Broadway) hosted by Hannah Boone: Set It Off: Women's Open Mic

[FREE] 8:00 pm: Weekly open mic for any kind of act (with sign-up starting at 7:30) at Brooklyn's Goodbye Blue Monday (1087 Broadway) hosted by Joe Crow Ryan: Goodbye Blue Monday

[FREE] 10:15 pm: In this free Magnet show, audience members can join in with musical improv group Midnight Heat 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/or David Frasure: Study Hall

NYC Comedy Picks for Wednesday 1/6/16

Mike Lawrence describes his winding career path, from seven years of working a drive-through window at McDonald's to currently being a staff writer at Emmy Award-winning series Inside Amy Schumer, for my new podcast here.

Dylan Marron (Welcome to Nightvale, 2015 Drama Desk Nominee) and Jo Firestone (exceptionally inventive and irresistible rising star; The Chris Gethard Show, radio host of WFMU's Dr. Gameshow, live-on-stage host of Punderdome 3000 and The Incredible Game Show Showcase) bring you "a real-time middle school talent show performed by two grown adults:" Ridgefield Middle School Talent Nite (11:00 pm, $5, UCB Chelsea at 307 West 26th Street)...

...and Dave Hill (one of the most original and hilariously sharp alternative comics in the country; host of WFMU's The Goddamn Dave Hill Show; bands Valley Lodge and Diamondsnake, book Tasteful Nudes, comedy album Let Me Turn You On), stand-up Roy Wood Jr., and singer Jean Grae perform with hosts Jessica Williams (star correspondent of The Daily Show) & Phoebe Robinson (Comedy Central's Broad City, MTV's Girl Code): 2 Dope Queens (8:00 pm, $12, Brooklyn's Union Hall at 702 Union Street; take R subway to Union Street)

More recommendations for the best in New York City comedy tonight
(in chronological order, with top picks noted and shows over $10 marked with $) include:

[FREE] 6:00 pm-midnight: Six free hours of improvisation—including an open-to-all improv jam at 6:00 pm; group Gypsy Danger, which includes Katie Hartman and Evan Kaufman at 8:00 pm; and PIT owner Ali Farahnakian & friends at 10:25 pm—at The PIT upstairs theatre: Super Free Wednesday

7:00 pm-11:00 pm ($7 for the entire evening): Four hours of improv from eight groups—plus a free improv jam at 6:00 pm—at The Magnet theatre: Magnet Megawatt

7:00 pm ($5): "There’s a fine line between 'funny' and 'too far' and Joe Albano is going to try his best to find out where it is. This is a show for joke nerds, by joke nerds" at The PIT downstairs lounge: Where Is the Line?

[TOP PICK] [$] 7:30 pm, 8:00 pm, 9:30 pm, and 11:30 pm ($14, plus 2-item food/drink min.): Some of the finest stand-ups in the country spread among three shows at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane) and an 8:00 pm show at Village Underground (130 West 3rd Street, off Sixth Avenue): Comedy Cellar Wednesday

[TOP PICK] 7:30 pm ($7): Storytellers share nostalgic tales from the 80s and 90s with hosts Robin Gelfenbien & Danny Artese at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue): A Very Special Episode

7:30 pm ($5): Expanding the UCB longform improv showcased on Harold Night is this weekly show at UCB East which features three house groups making up scenes on the spot: Lloyd Night

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): Vincent Moore "personifies a myriad of animals in their natural habitats," and a play about "marital problems and meth addiction, at the UCB Chelsea theatre: Planet World: A One-Mammal Show and Ocean's Lake

[FREE] 8:00 pm: NYC stand-ups—on some weeks veterans, on others ones you may never have heard of—performing for this free weekly show at the East Village's Beauty Bar (231 East 14th Street, between Second and Third Avenues) hosted by Becky Yamamoto, Kendra Cunningham, and/or Negin Farsad: Comedy School Dropout

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 9:00 pm: Matt Goldich, Wil Sylvince, Kevin McCaffrey, Myka Fox, DC Benny, and more performing for this free weekly stand-up show at Lucky Jack's Pub (129 Orchard Street) produced by Kyle Fincham, Lance Weiss, and Brendon Fitzgibbons: Gandhi, Is That You?

9:00 pm ($5): Stand-ups perform in twos, with tonight's comics including Amber Nelson (dynamic stand-up & character comic; Comedy Central; sketch group Murderfist), at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Freddy G: The Duo Show

[TOP PICK] 9:15 pm ($5): The instructors of UCB's classes include some of the finest improvisors in the country. In this new weekly show a bunch of them get on stage at UCB East hosted by Doug Mo and/or Ben Rameaka: Hot for Teacher: The UCB Faculty Show

9:30 pm ($5): An audience member with a decision to make becomes the basis of an improvised court trial at The PIT downstairs lounge: The People's Court

9:30 ($5): Over a dozen talented female improvisors—including Lauren Adams, Natasha Vaynblat, and Caitlin Bitzegaio—parody all-gal opinion shows such as The View, making up most of the show on the spot based on a loose outline at at the UCB Chelsea theatre. The result is often proof that "less is more," but if you're very patient there are worthwhile moments to be had from The Female Gaze

[TOP PICK] 10:00 pm ($5; no min.): This super-affordable weekly club stand-up show features Dan Soder (smart, edgy rising star; Conan O'Brien, Comedy Central Half Hour, Inside Amy Schumer, MTV's Guy Code and Guy Court, VH1), Nick DiPaolo (star stand-up, with numerous appearances on David Letterman, Jay Leno, Louie; Emmy-nominated comedy writer, talk show host), Matteo Lane (Comedy Central, MTV's Guy Code & Girl Code, host of Chemistry), Damien Lemon (Comedy Central Half Hour, MTV's Guy Code, Girl Code, Guy Court), and more performing at The Stand Comedy Club (239 Third Avenue, off 20th Street): $5 Funnies at The Stand

[FREE] 10:00 pm: NYC stand-ups do sets "and then have a discussion about what's going on in the world and the mysteries of life" at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue), hosted by Chris Laker: The Show

[TOP PICK] 10:15 pm ($5): Stellar improvisors Charlie Todd & Kevin Hines provide color commentary on improv sets by other top improvisors at UCB East for this monthly event: Play by Play

Wednesday Open Mics & Jams

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

[FREE] 6:00 pm: Open mic stand-up show that provides each performer whose name is pulled from a bucket 5 minutes on stage at The Creek downstairs lounge in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) hosted by Kaity Neagle & Irene Hartmann: Ragtag Team Open Mic Stand-Up

[FREE] 6:00 pm: Sign up at 5:45 pm for the opportunity to make up scenes at The Magnet with veteran improvisors: Magnet Mixer Wednesday

[FREE] 6:00 pm: Your chance to improvise on stage at The PIT upstairs theatre hosted by Anthony Velez & Parker Denton: Recess

[FREE] 7:00 pm: Open mic stand-up providing 4 minutes per comic. Email PhoningItInMic@gmail.com to sign up, or take a chance at lottery sign-up live between 6:45 and 7:45, at Brooklyn's Halyards Bar (406 Third Avenue) hosted by Lukas Kaiser: Comics Phoning It In

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

[FREE] 11:00 pm: Weekly walk-in open mic stand-up providing 3 minutes for each comic whose name is pulled from a bucket (but no actual punch or pie, that's just a lure to entice you to come) at Queens LIC's The Creek upstairs theatre hosted by Matthew Tenenbaum: Punch & Pie

[FREE] 11:00 pm: Your chance to perform on stage with experienced improvisors at The PIT upstairs theatre hosted by Bernard Maynore and/or Patrick Cucuta: Improdome

[FREE] 11:15 pm: A gay-themed opportunity to perform improv—especially musical improv—on the UCB East stage: ...XYZ Jam

NYC Comedy Picks for Thursday 1/7/16

Jermaine Fowler (creating & starring in new CBS sitcom; star of Showtime special Give 'Em Hell, Kid; MTV’s Guy Code and Wildn Out, Comedy Central, Adult Swim) performs a one-man show as part of a national tour: Jermaine Fowler: Give 'Em Hell, Kid (8:00 pm $8, Brooklyn's Union Hall at 702 Union Street; take R subway to Union Street)...

...and cast members of Neon Joe, Werewolf Hunter—Jon Glaser, Scott Adsit, Stephanie March—have fun along with host Lane Moore at Tinder Live (9:00 pm, $15, Brooklyn's Bell House at 149 7th Street in Brooklyn; take R subway to 9th Street or F/G to Fourth Avenue)

More recommendations for the best in New York City comedy tonight
(in chronological order, with top picks noted and shows over $10 marked with $) include:

[TOP PICK] 7:00 pm ($5): "Tracy Mull & Will Neville go to a lot of museums. Now they are going to talk about them. In this Siskel & Ebert-style review show, Tracy & Will analyze various New York City museums that they have been to in 2015. Museums may include but are not limited to The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Intrepid Air & Space Museum, and The New York City Fire Museum" at The PIT upstairs theatre: At the Museums with Mull & Neville

7:00 pm ($10): A "longform storytelling" show, providing a whopping 30 minutes per storyteller, with tonight's yarn-spinners Jeanne Garbarino and Herman Pontzer performing at The Kraine Theatre (85 East 4th Street, off Second Avenue) hosted by Eli Reiter: Long Story Long

[TOP PICK] [$] 7:30 pm, 8:00 pm, 9:30 pm, and 11:30 pm ($14 per show, plus 2-item food/drink min.): Some of the finest stand-ups in the country spread among three shows at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane) and an 8:00 pm show at Village Underground (130 West 3rd Street, off Sixth Avenue): Comedy Cellar Thursday

[TOP PICK] 7:30 pm ($5): Liza Treyger (upcoming Comedy Central Half Hour, Chelsea Lately), Brandon Scott Wolf (contributor to SNL's Weekend Update), Amber Nelson (dynamic stand-up & character comic; Comedy Central; sketch group Murderfist), Evan Williams, and George Gordon performing stand-up at UCB East hosted by Sean Crespo, Dan Wilbur, and Katina Corrao: Lasers in the Jungle

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): Mega-selling horror author R.L. Stine (Goosebumps) and Phoebe Robinson (Seth Meyers, Last Comic Standing, Broad City, MTV’s Girl Code, Totally Biased, co-host of Blaria Live) are the guests on this debate show revolving around a different topic each month at The PIT upstairs theatre: Matt And Tyler Hate Each Other with R.L. Stine and Phoebe Robinson

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): Two sketch shows at the UCB Chelsea theatre: This Show Will Get a Cease and Desist and California, USA

[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm & 10:00 pm ($15; no min.): Typically terrific stand-ups performing at The Stand Comedy Club (239 Third Avenue, off 20th Street): The Stand Thursday

8:00 pm-Midnight ($10 for the entire evening): Two veteran house improv groups, silly improv show FF: For Funsies, themed improv show Dolo (assigned characters make up scenes), and improv competition Inspirado, all for just $10 at The Magnet theatre: The Magnet's Thursday Night Out

[FREE] 8:00 pm: "A new game show where three contestants get quizzed on random topics; raps, video games, different types of soda. We'll even have a few comics drop by" at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) hosted by Marvin Lattimore: A Night of Thrill-Vila

8:00 pm ($5): Three improv house groups make up scenes for an hour at Brooklyn's The Annoyance Theatre (367 Bedford Avenue; take J/M/Z to Marcy Avenue or L to Lorimer Street): Detention + Gun Club + Dim Wit

8:40ish pm (no cover, 1 drink min.): NYC stand-ups performing stand-up at Brooklyn's Franklin Bar and Lounge (739 Franklin Street) hosted by Khalid A. Rahmaan & Mike Eltringham: It's Sooo Up and Coming

[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($10): A comedic play about a letter from Charlton Heston to a 60-year-old Boston cabbie at Brooklyn's The Annoyance Theatre (367 Bedford Avenue; take J/M/Z to Marcy Avenue or L to Lorimer Street) directed by Anthony Oberbeck: Cutthroat

[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($10): Gary Denoia plays star Vin Diesel "reading a children's book and exploring the book's theme with the audience" at The PIT downstairs lounge: Vin Diesel Reads Children's Books to Adults

9:00 pm ($5): Liza Treyger (upcoming Comedy Central Half Hour, Chelsea Lately), Chris Lamberth, and "a special guest doing an extra long set" performing stand-up at UCB East hosted by Ashley Brooke Roberts & Jim Tews: Fresh Out

[FREE] 9:00 pm: NYC stand-ups performing in Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Liz Simons & Jenn Wehrung: Laugh It Up, Astoria

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): The razor-sharp writers of Late Night with Seth Meyers gather on the UCB Chelsea stage to perform an all-improvised show at Seth Meyers Writers: Crate Night With Set Fires

9:30 pm ($10): Comics who all met at Brown University perform scripted comedy at The PIT upstairs theatre: Rad Motel Sketch Comedy

10:00 pm ($5): Sam Evans performs a 30-minute set, with a 15-minute opening from Josh Johnson, at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) hosted by Jenn Welch & Tom Lisi: Totally Normal Stand-Up: Sam Evans

[FREE] 10:30 pm: "A curated hour of eclectic comedic material written in a week with no rehearsals" at Brooklyn's The Annoyance Theatre (367 Bedford Avenue; take J/M/Z to Marcy Avenue or L to Lorimer Street): The Holy Fuck Comedy Hour

[TOP PICK] 11:00 pm ($5): Skilled Improv groups Bucky and Women & Men compete for your laughs and votes at UCB Chelsea in the raucous Cage Match

11:00 pm ($5): UCB comics write & perform news-based comedy at the UCB East theatre: NY2: We're Also the News

Thursday Open Mics & Jams

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

[FREE] 6:00 pm: Stand-up open mic in which 15 walk-ins whose names are drawn from a bucket get to tell jokes on stage for 4 minutes each at UCB East hosted Brandon Scott Wolf & Paul Oddo: Thursday Night Open Mic

[FREE] 6:00 pm: Open-mic stand-up with comics' names drawn from a bucket and each chosen receiving 2 minutes—and if that goes well, maybe a hug (but not actual puppies)—at The Creek's upstairs theatre in Queens' Long Island City hosted by Ross Parsons & Trey Galyon: Free Puppies

6:30 pm ($3): If you're a gal who'd like to try stand-up but are wary of being vulnerable in a tough male-dominated room, this show may be the perfect opportunity for you—an all-female open mic, with the first 15 comics to sign up (starting at 5:50 pm) getting 3 minutes each on stage at The PIT downstairs lounge: Ladies Night Open Mic

[ALMOST FREE] 6:00 pm ($1): A weekly improv jam for which the number of participants on stage is determined by a roll of the dice at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street) hosted by Jon Monje, Glorillis Tavarez, Trumane Alston, and Julien Darmon: Chance Encounters Jam

7:00 pm ($2, which includes a free beer or water): Open mic stand-up providing a whopping 10 minutes per comic. Email PhoningItInMic@gmail.com with subject line Phoning Thursday to sign up; or take a chance at lottery sign-up live between 6:45 and 7:45 at Brit Pack Studios (34 Pell Street, 2nd Floor) hosted by Ian Fidance: Comics Phoning It In

[FREE] 7:00 pm: A weekly improv jam hosted by group Salt at Brooklyn's The Annoyance Theatre (367 Bedford Avenue; take J/M/Z to Marcy Avenue or L to Lorimer Street): The Blender

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

[FREE] 7:30 pm: Weekly open mic that provides 5 minutes for each audience member whose name is pulled out of a bucket to perform a true story, sketch, or characters at Brooklyn's Over the Eight (594 Union Ave) hosted by JiJi Lee & Patrick Clair: Split Personality Open Mic Storytelling & Sketch

[FREE] 11:00 pm: An open-mic stand-up show that's first come, first serve, with each comic getting 3 minutes on stage at The Creek downstairs lounge in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) hosted by Patrick Hastie: Beer, Booze, and Bits

[ALMOST FREE] 11:00 pm ($1): A supportively silly jam for duo improv (you'll be paired up on the spot) in which the audience shows "Good Scene!" at the end of every scene at The PIT upstairs theatre hosted by improv group Judith: Good Scene!: A Judith Jam

NYC Comedy Picks for Friday 1/8/16

Spectacular rising star Christine Bullen delivers one of the finest solo sketch shows since Kate McKinnon was honing her chops on UCB stages. Christine plays plays 17 characters in 25 minutes—including a genius impersonation of a wacky waving tubeman—in Christine Bullen: A China Shop; and in the second half of this amazing double-bill, Anthony Atamanuik is thoroughly hilarious as Donald Trump in this loosely scripted show in which President Trump is giving a speech from the East Room of the White House about the Hunt for Rosie O'Donnell, his plans for bronzing illegal immigrant's babies and using them for ship anchors, and more: Trump Dump: President Luxury (7:30 pm, $10, UCB Chelsea at 307 West 26th Street)

More recommendations for the best in New York City comedy tonight
(in chronological order, with top picks noted and shows over $10 marked with $) include:

[TOP PICK] 7:00 pm ($7): Lauren Olson (powerhouse one-woman show Our Condolences at FringeNYC; brilliant writer, actress, and improvisor) and Jana Schmieding (20/400: Sketchy as F*ck at FringeNYC) curate over a dozen comics writing and/or performing sketches at The Magnet theatre. This is the last show of this fine long-running series, and features such talents as Katie Harman, Sebastian Coneli, Rob Cuthill, Jon Bander, and Brigid Boyle: Jana & Lauren Presents

[TOP PICK] [$] 7:00 pm, 7:30 pm, 8:45 pm, 9:30 pm, 10:30 pm, 11:30 pm, and 12:15 am ($20-$24 per show, plus 2-item food/drink min.): Some of the finest stand-ups in the country spread among four shows at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane) and the 7:30, 9:30, and 11:30 shows at Village Underground (130 West 3rd Street, off Sixth Avenue): Comedy Cellar Friday

[FREE] 7:00 pm: Stand-ups Shakir "Shak" Standley (Last Comic Standing) and Casey James Salengo each try out material tonight through Wednesday at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue): Shak Standley & Casey James Salengo

7:30 pm ($5): A house sketch group that includes the wonderful Sarah Nowak and is directed by Holden McNeely (Murderfist) performs at The PIT downstairs lounge: National Scandal

7:00 pm ($10): Two improv groups each make up a musical on the spot at The PIT upstairs theatre: [title of team] and Royals

7:00 pm ($5): Three improv teams compete in this cutthroat battle for laughs. What's different about this cage match is it's determined by a human judge, the audience...and a dog. If there's a tie between the votes of the judge and audience, the guest canine will decide the fates of everyone based on which bowl this dog goes to first. It all happens at Brooklyn's The Annoyance Theatre (367 Bedford Avenue; take J/M/Z to Marcy Avenue or L to Lorimer Street): Dog Fight

7:30 pm ($10): Improv group Bucky makes up one long scene in the same location (a winning form that's helped such teams as Death by Roo Roo win a whole lot of Cage Match victories)—and, when SNL is on break, sometimes includes star Sasheer Zamata (whenever that happens, consider this a TOP PICK)—at the UCB East theatre: Bucky: Thank F#@% It's Friday!

7:30 pm ($5): NYC stand-ups tell stories for this podcast being recorded live on stage at Astoria Queens comedy venue QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Sam Haft & Tommy Kang: Comedy Llama

[$] 7:30 pm & 10:00 pm ($42 & 2-drink min.) A comic who's performed on HBO's Def Comedy Jam and Bad Boys of Comedy, Showtime at Harlem, BET's ComicView, and the feature film Next Friday headlining tonight through Sunday at the Carolines Comedy Club: Michael Blackson

[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm & 10:00 pm & Midnight ($15-$20; no min.): Superb stand-ups Ted Alexandro, Dan Soder, Jessica Kirson, and more performing at The Stand Comedy Club (239 Third Avenue, off 20th Street): The Stand Friday

8:00 pm ($10): A Harry Potter parody by the writer of the seriously flawed Kapow-i GoGo (but maybe this will be better) at The PIT upstairs theatre: Puffs, or Seven Increasingly Eventful Years at a Certain School of Magic & Magic

8:00 pm ($10): Sketch comedy from group Dyna Pidgin and a comedic play about teen detectives at Brooklyn's The Annoyance Theatre (367 Bedford Avenue; take J/M/Z to Marcy Avenue or L to Lorimer Street): Dyno Pidgin and Tween Twin Detectives

[FREE] 8:00 pm: NYC stand-ups performing at the HiFi Bar (169 Avenue A) hosted by Gary Levitt & Matt Schwartzer: I Don't Get It Stand-Up

[TOP PICK] 8:30 pm ($10): Before this Magnet show, audience members may anonymously submit written confessions, secrets, rants, advice and opinions which will be used onstage by the improvisors—who include such talents as Sebastian Conelli (2014 Cage Match Champion The Enemy): The Friday Night Sh*w

[TOP PICK] [$] 9:00 pm ($15): Some of the finest improv in the country from brilliant comics Connor Ratliff, Jordan Klepper, Silvija Ozols, Shannon O'Neill, Alexandra Dickson, and/or Michael Delaney forming a seamless and hilarious group mind at UCB Chelsea—the all-star members of The Stepfathers

[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($10): Cipha Sounds (Hot 97, Chappelle's Show) thought it would be cool if a hip-hop star told tales and then improvisors made up scenes based on them. This monthly show is the result, with a music celebrity "mesmerizing the crowd with amazing stories and linguistic darts to spark the creativity of some of the best improvisers in NYC," the latter being Anthony Atamanuik, Natasha Rothwell, Brandon Gardner, Lydia Hensler, Christian Capozzoli, and/or Shaun Diston at the UCB East theatre: Take It Personal: The Hip-Hip Improv Show

[TOP PICK] [$] [DISCOUNTED] 9:00 pm ($24.75 via Goldstar [vs. $29 at the door]): 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 Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night at the West Village's Soho Playhouse (15 Vandam Street, in the downstairs Huron Club): The Imbible: A Spirited History of Drinking

9:00 pm ($10): Two PIT downstairs lounge improv groups making up a musical on the spot. Dagger includes Abby Holland (VH1's Best Night Ever, musical improv groups Aquarius and Veal), and Hello includes Lorraine Cink (especially lovely singing voice; host & writer of Marvel Comics' The Watcher): Dagger and Hello

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($10): Storytellers share tales of relationships in front of a panel of comics and therapy experts who then give advice at Astoria Queens comedy venue QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Lynn Bixenspan & Morgan Pielli: Relationshit

9:30 pm ($5): "A sketch comedy show for hospice patients demonstrating that death isn’t only fun, but also funny" at The PIT upstairs theatre: The Last Show You'll Ever See

9:30 pm ($5): Comics "perform kooky bits based off online videos. The goal of the show is primarily to be louder than the jazz music coming from upstairs" at Brooklyn's The Annoyance Theatre (367 Bedford Avenue; take J/M/Z to Marcy Avenue or L to Lorimer Street) hosted by Matt Barats: Louder Than Jazz

[TOP PICK] 10:00 pm ($10): Musical improv group Premiere—which features the best improv piano player in the biz, Frank Spitznagel—springboards off an audience suggestion to create a complete story with song and dance at The Magnet theatre: Premiere: The Improvised Musical

10:00 pm ($5): NYC stand-ups performing at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue): Creek Cave Live

[TOP PICK] 10:30 pm ($10): Superb improvisors James Dwyer, Craig Rowin, Connor O'Malley, Matt Fisher, Sue Galloway, Brian Faas, Matt Moses, and Shaun Diston make up scenes about an audience member's legal dispute at the UCB Chelsea theatre: The Law Firm: Law & Disorder

[$] 10:30 pm ($15): Comics performing stand-up, sketch, storytelling, or improv at UCB East hosted by Brandon Scott Jones, Justin Tyler, and/or Alden Ford: Gentrify

10:30 pm ($5): Stand-ups performing at The PIT downstairs lounge hosted by Will Neville: The Almost Saturday Show

10:30 pm ($5): This variety show features stand-up, characters, dance, improv, and/or more at Brooklyn's The Annoyance Theatre (367 Bedford Avenue; take J/M/Z to Marcy Avenue or L to Lorimer Street) hosted by Carmen Christopher: The Juice

11:00 pm ($5): Nine-person improv group The Internet Disagrees makes stuff up at The PIT upstairs theatre: The Internet Disagrees Presents Hashtag This

11:30 pm ($7): "A unique fusion of variety show and pulp superhero story, with all of the strengths of both and none of their weaknesses. And remember, all that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good people do not see this show"at the Magnet theatre: Crisis!: The Improvised Comic Book

[TOP PICK] Midnight ($5): "Join filmmaker George Lucas (Radioland Murders) as he embarks upon an exciting new career as a comedian and talk show host! He'll be joined by his hilarious talk show sidekick, Jar-Jar Binks, as they revolutionize the talk show format the same way Lucas once revolutionized cinema" at the UCB East theatre hosted by the brilliant Connor Ratliff & Shaun Diston: The George Lucas Talk Show

[TOP PICK] Midnight ($5): A raucous laboratory for wacky ideas, in which comics Jo Firestone, Michael Wolf, Dan Glaser, and Cory Palmer create absurd game shows that they try out using audience members. "After we've attempted to create all the game shows, the audience votes on which idea gets to go straight to TV (not really)" at UCB Chelsea hosted by the fabulous Jo Firestone, whose delighted facial expressions in response to the ridiculousness are typically the highlights of the evening: The Incredible Game Show Showcase

[TOP PICK] [FREE] Midnight: Pot stand-up from "highly talented comics who have been highly recommended from people who are thought highly of in the business. Oh, and they'll be high" at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue): High Five

Friday Open Mics & Jams

[FREE] 5:00 pm: Walk-in open mic (signup at 4:30 pm), with 5 minutes per comic, storyteller, poet, or singer, at Astoria Queens comedy venue QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Sydney Beveridge & Davey Melch: Queens Open Mic Fridays

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

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

[ALMOST FREE] 6:00 pm ($1): Walk-in open mic that allows everyone to get on stage at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): $1 Mic

[FREE] 6:00 pm: An open-mic show on a lottery system (sign-ups happen at 5:45-6:00 pm) at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' Long Island City hosted by Shalewa Sharpe & Courtney Fearrington: Thug Passion

[ALMOST FREE] 6:00 pm ($1): PIT improv veterans mix with improv novices on-stage at the downstairs lounge for Happy Hour

[FREE] 8:00 pm: An open-mic show that's first come, first serve (sign-up starts at 7:30 pm), with each comic getting 5 minutes on stage at The Creek downstairs lounge in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) hosted by Seena Jon: Mic and Cheese

[TOP PICK] [FREE] Midnight: Improv is dominated by guys...and for no good reason. A way to help remedy this situation are shows like this one, which is an open improv jam for any gal wanting to participate, at any experience level, at the UCB Chelsea theatre: The Lady Jam

NYC Comedy Picks for Saturday 1/9/16

Liam McEneaney is recording his second comedy album, with your help, as well as the help of openers Dave Hill, Colin Jost, and Rob Paravonian: Comedy Album Recording (8:00 pm, $10, Brooklyn's Bell House at 149 7th Street in Brooklyn; take R subway to 9th Street or F/G to Fourth Avenue)

More recommendations for the best in New York City comedy tonight
(in chronological order, with top picks noted and shows over $10 marked with $) include:

[TOP PICK] [$] 6:00 pm, 8:00 pm, 10:00 pm, and Midnight ($15-$25; no min.): Superb stand-ups Ted Alexandro, Gary Gulman, and more performing at The Stand Comedy Club (239 Third Avenue, off 20th Street): The Stand Saturday

6:00 pm ($5): Four Indie improv troupes performing at The Magnet theatre: The Rundown

[TOP PICK] [$] 7:00 pm, 7:15 pm, 8:45 pm, 9:15 pm, 10:30 pm, 11:15 pm, and 12:15 am ($20-$24 per show, plus 2-item food/drink min.): Some of the finest stand-ups in the country spread among four shows at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane) and the 7:15, 9:15, and 11:15 shows at Village Underground (130 West 3rd Street, off Sixth Avenue): Comedy Cellar Saturday

[TOP PICK] 7:00 pm ($10): An all-gal group of improvisors—Keisha Zollar, Glenn Boozan, Joanna Bradley, Laura Wilcox, Caroline Colter, and Nicole Drespel—make up scenes about failed relationships at the UCB East theatre: The Breakup

7:00 pm ($5): A rotating cast of superb improvisors who, for some reason or other, left their PIT house groups. A current house team performs the first set and then The Quitters perform the second at The PIT upstairs theatre: The Quitters

7:00 pm ($5): Three improv groups performing at Brooklyn's The Annoyance Theatre (367 Bedford Avenue; take J/M/Z to Marcy Avenue or L to Lorimer Street): New Year, New You + Fetch + Distant Cousins

[TOP PICK] 7:30 pm ($10): Improv powerhouses Charlie Todd, Jeff Hiller, Jim Santangeli, Natasha Rothwell, Brandon Gardner, Chelsea Clarke, Kevin Hines, Erik Tanouye, and John Timothy at UCB Chelsea interview an audience member about where he or she grew up and then "turn that town's tourist attractions, landmarks, hangouts, local celebrities, urban legends, and more into a hilarious show made up on the spot:" The Curfew: Not From Around Here

[$] 7:30 pm & 10:00 pm ($42 & 2-drink min.) A comic who's performed on HBO's Def Comedy Jam and Bad Boys of Comedy, Showtime at Harlem, BET's ComicView, and the feature film Next Friday headlining tonight and Sunday at the Carolines Comedy Club: Michael Blackson

[TOP PICK] 7:30 pm ($10): "Created in 1995 at the iO Theater in Chicago, The Armando Diaz Experience is the longest running improv show ever. A guest monologist—who tonight is Martin Dockery—takes a suggestion from the audience and shares true personal tales. These stories are then brought to life by a rotating cast of improv all-stars—and occasionally Armando himself" at The Magnet theatre: The Armando Diaz Experience

7:30 pm ($10): A one-woman show by Jamie Aderski in which she "presents to you the things she wants to hide...there will be cookies, charts and crafts, people from her past, and song," plus an opening act by magician David Frasure, all at The PIT downstairs lounge: I Just Disappear

7:30 pm ($7): NYC stand-ups performing at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Lauren Krass: Laughter School Special

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($10): Improv groups Big Black Car (which includes Chris Grace, Nate Starkey, and Ashley Ward) and The Baldwins (which includes Micah Sherman, Sarah Nowak, and Brigid Boyle) make stuff up at The PIT upstairs theatre: Big Black Car and The Baldwins

[FREE] 8:00 pm: Justy Dodge (co-host of Married to Comedy podcast and Too Much Information on comicalradio.com; "I was kind of a tomboy growing up. Like, I had Barbies, but only because my Ninja Turtles needed bitches;" for dark bio video, please click here) and more performing stand-up at Queens LIC's The Creek upstairs theatre hosted by Peggy O'Leary: Hard, Lonely, and Vicious

[TOP PICK] 8:30 pm ($10): Improv group Airwolf—with big talents Molly Lloyd, Tim Martin, Achilles Stamatelaky, Eddie Dunn, Ben Rameaka, and Adam Fruccie—make up scenes about terrible audience experiences related to a home at UCB East: Airwolf: Let's Go Back to Your Place

[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($10): An improvised apocalypse from superb comics Anthony Atamanuik, John Murray, Sean Casey, Jackie Jennings, Joanna Bradley, Chad Carter, and Joel Weidel at the UCB Chelsea theatre: Goat

[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($10): A freestyle rapping long-form improv group that includes such talents as Evan Kaufman (Your Love Our Musical) takes the stage for nearly an hour at The PIT downstairs lounge: North Coast

[TOP PICK] [$] [DISCOUNTED] 9:00 pm ($24.75 via Goldstar [vs. $29 at the door]): The only FringeNYC show to ever include a barbershop quartet singing about alcohol and three rounds for each audience member (for my full review, please click here) is now playing as a perfect show for a date every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night at the West Village's Soho Playhouse (15 Vandam Street, in the downstairs Huron Club): The Imbible: A Spirited History of Drinking

[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($10): Sharp improvisors Peter McNerney & Nick Kanellis make up scenes at The Magnet as comedy duo Trike

9:00 pm ($10): NYC stand-ups performing for this weekly show at Brooklyn's The Experiment Comedy Gallery (20 Broadway) hosted by Camille Harris, Camille Theobald, and Mo Fathelb: The Weekend Drop

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($10): NYC's heavy metal version of a sketch troupe, which provides odd, unsettling, and fearless dark comedy, won the ECNY Award for Best Sketch Group, was written up by Jason Zinoman in The New York Times, and performs tonight at The PIT upstairs theatre: Murderfist

9:30 pm ($5): Stand-ups performing at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Patrick Holbert: End of the Line Comedy

[TOP PICK] 10:00 pm ($10): A powerhouse group of improvisors—Zhubin Parang (writer for The Daily Show), Michael Kayne (Baby Wants Candy, Diamond Lion), Langan Kingsley (rising star; sketch group Beige, one-woman show The Dicewoman Cometh), Aaron Jackson (Fuck That Shit, Newsadoozies), Natasha Vaynblat (one-woman show United Federation of Teachers), and Nate Dern (News Editor for Funny or Die)—springboard scenes off interviewing an audience member about his or her love life at the UCB East theatre: What I Did For Love

[FREE] 10:00 pm: NYC stand-ups at this monthly show that describes itself as follows: "Starting in 1982, the city of Atlanta threw an annual party called Freaknik which essentially became the largest black spring break party in the country. The party became so big and wild that the city shut it down for good in 1996. But comedians Andy Sandford and Noah Gardenswartz are bringing Freaknik back...to Long Island City. 'Comedy Freaknik' will be a lot like the original Freaknik, except it’s going to happen once a month, and it will be a comedy show hosted by three white guys. That’s basically the only difference" at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue): Freaknik

[TOP PICK] 10:30 pm ($10): At UCB Chelsea, improv group Grandma's Ashes—which includes stellar talents Ryan Karels, Morgan Grace Jarrett, Brandon Scott Jones, and more—takes your written secrets and turns them into very funny improv scenes: Grandma's Ashes: We Won't Tell

[TOP PICK] 10:30 pm ($10): Long form improv about the behavior of a theatrical troupe both on-stage and off-stage, revolving around a different show biz theme each week—which tonight is Saturday Night Live—at The Magnet theatre: The Cast: SNL Edition

[TOP PICK] 10:30 pm ($10): Using real horror films purchased in local gas stations and bodegas, the hosts select specific clips to play for 30 seconds, pause, and then ask the improvisers to finish the scene. Will anyone survive at The PIT downstairs lounge? Attend at your own peril with hosts J. W. Crump: Gas Station Horror

10:30 pm ($5): Comedy videos are screened at Brooklyn's The Annoyance Theatre (367 Bedford Avenue; take J/M/Z to Marcy Avenue or L to Lorimer Street): The No Excuses Short Video Party Show

11:00 pm ($5): "Over 30 years have passed since the Ghostbusters opened up shop, and now their kids have taken over. They are struggling. If possible, they are even worse at managing a business than their fathers before them." That's the fun foundation for this entirely improvised show at The PIT upstairs theatre: Busted! Improvised Ghostbusters

[FREE] 11:00 pm: Stand-ups performing at Astoria Queens comedy venue QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) produced by Fredric Goldstein and hosted by Judith George: Last Stop Laughs

11:30 ($5): Casey Jost, Matt Rogers & Bowen Yang, and more performing at UCB East hosted by non-musicians Matt Radlow & Betsy Kenney: Matt and Betsy Do Music

Midnight ($5): "Molly Gaebe & James Dwyer are world-renowned performance artists who know the true power of art better than anyone. Tonight, they and other artists from their collective will HARNESS that power to... END. ALL. VIOLENCE. Come witness a night that will alter the course of history forever. Come witness ART FOR PEACE. Disclaimer: Do not sit in the splash zone if you are not ready to get wet" at the UCB Chelsea theatre: Art Presents Molly Gaebe & James Dwyer

[FREE] Midnight: "Food sketches, street food interviews, and live cooking" at The Creek downstairs lounge in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue): So You Think You Can Rap

Saturday open mics & Jams

3:00 pm ($5; your ticket provides $3 off a drink at nearby Pioneers Bar): Walk-in lottery style open mic (sign-up starting at 2:45 pm) at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Swing Riders Open Mic

[FREE] 4:00 pm: An unusually early weekly open mic stand-up show ("starts late enough to sleep off that hangover but ends just in time to begin a new one"), with sign-up at 3:30 pm, at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) hosted by Raj Sivaraman & Sam Evans: The Amateur Hour

NYC Comedy Picks for Sunday 1/10/16

Star Wars-themed Muppets clips—including the beloved Star Wars episode of The Muppet Show—plus Muppet-themed drink specials, cool giveaways, sing-along fun, and more: The Muppet Vault: Star Wars (7:30 pm, $8, Brooklyn's Union Hall at 702 Union Street; take R subway to Union Street)

More recommendations for the best in New York City comedy tonight
(in chronological order, with top picks noted and shows over $10 marked with $) include:

6:00 pm ($7): Your guess is as good as mine on this show at The Magnet theatre, but it sounds fun: The Fully Nude* Character Showcase *Clothed

6:30 pm ($5): Three NYC improv groups that are independent (i.e., not a house team of any particular improv school/theatre) compete for audience member laughs and votes at UCB East hosted by superb improvisors Amey Goerlich & Ryan Karels (half of revered improv group Krompf): Indie Cage Match

7:00 pm ($5): Three scripted shows for the price of one at Brooklyn's The Annoyance Theatre (367 Bedford Avenue; take J/M/Z to Marcy Avenue or L to Lorimer Street): Triple Feature

7:00 pm ($5): A one-man show by Jason Specland, "a Jew with an endless list of anxieties traveling to Toronto for his Jamaican wife’s family reunion. This is the story of how he struggled to cope with a boisterous Caribbean family that triggers his every tic, exhausting both his patience and his Klonopin" at The PIT upstairs theatre: Salt in the Pepper Shaker

[FREE] 7:00 pm: NYC stand-ups performing at Bunga's Den (137 West 14th Street, between Sixth & Seventh Avenues) hosted by Jimmy LeChase: Church!

[MEGA-TOP PICK] 7:30 pm ($7): Improvisor giants Armando Diaz & Christina Gausas perform extraordinary duo improv every Sunday this month (except 1/17) at The Magnet theatre: Diaz & Gausas

[TOP PICK] 7:30 pm ($10) and 9:30 pm [FREE]: UCB Chelsea's signature improv comedy extravaganza, which typically includes superstars in the improv world such as Shannon O'Neill and Anthony Atamanuik, and sometimes network TV & movie stars such as Amy Poehler and Horatio Sanz: ASSSSCAT 3000

[TOP PICK] [$] 7:30 pm, 8:00 pm, 9:30 pm, 10:00 pm, and 11:30 pm ($14 per show, plus 2-item food/drink min.): Some of the finest stand-ups in the country spread among five shows, with three shows at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane), and the 8:00 pm & 10:00 pm shows at Village Underground (130 West 3rd Street, off Sixth Avenue): Comedy Cellar Sunday

7:30 pm ($5): Dana Shulman and friends are improv group Student Driver, which hosts two indie improv troupes making up scenes and then performs itself, all at The PIT downstairs lounge: Student Driver Indie Road

[$] 7:30 pm ($42 & 2-drink min.) A comic who's performed on HBO's Def Comedy Jam and Bad Boys of Comedy, Showtime at Harlem, BET's ComicView, and the feature film Next Friday headlining one last night at the Carolines Comedy Club: Michael Blackson

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm [$] ($10): Liam McEneaney is recording his second comedy album, with your help, as well as the help of openers Colin Jost (co-star of SNL's Weekend Update), Dave Hill (one of the most original and hilariously sharp alternative comics in the country; host of WFMU's The Goddamn Dave Hill Show; HBO, Comedy Central, NPR, bands Valley Lodge and Diamondsnake, book Tasteful Nudes, comedy album Let Me Turn You On), and Rob Paravonian (Comedy Central, VH1; to watch his hit video Pachelbel Rant, which has been viewed by over 13 million people on YouTube, please click here) at Brooklyn's The Bell House (149 7th Street): Comedy Album Recording

8:00 pm ($5): Mike Drucker (hilarious stand-up; Emmy-nominated staff writer for Jimmy Fallon; freelance writer for SNL, The Onion, McSweeney's), Evan Williams, Taylor Ketchum, Lauren Vino, Donnie Sengstack, and Alison Zeidman performing stand-up at UCB East hosted by Kara Klenk (Comedy Central, Spike, Nickelodeon): If You Build It

8:00 pm & 10:00 pm ($15-$20; no min.): Typically terrific NYC stand-ups performing at The Stand Comedy Club (239 Third Avenue off 20th Street): The Stand Sunday

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): Sharp improvisors Katie Hartman, Aparna Nancherla, Rachel Scherer, Jeff Scherer, and more make up theatrical scenes—accompanied by improvised music from Alan Schmuckler—at The PIT upstairs theatre for this weekly show produced by Sarah Nowak: People Improvising

8:30 pm ($5): Sharp improvisors make up scenes on a rug at Brooklyn's The Annoyance Theatre (367 Bedford Avenue; take J/M/Z to Marcy Avenue or L to Lorimer Street): The Rug Show

[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($10): Duo improv from Louis Kornfeld & Rick Andrews at The Magnet theatre: Kornfeld & Andrews

9:00 pm ($7): Typically solid stand-ups perform at Brooklyn's Knitting Factory (361 Metropolitan Avenue) hosted by Will Miles, Clark Jones, and/or Kenny DeForest: Comedy Night at the Knit

[FREE] 9:00 pm: NYC stand-ups performing at Astoria Queens comedy venue QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Tom Cassidy & Matt Pavich: Have Fun

9:30 pm ($5): Four improv teams randomly select various improv forms from buckets and then perform those forms on the spot at The PIT upstairs theatre: Forms From the Bucket

[FREE] 10:00 pm: Group Medusa turns a calamity selected by the an audience member into an improvised documentary live on stage at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue): Medusa Presents Improv Against Humanity

Sunday Open Mics & Open Stages

[FREE] 4:00 pm: An unusually early walk-in open-mic stand-up show (put your name in the bucket, drawings every half hour), providing 4 minutes per comic at The Creek downstairs lounge in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue): Intestinal Fortitude

[FREE] 5:00 pm: Walk-in stand-up lottery style open mic that provides 4 minutes per comic at Astoria Queens comedy venue QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Andrea Shapiro & Chris Gersbeck: Bunk Bed Time Open Mic

[ALMOST FREE] 5:00 pm ($1): Sign up at 4:30 pm to do improv with experienced PIT performers at The PIT downstairs lounge hosted by Sasha Capelli, Eitan Levine, and Shaina Stigler: 10K Jam Jam

5:15ish pm (no cover, 1 drink min.): Weekly open mic stand-up, with comics selected from names tossed into a bucket starting at 4:55 pm, at Brooklyn's Legion Bar (790 Metropolitan Avenue) hosted by Aaron Glaser, Irene Hartmann, and/or Carlos Delgado: Sunday Open Mic

[FREE] 7:00ish pm: If you feel like stretching beyond stand-up, this lottery-style walk-in open mic (sign-up starts at 7:00 pm) is for singers, songwriters, musicians, poets, actors, and spoken word artists, with a whopping 7 minutes per performer, at Astoria Queens comedy venue QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Mickey Zetts (The Ickles): Words and Music Open Mic Night

9:30 pm ($3): Open-mic comedy, with 3-5 minutes per walk-in performer who signs up (first come, first serve) at The PIT downstairs lounge, hosted by Will Neville: Amateur Night At The Gemini

[FREE] 10:00 pm: An open-mic stand-up show (sign up is at 9:45 pm) providing 5 minutes for each comic whose name is pulled from the bucket at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) hosted by Ian Kitchen: The Grandstand

[FREE] 10:00 pm: The only open-stage show for entire groups of improvisors and sketch comics, running weekly at UCB East hosted by Austin Rodrigues: Bring Your Own Team: Improv/Sketch Team Jam

NYC Comedy Picks for Tonight

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