NYC Comedy Picks for Monday 7/31/17
Don't forget to watch this final week of @midnight! Brilliant and lightning-quick Chris Hardwick has developed into a network star, and I'm guessing we'll be seeing a lot more of him on NBC (where he currently hosts prime time game show The Wall). Meanwhile, let's cherish the four seasons that Chris hosted @midnight, which debuted on October 21, 2013, and developed into one of the wittiest and funniest series to ever grace Comedy Central—and became an international showcase for hundreds of superb comics who were either never on TV before or were severely underexposed. There are few series that have served the entire wide-ranging comedy community as thoughtfully and thoroughly as @midnight, and we owe Chris, Tom Lennon, Ben Garant, and everyone else involved debts of gratitude. The show airs every night this week at 11:30 pm through Wednesday, and (appropriately) at midnight on Thursday and on Friday—which will be its 600th and final episode.
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), John Early (Netflix's The Characters and Wet Hot American Summer, NBC's 30 Rock, Comedy Central's Broad City), Samantha Ruddy (College Humor, Reductress, Someecards), Erica Spera (host of 20 Minutes of Fire podcast), and Sagar Bhatt perform stand-up hosted by the wonderful Wyatt Cenac (former star correspondent for The Daily Show; writer for South Park, Adult Swim; albums Comedy Person and Brooklyn): Night Train (8:00 pm; $8; Brooklyn's Littlefield (635 Sackett Street; take R subway to Union Street)...
...and Kerry Bishé (star of AMC's Halt and Catch Fire, star of the last season of ABC's Scrubs, star of Oscar-winning film Argo) is the guest of this NPR weekly comedy trivia show taped live in Brooklyn and hosted by the wonderful Ophira Eisenberg (NBC's The Today Show, CBS' The Late Late Show, Comedy Central, VH1, Showtime, bestselling book Screw Everyone, comedy album Bangs!): Ask Me Another (7:30 pm, $25, The Bell House at 149 7th Street; take R subway to 9th Street or F/G to Fourth Avenue)
Other notable shows this Monday include:
[TOP PICK] [$] 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] [FREE] 10:00 pm: Typically terrific stand-ups perform for this free weekly show 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
[MEGA-TOP PICK] [FREE; reservations go quickly, but you can probably get in if you arrive early and are okay with standing] 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 very finest stand-ups in the country; co-star of HBO's Crashing and Netflix's Master of None; former writer for Seth Meyers; Conan O'Brien, @Midnight, Comedy Central Half Hour, comedy album Just Putting It Out There): Whiplash
NYC Comedy Picks for Tuesday 8/1/17
Starting tonight, one of our greatest stand-ups, superstar Dave Chappelle, performs in NYC for 14 shows in August at Radio City Music Hall. Making each show unique will be special guests, as follows: 8/1: The Roots and Lil Wayne; 8/2: The Roots, Ice Cube, Common, and Vince Staples; 8/3: Big Boi; 8/4: The Roots; 8/5: Chris Rock and Jeff Ross; 8/6: Chris Rock and Arsenio Hall; 8/9: Erykah Badu; 8/15: "Very Special Guest;" 8/17: Chance the Rapper; 8/18: Trevor Noah; 8/19: Childish Gambino; 8/20: Lauryn Hill; 8/23: Yasiin Bey; 8/24: Ali Wong, John Mayer, and Lil Jon (as DJ). It's all happening this month at Dave Chappelle Live (8:00 pm; ticket prices vary by seat location; Radio City Music Hall at 1260 Sixth Avenue & 50th Street)...
...or enjoy singing duo Friends Who Folk (Rachel Wenitsky & Ned Riseley, above; TheNewYorker.com), Jo Firestone (one of the most relentlessly inventive comics in the biz; staff writer for Jimmy Fallon; star of Comedy Central Stand-Up Presents special; radio host of WFMU's Dr. Gameshow, live-on-stage host of The Unexpectashow and The Incredible Game Show Showcase, co-author of #1 bestselling Punderdome: A Card Game for Pun Lovers), Josh Gondelman (Emmy & Peabody Award-winning writer/producer for HBO's Last Week Tonight with John Oliver; Conan O'Brien, The New Yorker; stand-up comedy album Physical Whisper), Bowen Yang (Comedy Central's Broad City; member of sketch group Pop Roulette; co-host of podcast Las Culturistas) and Bess Lovejoy (The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal; author of Rest in Pieces: The Curious Fates of Famous Corpses) explore a scientific topic with hosts Blythe Roberson (The Onion, McSweeney's, TheNewYorker.com) & Madelyn Freed: The Scientists (8:00 pm, $8, Brooklyn's Union Hall at 702 Union Street; take R subway to Union Street)...
...or see a one-woman cabaret show by guitar goddess Mrs. Smith (a.k.a. David Hanbury), whose credits include NBC's America's Got Talent, PBS, and winning the 2016 Shred For Your Life contest at Webster Hall. Why guitar? "In my experience, which has been so very painful, no other instrument gives such a clear voice to the Grief and Rage." Mrs. Smith also tells stories and provides advice (please find a sample here). For one night only: Mrs. Smith: Shred For Your Life (9:30 pm, $15, Joe's Pub at 425 Lafayette Street, between East 4th Street & Astor Place)
Other notable shows this Tuesday include:
[TOP PICK] [$] 7:00 pm ($5 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Broadway, TV, and film star Colin Quinn (Trainwreck, comedy national treasure) hones material for a one-man show at The Fat Black Pussycat Lounge (130 West 3rd Street): Colin Quinn: Law Abiding Criminals
[TOP PICK] 7:00 pm-11:00 pm ($7 for the whole evening): In this 4-hour extravaganza, eight singing & dancing improv groups—all typically led by the best improv pianist in the biz, Frank Spitznagel—at The Magnet make up musicals based on audience suggestions: Magnet Musical Megawatt
[TOP PICK] [$] 7:30 pm, 9:30 pm, and 11:30 pm ($12 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Some of the finest stand-ups in the country spread among three shows at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane): Comedy Cellar Tuesday
[TOP PICK] 9:00ish pm ($10): Josh Gondelman (Emmy & Peabody Award-winning writer/producer for HBO's Last Week Tonight with John Oliver; Conan O'Brien, The New Yorker; stand-up comedy album Physical Whisper), Caroline Rhea (Sabrina the Teenage Witch, The Caroline Rhea Show, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Comedy Central; feature films Man in the Moon, Christmas With the Kranks, The Perfect Man), Brett Davis (HBO's Animals; TruTv's Jon Loves Gear; creator/host of weekly Manhattan cable TV show The Special Without Brett Davis; co-host of The Macaulay Culkin Show; winner of the 2015 Andy Kaufman Award), Julian Velard (singer/songwriter; pianist for NPR's Ask Me Another), and more performing stand-up at The Slipper Room (167 Orchard Street) 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
NYC Comedy Picks for Wednesday 8/2/17
Melissa Villaseñor (above middle; delightful cast member of Saturday Night Live), Joe Pera (above right; hilarious deadpan stand-up; killer set on Seth Meyers; Conan O'Brien; Comedy Central, Adult Swim; for a very special one-minute set at Carolines, please click here; for Joe's Kaufman awards submissions, please click here and here; co-host of the Dan + Joe + Charles Show), Casey James Salengo (above left; Comedy Central Stand-Up Presents), Greg Barris (MTV's All That Rocks, host of Heart of Darkness), and Kristy Belich (former scientist) perform stand-up and/or explain how to succeed in show biz hosted by Ree Ree Soko & Carmen: Fake It Till You Make It (8:30 pm, $7, The PIT Underground at 123 East 24th Street)...
...Two of the sharpest and most likeable comics in the biz, Natasha Leggero & Moshe Kasher, celebrate their getting married (back in October 2015) with this "Honeymoon Tour" in which each performs a long solo stand-up set and then the two of them play around on stage as a couple. For one night only in Brooklyn: Natasha Leggero & Moshe Kasher: The Endless Honeymoon Tour (8:00 pm; $29, Brooklyn's The Bell House at 149 7th Street; take R subway to 9th Street or F/G to Fourth Avenue; Please NOTE: As of this morning, this show has SOLD OUT)...
...and one of our greatest stand-ups, superstar Dave Chappelle, continues to perform in NYC through August at Radio City Music Hall. Making each show unique are special guests, as follows: 8/2: The Roots, Ice Cube, Common, and Vince Staples; 8/3: Big Boi; 8/4: The Roots; 8/5: Chris Rock and Jeff Ross; 8/6: Chris Rock and Arsenio Hall; 8/9: Erykah Badu; 8/15: "Very Special Guest;" 8/17: Chance the Rapper; 8/18: Trevor Noah; 8/19: Childish Gambino; 8/20: Lauryn Hill; 8/23: Yasiin Bey; 8/24: Ali Wong, John Mayer, and Lil Jon (as DJ). It's all happening this month at Dave Chappelle Live (8:00 pm; ticket prices vary by seat location; Radio City Music Hall at 1260 Sixth Avenue & 50th Street)
Other notable shows this Wednesday include:
[FREE] 6:00 pm-midnight: Six hours of free improvisation—including musical improv from group Vern (which includes superb singer & comic Julie A. Feltman) at 7:15 pm, such stellar improvisors as Pat Swearingen and Langston Belton in Hero Complex at 8:30 pm, and star instructors such as Dana Shulman, Adrian Sexton, Chris Booth, and sometimes even PIT owner Ali Reza Farahnakian at The Faculty at 10:00 pm, all at The PIT Mainstage: Super Free Wednesday
[TOP PICK] [$] 7:30 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): Comedy Cellar Wednesday
[TOP PICK] 11:00 pm ($5): James Dwyer & Jackie Jennings have written dozens of discarded ideas for shows on slips of paper and dumped them all into a bag. Every five minutes they'll ask an audience member to reach in and pull an idea out, and will then perform it...as a five-minute show. Then they'll repeat the cycle. Examples of rejected ideas include "Last Living Tae Bo Instructor Does a Workout" and "Hamilton The Musical—But It's Different." It all happens at the UCB Chelsea theatre: A Big Dumb Thing
NYC Comedy Picks for Thursday 8/3/17
Go out tonight, but record the debut episode of The Chris Gethard Show on its new cable network, TruTV (a move up from the compelling but almost hidden first two seasons on Fusion). The official description: "Chris Gethard attempts to ring-lead a panel of comedian friends and oddballs, along with a live studio audience, who participate in games, tackle bizarre stunts, and react to the controlled chaos around them. Add to that fans from the around the world calling in to participate in the show, and it's a totally immersive, interactive experience for all." The only other thing you need to know is Chris is a comedy genius, and anything he does is special and worth checking out. The mayhem runs from 11:00 pm to midnight, and is repeated from 3:00 am to 4:00 am (presumably in case you need to switch to Comedy Central at 11:30 pm to catch Chris' decades-long friend and fellow ace improvisor Anthony Atamanuik's The President Show).
Stand-ups try to solve the world's problems, with tonight's sages Mark Normand (above; one of the very finest stand-ups in the country; Conan O'Brien, Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, stellar Comedy Central special Don't Be Yourself; Comedy Central Half Hour, Inside Amy Schumer, @midnight, Last Comic Standing, VH1's Best Week Ever; comedy album Still Got It; opens for Amy Schumer), Josiah Madigan (Emmy-winning writer/producer; ABC, MTV, NatGeo, NPR's Ask Me Another), and Brock Mahan (Emmy-winning writer/producer; Comedy Central, Discovery, VH1, NatGeo, NPR; co-publisher of magazine Eel Fancy) hosted by Kevin McCaffrey (former warm-up comic for David Letterman; TruTV): Serious Matters (8:00 pm, $7, Brooklyn's Union Hall at 702 Union Street; take R subway to Union Street)...
...or see a comic who's been a cast member of MAD TV and The Howard Stern Show, was a guest star on HBO's Crashing, acted in a bunch of feature films, wrote the bestselling books Too Fat to Fish and Crash and Burn, and hosts The Artie Quitter Podcast headline tonight through Saturday at Carolines: Artie Lange (7:30 pm tonight, 7:30 & 10:30 pm on Friday and Saturday; $38.25 plus 2-drink min.; Carolines Comedy Club at 1626 Broadway)...
...or check out comics sharing tales of lost loves, heartbreak, and hopelessness, with tonight's victims Jon Fisch (David Letterman, Comedy Central, Last Comic Standing, VH1, comedy album He Has Friends), Jay Malsky (highly talented, super-charged improvisor & character comic; host of This Live Show; UCB sketch group Pretty Boys; PIT improv group Peaches Galore; FringeNYC solo show Elaine Stritch: Still Here; Solocom & UCB solo show Jay Malsky Slept With My Boyfriend), EA Hanks (Vanity Fair, Huffington Post), and hosts Claire Burns & Jessie Jolles: No Such Thing as Love (7:30 pm, $5, Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell at 27-16 23rd Avenue)...
...and one of our greatest stand-ups, superstar Dave Chappelle, continues to perform in NYC through August at Radio City Music Hall. Making each show unique are special guests, as follows: 8/3: Big Boi; 8/4: The Roots; 8/5: Chris Rock and Jeff Ross; 8/6: Chris Rock and Arsenio Hall; 8/9: Erykah Badu; 8/15: "Very Special Guest;" 8/17: Chance the Rapper; 8/18: Trevor Noah; 8/19: Childish Gambino; 8/20: Lauryn Hill; 8/23: Yasiin Bey; 8/24: Ali Wong, John Mayer, and Lil Jon (as DJ). It's all happening this month at Dave Chappelle Live (8:00 pm; ticket prices vary by seat location; Radio City Music Hall at 1260 Sixth Avenue & 50th Street)
Other notable shows this Thursday include:
[TOP PICK] [$] 7:30 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): Comedy Cellar Thursday
[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($7): Typically sharp stand-ups perform at UCB East hosted by rising stars Jim Tews (Louie, Last Comic Standing, host of Homeschooled, New York Times bestselling author of Felines of New York) and/or Ashley Brooke Roberts (energetic, enormously likeable rising stand-up; writer for Nat Geo and MTV's Guy Code blog): Fresh Out
[TOP PICK] 11:00 pm ($7): UCB weekend improv group powerhouses The Curfew and What I Did For Love compete for your laughs and votes at UCB Chelsea's raucous Cage Match
NYC Comedy Picks for Friday 8/4/17
Go out tonight, but set your recording device to the 600th and final episode of @midnight. Brilliant and lightning-quick Chris Hardwick has developed into a network star, and I'm guessing we'll be seeing a lot more of him on NBC (where he currently hosts prime time game show The Wall). Meanwhile, let's cherish the four seasons that Chris hosted @midnight, which debuted on October 21, 2013, and developed into one of the wittiest and most fun series on TV—and became an international showcase for hundreds of superb comics, many with little or no previous TV credits. There are few series that have served the entire wide-ranging comedy community as thoughtfully and thoroughly as @midnight, and we owe Chris, Tom Lennon, Ben Garant, and everyone else involved debts of gratitude. The very last show airs, appropriately, at midnight tonight, running a full hour till 1:00 am on Comedy Central.
A comic who's been a cast member of MAD TV and The Howard Stern Show, was a guest star on HBO's Crashing, acted in a bunch of feature films, wrote the bestselling books Too Fat to Fish and Crash and Burn, and hosts The Artie Quitter Podcast headlines tonight & Saturday at Carolines: Artie Lange (7:30 pm & 10:30 pm, $41 plus 2-drink min., Carolines Comedy Club at 1626 Broadway)...
...or if you prefer theatre, see Maggie Seymour & Olivia Atwood revive their acclaimed FringeNYC 2016 two-woman production of Shakespeare's The Comedy of Errors, tackling 15 characters in a wacky condensed version running just an hour that reportedly includes puppets, nerf guns, rap, song & dance, breaking the fourth wall, and lots of energy and comedic timing. If you can't catch it tonight, subsequent performances are at 8:00 pm on 8/5, 8/16, 8/18, and 8/19: 15 Villainous Fools (8:00 pm, $20, The PIT Loft at 154 West 29th Street)...
...and one of our greatest stand-ups, superstar Dave Chappelle, continues to perform in NYC through August at Radio City Music Hall. Making each show unique are special guests, as follows: 8/4: The Roots; 8/5: Chris Rock and Jeff Ross; 8/6: Chris Rock and Arsenio Hall; 8/9: Erykah Badu; 8/15: "Very Special Guest;" 8/17: Chance the Rapper; 8/18: Trevor Noah; 8/19: Childish Gambino; 8/20: Lauryn Hill; 8/23: Yasiin Bey; 8/24: Ali Wong, John Mayer, and Lil Jon (as DJ). It's all happening this month at Dave Chappelle Live (8:00 pm; ticket prices vary by seat location; Radio City Music Hall at 1260 Sixth Avenue & 50th Street)
Other notable shows this Friday include:
[TOP PICK] [$] 7:00 pm, 7:30 pm, 8:00 pm, 8:45 pm, 9:30 pm, 10:00 pm, 10:30 pm, 11:30 pm, and 12:15 am ($15 cover for FBPL shows, $24 cover for CC & VU shows, plus 2-item food/drink min.): Some of the finest stand-ups in the country spread among four shows at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane), the 7:30, 9:30, and 11:30 shows at Village Underground (130 West 3rd Street, off Sixth Avenue), and the 8:00 pm & 10:00 pm shows at The Fat Black Pussycat Lounge (130 West 3rd Street): Comedy Cellar Friday
[TOP PICK] [$] 9:00 pm ($12): Some of the finest improv in the country from brilliant comics Connor Ratliff, Shannon O'Neill, Alexandra Dickson, Michael Delaney, and/or Silvija Ozols forming a seamless and hilarious group mind at UCB Chelsea—the all-star members of The Stepfathers
[TOP PICK] Midnight ($7): "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 as they revolutionize the talk show format the same way Lucas once revolutionized cinema," with typically fun guests at the UCB East theatre hosted by brilliant improvisor Connor Ratliff (The Stepfathers) & Griffin Newman: The George Lucas Talk Show
NYC Comedy Picks for Saturday 8/5/17
Comics pitch the most awful TV shows they can dream up to a panel of fake TV executives, with cheap prizes to the best of the worst. Tonight's Hollywood hacks are Lizz Winstead (above right; Comedy Central Presents, The Daily Show, Air America), Ashley Nicole Black (second from left; writer & correspondent for Full Frontal With Samantha Bee), Sean Crespo (above middle; staff writer for Full Frontal With Samantha Bee; played a Red Hood on Gotham; co-host of Lasers in the Jungle), Anthony DeVito (second from right; Stephen Colbert, Comedy Central Half Hour, This American Life, House of Cards), and Rod Bastanmehr (above left; Vice) hosted by Ned Ehrbar (writer & entertainment journalist for CBS News "who has sold exactly zero TV series"): Bad Pitches (8:30 pm, Free!, Jimmy's No. 43 back room at 43 East 7th Street)...
...or see Annie Lederman (Comedy Central's Roast Battle, @midnight, This is Not Happening; MTV's Girl Code; Chelsea Lately), Jenny Zigrino (Bad Santa 2), Leah Bonnema (VH1, IFC's Comedy Drop, WeTV's Cinematherapy, Logo, Opie & Anthony’s Virus Channel), Jaboukie Young-White (Rough Night), and Mike Mercadal (co-host of Zeroes on Heroes podcast) perform stand-up featuring "the dirtiest, most unsafe for prime-time jokes, bits, and riffs" hosted by Ben Conrad & Lucas Connolly: The Dirty Show (9:30 pm, $10, Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell at 27-16 23rd Avenue)...
...and one of our greatest stand-ups, superstar Dave Chappelle, continues to perform in NYC through August at Radio City Music Hall. Making each show unique are special guests, as follows: 8/5: Chris Rock and Jeff Ross; 8/6: Chris Rock and Arsenio Hall; 8/9: Erykah Badu; 8/15: "Very Special Guest;" 8/17: Chance the Rapper; 8/18: Trevor Noah; 8/19: Childish Gambino; 8/20: Lauryn Hill; 8/23: Yasiin Bey; 8/24: Ali Wong, John Mayer, and Lil Jon (as DJ). It's all happening this month at Dave Chappelle Live (8:00 pm; ticket prices vary by seat location; Radio City Music Hall at 1260 Sixth Avenue & 50th Street)
Other notable shows this Saturday include:
[TOP PICK] [$] 7:00 pm, 7:15 pm, 8:00 pm, 8:45 pm, 9:15 pm, 10:00 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), the 7:15, 9:15, and 11:15 shows at Village Underground (130 West 3rd Street, off Sixth Avenue), and the 8:00 pm & 10:00 pm shows at The Fat Black Pussycat Lounge (130 West 3rd Street): Comedy Cellar Saturday
[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 at The Magnet theatre: The Cast
[TOP PICK] 11:30 ($7): A fun freestyle rap contest at UCB East with NYC comics (not announced), plus a volunteer from the audience!, hosted by superstar human beatbox Chris "Shockwave" Sullivan (The Daily Show, The Electric Company, Freestyle Love Supreme) and Victor Varnado (Conan O'Brien, Jimmy Kimmel, Comedy Central): Battlicious
[TOP PICK] Midnight ($7): In this acclaimed monthly show, six NYC stand-ups each perform an 8-minute set while they "risk getting slapped by Satan himself. Actually, he hosts only bringer shows, but join Matt Wayne and Doug Smith as they step into the Big Man's shoes and put NYC's finest through comedy purgatory. Hula-hoops, celebrity impressions, unwanted audience participation, all incorporated into each performance! Will they triumph or will the nether world eat their souls? Come see for yourself" at the UCB Chelsea theatre: See You in Hell
NYC Comedy Picks for Sunday 8/6/17
You may remember Danny Tamberelli & Mike Maronna playing sharp-tongued brothers in Nickelodeon’s The Adventures of Pete & Pete. Now grown up, they host a podcast—which they'll be taping live on stage tonight in Brooklyn with guests Jon Glaser (HBO's Girls, NBC's Parks and Recreation, star of Adult Swim's Delocated and TruTV's Jon Glaser Loves Gear; long-time writer/performer and 5-time Emmy nominee for Conan O'Brien), Brett Davis (HBO's Animals; TruTv's Jon Loves Gear; creator/host of weekly Manhattan cable TV show The Special Without Brett Davis; co-host of The Macaulay Culkin Show; winner of the 2015 Andy Kaufman Award), and Josh Lay (Head Writer of Nickelodeon's The Splat): The Adventures of Danny & Mike Podcast (7:30 pm, $8, Brooklyn's Union Hall at 702 Union Street; take R subway to Union Street)...
...or see Myq Kaplan (one of the quickest minds in comedy, and rapidly rising star; finalist on Last Comic Standing, semi-finalist on America's Got Talent; David Letterman, Conan O'Brien, Seth Meyers, Jay Leno, Comedy Central Presents; comedy albums No Kidding, Small, Dork, and Handsome, Vegan Mind Meld, and Meat Robot), Liza Treyger (fresh, fierce, fearless stand-up; Seth Meyers, Comedy Central Half Hour, Chelsea Lately), Liz Miele (David Letterman, Conan O'Brien, Comedy Central, animated webseries Damaged, comedy album Mind Over Melee), Danny Solomon (Lucas Bros Moving Co), Rosebud Baker, and Alex Pavone perform stand-up at UCB East produced by Kara Klenk (Comedy Central, MTV, TruTV) and hosted by Alison Leiby (VICE, Triumph The Insult Comic Dog; host of It's a Long Story): If You Build It (7:30 pm, $7, UCB East at 153 East 3rd Street)...
...or if you enjoy process, help Aasif Mandvi (former correspondent for The Daily Show; appearances in numerous movies & TV shows) as he tries out a new one-man show: Come See How the Sausage is Made (8:00 pm, $10, The PIT Mainstage at 123 East 24th Street)
Other notable shows this Sunday include:
[TOP PICK] [$] 1:30 pm, 7:30 pm, 8:00 pm, 9:30 pm, 10:00 pm, and 11:30 pm ($14 per show, plus 2-item food/drink min.): Some of the finest stand-ups in the country spread among five shows, with four shows at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane), and the 8:00 pm & 10:00 pm shows at Village Underground (130 West 3rd Street, off Sixth Avenue): Comedy Cellar Sunday
[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm (price varies by seat location): One of our greatest stand-ups, superstar Dave Chappelle, continues to perform in NYC through August at Radio City Music Hall (1260 Sixth Avenue & 50th Street). Making each show unique are special guests, as follows: 8/6: Chris Rock and Arsenio Hall; 8/9: Erykah Badu; 8/15: "Very Special Guest;" 8/17: Chance the Rapper; 8/18: Trevor Noah; 8/19: Childish Gambino; 8/20: Lauryn Hill; 8/23: Yasiin Bey; 8/24: Ali Wong, John Mayer, and Lil Jon (as DJ). It's all happening this month at Dave Chappelle Live
[TOP PICK] 8:30 pm ($7): Improvisors (who are also experienced Shakespearian actors) David Brummer, George Hider, and Conor Mullen perform new plays from the Bard made up on the spot springboarding off an audience suggestion at The PIT Underground: As You Will: Shakespearean Improv
Copyright © 2017 Hy Bender
Email: hy@hyreviews.com
