NYC Comedy Picks for Monday 7/4/16
Irresistible rising star Dana Shulman copes with an improvised intervention as part of The PIT's 12-hour July 4th improv marathon: IndieFest (Noon-Midnight, $10 per show or $20 for an all-you-can-see festival pass; shows playing continuously at The PIT upstairs theatre and downstairs lounge at 123 East 24th 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 $) include:
[FREE] 2:00 pm: A rare daytime stand-up show at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) hosted by Peggy O'Leary & Lindsay Boling: Late Late Breakfast
[TOP PICK] [$] 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
[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
[FREE] 10:30 pm: NYC stand-ups Gibran Saleem, Tim Dillon, Jourdain Fisher, Luis J. Gomez, Nick Mullen, Stavros Halkias, and more performing 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
[FREE] 10:00 pm: Each stand-up performs a set, then improv group The Bodega Cats makes up scenes based on the material, at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue); audience applause then determines the "winner" of Rumble
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 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
[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
Happy 4th!!!
NYC Comedy Picks for Tuesday 7/5/16
A monthly wild pun competition hosted by father-daughter duo Fred Firestone 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 The Unexpectashow and The Incredible Game Show Showcase, co-author with Fred of #1 bestselling Punderdome: A Card Game for Pun Lovers), with 18 audience members competing in Punderdome 3000 (8:00 pm, $10—sold out of advance seats, but there'll be tickets at the door, Brooklyn's Littlefield at 622 Degraw 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 $) include:
[TOP PICK] [$] 7:00 pm ($5 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Broadway, TV, and film star Colin Quinn (Trainwreck) hones material for his one-man shows at The Fat Black Pussycat Lounge (130 West 3rd Street): Colin Quinn: New York Story
[TOP PICK] 7:00 pm-11:00 pm ($7 for the whole evening): In this 4-hour extravaganza, six singing & dancing improv groups at The Magnet make up musicals based on audience suggestions, followed at 10:15 pm by an improv jam open to the audience hosted by group Warm Blooded: Magnet Musical Megawatt
[FREE] 7:00 pm: Singers, storytellers, and/or stand-ups Pop Filter (singing duo Adam Blotner & Jenny Pinzari), Anna Roisman (MTV; co-host of You Probably Think This Song Is About You), Jolenta Greenberg (The Moth), Michelle Onufrak (The Moth), JiJi Lee (Reductress), Sharon Spell, and Chris Pappas performing at Cake Shop (152 Ludlow Street, between Rivington & Stanton): All Stars of Comedy
7:00 pm ($5): A showcase for two brand new shows—sketch, solo, readings, what have you—every week at The PIT downstairs lounge hosted by the wonderful Ronny Pascale: Pilot Season
[TOP PICK] [$] 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] [FREE] 7:30 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
7:30 pm & 9:15 pm ($5 per show): House groups at UCB Chelsea perform the classic improv form The Harold at Harold Night
[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm ($20): From the team that created the amazing Hold On To Your Butts: Kyle Schaefer, Nick Abeel, Matt Zambrano, and foley artist Blair Busbee create live on stage a "shot for shot" parody of the first Lord of the Rings movie directed by the highly talented Kristin McCarthy Parker at The PIT upstairs theatre (123 East 24th Street): Fly, You Fools!
[TOP PICK] [DISCOUNTED] 8:00 pm ($8.45 online using discount code NORTHERN; no min.): Dan Soder (smart, edgy rising star; Conan O'Brien, Comedy Central hour-long special Not Special, Comedy Central Half Hour, Inside Amy Schumer, MTV's Guy Code and Guy Court, VH1), Carmen Lynch (David Letterman, Conan O'Brien, Last Comic Standing finalist, Comedy Central), TV & movie star Janeane Garofalo, and Jeff Leach performing stand-up at The Stand Comedy Club (239 Third Avenue & 20th Street) hosted by Josh Carter & Ray DeVito: Northern Discomfort: Dan Soder, Carmen Lynch, Janeane Garofalo, and More
8:00 pm ($5): Jena Friedman (wry dark comedy stand-up and rising star; producer for The Daily Show, former staff writer for David Letterman), Josh Sharp (superb sketch writer/performer; MTV, co-star of GUMP, co-host of Cool Shit/Weird Shit), and Shalewa Sharp performing and/or being interviewed for this show about obsessions with pop culture, with this month's theme Amerika, at UCB East hosted by Damian Bellino & Anne Rodeman: So Into It: A Fanatic Variety Show
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
[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 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] 8:30 pm: NYC stand-ups Nate Fridson, Jeff Scheen, Ian Abrahmson, and Brendan Eyre performing at Cake Shop (152 Ludlow Street, between Rivington & Stanton) hosted by Liza Novak: Cakeshop Comedy
[TOP PICK] 9:00ish pm ($7): 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, books Tasteful Nudes and Dave Hill Doesn't Live Here Anymore, comedy album Let Me Turn You On), Jon Rineman (staff writer for Jimmy Fallon), Blair Socci (MTV's Ladylike), Martin Beyer-Olsen, and more performing at The Slipper Room (167 Orchard Street) guest-hosted by NIck Stevens (host of AMC's Action Park and Discovery's Money on the Menu; VH1, ESPN): Sweet
9:00 pm ($5): Three-gal long-form improv by Claire Yale, Julie Rosing, and Jenny Bareilles "who will drag you from scene to scene with borderline offensiveness" at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Come Get Wrecked
[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): Jake Dobkin (Gothamist.com co-founder and publisher), Jena Friedman (wry dark comedy stand-up and rising star; producer for The Daily Show, former staff writer for David Letterman), Josh Sharp (superb sketch writer/performer; MTV, co-star of GUMP, co-host of Cool Shit/Weird Shit) , and guest bartender Ryan Karels (UCB weekend improv group Grandma's Ashes and legendary improv group KROMPF) chug two beers on stage and talk politics at the UCB East theatre hosted by Charlie Todd & Cody Lindquist: Two Beers In
[TOP PICK] 10:00 pm ($5; no min.): This super-affordable weekly club stand-up show features a great lineup of Dan Soder (smart, edgy rising star; Conan O'Brien, Comedy Central hour-long special Not Special, Comedy Central Half Hour, Inside Amy Schumer, MTV's Guy Code and Guy Court, VH1), Bonnie McFarlane (HBO, David Letterman, Jay Leno, Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central), Monroe Martin (finalist on Last Comic Standing), Paul Virzi (FOX, Spike TV), and Jourdain Fisher performing stand-up at The Stand Comedy Club (239 Third Avenue, off 20th Street): $5 Funnies with Dan Soder, Bonnie McFarlane, and More
[FREE] 10:00 pm: A frat-themed comedy show at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) hosted by Carmen Lagala, Billy Prinsell, and Samantha Ruddy: Creek Bros
[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
[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 upstairs theatre hosted by Jake Hart and a guest co-host: The Dump
[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 StartUp to make up stories in song on the spot: Musical Magnet Mixer
[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
NYC Comedy Picks for Wednesday 7/6/16
World-class singing improvisors Rebecca Vigil & Evan Kaufman interview an audience couple about their love life and then turn it into a musical—with breathtaking skill (see my review of their award-winning FringeNYC 2015 shows here) for their phenomenal Your Love, Our Musical (8:00 pm; $10, which is super cheap; this show has regularly sold out at $18 at other venues; 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 Lovers, which includes the spectacular Dana Shulman and Tracy Mull at 7:00 pm; and PIT owner Ali Farahnakian & friends at 10:25 pm—at The PIT upstairs theatre: Super Free Wednesday
[TOP PICK] 7:00 pm ($5): Carmen Lynch (David Letterman, Conan O'Brien, Last Comic Standing finalist, Comedy Central), John Early (Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp), Gary Richardson (IFC), and Ian Anderson performing at the only stand-up show at Brooklyn's The Annoyance Theatre (367 Bedford Avenue; take J/M/Z to Marcy Avenue or L to Lorimer Street) hosted by Gary Richardson: The Sensible Show
[TOP PICK] 7:00 pm ($5): Staged readinging of works so bad they're good—unsellable screenplays, baffling dramatic works, hardcore fan fiction—at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street), hosted by Alex Estrada & Ronan Babbitt: Table Work
7:00 pm-11:00 pm ($7 for the entire evening): Four hours of improv from eight groups—plus a free improv jam at 6:00 pm—at The Magnet theatre: Magnet Megawatt
[TOP PICK] [$] 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
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
7:30 pm ($5): Is a hot dog a sandwich? Is MJ better than Lebron? That's the sort of thing debated by hosts Tyler Rothrock & JP Roy, along with tonight's guest comics Josh Rosen & Bryan Yang, at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue): Definitely Right!...Maybe!?
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): At UCB Chelsea, ace improvisors Connor Ratliff, Molly Lloyd, Terry Withers, and more somehow create an improvised murder mystery on the spot—with the audience helping to commit the crime: The Terry Withers Mysteries
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm & 10:00 pm ($15; no min.): Judah Friedlander, Ari Shaffir, Pete Lee, Roy Wood, Jr., Monroe Martin, Derek Gaines, and Aaron Berg performing stand-up at The Stand Comedy Club (239 Third Avenue, off 20th Street): The Stand Wednesday: Judah Friedlander, Ari Shaffir, and More
[FREE] 8:00 pm: Young and/or struggling NYC stand-ups performing at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) produced by Meghan O'Malley, Adrian Davidson, and Erick Hellwig: Barely Making It
8:30 pm ($10): "In the magical town of Sparkleberry, everyone’s an artist, writer, and creative spirit. Citizens of Sparkleberry are kind, compassionate creatures, with hearts of gold, but they’re also total idiots. But that hasn’t stopped them from writing and performing their hearts out. Join me and my theater troupe as we show you select scenes from some of their greatest works" at Brooklyn's The Annoyance Theatre (367 Bedford Avenue; take J/M/Z to Marcy Avenue or L to Lorimer Street): Snippets From Sparkleberry
8:30 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] [FREE] 9:00 pm: Big Jay Oakerson (Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central Presents, Louie, Inside Amy Schumer, HBO, Showtime, MTV, IFC; stellar new comedy album Live at Webster Hall), Dave Smith, Luis J. Gomez, and other NYC comics "discussing the skankier sides of life, love, and stand-up comedy" for this weekly podcast taping at The Creek downstairs lounge in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue): Legion of Skanks
9:00 pm ($5): Andy Sandford (Conan O'Brien, Comedy Central, Adult Swim, The Beards of Comedy), Peggy O'Leary (host of Hard Lonely and Vicious and Creek Cave Live), Becky Yamamoto (Web series Uninspired; co-host of Comedy School Dropout), and Jordan Temple performing stand-up at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Travis Irvine & Jessica Watkins: Homespun Comedy
[FREE] 9:00 pm: Leah Bonnema (VH1, IFC's Comedy Drop, WeTV's Cinematherapy, Logo, Opie & Anthony’s Virus Channel), DC Benny (Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central, ABC's The Unusuals), Khalid Rahmaan, Jon Laster, Ian Abramson, and Erik Monica performing stand-up for this free weekly 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): Improvisors use details from audience members to make up a robbery at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Captive Audience: An Improvised Heist
[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): Film clips, reviews, jokes, and audience games all revolving around movies at The PIT downstairs lounge: Movie Buffs
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
[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
10:30 pm ($5): Booked comics try out stand-up, characters, songs, etc. at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street) hosted by Liz Noth, Jessica Morgan, Erin Bartley, and/or Casey McCormick: First Looks
[TOP PICK] 11:00 pm ($5): Jo Firestone, Connor Ratliff, David Bluvband, and other superb improvisors perform in this: "On behalf of humanity, The Academy has studied the human experience and is now prepared to impart its wisdom upon you, the audience, by utilizing the endangered art of Dramatic Improvisations. Come with an open heart, leave with an expanded mind. Do not be afraid. NOTE: THIS IS NOT A COMEDY PERFORMANCE" at the UCB Chelsea theatre: STRIFE: An Improvised Theatrical Experience
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: Walk-in open mic storytelling show (sign-up starts at 5:30 pm), with each yarn-spinner getting up to 8 minutes to tell a true and funny tale at Astoria Queens comedy venue QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Mike Guild: Flynn's 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
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: Your chance to improvise on stage at The PIT upstairs theatre hosted by Anthony Velez & Parker Denton: Recess
[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] 7:00 pm: Four booked NYC stand-ups, plus one open spot for an audience member whose name is pulled from a bucket, plus drop-in spots for up to five TV-credited comics who care to walk in! Spots are at least 5 minutes each, but go up by a minute per comic for every TV-credited drop-in spot that isn't filled (e.g., if no drop-ins appear, every comic will receive up to 10 minutes per set). It all happens at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) hosted by Daniel Ahrens: Drop-In/The Bucket
[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
[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 downstairs lounge hosted by Matthew Tenenbaum: Punch & Pie
11:00 pm ($3): Open mic stand-up show, with each comic whose name is selected from a bucket getting on stage for 3-5 minutes (depending on the number of comics) at The PIT downstairs lounge: The Camel Butt
[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 7/7/16
Stand-ups try to solve the world's problems, with tonight's sages Josiah Madigan (Emmy-winning writer/producer; ABC, MTV, NatGeo, NPR's Ask Me Another), Brock Mahan (Emmy-winning writer/producer; Comedy Central, Discovery, VH1, NatGeo, NPR; co-publisher of magazine Eel Fancy), Steve Young (written for David Letterman, The Simpsons; author of Everything’s Coming Up Profits: The Golden Age of Industrial Musicals); Phil Hanley (Seth Meyers, Comedy Central Half Hour, Craig Ferguson, former host of Chemistry), Ester Steinberg (Oxygen's Funny Girls), Nick Turner (Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers, Comedy Central, VH1) 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)
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): Six improvisors—including Adrian Sexton and J. W. Crump—compete for your laughs and votes at this fun improv game show at The PIT upstairs theatre hosted by the wonderful Tracy Mull: The Island: Improv Competition
7:00 pm ($5): "Social media meets improv as graduates of the PIT Improv Program transform their innermost tweet- and blog-length thoughts into scene after scene, all inspired by a single suggestion" at The PIT downstairs lounge: Biscuit Out
[TOP PICK] [$] 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): 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, Jay Leno, Comedy Central Presents, comedy CDs Small, Dork, and Handsome, Vegan Mind Meld, and Meat Robot), 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), Clark Jones (co-host of Comedy Night at the Knit), Joe DeVito (Last Comic Standing),and Ian Abramson performing stand-up at UCB East hosted by Sean Crespo, Dan Wilbur, and Katina Corrao: Lasers in the Jungle: Myq Kaplan, Justy Dodge, Clark Jones, and More
7:30 pm ($5): Stand-ups tell stories which are then turned into TV movies at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street) hosted by Catherine Cypher, Emily Duke, and Christina Sirabian: Live or Die
7:30 pm ($6): All-gal stand-up, with 3 booked comics—who tonight are Jasmine Pierce (MTV), Liz Barrett, and Ashley Gavin—and 4-minute open mic spots for 13 additional female comics on a first come, first serve basis at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Andrea Shapiro & Caitlin McKee: Saw Her Stand Up There
[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), Dan Soder (smart, edgy rising star; Conan O'Brien, Comedy Central hour-long special Not Special, Comedy Central Half Hour, Inside Amy Schumer, MTV's Guy Code and Guy Court, VH1), Roy Wood Jr. (correspondent for The Daily Show; David Letterman, HBO'S Def Comedy Jam, TBS' Sullivan & Son, Comedy Central), Jim Florentine (Comedy Central, MTV), Aida Rodriguez, Tim Dillon, and Joe Bartnick performing stand-up at The Stand Comedy Club (239 Third Avenue, off 20th Street): The Stand Thursday: Judah Friedlander, Dan Soder, Roy Wood Jr., Jim Florentine, and More
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): Top improvisors Connor Ratliff, Shannon O'Neill, Brandon Scott Jones, and/or Molly Thomas "talk to one person for less than 10 minutes and let them know how they die 45 minutes later" at the UCB Chelsea theatre: We Know How You Die
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): Improvisors make up a fucking David Mamet play before your fucking eyes, trying hard to really fucking live up to his genius fucking beautiful way with words at The PIT downstairs lounge: David Fucking Mamet
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm-Midnight ($10 for the entire evening): Four veteran house improv groups, themed improv show Junk Food (long-form improv designed to make you laugh but never make you think, embracing pure absurdity and silliness; "you'll eat it up but you'll never feel full"), and improv competition Inspirado, all for just $10 at The Magnet theatre: The Magnet's Thursday Night Out
[$] 8:00 pm ($20): This Harry Potter parody is crippled by a mediocre script, but is spared from being an utter waste of time by inventive direction from the highly talented Kristin McCarthy Parker (Hold On To Your Butts), and a large and mostly likeable cast (including the wonderful Langston Belton...who doesn't get to do nearly enough) at The PIT upstairs theatre: Puffs, or Seven Increasingly Eventful Years at a Certain School of Magic & Magic
[FREE] 8:00 pm: NYC stand-ups perform at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) hosted by Gideon Hambright & Patrick Hastie: Jackknife Comedy
8:00 pm ($5): Two 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 + Dim Wit
[TOP PICK] 8:40ish pm (no cover, 1 drink min.): There's no telling who'll show up for this final show of this three-year-old stand-up series at Brooklyn's Franklin Bar and Lounge (739 Franklin Street)—ending because the bar is closing—hosted by Khalid A. Rahmaan & Mike Eltringham: It's Sooo Up and Coming
[TOP PICK] [FREE] 9:00 pm: Erik Bergstrom (Comedy Central Presents, cartoonist/author of Grimmer Tales, The New Yorker), Petey Deabreu (host of Petey's World), Anna Drezen (superb stand-up who blends jokes with characters, movement, and sketch; author of How May We Hate You; Editor-at-Large for Reductress), Julia Johns (MTV's Girl Code), and Nick Turner (Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers, Comedy Central, VH1) performing stand-up at Brooklyn's The Cobra Club (6 Wyckoff Avenue) hosted by the lovely Reformed Whores (raunchy comedic singing duo Marie Cecile Anderson & Katy Frame), followed at 11:00 pm by a party: Up N' Coming
[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($10): A four-person comedic play in which "Attendees of this mandatory interactive theatrical seminar will learn valuable office skills that will optimize their performance in the workplace, and in their personal lives. Refreshments will be not provided. You will come" at Brooklyn's The Annoyance Theatre (367 Bedford Avenue; take J/M/Z to Marcy Avenue or L to Lorimer Street): The Dingleberry Theater Foundation Presents Mandatory Seminar
9:00 pm ($5): NYC stand-ups (not announced) performing at UCB East hosted by Ashley Brooke Roberts & Jim Tews: Fresh Out
9:00 pm ($5): Each invited improv group is played a random sample from a music video and then must make up and perform a "making of" documentary for asked to "The audience decides who will start a food fight when improvisers sit down to a potluck dinner" at The PIT downstairs lounge: Making the Video
[FREE] 9:00 pm: Selena Coppock (author of book The New Rules for Blondes), Kendra Cunningham (SNL, Jimmy Fallon, The Tyra Banks Show, Law & Order), Leighann Lord, Brendan Eyre, and Dan Shaki performing stand-up at 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 greatest science fiction anthology radio show of all time was X Minus One. Improvisors who know their genre history created this show in which they make up scenes of awe, mystery, and wonder at The PIT upstairs theatre—with an opening act from improv singer Katie Hammond & improv piano player Dan Reitz making up 1940's-style tunes based on your suggestions: X Plus One
[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm: An all-gal musical celebration of Star Trek—with comics celebrating Firefly as openers—at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Redshirts: A Star Trek Celebration
9:30 pm ($5): Roy Wood Jr. (correspondent for The Daily Show; David Letterman, HBO'S Def Comedy Jam, TBS' Sullivan & Son, Comedy Central), Marlena Rodriguez (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt), Frank Garcia-Hejl, and Tom Delgado performing stand-up at the UCB Chelsea theatre in the name of a popular comedy site: College Humor Live
[TOP PICK] 10:00 pm ($5): Comics tackle this challenge: "Think of the one thing you've been afraid to do onstage, and then do it at this show," with tonight's brave participants Cocoon Central Dance Team (delightful trio of immensely talented comedic dancers/actresses and rising stars Eleanore Pienta, Tallie Medel, and Sunita Mani), Ana Fabrega, Lorelei Ramirez, Ikechukwu Ufomadu, Cole Escola, Mo Fry Pasic, and Tim Platt risking themselves at Brooklyn's Union Hall hosted by Brett Davis: My Body Is A Vessel
[FREE] 10:00 pm: NYC stand-ups (not announced) perform 15-minute opening sets and then a 30-minute headlining set at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) hosted by Jenn Welch & Tom Lisi: The Half-Hour Hour
[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
10:30 pm ($5): "The audience decides who will start a food fight when improvisers sit down to a potluck dinner" at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Food Fight
[FREE] 10:30 pm: NYC stand-ups performing at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) produced & hosted by Chris Gersbeck, Lauren Hope Krass, and/or Peter Bandyk: Casual Sets
[TOP PICK] 11:00 pm ($5): It's a clash of titans as UCB weekend improv groups The Curfew and Grandma's Ashes compete for your laughs and votes at UCB Chelsea's 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 downstairs lounge in Queens' Long Island City hosted by Ross Parsons & Trey Galyon: Free Puppies
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
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] 10:00 pm: Walk-in open mic (with names selected from a bucket) to do anything you want for 5 minutes—"chat, rant, plug, tell a story, be a character, play a game, review a new religion"—for a podcast recorded at The Creek downstairs lounge in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) hosted by Mike Guild & Mike Mercadal: The Open Mic Podcast
[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
NYC Comedy Picks for Friday 7/8/16
Hosts Mitra Jouhari, Catherine Cohen, and Patti Harrison "are three gals who just don't get 'guy stuff.' They've invited comics to give them lectures on guy stuff so that they can finally fit in," with tonight's bearers of wisdom Kate Berlant (Netflix's The Characters, MTV, IFC, CNN), Joe Pera (hilarious and genius deadpan stand-up; killer set on Seth Meyers; Comedy Central, Adult Swim; for a very special one-minute set at Carolines, please click here; for Joe's latest Kaufman awards submissions, please click here and here), Hallie Cantor (writer for Inside Amy Schumer, NBC's Maya and Marty, The New Yorker), Max Wittert (cartoonist; The New Yorker, The New York Times, Marvel Comics), Blair Sochi (MTV's Ladylike), Dan Licata (The Chris Gethard Show), and Peter Smith: It's a Guy Thing: Kate Berlant, Joe Pera, Hallie Cantor, Max Wittert, and More (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 $) include:
[TOP PICK] [$] 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
7:00 pm ($7): Talented comics perform solo characters at The Magnet theatre hosted by Ari Miller & Elena Skopeto: Character Bash
[TOP PICK] 8:00 ($5): At UCB Chelsea, a double-bill of sketch comedy shows 'Til Death Do Us Fart and Pop Roulette's Amazing Earth
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 ($10): Erik Bergstrom (Comedy Central Presents, cartoonist/author of Grimmer Tales, The New Yorker), Petey Deabreu (host of Petey's World), and Lindsay Boling performing stand-up at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) produced by Derek Humphrey and guest-hosted by Evan Berke: Headliner's Ball
7:30 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
7:30 pm ($7): "Come see what happens when a cast of comedy veterans push the boundaries of audience interaction on a global scale; you've never seen a show like this before," with a cast of nine directed by the amazing Jeff Hiller at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): The Platinum Club
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($10): A comedic play about the US government in 1991 forming a secret agency charged with monitoring and eliminating online internet threats, the Headquarters for Authorizing Computerized Knowledge, at Brooklyn's The Annoyance Theatre (367 Bedford Avenue; take J/M/Z to Marcy Avenue or L to Lorimer Street): USA_HACK
[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm ($20; no min.): Judah Friedlander, Todd Barry, Big Jay Oakerson, Ari Shaffir, Monroe Martin, and Sherrod Small performing stand-up at The Stand Comedy Club (239 Third Avenue, off 20th Street): The Stand Friday
[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm ($20): A cabaret of darkly funny songs and topical sketch comedy about culture and politics, following sold out shows at Joe's Pub and now returning to The PIT upstairs theatre (123 East 24th Street): Political Subversities
8:00 pm ($5): Comedy trio Eli Sairs, Joel Walkowski, and Jeff Wesselschmidt performs at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue): Wildcats
[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 ($10): Some of the finest improv in the country from brilliant comics Connor Ratliff, Silvija Ozols, Shannon O'Neill, Don Fanelli, 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 ($10): Cipha Sounds (Hot 97, Chappelle's Show) thought it would be cool if a hip-hop star told tales and then improvisors made up scenes based on them. This monthly show is the result, with a "secret" music celebrity "mesmerizing the crowd with amazing stories and linguistic darts to spark the creativity of some of the best improvisers in NYC," the latter being Anthony Atamanuik, Natasha Rothwell, Brandon Gardner, Lydia Hensler, Christian Capozzoli, and/or Shaun Diston at the UCB East theatre: Take It Personal: The Hip-Hip Improv Show
[TOP PICK] [$] 9:00 pm ($15): A show celebrating a modern dating site, with Francesca Ramsey (pundit for The Nightly Show), John Fugelsang (former host of America's Funniest Home Videos), Lizz Winstead (Comedy Central Presents, The Daily Show, Air America), and Pat Tobin performing at Brooklyn's The Bell House (149 7th Street) hosted by Lane Moore: Tinder Live
9:00 pm ($5): A house sketch group that includes the wonderful Sarah Nowak performs at The PIT downstairs lounge: National Scandal
9:00 pm ($7): Sketch comedy from groups Laser Baby and Rig at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Boogie Manja
[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($10): Storytellers share tales of relationships in front of a panel of comics and therapy experts who then give advice—with tonight's participants Alexis Lambright, Merrill Davis, (analee) Nelson Lugo, Sharon Spell, Marc Gerber, and Wilson McDermut—at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Morgan Pielli & guest co-host Lauren Hope Krass: Relationshit
[$] 9:30 pm ($20): This Harry Potter parody is crippled by a mediocre script, but is spared from being an utter waste of time by inventive direction from the highly talented Kristin McCarthy Parker (Hold On To Your Butts), and a large and mostly likeable cast (including the wonderful Langston Belton...who doesn't get to do nearly enough) at The PIT upstairs theatre: Puffs, or Seven Increasingly Eventful Years at a Certain School of Magic & Magic
[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): Petey DeAbreu invites comedy friends Casey James, Christina Galston, Matt Richards, Nick Naney, and Anthony Kapfer to joke around with him at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue): Petey's World
10:00 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
[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 ($10): Rell Battle (Comedy Central), Halle Kiefer (MTV, TruTV, Friends of the People, Vulture), Rojo Perez (MTV), and Max Fox 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 ($10): Sketch comedy group The Hubbies host a knockout-style tournament in which sketch comics plan bits to make each other laugh; those who "break" will be knocked off until only the most stoic (but funny) comics are left at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): The Hubbies Laugh Battle
10:30 pm ($5): A musical performance by Sarah Dooley, stand-up by Jordan Myrick, and improv by groups Funkie Todd, Insignificant Other, and host St. Catherine, all performing at The PIT downstairs lounge: St. Catherine Presents Tight Genes
11:00 pm ($5): NYC stand-ups Nate Fernald (Comedy Central, James Corden), Gary Richardson, and Langston Kerman performing 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
[TOP PICK] Midnight ($5): This monthly storytelling, stand-up, and carny show brings the blog And I Am Not Lying to life on stage, with storytelling from Tracey Segarra (Moth StorySlam champion) and host Jeff Simmermon (NPR's This American Life), stand-up from Seaton Smith (rising star; HBO's Girls, FOX's Mulaney, Seth Meyers, Inside Amy Schumer, The Nightly Show), and burlesque from Fem Appeal and Stockholm Filly, all performing at the UCB East theatre: And I Am Not Lying
[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 Queens LIC's The Creek upstairs theatre hosted by Clayton English & Noah Gardenswartz: 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' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Davey Melch & Sydney Beveridge: Queens Free 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] 6:30 pm ($1): PIT improv veterans mix with improv novices on-stage at the downstairs lounge for Happy Hour
[FREE] 7:00 pm: Show up at 6:45 pm to place your name in a dog bowl for the chance to get called up on stage and jam with veteran improvisors at Brooklyn's The Annoyance Theatre (367 Bedford Avenue; take J/M/Z to Marcy Avenue or L to Lorimer Street): Dog Fight
[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
[FREE] 11:00 pm: Walk-in stand-up open mic (signup at 10:30 pm) at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Chelsea Condren, Kate Moran, and Kristin Seltman: Late Night Snack Open Mic
[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 7/9/16
Superb storyteller David Lawson (The Flyer Guy at Solocom 2015) performs a one-man show about video games "with stories about secretly playing an ultra-violent Nazi-killing game at a Jewish Community Center, a former boss with a Grand Theft Auto-related secret, how Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton have tried to censor video games, and more:" No Oddjob (6:00 pm, $5, The PIT Loft at 154 West 29th 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] 6:00 pm ($5): Comics Ariel Dumas, Danielle Henderson, Zachary Lipez, and Alana Massey deliver silly PowerPoint presentations fueled by alcohol, with this month's topic Work, at Brooklyn's Littlefield (622 Degraw Street): Drunk TED Talks
[FREE] 6:00 pm: Ben Conrad, Lizzy Mazzucchelli, Will Carey, and Will Watkins each perform a different 10-minute stand-up every Saturday in April at The Creek's upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) hosted by Grant Lindahl: The 8
6:00 pm ($5): Four Indie improv troupes performing at The Magnet theatre: The Rundown
6:30 pm ($5): "Written from Catholic, Mennonite, and recovering Evangelical perspectives on the difference between faith and nonsense, a show blending storytelling, sketch, and song" at The PIT downstairs lounge: Cross Culture: Sacrelicious and Kiss on the Lips
[TOP PICK] [$] 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): Dynamite musical improvisors including Jeff Hiller, Aaron Jackson, Josh Sharp, Lauren Adams, and more make up stories with songs at the UCB East theatre: Rumpleteaser: Musical Improv
[TOP PICK] 7:00 pm ($10): Improv group Big Black Car 2, plus improv group The Quitters, make up scenes at The PIT upstairs theatre: BBC2 and The Quitters
7:00 pm ($5): Sketch group PEP shares clips from fake shows that never actually at Queens LIC's The Creek upstairs theatre: Clip Show: A Sketch Show
7:00 pm ($5): Two improv groups performing at Brooklyn's The Annoyance Theatre (367 Bedford Avenue; take J/M/Z to Marcy Avenue or L to Lorimer Street): Selfish Green Men + Form
[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
[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 Chris Duffy—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 ($7): Political activists and pundits mix with comics at this political comedy show that makes fun of the news at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Electoral Dysfunction
7:30 pm ($10): Improvisors Katie Hammond & Daniel Tepper create a musical on the spot based on a location invented by an audience member at The PIT downstairs lounge: What Town? (The Musical)
7:30 pm ($7): Sarah Tollemache (Adam Devine's House Party), Alex Stone (Last Comic Standing), Jourdain Fisher, Liz Magee, Brian Parise, and Chris Daniels performing stand-up at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Sally Brookes: Saturday Night's Alright
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($10): A comedic play written by Rollie Williams, with a cast of four, in which "a deadly collapse traps you and the other miners deep and dark, down beneath the surface of the Earth with almost no hope of rescue" at Brooklyn's The Annoyance Theatre (367 Bedford Avenue; take J/M/Z to Marcy Avenue or L to Lorimer Street): Dark Down Deep Down Dark
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($10): Improv groups Gypsy Danger (which includes brilliant comics Katie Hartman and Evan Kaufman, and which will make up a feature film on the spot) and The Baldwins (which includes brilliant comics Micah Sherman and Sarah Nowak) make stuff up at The PIT upstairs theatre: Gypsy Danger: The Improvised Movie and The Baldwins
[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm & 10:00 pm ($25; no min.): Judah Friedlander, Todd Barry, Roy Wood Jr., Adrienne Iapalucci, Damian Lemon, and Derek Gaines performing stand-up at The Stand Comedy Club (239 Third Avenue, off 20th Street): The Stand Saturday
8:00 pm ($5): Nick Vatterott (Conan O'Brien, Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central's The Half Hour, MTV, Second City), Alex English, Dan Perlman, and more performing stand-up at Queens LIC's The Creek upstairs theatre hosted by Peggy O'Leary & Lucas Connolly: 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): 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] 9:00 pm ($10): An improvised apocalypse from sharp comics John Murray, Sean Casey, Jackie Jennings, Glenn Boozan, Joanna Bradley, Chad Carter, and Caroline Cotter at the UCB Chelsea theatre: Goat
[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($10): Sharp improvisors Nick Kanellis & Peter McNerney make up scenes at The Magnet as comedy duo Trike
[FREE] 9:00 pm: Petey DeAbreu (host of Petey's World), Tyler Richardson, Ray Kump, Dina Hashem, and Mike Recine performing stand-up at Brooklyn's Art Cafe & Bar (884-886 Pacific Street) hosted by Ben Totushek & Koshin Egal: The Human Citizen Comedy Show
9:00 pm ($8): 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): Long-form improv with a playful title directed by Conner O'Malley at Brooklyn's The Annoyance Theatre (367 Bedford Avenue; take J/M/Z to Marcy Avenue or L to Lorimer Street): Michael Jordan Steakhouse
9:30 pm ($6): Charlie Nadler, Derek Humphrey, Dan Altano, and Patrick Holbert performing stand-up at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Christiana Jackson: 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
[TOP PICK] 10:00 pm ($5): "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' Long Island City: 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 [Blank] Monologues Audition—at The Magnet theatre: The Cast: The [Blank] Monologues Audition 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): "A monthly show produced by Anthony Oberbeck; every show is new, every show is beautiful" at Brooklyn's The Annoyance Theatre (367 Bedford Avenue; take J/M/Z to Marcy Avenue or L to Lorimer Street): Beautiful Horses
10:30 pm ($7): A improvised sitcom taking place in a deli at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): The Counter
[FREE] 11:00 pm: Stand-ups performing at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Freddy Goldstein: Last Stop Laughs
11:30 pm ($5): Comics performing at UCB East hosted by non-musicians Matt Radlow & Betsy Kenney: Matt and Betsy Do Music
[TOP PICK] Midnight ($5): "Real-life lovers Diana Kolsky & Murf Meyer bring you the live counterpart to their saucy podcast, a fun, ballsy, raucous variety show about the audience" at the UCB Chelsea theatre: Menage a Trois Radio After Dark
[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 and Jams
[FREE] 1:00 pm-2:30 pm: Walk-in open mic providing each writer or musician up to 5 minutes on stage (first come, first serve for the 15 slots available) at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Lacresha Berry & Megan DiBello: Queens Lit Fest Open Mic
[FREE] 4:00 pm: An unusually early weekly open mic stand-up show, with names drawn out of a bucket, at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) hosted by Rachel Coleman: Let's Be Friends
4:00 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] 5:00 pm-7:00 pm: Walk-in comedy open mic (lottery system, with sign-up starting at 4:30 pm) providing each selected comic 4 minutes on stage at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Chris Gersbeck & Veronica Garza: Murray Povich Mic
[FREE] 6:00 pm: Put your name in a bucket for this open mic for stand-up, sketch, music, or anything else you want to work out on stage at Brooklyn's The Annoyance Theatre (367 Bedford Avenue; take J/M/Z to Marcy Avenue or L to Lorimer Street) hosted by Josh Bates & Brian Pisano: Make Out Party: An Open Mic
[FREE] 9:00 pm: Walk-in open mic for character bits, stand-up, etc. at Queens LIC's The Creek downstairs lounge hosted by Elise Edwards: Discount Disco
9:00 pm ($7): This is your chance to get on stage for an improv jam hosted by group New Greta at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): New Greta Has Jams
NYC Comedy Picks for Sunday 7/10/16
Katie Hartman (wonderfully brave and dark comedy writer/performer; sketch groups Skinny Bitch Jesus Meeting and Hartman & Carl, improv group Gypsy Danger) & Mike Levine (The Onion) "debut their book of searing soliloquies All The Feelings: Hella Dramatic Monologues For Thespians Of A Teen Age. The monologues will be read aloud by the finest sketch performers who emailed us back:" All The Feelings Book Release Show (9:00 pm, $5, The PIT Loft at 154 West 29th 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:
6:30 pm ($5): Three NYC improv groups that are independent (i.e., not a house team of any particular improv school/theatre) compete for audience member laughs and votes at UCB East hosted by superb improvisors Amey Goerlich & Ryan Karels (half of revered improv group Krompf): Indie Cage Match
[TOP PICK] [$] 7:00 pm ($5 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Broadway, TV, and film star Colin Quinn (Trainwreck) hones material for his one-man shows at the Village Underground (130 West 3rd Street): Colin Quinn: New York Story
7:00 pm ($5): Improv from group Trophy Wives and friends at The PIT upstairs theatre: Trophy Wives Presents The Honeymoon Phase
7:00 pm ($5): Three scripted shows—Stories From Sad Children, Two Guys Just Tryna Sleep, and Characters From a Wedding—for the price of one at Brooklyn's The Annoyance Theatre (367 Bedford Avenue; take J/M/Z to Marcy Avenue or L to Lorimer Street): Triple Feature
[FREE] 7:00 pm: Groups are provided with the titles of improv forms that don't actually exist and have 24 hours to create that form so they can perform it tonight at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue): Pluto Presents Fake Forms
[TOP PICK] [$] 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
[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
7:30 pm ($7): At The Magnet theatre, an awards show for women "tolerating the inherent bullshit we deal with on a daily basis, featuring taped and live performances from some of the city's best comics" created & hosted by Lizzie Redner: The Femmy's...
...and in the second half of this double-bill, "two women who look like sisters join forces with two men who look like brothers to become one modern American family, tackling life's hardest hitting issues: sex, death, and embarrassment:" Fraternally Yours
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 ($5): Four improv groups make up scenes, but under a strict set of rules. If any rule is broken, someone dressed in a Pokemon costume will appear on stage and punish the offenders at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Rejected!: Pokemon
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): Music from The Reformed Whores (raunchy comedic singing duo Marie Cecile Anderson & Katy Frame; albums Ladies Don't Spit and Don't Beat Around the Bush; CBS’ The Doctors), plus stand-up from Joe Machi (Jimmy Fallon; breakout star of 2014 Last Comic Standing), Sam Morril (Conan O'Brien, Comedy Central), Janelle James (SeeSo's Night Train with Wyatt Cenac), Beth Stelling (Jimmy Kimmel, Comedy Central), Kyle Ayers, and Caleb Synan, all performing at UCB East hosted by Kara Klenk (Comedy Central, Spike, Nickelodeon): If You Build It
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($10): Michelle Buteau (daily host of VH1's Morning Buzz; Comedy Central's Key & Peele, FOX's Enlisted, Comedy Central, Last Comic Standing, Craig Ferguson, VH1's Best Week Ever, @midnight), Josh Gondelman (writer for HBO's Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, The New Yorker), Adam Lowitt (correspondent for The Daily Show), Nick Turner (Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers, Comedy Central, VH1), Noah Gardenswartz (Last Comic Standing), and Caleb Synan (Last Comic Standing) performing stand-up at Brooklyn's Union Hall hosted by Aaron Glaser & guest co-host Brandon Scott Wolf: Powerhouse
8:30 pm ($5): Students of Gary Austin, the founder of The Groundlings, performing improv at The PIT downstairs lounge: Gary Austin's The Classroom
8:30 pm ($5): This themed improv show is based on the premise that "The human body is 70% water. The other 30% is a potent mixture of blood, shit, piss, and cum. Come hear real stories about the most disgusting things humans and the surrounding world are capable of, and then watch as they are brought to life on stage" at Brooklyn's The Annoyance Theatre (367 Bedford Avenue; take J/M/Z to Marcy Avenue or L to Lorimer Street): The Annoyance Presents Improv: Blood Shit Piss Cum...
...and in the second half of this double-bill, "Facebook. Snapchat. Google Maps. A fourth app. What do they have in common? None of them are as revolutionary or life-changing as our (improvised) app. Our app is so incredible and our (randomized) PowerPoint is so convincing, you’ll be begging to throw your money at our experienced, professional dev team:" The Annoyance Presents Improv: An Exclusive Presentation of a Life-Changing New App
[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($10): Duo improv from Louis Kornfeld & Rick Andrews at The Magnet theatre: Kornfeld & Andrews
9:00 pm ($7): Typically solid stand-ups perform at Brooklyn's Knitting Factory (361 Metropolitan Avenue) hosted by Will Miles, Clark Jones, and/or Kenny DeForest: Comedy Night at the Knit
[FREE] 9:00 pm: Group Medusa turns a calamity selected by the an audience member into an improvised documentary live on stage at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue): Medusa Presents Improv Against Humanity
[TOP PICK] [$] 9:30 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), Ari Shaffir (Conan O'Brien, host of Comedy Central's This Is Not Happening, HBO's Down and Dirty, National Lampoon, Comedy Central special Passive Aggressive), Josh Gondelman (writer for HBO's Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, The New Yorker), Aaron Berg (TV series 24 Hour Rental, documentary A Universal Language, host of Frantic Mondays), Tim Dillon, and Sarah Tollemache performing stand-up at The Stand Comedy Club (239 Third Avenue, off 20th Street): The Stand Sunday: Judah Friedlander, Ari Shaffir, Josh Gondelman, and More
[TOP PICK] [FREE—plus FREE FOOD!] 9:30 pm to grab a seat and eat, 10:00 pm for screening: Come watch a new episode of the excellent second season of The Jim Gaffigan Show (last week's Episode #4, dealing with the NYC comedy scene, was especially hilarious) with an audience—and possibly have the opportunity to ask questions afterwards of someone involved with the show, as there's no telling who might drop by. Plus, free food—probalby pizza! ("Yes. Free. Food. It's what Jim would want.") It all happens at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue): The Jim Gaffigan Show Official Watch Party
[ALMOST FREE] 10:30 pm ($1): This improv show is based on a Mullaney Chain (pioneered by Kevin Mullaney) in which the host invites a guest to improvise with him or her, then the guest independently invites a third person, who then invites a fourth person, and so on, creating a one-time-only lineup that will be a surprise to everyone involved at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street) hosted by Kurt Guenther: The Telephone Show
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' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Andrea Shapiro & Chris Gersbeck: Bunk Bed Time Open Mic
5:30ish pm (no cover, 1 drink min.): Weekly open mic stand-up, with comics selected from names tossed into a bucket starting at 5:00ish pm, at Brooklyn's Legion Bar (790 Metropolitan Avenue): Sunday 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
[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 downstairs lounge in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) hosted by Ian Kitchen: The Grandstand
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: 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
Copyright © 2016 Hy Bender
Email: hy@hyreviews.com
