NYC Comedy Picks for Monday 3/13/17
Ted Alexandro (one of the very finest stand-ups in the country; David Letterman, Conan O'Brien, Jimmy Kimmel, two Comedy Central Presents half-hour specials; comedy album I Did It; webseries Teachers Lounge; frequently opens for Louis C.K. and Jim Gaffigan) tries out new material for an upcoming hour-long special every night through Saturday : Week at the Creek: Ted Alexandro (7:00 pm, Free!, The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC at 10-93 Jackson Avenue)
More recommendations for the best in New York City comedy tonight (in chronological order, with top picks noted and shows over $10 marked with $) include:
[FREE] 6:00 pm to midnight: Six free hours of improvisation—including at 8:00 pm group Poor Melissa, which includes Dana Shulman, Adrian Sexton, and Emily Mathwich—at The PIT Underground: Super Free Monday
[TOP PICK] 7:00 pm ($7): In this all-gal double-bill, first group Darling Satan hosts stand-ups, storytellers, character comics, and improvisors; and then group The Box hosts "an intersectional feminist comedy, panel, and interview show," all at The PIT Mainstage: She Makes Me Laugh & The Box
[TOP PICK] [$] 7:30 pm, 9:30 pm, and 11:30 pm ($12 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Some of the finest stand-ups in the country spread among three shows at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane): Comedy Cellar Monday
[TOP PICK] [$] 7:30 pm ($25): Ophira Eisenberg tapes her comedy trivia radio show live, with tonight's guest veteran stand-up Judy Gold (Conan O'Brien, Jay Leno, HBO, Comedy Central, VH1, The View) at Brooklyn's The Bell House (149 7th Street): Ask Me Another
7:30 pm ($7): House sketch groups Trouble Town and Chillionaire perform at The Magnet theatre: Magnet Sketch Teams
[MEGA-TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm ($15): A top-notch theatrical troupe that's equally fine at compelling acting and split-second comedy uses actual material on the Web, performed verbatim, to craft laugh-out-loud scenes spearheaded by superb creators/performers Jen Jamula & Allison Goldberg at The PIT Mainstage: Blogologues
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($8): Adrienne Iapalucci (David Letterman, Last Comic Standing, VH1), Chris Lamberth (AXS TV), Jourdain Fisher, Alzo Slade, and Molly Ruben Long performing stand-up at Brooklyn's Littlefield (622 Degraw Street) 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
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($7): Michelle Buteau (VH1's Morning Buzz and Best Week Ever, Comedy Central's Key & Peele, FOX's Enlisted, Craig Ferguson, Last Comic Standing, @midnight, comedy album Shut Up), Annie Lederman (Comedy Central's Roast Battle, @midnight, This is Not Happening; MTV's Guy Code Vs. Girl Code; Chelsea Lately), Anna Roisman (MTV; co-host of You Probably Think This Song Is About You), and Matt Bachus performing stand-up at UCB East hosted by the charming Ruby Karp: We Hope You Have Fun
[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm ($5 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Judah Friedlander, Dan Soder, Lynne Koplitz, and more trying out fresh stand-up material at The Fat Black Pussycat Lounge (130 West 3rd Street): New Joke Night
8:00 pm ($7): At the UCB Chelsea theatre, the talented Natasha Vaynblat plays motivational speakers, life coaches, and "sad sacks" on her road to self-improvement: Self Help Your Self, Help! ...
...and in the second other of this double bill, a faux TV episode by sketch group Nipsey in which "As a father/daughter duo, Albert and Corinne work great. As co-owners of a cigar store-turned-vape shop, they've got a lot to learn! And when the big Vape Expo comes to town Darcy, Gayle, and Heath have kooky ideas about how to make waves!:" Nipsey: Vape Lyfe
8:00 pm ($5): Musical improv at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street) from group Good Catch
[FREE] 8:00 pm: Four improvisers form teams with comics they've never performed with before at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' Long Island City: The Kaleidoscope
TOP PICK] 8:30 pm ($5): Spring Day (charming stand-up & sketch comic with cerebral palsy) shares: "I hope you’re enjoying March because it’s National Cerebral Palsy Awareness Month. Are you aware that people with cerebral palsy have trouble marching? Well, you do now...By the way, I'm leaving New York at the end of March and moving to London to work at the BBC. I've put together a group of people I love performing with for stand-up and a few games you will not want to miss. Please come to see seriously funny people fucking around for 5 dollars on a Monday night. This is the last time you will get to see me. No pressure," with guests May Wilkerson, Kara Buller, Charlie Nadler, JC Best, Samantha SJ Bednarz, Usama Siddiquee, Jay Nog, and Gary N. Hannon performing at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue): Muppets F*cking: Funny People Fucking Around
9:00 pm ($10): All-gal sketch groups Boobie Nights and Fertile as Fuck perform at The Magnet theatre: The Lady Sketch Show
9:30 ($7): House sketch groups The Foundation and Choir try out new material at UCB Chelsea for Maude Night
9:30 pm ($5): Improv group Astronomy Club—which includes Keisha Zollar and Jonathan Braylock—gets race-related stories from the audience and a guest monologist, and then makes up scenes based on those tales at the UCB East theatre: Astronomy Club: Let's Talk About Race, Baby!
9:30 pm ($7): Talented improvisors (not announced) make up scenes in support of HeForShe Arts Week (which champions gender equality) at The PIT Mainstage: Improv for HeForShe Arts Week
9:30 pm ($7): A comedy group celebrates four years of performing together at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): The Hand-Me-Downs Handsome Hour
[TOP PICK] [FREE] 10:00 pm: Christian Finnegan (co-star of A&E's Black and White; Conan O'Brien; three Comedy Central specials, Netflix special The Fun Part; TBS, VH1, MSNBC, Chappelle's Show, The Today Show), Annie Lederman (Comedy Central's Roast Battle, @midnight, This is Not Happening; MTV's Guy Code Vs. Girl Code; Chelsea Lately), Crystian Ramirez, Sarah Tollemache, Luis J. Gomez, Jourdain Fisher, Wendi Starling, 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
[TOP PICK] 10:30 pm ($7): Storytellers share their true "coming out" tales, and then improvisors make up either a play or a musical based on each story at The Magnet theatre: Thank You For Coming Out: An LGBTQ Event
[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 typically hosted by Aparna Nancherla (one of the best stand-ups in the country; former writer for Seth Meyers; Conan O'Brien, @Midnight, Comedy Central Half Hour, comedy album Just Putting It Out There): Whiplash
[TOP PICK] 11:00 pm ($5): A gay-themed variety show at the UCB East theatre hosted by Timothy Dunn: Queerball
Monday Open Mics & Jams
4:30 pm-7:00 pm ($5 plus 1 drink min., with drinks as low as $2): Walk-in stand-up open mic with two rounds, the first providing 5-6 minutes per set and the second 2-3 minutes per set, at The Grisly Pear (107 MacDougal Street) hosted by Tuval Mor: Kickin It Open Mic
5:00 pm ($5): Two-hour open-mic for 20 stand-ups performing for 5 minutes each, with sign-up online here, at the Stand Up NY Comedy Club (236 West 78th Street): Stand Up NY Open Mic
[FREE] 6:00 pm: Open mic stand-up show that provides each performer who shows up time on stage at The Creek downstairs lounge in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) hosted by Jacob Lie & Stu Melton: Raining Buckets
6:00 pm & 8:00 pm ($5 for both comics and audience members, no drink min.): Open mic stand-up providing 5-7 minutes per comic, with each show running 1 hour and 45 minutes. Arrive 30 minutes before the show you want to be in to get on the signup sheet. This is a fine opportunity to perform at the only comedy club in the East Village: Eastville Comedy Club Open Mic
[FREE] 6:00 pm: An opportunity for you to perform with improv veterans in 7-minute montage sets celebrating diversity at The Magnet theatre: Diversity Improv Jam
7:30 pm ($10; sign-up starts at 7:00 pm): Open mic for stand-ups, storytellers, singers, poets, actors, and more, with 5 minutes per performer and 25 slots available, at The Parkside Lounge (317 East Houston Street, off Avenue B) hosted by Nathan P., followed by a raucous afterparty with dancing & drink specials from 10:00 to midnight: Inspired Word's Open Mic Joint
11:00 pm ($5): Open mic stand-up, with each comic getting 5 minutes and room for 15 comics who sign up per show, at The PIT Mainstage hosted by John Field: The Power Exchange
[FREE] 11:00 pm: Open mic stand-up show that provides each performer whose name is pulled from a bucket 4 minutes on stage at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' Long Island City hosted by Joseph Robert: PBR & Scrap Paper Open Mic Stand-Up
[FREE] 11:00 pm: Improv students are welcomed onto the stage at The PIT Underground for this weekly open access show hosted by such improv talents as Gary DeNoia and Langston Belton at The PIT Underground: Base Jam
NYC Comedy Picks for Tuesday 3/14/17
T.J. Miller (red-hot comedy star; David Letterman, Stephen Colbert; co-star of HBO's Silicon Valley, HBO's Crashing, and former ABC sitcom Carpoolers; co-star of numerous movies including Deadpool, Transformers: Age of Extinction, How to Train Your Dragon 2, Big Hero 6, Cloverfield, and Get Him to the Greek; for vintage videos, please click here), Tariq Trotter (a.k.a. Black Thought; co-founder & rapper/MC for legendary band The Roots; regular sketch performer on Jimmy Fallon, and exceptionally quick, witty guy), Joe List (HBO, David Letterman, Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central), Mary Mack, Aunty Donna, and more perform stand-up or sketch hosted by Seth Herzog (long-time Jimmy Fallon staff comic; NBC's 30 Rock, Comedy Central's @midnight, VH1's Best Week Ever, CBS): Sweet (9:00 pm, $10, The Slipper Room at 167 Orchard Street)...
...and two of the sharpest, funniest, and most relentlessly inventive comics in the biz, Aparna Nancherla (former writer for Seth Meyers; HBO's Crashing, Conan O'Brien, @Midnight, Comedy Central Half Hour, comedy album Just Putting It Out There; opens for Tig Notaro; hosts top weekly NYC stand-up show Whiplash) and Jo Firestone (staff writer for Jimmy Fallon; 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), perform for one night only at this free show in a Brooklyn church: NYC Treasures: Aparna Nancherla & Jo Firestone (7:00 pm-10:00 pm; FREE, but register for tickets online; Brooklyn's San Damiano Mission Catholic Church at 85 North 15th Street—take the G subway to Nassau Avenue)
More recommendations for the best in New York City comedy tonight (in chronological order, with top picks noted and shows over $10 marked with $) include:
[TOP PICK] [FREE] 7:00 pm: Ted Alexandro (one of the very finest stand-ups in the country; David Letterman, Conan O'Brien, Jimmy Kimmel, two Comedy Central Presents half-hour specials; comedy album I Did It; webseries Teachers Lounge; frequently opens for Louis C.K. and Jim Gaffigan) tries out new material for an upcoming hour-long special every night through Saturday at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue): Week at the Creek: Ted Alexandro
[TOP PICK] 7:00 pm-11:00 pm ($7 for the whole evening): In this 4-hour extravaganza, eight singing & dancing improv groups at The Magnet make up musicals based on audience suggestions: Magnet Musical Megawatt
[TOP PICK] 7:00 pm ($7): Leah Evans & Matthew Schrader make up a fast-paced duo-dialogue mini-play in the style of an Aaron Sorkin movie or TV series at The PIT Mainstage: The Boozeroom
7:00 pm ($5): A showcase for brand new scripted shows—sketch, solo, readings, what have you—this week featuring sketch comedy by groups Moshpick and! Sketchy, and solo characters by Becca Beberaggi, all at The PIT Underground produced by the wonderful Ronny Pascale: Pilot Season
7:00 pm ($7): Improv group Honey performs and hosts other groups at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Honey and Friends
[TOP PICK] [$] 7:30 pm, 9:30 pm, and 11:30 pm ($12 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Some of the finest stand-ups in the country spread among three shows at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane): Comedy Cellar Tuesday
[TOP PICK] 7:30 pm [$] ($10 to watch): Star John Hodgman runs a heavy-duty trivia contest designed to raise funds for creative writing programs at NYC public schools. The contestants have already been selected, but you can come to watch and vicariously participate at Brooklyn's The Bell House (149 7th Street): Trivia Night for Cheaters
7:30 pm ($5): Annalise Domenighini (Noisey) and Project Diem perform and/are interviewed about "that one song you'll never forget" at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Patrick Cartelli & Evan Forde Barden: Repeater: A Little Show About Big Songs
[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm ($5 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Sam Morril (Stephen Colbert, Conan O'Brien, Comedy Central Half Hour) performs a solo stand-up show at Village Underground (130 West 3rd Street): Sam Morril at Village Underground
[TOP PICK] [FREE] 8:00 pm: Comics creators join super-hosts Alex Zalben, Justin Tyler, and Pete LePage in a lively & hilarious discussion about four-color pop culture at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street), with giveaways of comics and gift certificates (and if you can't make it, watch in online here): Comic Book Club
8:00 pm ($7): Making great use of UCB East's previous incarnation as an indie movie theatre, tonight features screenings of select films running five minutes or less—most of them funny—crafted in the style of TV pilots. The shorts receiving the most audience votes get to continue with additional episodes, while the others are "canceled" at Channel 101
8:00 pm & 9:30 pm ($7 per show): The top level improv-for-industry shows scheduled for tonight were canceled due to the storm. In their place will probably be some sort of more casual improv TBA at the UCB Chelsea theatre: UCB Improv
8:00 pm ($5): Stand-ups (not announced) performing at The PIT Mainstage hosted by twins Adam & Todd Stone: The Stone & Stone Show
[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
8:30 pm ($5): Latino comics perform storytelling, improv, and/or more at The PIT Underground: Latinx
[FREE] 9:00 pm: NYC stand-ups Ian Fidance, Lindsay Boling, Django Gold, Momoh Pujeh, and Shelby Taylor performing after being introduced by "gloriously bad metalcore music" at Brooklyn's Tender Trap (66 Greenpoint Avenue; take J/M/Z to Marcy Avenue or L to Lorimer Street) hosted by Tim Unkenholz & Justin Hancock: Buttery Riffz
9:00 pm ($7): Monroe Martin (David Letterman, Jimmy Fallon, finalist on Last Comic Standing, MTV), Charles McBee (Comedy Central, MTV, host of Nerd is the New Black), Alzo Slade, Victor Burt, and David Johnson performing for a comedy show "about single life, dating, love, and relationships from the male's point of view" at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street) hosted by Essence Stewart: Two Heads, One Brain: A Night of Mansplaining
9:30 pm ($7): In this unique show, improvisors make up a complete family & friends intervention based on an audience suggestion at The PIT Underground: Impro-vention
9:30 pm ($7): The debut of a comedic political talk show with a Middle East slant at The PIT Mainstage hosted by "a real live brown person:" Passport Control with Mehdi Barakchian
[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($7): Comics TBA present funny lectures on silly topics—e.g., "Octopuses: Squishy Satans of the Sea"—at the UCB East theatre hosted by Jim Tews (Louie, Last Comic Standing, co-host of Fresh Out, New York Times bestselling author of Felines of New York): Homeschooled—A Comedic Lecture Series
[FREE] 10:00 pm: NYC stand-ups (not announced) perform for this show that likes to brag about how great it is at Queens LIC's The Creek upstairs theatre hosted by Brian Bahe & Stu Melton: Hyperbole
10:30 pm ($7): A one-man show by Steven Hajar that invites you to "Come observe the recently captured Public Enemy No. 1 down in cell block 888, the revolutionary that the nation's top psychiatrists have been treating. And if you’re lucky, you might meet the other odd prisoners who share the maximum security cell: in the convict's mind" at The PIT Underground: The Cell
11:00 pm ($5): Improv group Higgins looks at the Instagram photos of audience members and then uses them as springboards for comedy scenes at the UCB East theatre: Higgins: The Instagram Show
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 ($3): A chance for gals to get on stage and improvise with veteran female comics at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street) hosted by Blair Silverman and friends: Lady Jam
6:00 pm ($5 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 downstairs lounge (it's usually upstairs; the location change is for this week only) 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
10:30 pm ($3): A chance for you to get on stage and improvise with PIT faculty at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Tuesday After Class: Slow Jam
11:00 pm ($5): Ten stand-ups whose names are drawn from a "golden bowl of destiny" will be given stage time, along with a few invited stand-ups, at The PIT Underground hosted by Will Purpura: Bring It
[FREE] 11:00 pm: Weekly walk-in open mic stand-up providing 3 minutes for each comic whose name is pulled from a bucket at Queens LIC's The Creek upstairs theatre hosted by Michelle Slonim: Rapid Fire
NYC Comedy Picks for Wednesday 3/15/17
The first of two character & sketch comedy UCB Chelsea shows for industry (producers, casting directors, etc.) featuring over a dozen promising comics—including the entire 25-minute comedic play Obama Daughters: Requiem For America starring Keisha Zollar & Caroline Martin and directed by Shannon O'Neill—hosted by Murf Meyer & Diana Kolsky: UCBT's I'm Cool Showcase (7:30 pm, $7, UCB Chelsea at 307 West 26th Street; Part 2 of this industry event is tomorrow night, same time & place)
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-9:00 pm ($20): The debut of a monthly meetup group that features speakers and offers actions you can take to help keep our country from crashing over the next four years; and at 7:30 pm becomes a comedy show which tonight features superb comics Aparna Nancherla, The Reformed Whores, Kevin Allison, and John Fugelsang, all at Astoria Queens comedy venue QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) produced by Jenn Dodd and hosted by Christian Finnegan: Cause and Affect
[FREE] 6:00 pm-midnight: Six hours of free improvisation—including musical improv from group Vern (which includes superb singer & comic Julie A. Feltman) at 7:15 pm, and such stellar improvisors as Pat Swearingen and Langston Belton in Hero Compiex at 8:30 pm, at The PIT Mainstage: Super Free Wednesday
[TOP PICK] [FREE] 7:00 pm: Ted Alexandro (one of the very finest stand-ups in the country; David Letterman, Conan O'Brien, Jimmy Kimmel, two Comedy Central Presents half-hour specials; comedy album I Did It; webseries Teachers Lounge; frequently opens for Louis C.K. and Jim Gaffigan) tries out new material for an upcoming hour-long special every night through Saturday at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue): Week at the Creek: Ted Alexandro
[TOP PICK] [$] 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
7:00 pm ($7): Actor Thomas Whittington performs a variety of characters from different professions at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Thomas Whittington-Super Professional
7:00 pm-11:00 pm ($7 for the entire evening): Four hours of improv from eight groups—plus a free improv jam at 6:00 pm—at The Magnet theatre: Magnet Megawatt
7:00 pm ($5): Two improv groups (not announced) make up scenes at Brooklyn's The Annoyance Theatre (367 Bedford Avenue; take J/M/Z to Marcy Avenue or L to Lorimer Street): Annoyance Improv
[TOP PICK] [$] 7:30 pm, 8:00 pm, 9:30 pm, 10:00 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 8:00 pm & 10:00 pm shows 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
[TOP PICK] 7:30 pm ($5): At the UCB East theatre, an improv show somehow performed in both English and Spanish by bilingual comics—including Charlie Todd and Morgan Miller—that springboards off an interview with an audience member about an experience in a Spanish-speaking country or with a Spanish-speaking person: Fifty/Cincuenta...
...and in the second other of this double bill, dynamite musical improvisors including Jeff Hiller, Aaron Jackson, Josh Sharp, Lauren Adams, and/or more make up stories with songs at the UCB Chelsea theatre: Rumpleteaser: Musical Improv
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($10): A music-backed stand-up show that features a live band providing musical accompaniment to jokes, with guests Hari Kondabolu (David Letterman, Conan O'Brien, Comedy Central Presents, Totally Biased), Joel Kim Booster (Conan O'Brien, Billy on the Street), Kate Willett (Comedy Central's This Is Not Happening, VICE's Flophouse), Emmy Blotnick (writer for Comedy Central's @midnight, Roast of Rob Lowe, Not Safe with Nikki Glaser; MTV's Nikki and Sara Live, VH1's Best Week Ever), Alex English, Samantha Ruddy, and May Wilkerson performing stand-up at Brooklyn's Union Hall (702 Union Street; take R subway to Union Street) hosted by Yedoye Travis & Farah Brook: Rent Party
8:00 pm ($7): Storytellers share tales of bad dates, and then improvisors create scenes that make those bad dates even worse at The PIT Underground hosted by Ryan Darden: Bad Date Theater
8:00 pm ($7): "King Zebra has a full black cast (including Ray Morency from Off Top, David Bell, and Raquel Palmas), and we want to do an improv show based around the theme 'black lives laughter'" at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): King Zebra Safari
[FREE] 8:00 pm: Young and/or struggling NYC stand-ups performing at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) produced by Meghan O'Malley, Adrian Davidson, and Erick Hellwig: Barely Making It
[TOP PICK] [$] 8:30 pm ($15): A show celebrating a modern dating site, with guests Mandy Stadtmiller (weekly "Unwifeable" columnist for New York Magazine and monthly "GIrl Talk" columnist for Penthouse Forum; also writes for the Washington Post, the New York Post, Maxim; appeared on The View, Nightline, 20/20, Inside Edition; podcast News Whore) and Sam Grittner (stand-up who's written for MSNBC, Mashable, Buzzfeed, Playboy.com) performing for TL's Third Annivesary at Brooklyn's Littlefield (622 Degraw Street) hosted by Lane Moore: Tinder Live: Third Year!
8:30 pm ($5): Matt Barats, Anthony Oberbeck, and Carmen Christopher perform as improv group Postmen at Brooklyn's The Annoyance Theatre (367 Bedford Avenue; take J/M/Z to Marcy Avenue or L to Lorimer Street): Postmen
[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($10) Comics Melissa Diaz, Mike Feeney, Jennifer Gersbeck, Remy Kassimir, Alex Pavone, Adam Podell, and Rebecca Rush tell tales about losing their virginity at Astoria Queens comedy venue QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Angela Cobb: My First Time: A Stand-Up and Storytelling Show
[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
[FREE] 9:00 pm: Selena Coppock, Drew Michael, DC Benny, Herbie Gill, Oscar Collazos, Mike Cross, and Eric Frost performing stand-up for this free weekly show at Lucky Jack's Pub (129 Orchard Street) produced by Lance Weiss & Brendon Fitzgibbons: Gandhi, Is That You?
9:00 pm ($7): Comics (not announced) perform stand-up, sketch, improv, and/or more at The PIT Underground hosted by Jared Wilder: Laugh and a Draft
9:00 pm ($5): Indie improv troupes perform, plus a final set by host group New Greta, at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): New Greta Has Friends: Indie Improv
[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 ($7): Dynamite comics Aaron Jackson, Jeff Hiller, Brandon Scott Jones, Josh Sharp, and Brian Faas promise "You are going to turn Gay, and you are going to love it" at the UCB Chelsea theatre, " We Will Turn You Gay
[FREE] 10:00 pm: Storytellers share true tales hosted by Jenna Marucci & Aileen Think at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue): Jenna & Aileen Think You're Great
[TOP PICK] 10:15 pm ($5): Improvisors make up scenes about obsessions at the UCB East theatre: The Fix
10:30 pm ($7): Booked comics try out stand-up, characters, songs, and other new material 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): Hilarious impersonator Anthony Atamanuik spent the last 18 months touring the country playing Donald Trump "and warning his mostly millennial liberal audiences about Trump's ability to win the presidency." Tonight Anthony tells behind-the-scenes stories, such as getting Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker) to moderate his mock debate with top Bernie Sanders impersonator James Adomian; working with the Hillary Clinton campaign; and more. Throughout the show there'll be a Q&A with the audience "that usually ends in hostility" at the UCB Chelsea theatre: I Told You Show with Anthony Atamanuik
Wednesday Open Mics & Jams
5:00 pm ($5): Two-hour open mic for 20 stand-ups performing for 5 minutes each, with sign-up online here, at the Stand Up NY Comedy Club (236 West 78th Street): Stand Up NY Open Mic
[FREE] 6:00 pm: Open mic stand-up show that provides each performer whose name is pulled from a bucket 5 minutes on stage at The Creek downstairs lounge in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) hosted by Kaity Neagle & Irene Hartmann: Ragtag Team Open Mic Stand-Up
[FREE] 6:00 pm: Walk-in open mic storytelling show, with each yarn-spinner (selected via names from a bucket) 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 Vincent Chang: Flynn's Mic
[FREE] 6:00 pm: Sign up at 5:45 pm for the opportunity to make up scenes at The Magnet with veteran improvisors: Magnet Mixer Wednesday
[FREE] 6:00 pm: Your chance to improvise on stage at The PIT Mainstage hosted by Anthony Velez: Recess
[FREE] 7:00 pm: Open mic stand-up providing 4 minutes per comic. Email PhoningItInMic@gmail.com to sign up, or take a chance at lottery sign-up live between 6:45 and 7:45, at Brooklyn's Halyards Bar (406 Third Avenue) hosted by Lukas Kaiser: Comics Phoning It In
[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 ($5): 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 Underground: The Camel Butt
[FREE] 11:00 pm: Your chance to perform on stage with experienced improvisors at The PIT Mainstage hosted by Bernard Maynore and/or Patrick Cucuta: Improdome
[FREE] 11:15 pm: Your opportunity to perform on the stage of UCB East with improv veterans: The Improv Jam
NYC Comedy Picks for Thursday 3/16/17
Todd Barry (David Letterman, Conan O'Brien, Comedy Central Presents, FX's Louie, HBO's Flight of the Conchords and Bored to Death, Adult Swim, co-star of feature film The Wrestler, star of delightful documentary The Crowd Work Tour) has added another credit to his already long and impressive list: his first book, Thank You for Coming to Hattisburg. Celebrating the publication of this instant bestseller (as I write this, ranked #2,100 on Amazon.com) are John Hodgman, Janeane Garofalo, Joel Kim Booster, Sam Morril, and more, all at the Todd Barry Book Release Event (8:00 pm; $25, Brooklyn's Bell House at 149 7th Street in Brooklyn; take R subway to 9th Street or F/G to Fourth Avenue)...
...or enjoy watching comics trying to impress while pretending to be too cool to care at the second of two character & sketch comedy UCB Chelsea shows for industry (producers, casting directors, etc.) featuring such talents as Matt Evans, Dan Chamberlain, Becky Abrams, and the entire 25-minute musical AzN PoP!: Live in Concert!, all hosted by Becky Chicoine & Samantha Reece: UCBT's I'm Cool Showcase (7:30 pm, $7, UCB Chelsea at 307 West 26th Street)
More recommendations for the best in New York City comedy tonight (in chronological order, with top picks noted and shows over $10 marked with $) include:
[TOP PICK] [FREE] 7:00 pm: Ted Alexandro (one of the very finest stand-ups in the country; David Letterman, Conan O'Brien, Jimmy Kimmel, two Comedy Central Presents half-hour specials; comedy album I Did It; webseries Teachers Lounge; frequently opens for Louis C.K. and Jim Gaffigan) tries out new material for an upcoming hour-long special every night through Saturday at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue): Week at the Creek: Ted Alexandro
7:00 pm ($7): Anna Grace Carter drinks while describing the plot of an actual musical (could be famous or obscure), and then musical improvisors who include Jay Malsky, Henry Koperski, and members of the groups [title of team] and Royals attempt to recreate it based on her semi-drunken details at The PIT Mainstage: Drunk Musical: The Musical
7:00 pm ($5): Improvisors make up scenes with the lights turned off, using everyday objects to add layers of sound—like a radio play created on the spot—at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Dim-Prov: Improv in the Dark
[TOP PICK] [$] 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 three shows at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane) and 8:00 & 10:00 pm shows at Village Underground (130 West 3rd Street, off Sixth Avenue): Comedy Cellar Thursday
[TOP PICK] 7:30 pm ($8): "Do you ever leave a comedy show saying 'Hmm, that was pretty funny but not enough reading'? Literati is a night of comics in character performing hilarious readings—sometimes while wearing wigs," with comics 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, Cinemax, 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), Alexandra Song (staff writer for Jimmy Fallon; MTV's Girl Code) Chrissy Shackelford (The Story Pirates, Characters Welcome, Maude Night, UCB one-woman show Not Dry Yet), Jason Gore (Hulu's Difficult People, sketch group Bridge & Tunnel), and Taylor Gonzalez at Brooklyn's Union Hall hosted by Michael Wolf (showrunner of MTV series After Hours with Josh Horowitz; sketch comedy groups O.S.F.U.G. and Nancy) & Colin O'Brien (sketch comedy group O.S.F.U.G.): Literati: A Comedy Show About the Greatest American Novels Never Written
7:30 pm ($7): Jim Tews (sharp rising stand-up worth keeping an eye on; Louie, Last Comic Standing, host of Homeschooled and co-host of Fresh Out, New York Times bestselling author of Felines of New York), Mike Brown (co-host of Comedy Outliers), Julia Claire (NPR, Nerdist), and more performing stand-up at UCB East hosted by Sean Crespo, Dan Wilbur, and Katina Corrao: Lasers in the Jungle
7:30 pm ($10): A dozen stand-ups perform at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Frankie Moricco: Black Irish History Minute
7:30 pm ($7): Real life couples perform duo improv The PIT Underground hosted by Nate Foster & Raquel Powell: Couples' Retreat
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm-Midnight ($10 for the entire evening): Four veteran house improv groups, at 10:00 indie improv troupe The Mannequin Room, at 10:15 themed improv show Silence, Please (exploring the nuances of wordless conversation and connection, with music suggested by the audience playing in the background), and at 11:00 improv competition Inspirado, all for just $10 at The Magnet theatre: The Magnet's Thursday Night Out
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): An all-gal lineup of stand-ups, storytellers, character comics, and improvisors performing at The PIT Mainstage hosted by the women of group Darling Satan: She Makes Me Laugh
[TOP PICK] [$] 8:30 pm ($5 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Nick Griffin, Josh Gondelman, Monroe Martin, Sam Morril, KNimesh Patel, and more trying out fresh stand-up material at The Fat Black Pussycat Lounge (130 West 3rd Street): New Joke Night
[FREE] 8:30 pm: Jeffrey Joseph (Jay Leno, HBO, FOX's In Living Color, Comedy Central), Katie Hannigan (MTV’s Inside Joke), Ester Steinberg, Daniel Simonsen, and Jordon Ferber performing stand-up at Brooklyn's Hungry Ghost Cafe/Bar (781 Fulton Street, between Fulton and South Oxford Streets) hosted by Keenan Steiner: Comedy at the Corner
8:30 pm ($5): Group Hot Boss hosts comedy about jobs at The PIT Underground capped by an audience member excoriating his or her boss and coworkers: Hot Boss: Happy Hour
9:00 pm ($7): NYC stand-ups (not announced) performing at UCB East hosted by Jim Tews (sharp rising stand-up worth keeping an eye on; 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
9:00 pm ($7): A variety show that incorporates tarot cards—show up an hour early for a free reading—at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Tamara's & Adrian's Tarot Variety Show
9:00 pm ($6): NYC stand-ups and storytellers Jenn Welch, Alex Ptak, Alexis Guerreros, Becca Steinhoff, Sharron Paul, and Marc Gerber performing at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Sue Funke & Katie Compa: Happy Place Comedy
[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($7): The Emmy-winning writers of The Daily Show gather on the UCB Chelsea stage to perform an all-improvised Non-Daily Show
9:30 pm ($10): Comics who all met at Brown University perform scripted comedy at The PIT Mainstage: Rad Motel Sketch Comedy
9:30 pm ($5): A one-man show in which Dom Manzolillo attempts to rebrand himself "via a series of lovable, everyman sketches" at Brooklyn's The Annoyance Theatre (367 Bedford Avenue; take J/M/Z to Marcy Avenue or L to Lorimer Street): My Name is Dom Hanks
[FREE] 10:00 pm: NYC magicians try out new material, with some stand-up thrown in, at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' Long Island City hosted by mind reader Eric Dittelman (America’s Got Talent, Ellen): Amazeballs
10:00 pm ($5): This inexpensive variety show typically features improv and more at The PIT Underground: The Really, Really Cheap Date Show
[TOP PICK] [$] 10:30 pm ($18, or $10 for students with ID): A unique musical improv show in which scenes explode into popular songs with tunes you know but entirely made up lyrics. Instead of an improv pianist, this show uses a DJ spinning karaoke tracks at Under St. Marks (94 St. Marks Place, off First Avenue) directed by Philip Markle (former Executive Director of The Annoyance Theatre): Happy Karaoke Fun Time!
[FREE] 10:30 pm: "A curated hour of eclectic comedic material written in a week with no rehearsals" at Brooklyn's The Annoyance Theatre (367 Bedford Avenue; take J/M/Z to Marcy Avenue or L to Lorimer Street): The Holy Fuck Comedy Hour
[TOP PICK] 11:00 pm ($7): Last week musical improv group Rumpleteaser defeated the 2017 Cage Match Champion Fuck That Shit by a decisive 107-84 votes. The seemingly unstoppable musical juggernaut tonight will attempt to sound more pleasurable than improv troupe Hush, competing for your laughs and votes at UCB Chelsea's raucous Cage Match
11:00 pm ($5): NYC stand-ups (not announced) performing at the UCB East theatre hosted by Brendan Fitzgibbons & Lance Weiss: Gandhi, Is That You?
11:00 pm ($7): Improv group That's Dinner makes up an entire movie that never existed based on a suggestion from the audience at The PIT Mainstage: That's Dinner and a Movie
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: An open mic for solo character bits, with names drawn from a bucket and 5 minutes provided to each performer, at the UCB East theatre: Don't Be Yourself: Character 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
[FREE] 6:00 pm: Open mic stand-up with 4 minutes per comic (sign-up starts at 5:30 pm) at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Jake Vevera & Amy Liszka: The QED Thursday Mic
6:00 pm ($5 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
6:00 pm ($3): A weekly improv jam open to the audience in which the number of participants on stage is determined by a roll of the dice at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street) hosted by Jon Monje, Glorillis Tavarez, Trumane Alston, and Julien Darmon: Chance Encounters Jam
6:30 pm ($5): If you're a gal who'd like to try stand-up but are wary of being vulnerable in a tough male-dominated room, this show may be the perfect opportunity for you—an all-female open mic, with the first 15 comics to sign up (starting at 5:50 pm) getting 3 minutes each on stage at The PIT Underground: Ladies Night 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] 8:00 pm: A recorded-for-podcast walk-in open mic providing 5 minutes on stage for whatever you want to perform—stand-up, sketch, song—with names drawn from a bucket at The Creek's downstairs lounge in Queens' Long Island City hosted by Mike Mercadal & Will Watkins: Unsung Heroes
[FREE] 10:30 pm: Walk-in stand-up open mic (signup at 10:00 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
10:30 pm ($3): A chance for you to get on stage and improvise with PIT faculty at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Thursdays After Class Jam
[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 upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) hosted by Matt Anderson: Barf Up the Jokes
NYC Comedy Picks for Friday 3/17/17
Celebrate St. Patrick's Day with Frank Conniff (TV's Frank on Mystery Science Theater 3000; Cinematic Titanic), Colin Fitzgerald (Cosmic Castoff), Chrissie Mayr (FOX's Laughs), and Freddy G riffing on a 2000 blaxploitation horror flick that's "arguably the worst St. Patty's Day movie of all time" hosted by Chris Gersbeck: Movies R Dumb: Leprechaun in the Hood (11:00 pm, $10, Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell at 27-16 23rd Avenue)
More recommendations for the best in New York City comedy tonight (in chronological order, with top picks noted and shows over $10 marked with $) include:
[TOP PICK] [FREE] 7:00 pm: Ted Alexandro (one of the very finest stand-ups in the country; David Letterman, Conan O'Brien, Jimmy Kimmel, two Comedy Central Presents half-hour specials; comedy album I Did It; webseries Teachers Lounge; frequently opens for Louis C.K. and Jim Gaffigan) tries out new material for an upcoming hour-long special tonight and Saturday at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue): Week at the Creek: Ted Alexandro
[TOP PICK] [$] 7:00 pm ($15): A play co-written & performed by Elana Fishbein & Elena Skopetosunique, and co-written & directed by Peter McNerney, about a family’s reluctant reunion received a rave from The New York Times' Elise Czajkowski, and you can see it every Friday night through March at The Magnet theatre: Sisters Three
[TOP PICK] [$] 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
7:00 pm ($7): A play about a high school student finding a genie who can grant three wishes at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Pop Punk High
[FREE] 7:00 pm: Calvin S. Cato, Sydnee Washington, Dick Satori, Matt Smith McCormick, and Michelle Drozdick perform stand-up or storytelling at this LGBTQ-themed show at Brooklyn's Pete's Candy Store (709 Lorimer Street) hosted by Bobby Hankinson: Kweendom
7:00 pm ($7): Improv group Rebel 5 performs and hosts other indie improv groups at The PIT Mainstage: Rebel 5 Indie Rally
[TOP PICK] 7:30 pm ($12): Stellar improvisors Connor Ratliff, Don Fanelli, and MIchael Cruz Kayne make up scenes at UCB Chelsea as trio Sabonis
[$] 7:30 pm & 10:00 pm ($41 & 2-drink min.) A comic who's made a fortune from dysfunction addresses America's recent political choices tonight and Saturday at the Carolines Comedy Club: Christopher Titus: America...Really?
[$] 7:30 pm ($12): 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): A sketch comedy group that formed in Chicago back in 2008 performs at The PIT Underground: Teenager of the Year
7:30 pm ($7): Levi Penley & Robert Price perform duo stand-up, improv, freestyle rap, and banjo, and tonight also host actor/composer Mike Lee, at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue): The Cheep Show
[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm ($15): A musical parody of the Star Wars movies written by Jody Shelton (50 Shades! The Musical, Baby Wants Candy), Tim Sniffen (The Improvised Shakespeare Company, The Second City), and Chris Grace (50 Shades! The Musical, Thrones! The Musical) at The PIT Mainstage: Star Wars: The Farce Awakens
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): A historical period or major event is explored comedically via stand-up, sketch, trivia contests, and more at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) hosted by Justin Auslaender & Lindsay Boling: Annal Revue
8:00 pm pm ($10): A one-man show by Eli James that provides "a decade-by-decade journey through the sordid history of rock 'n' roll" at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Imagine All the People: A Survey of Music Business Creeps
[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 ($12): Some of the finest improv in the country from brilliant comics Connor Ratliff, Shannon O'Neill, Alexandra Dickson, Silvija Ozols, and/or Michael Delaney forming a seamless and hilarious group mind at UCB Chelsea—the all-star members of The Stepfathers
[TOP PICK] [$] 9:00 pm ($12): 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
9:00 pm ($5): Duo sketch comedy from Annie Donley & Devin Bockrath at Brooklyn's The Annoyance Theatre (367 Bedford Avenue; take J/M/Z to Marcy Avenue or L to Lorimer Street): Firestarter
9:00 pm ($10): Stand-ups and improvisors performing at The PIT Underground hosted by Matt Catanzano & Richie Moriarty: Simply Unemployable Live
9:00 pm ($10): NYC sketch comedy groups St. Olaf and Laser Baby performing at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Boogie Manja
9:30 pm ($10): A one-man show by David De Almo "about failing gracefully" by working as a producer of theatre at The PIT Mainstage: David De Almo: Occasionally Employed
9:30 pm ($8): Stand-ups with at least a bit of Irish in them—Erin Lynn O'Connor, Kevin Michael Smith, Justin Flannigan, Patrick J. Reilly, Sinead Hennessy, and Evan M. Williams—performing at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Kevin Froleiks: Laugh of the Irish
[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 ($5): A guest visual artist shows off his/her work for 15 minutes. Then 5 comics each tell a story while being sketched by the artist, by the host/cartoonist Grant Lindahl—and, if you're into it, you (bring a sketchbook!). The audience member crafting the best sketch wins a prize. It all happens at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue): Art School Acid Dropout
[TOP PICK] [$] 10:30 pm ($12): 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
[TOP PICK] 10:30 pm ($7): I'm not sure he's in NYC tonight, but one of the finest improvisors alive, Joe Bill (Bassprov, iO, co-founder of the Annoyance Theatre) will either personally spearhead or lead in spirit a breathtakingly brilliant group of improvisors from Chicago and New York who will blow the roof off The PIT Underground with lightning-quick dark comedy unlike anything else in NYC. The other superb players typically include Doug Stoley (Conan O'Brien, The Scene), Amey Goerlich (Indie Cage Match, Krompf, The Scene), Jed Resnik (Annoyance Theatre, UCB), Silvija Ozols (The Stepfathers), Micah Sherman (Second City, co-host of The Scene, host of Fun), and/or many more, all declaring ChicaGoGo
[TOP PICK] 10:30 pm ($12): Australian sketch trio Auntie Donna, plus stand-up from Kate Willett (Comedy Central's This Is Not Happening, VICE's Flophouse), Nimesh Patel (Comedy Central, TruTV; written for Chris Rock hosting the 2016 Oscars; co-host of Broken Comedy), Boris Khaykin (Broad City, Amazon's Red Oaks, acclaimed improv hip-hop group North Coast), and Gastor Almonte (Comedy Central), all performing at UCB East hosted by Brandon Scott Jones, Justin Tyler, and/or Alden Ford: Gentrify
10:30 pm ($5): A rotating pool of improvisors perform in groups of five at Brooklyn's The Annoyance Theatre (367 Bedford Avenue; take J/M/Z to Marcy Avenue or L to Lorimer Street): Singles Motel
11:00 pm pm ($7): Sketch comedy in celebration of St. Patrick's Day at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Seafood Mayham
[$] 11:30 pm ($20): Lard Dog and his 6-piece Band of Shy normally performs children's musical theatre, but tonight presents an adults-only version of its comedy at The PIT Mainstage: Life's a Real Dream
[TOP PICK] [FREE] Midnight: If you're looking for something different: Former porn star Alia Janine hosts this show featuring sex workers ranging from dancers to strip club bouncers performing stand-up, plus more conventional comics, at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue): Hardcore Comedy Show
Midnight ($7): Comics playing characters answer obscure quiz questions in this comedic game show at UCB East hosted by Vincent Moore: Best Answer
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 ($5 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
6:00 pm ($5): A weekly walk-in stand-up open mic at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Friday Night Mics
[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
6:30 pm ($3): 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 Improv Jam
[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] Midnight: This show might not be much fun for audience members, but it's an amazing opportunity if you want to perform sketch for free and with almost zero hurdles on the prestigious UCB Chelsea stage hosted by members of various Maude Night groups: Liquid Courage
NYC Comedy Picks for Saturday 3/18/17
Kyle Ayers placed an ad on Craigslist claiming to be the CEO/Producer of a major adult film company. He asked for 3-4 page porn scripts from aspiring adult film writers. What he didn't expect was to get over 1,000 responses in one week...which he now has comedians and friends act out verbatim on stage, for better or worse. This month's cast consists of The Reformed Whores, Jean Grae, Corinne Fisher, Blair Socci, Courtney Maginnis, Marcia Belsky, Sharron Paul, Maria Wojciechowski, Cate Weinberg, and Marlena Rodriguez: First Comes Love (8:00 pm, $10, 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 $) include:
[FREE; reserve tickets here] 1:00 pm: A rare lunchtime stand-up show for families, with all kids under 15 allowed on stage to tell a joke, at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) typically hosted by Peggy O'Leary & Lindsay Boling: Guess What?
[$] 2:00 pm ($20): A kid-friendly musical that "promotes positive messages of creativity, niceness, acceptance, and frivolity" by Lard Dog and his 6-piece Band of Shy at The PIT Mainstage: Life's a Real Dream
6:00 pm ($7): Food-related stand-up and storytelling at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): This Tastes Funny
6:00 pm ($3): Sketch, improv, and other comedy forms at Brooklyn's The Annoyance Theatre (367 Bedford Avenue; take J/M/Z to Marcy Avenue or L to Lorimer Street) hosted by Brian Pisano & Josh Bates: The Golden Hour
6:00 pm ($5): Four Indie improv troupes performing at The Magnet theatre: The Rundown
6:00 pm ($5): Solo improv by Dion Flynn (frequent sketch comic on Jimmy Fallon) at The PIT Mainstage: Works Well With Others
[TOP PICK] 7:00 pm ($5): Ted Alexandro (one of the very finest stand-ups in the country; David Letterman, Conan O'Brien, Jimmy Kimmel, two Comedy Central Presents half-hour specials; comedy album I Did It; webseries Teachers Lounge; frequently opens for Louis C.K. and Jim Gaffigan) tries out new material for an upcoming hour-long special one last night at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue): Week at the Creek: Ted Alexandro
[TOP PICK] [$] 7:00 pm ($12): Improv group Women and Men interview audience members about a weird and/or wild birthday, wedding, bar mitzvah, or other social gathering and then make up scenes based on those anecdotes at the UCB East theatre: Women and Men: Party Jumpin'
[TOP PICK] [$] 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
7:00 pm pm ($10): A one-man show by Eli James that provides "a decade-by-decade journey through the sordid history of rock 'n' roll" at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Imagine All the People: A Survey of Music Business Creeps
7:00 pm ($10): Improv group Big Black Car 2 makes up scenes at The PIT upstairs theatre: BBC2
[TOP PICK] [$] 7:30 pm ($12): 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): A sketch comedy troupe that includes Kristen Bartlett & Jason Gore performs The PIT Underground: Bridge & Tunnel
[TOP PICK] 7:30 pm ($10): "Created in 1995 at the iO Theater in Chicago, The Armando Diaz Experience is the longest running improv show ever. A guest monologist—who tonight is Robert Weinstein—takes a suggestion from the audience and shares true personal tales. These stories are then brought to life by a rotating cast of improv all-stars—and occasionally Armando himself" at The Magnet theatre: The Armando Diaz Experience
[$] 7:30 pm & 10:00 pm ($41 & 2-drink min.) A comic who's made a fortune from dysfunction addresses America's recent political choices headlining one last night at the Carolines Comedy Club: Christopher Titus: America...Really?
7:30 pm ($5): Bob Powers (author of such books as The Werewolf's Guide to Life and You Are a Miserable Excuse for a Hero; also written for The New Yorker and Triumph the Insult Dog), Ben Pernick (comic & songwriter/musician), and Tahlia Robinson (New York Funny Songs Fest) performing at Astoria Queens comedy venue QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Rob Paravonian (Comedy Central, VH1; to watch his hit video Pachelbel Rant, which has been viewed by over 13 million people on YouTube, please click here): Don't Feed the Musicians
[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 Mainstage: Gypsy Danger: The Improvised Movie and The Baldwins
8:00 pm ($10): In this mini-play, "When the four most qualified (and emotionally unstable) astronauts money can buy crash-land on the moon, they find there are worse things in space than being out of fuel, out of radio contact, and out of luck. Much worse. But at least they still have plenty of Tang" at Brooklyn's The Annoyance Theatre (367 Bedford Avenue; take J/M/Z to Marcy Avenue or L to Lorimer Street): The Moon Crew
8:00 pm ($5): Skilled improvisors David Rysdahl & Paul Gutkowski make up a play on the spot at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street) as improv duo True East
8:00 pm ($5): NYC stand-ups performing at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' Long Island City hosted by Ray DeVito, Ben Kronberg, Nick Cobb, and/or Tim Dimond: Shoot the Shite
[TOP PICK] [$] 8:30 pm ($12): 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 ($10): A freestyle rapping long-form improv group that includes such talents as Evan Kaufman (Your Love Our Musical) takes the stage for nearly an hour at The PIT Underground: North Coast
[TOP PICK] [$] 9:00 pm ($12): 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 Peter McNerney & Rick Andrews make up scenes at The Magnet as comedy duo Trike
[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($10): A talk & variety show that spotlights character comics Molly Cahen, Amanda Hunt, Alyssa Lott, Mary-Alice McNab, Richard Templeton, and Michelle Francesca Thomas performing at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street) hosted by Jay Malsky (highly talented, super-charged improvisor & character comic; FringeNYC): This Live Show
9:30 pm ($10): Shortform improv games—e.g., a new Shakespeare play running under 10 minutes, a quickie Broadway musical, a series of characters based on audience suggestions—performed at The PIT Mainstage: What's Luck Got to Do With It: Shortform Show
9:30 pm ($8): Kevin Avery (staff writer for HBO's Last Week With John Oliver), Louis Katz (Jimmy Fallon, HBO, Comedy Central Half Hour), Dan Perlman, Lois Thompson, Venessa Peruda, and Fantasy Grandma performing stand-up at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Elsa Waithe (This American Life): Tina Fey Will (Not) Be Here
9:30 pm ($5): Long-form improv with a playful title directed by Conner O'Malley at Brooklyn's The Annoyance Theatre (367 Bedford Avenue; take J/M/Z to Marcy Avenue or L to Lorimer Street): Michael Jordan Steakhouse
[TOP PICK] [$] 10:00 pm ($12): A powerhouse group of improvisors—Zhubin Parang (writer for The Daily Show), Michael Kayne (Baby Wants Candy, Diamond Lion), 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
10:00 ($5): Comics compete in freestyle rap games and battles, with the prize being stage time, at The Creek downstairs lounge in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) hosted by Noah Savage with DJ Will Winner: So You Think You Can Rap
[TOP PICK] 10:30 pm ($10): Long form improv about the behavior of a theatrical troupe both on-stage and off-stage, revolving around a different show biz theme each week—which tonight is American Drama—at The Magnet theatre: The Cast: American Drama Edition
[TOP PICK] [$] 10:30 pm ($12): 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 ($5): Considering this relatiively new Brooklyn branch of Chicago's The Annoyance Theatre & School is scheduled to close at the end of the month, this particular show might be livelier than usual: "We’re here to listen to things you’re sad, angry, frustrated, or just feeling strongly about. We will listen to audience members share their emotions and help them deal with it in whatever way they choose—including but not limited to dancing, singing, screaming, hugging, eating, breaking shit, whatever you need. We've got a list of approved methods for dealing with strongly held emotions; you choose which method speaks to you and the whole crowd supports you. You’re not alone. You are heard!" at Brooklyn's The Annoyance Theatre (367 Bedford Avenue; take J/M/Z to Marcy Avenue or L to Lorimer Street): You Are Heard
10:30 pm ($5): Comics pretend to be infants at The PIT Underground: Babies Night
11:00 pm ($7): Improv group Ghosted and friends make up scenes at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): The Ghosting Hour
[FREE] 11:00 pm: Stand-ups performing at Astoria Queens comedy venue QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) produced by Fredric Goldstein: Last Stop Laughs
[TOP PICK] 11:30 pm ($7): A unique show based on the premise "Let's be honest, love doesn't exist, couples suck, and Valentine's Day is bullshit. We test real life couples to see if they are meant to be together (they aren't). The couple with the least amount of points at the end of the night will have to break up, because we all die alone anyway and what's the point of anything really? It'll be fun!" at UCB East hosted by Carly Ann Filbin: Let Me Break You Up: An Anti-Dating Game Show
[TOP PICK] [FREE] Midnight: A monthly lip synch contest judged by you and your audience, taking into account costume, choreography, and lip syching perfection, with this month's theme 90s hip-hop and R&B, at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) hosted by Christina Galston: What That Mouth Do
Saturday Open Mics & Jams
[TOP PICK] [FREE] Noon-3:00 pm: "After a nice brunch with your best and brightest gal pals, come on over to QED for some second-hand clothing and first time jokes. The clothing swap begins at noon and the mic starts at 2:00 pm" at Astoria Queens comedy venue QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Lauren Hope Krass: Ladies' Open Mic & Clothing Swap
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
[ALMOST FREE] 6:00 pm ($1): Experienced hip-hop improvisers perform scenes with "anyone willing to stretch that hip-hop improv muscle; it's a fun supportive environment where scenes turn into a rap song, beatbox, freestyle, or rap battle" at The PIT Underground hosted by Raymond Morency & Richie Alfson: Off Top!: A Hip Hop Mixer
[FREE] 7:00 pm: Walk-in open mic, with names drawn from a bucket (sign-up starts at 6:50 pm), and a designated beer drinker on stage who might chime in at any moment to riff with you during your set, at Queens LIC's The Creek downstairs lounge hosted by Amy Shanker, Brett Hiker, and Cameron Ford: Power Hour 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
[FREE] 11:30 pm: If you're female, this is your chance to get on stage for an improv jam hosted by Marybess Pritchett & Heather Harrison at Brooklyn's The Annoyance Theatre (367 Bedford Avenue; take J/M/Z to Marcy Avenue or L to Lorimer Street) followed by a dance party: Twat the Night: Gal Improv Jam
[TOP PICK] [FREE] Midnight: In this free Magnet show, women audience members can join in with stellar improv group The Cast to make up scenes on the spot: Womyn Jam
NYC Comedy Picks for Sunday 3/19/17
After going through over 600 submissions from around the world, The Magnet selected five of the very best new short comedic plays to present to you—"Pause" by Christopher Hastings, "Goofus and Gallant" by Becca Schall, "Transferring Kyle" by Jonathan Cook, "End of the Line" by Irene Ziegler, and "Cool Chefs Jr. The Live Season Finale Spectacular Only On FOX" by Matt Cox: Magnet Theater's 10-Minute Play Festival (7:30 pm, $10, The Magnet at 254 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): There's nothing more unpredictable on a stage than an animal. In this show, pet owners perform improv along with their real-life pets at The PIT Mainstage: Pet Prov
6:00 pm ($7): Nearly a dozen comics perform sketches, plus stand-up from Evelyn Pelczar, at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Cheap Wigs
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 Lou Gonzalez, Chrissie Gruebel, and Brian Urreta of improv group The Mannequin Room: Indie Cage Match
7:00 pm ($5): A double-bill of one-woman shows by Deanna Arthur and Laura Oberbeck at Brooklyn's The Annoyance Theatre (367 Bedford Avenue; take J/M/Z to Marcy Avenue or L to Lorimer Street): Laura and Deanna
7:00 pm ($5): Two improv groups compete for your laughs at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Bucket of Fun
[FREE] 7:00 pm: Nine-person improv group The Internet Disagrees makes stuff up at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue): The Internet Disagrees
[$] 7:00 pm ($15): Improv groups Ralph's Epiphany and Smattony make up scenes, plus Chris Griggs performs stand-up, at this fundraiser for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) at The PIT Mainstage: Oh God They're Actually Letting Us Do This
[TOP PICK] [$] 7:30 pm ($15): Brothers Hari Kondabolu (David Letterman, Conan O'Brien, Comedy Central Presents) and Ashok Kondabolu (Dap in Das Racist) spontaneously interact with each other, sharing family stories, discussing current events, and more at Brooklyn's Littlefield (622 Degraw Street): The Untitled Kondabolu Brothers Project
[TOP PICK] [$] 7:30 pm, 8:00 pm, 9:30 pm, 10:00 pm, and 11:30 pm ($14 per show, plus 2-item food/drink min.): Some of the finest stand-ups in the country spread among five shows, with three shows at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane), and 8:00 pm & 10:00 pm shows at Village Underground (130 West 3rd Street, off Sixth Avenue): Comedy Cellar Sunday
[TOP PICK] [$] 7:30 pm ($12) 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 ($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 Underground: Student Driver: Indie Road
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($7): Jacqueline Novak (exceptionally smart, fresh stand-up; Comedy Central Half Hour; Inside Amy Schumer, comedy album Quality Notions; book How to Weep in Public), Michelle Buteau (VH1's Morning Buzz and Best Week Ever, Comedy Central's Key & Peele, FOX's Enlisted, Craig Ferguson, Last Comic Standing, @midnight, comedy album Shut Up), Kate Willett (Comedy Central's This Is Not Happening, VICE's Flophouse), Jordan Temple, Mehran Khaghani, and Erica Spera performing stand-up UCB East hosted by Kara Klenk (writer for MTV's Girl Code & Guy Code and contributor to Broad City): If You Build It
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($10): Iranian-American comic Sudi Green hosts Sasheer Zamata (cast member of Saturday Night Live), Anna Drezen (staff writer for Saturday Night Live; author of How May We Hate You), and Bowen Yang (member of sketch group Pop Roulette; co-host of podcast Las Culturistas) "as they as they unpack not just politics but the emotions that come when it feels like the world crumbles around you. Part catharsis, all comedy. Come scream with us" at Brooklyn's Union Hall (702 Union Street; take R subway to Union Street): What the Hell is Going On & Friends
8:00 pm ($7): Comics allow music that's offered up by the audience to influence their performances at The PIT Mainstage: Mixtape
8:00 pm ($7): Improv, sketch, and possibly other comedy forms in this variety show hosted by improv group Empress at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Empress' New Groove
8:30 pm ($7): An autobiographical one-woman show by Peaches Rodriguez about "when a Latina from C.T. becomes a breakdancer, and is influenced by Bruce Lee-Salsa-dance Shields and Yarnell and Soul Train" at The PIT Underground: Lafftina
8:30 pm ($5): Comics share the results of a new behavior experiment each week at Brooklyn's The Annoyance Theatre (367 Bedford Avenue; take J/M/Z to Marcy Avenue or L to Lorimer Street) directed by Anthony Oberbeck: Bad Habits
8:30 pm ($7): Students of Gary Austin, the founder of The Groundlings, performing improv at The PIT Underground: Gary Austin's The Classroom
[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($10): Triple improv from Louis Kornfeld & Rick Andrews plus guest Nicole Passmore (Bad Dog Theatre, Toronto) at The Magnet theatre: Kornfeld & Andrews & Passmore
9:00 pm ($6): Three comics originally from Texas and three comics originally from Georgia compete for your laughs and votes to be the most beloved NYC transplants at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Brendan Busee: Graft vs. Host
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: "Bringing all the excitement and passion of professional wrestling to stand-up comedy, your clueless announcers Kelsey Caine & Jack Comstock invite you to get up and throw down for comics entering the ring for glory! Who will survive? Who will be there? Who actually cares about wrestling? Come on out and get Ready 2 Crumble" at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue): Ready 2 Crumble
9:00 pm ($7): Sketch comedy that might involve giant robots and/or feminism at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Scorpion Bowl Presents
[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, and Jams
[FREE] 4:00 pm: An unusually early walk-in open-mic stand-up show (put your name in the bucket) at The Creek downstairs lounge in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) hosted by Sam Rose: Bucket! We'll Do it Live!
[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
5:15ish pm (no cover, 1 drink min.): Weekly open mic stand-up, with comics selected from names tossed into a bucket starting at 4:55 pm, at Brooklyn's Legion Bar (790 Metropolitan Avenue) hosted by Aaron Glaser, Irene Hartmann, and/or Carlos Delgado: Sunday Open Mic
5:30 pm ($3): Sign up at 4:30 pm to do improv with experienced PIT performers at The PIT Underground hosted by Sasha Capelli, Eitan Levine, and Shaina Stigler: 10K Jam Jam
9:30 pm ($5): Open-mic comedy, with 3-5 minutes per walk-in performer who signs up (first come, first serve) at The PIT Underground, hosted by Will Neville: Amateur Night at the Gemini
[FREE] 10:00 pm: An open-mic stand-up show (sign up is at 9:45 pm) providing 5 minutes for each comic whose name is pulled from the bucket at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) hosted by Ian Kitchen: The Grandstand
[FREE] 10:00 pm: The only open-stage show for entire groups of improvisors and sketch comics, running weekly at UCB East hosted by Austin Rodrigues: Bring Your Own Team: Improv/Sketch Team Jam
Copyright © 2017 Hy Bender
Email: hy@hyreviews.com
