NYC Comedy Picks for Week of March 28, 2016

NYC Comedy Picks for Monday 3/28/16

Delightful career interviews with Mike Lawrence and Myq Kaplan here.

Michelle Wolf (star stand-up who's also staff writer for and performer on Seth Meyers; MTV's Girl Code, IFC), Arthur Meyer (staff writer for Jimmy Fallon; co-author of food parody book FUDS), and Nat Towsen (VICE, host of Downtown Variety) performing stand-up and/or being interviewed by the memorable Katie Kester: The Later Show (8:00 pm, $5, UCB East at 153 East 3rd Street)...

...and a great lineup of Joe Machi, Eugene Mirman, Sasheer Zamata, Erik Bergstrom, Adam Newman, and Molly Austin performing stand-up, plus music from DJ Donwill, hosted by the wonderful Wyatt Cenac (former star correspondent for The Daily Show; writer for numerous awesome shows, including South Park; albums Comedy Person and Brooklyn): Night Train (8:00 pm, $8, 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:

[FREE] 6:00 pm to midnight: Six free hours of improvisation at The PIT downstairs lounge: Super Free Monday

[FREE] 7:00 pm: Comedic storytellers Myka Fox, Neil Charles, Noah Gardenschwartz, Robert Cominskey, and Mike Lewis performing on the premise "Sometimes people are dicks. Then they tell us about it onstage. It's great!" at Brooklyn's Over the Eight (594 Union Ave) for this monthly show hosted by Jake Hart & Nick Padilla: Antagonist Storytelling Series

7:00 pm ($10): A group of actors and improvisors attempt to duplicate the success of UCBT's Gravid Water by putting improvisors in the middle of classic theatre scenes at The PIT upstairs theatre. UCBT uses top Broadway and improv talent for its show, making it extraordinary. The participants of this show aren't quite at that level, but the format is so strong that this might work anyway, despite the awful title: The Actor's Worst Nightmare

[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

7:30 pm ($5): Musical improv at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street) from group Good Catch

[MEGA-TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5; sold out of seats, but you can probably get in if you don't mind standing): Brilliant improvisors including Brian Stack, Brian McCann, and Tami Sagher stumble into rehearsed theatre scenes they know nothing about played by Broadway and/or TV stars Cady Huffman, Jennifer Grace, Julie Sharbutt, and more, plus director/host Stephen Ruddy at the UCB Chelsea theatre: Gravid Water

[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm ($15; no min.): Sean Patton, Dan Soder, Janeane Garofalo, Monroe Martin, Paul Virzi, and Joe Bartnick performing stand-up at The Stand Comedy Club (239 Third Avenue, off 20th Street): The Stand 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

8:30 pm ($6): A safe place to try out new material, with tonight's stand-ups Jeff Maurer (writer for Last Week Tonight with John Oliver), Gary Vider (America's Got Talent 2015 finalist; for great Conan O'Brien set, please click here; for more jokes, please click here), Negin Farsad (Comedy Central), and Mehran Khaghani (Last Comic Standing) performing at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Christian Finnegan (Conan O'Brien, co-star of TBS' Are We There Yet?; three Comedy Central specials; MSNBC, VH1's Best Week Ever, Chappelle's Show, The Today Show): New Release Day with Christian Finnegan

8:30 pm ($7): Sketch comedy from two sharp house groups at The Magnet theatre: Magnet Sketch Teams

9:00 pm ($5): 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 upstairs theatre: The Boozeroom

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): Two UCB Chelsea house sketch groups try out new material: Maude Night: Hot Bird and Pretty Boys

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

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

[FREE] 10:00 pm: A monthly stand-up show covering "UrbanAlternative comedy, with a mix of comedians calling out the absurd facets of dealing with life in the concrete jungle" at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) hosted by Tiana Miller & Dee Marie: Gentrification

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

Monday Open Mics & Jams

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

NYC Comedy Picks for Tuesday 3/29/16

Delightful career interviews with Mike Lawrence and Myq Kaplan here.

Gary Gulman (razor-sharp wordsmith who's one of the best stand-ups in the country; David Letterman, Jay Leno, Last Comic Standing, Tourgasm, Comedy Central hour-log special), Mike Drucker (hilarious stand-up; Emmy-nominated staff writer for Jimmy Fallon; freelance writer for SNL, The Onion, McSweeney's), Adam Newman (David Letterman, Comedy Central Half Hour, MTV), Mary Mack (Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central, FOX, Adult Swim), and more performing at this weekly show hosted by Seth Herzog (long-time Jimmy Fallon staff comic; NBC's 30 Rock, Comedy Central's @midnight, VH1's Best Week Ever, CBS): Sweet (9:00 pm, $7, The Slipper Room at 167 Orchard Street)

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

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

7:00 pm ($5): Real life couples perform duo improv at The PIT upstairs theatre: Couples' Retreat

[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

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

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): Opus Moresechi (head writer for Stephen Colbert), Evan McMorris-Santoro (White House correspondent for BuzzFeed News), Monique Moses, and Frank Garcia-Hejl chug two beers on stage and talk politics at the UCB East theatre hosted by Charlie Todd & Cody Lindquist: Two Beers In

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($10): An evening of of stand-up, sketches, and games put together by Ashley Brooke Roberts (co-host of Fresh Out) "in order to make all of your dreams come true," with guests Michael Kupperman (acclaimed comic book writer/artist), Becky Abrams (actress/improvisor), Nick Maritato (stand-up), and Ike Ufomadu (actor/stand-up) performing at Brooklyn's Union Hall: Ashley Brooke Roberts Presents The Vision Board

8:00 pm ($10): An improvised family dinner created by character comics TBA and hosts Jenn Dodd, Jamie Aderski, and Mark Stetson at The PIT upstairs theatre: Awkward Family Dinner

[FREE] 8:00 pm: A whole bunch of NYC stand-ups perform at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) typically hosted by Ian Fidance: Creek Cave Live

[FREE] 8:30 pm: TV & movie star Janeane Garofalo, Starlee Kine (Mystery Show), and Mark Nadler (cabaret vaudevillian musician) performing at the HiFi Bar (169 Avenue A) hosted by singer Shonali Bhowmik (Variety SHAC) & Christian Felix: We Don't Even Know

[FREE] 8:30 pm: Erik Bergstrom (cartoonist/author of Grimmer Tales, The New Yorker, blogger for Comedy Central), Janelle James, Leonard Ouzts, Mike Lebovitz, Simmons McDavid, and more performing stand-up at Cake Shop (152 Ludlow Street, between Rivington & Stanton) hosted by Liza Treyger (Comedy Central Half Hour, Chelsea Lately): Cakeshop Comedy

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

[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($9) "The Bible is kind of a crazy book. It's full of violence, rape, slaves, and glaring continuity errors. Some people think it's the word of God. David Tuchman thinks it's hilarious. That's why he went back to the original Hebrew of the Old Testament and wrote a brand new translation of the whole darn thing. David is joined by a guest who tries to read as many chapters of his translation as possible while David makes fun of it. It's kind of like Hebrew school, but with a lot more cussing" with tonight's guest The New York Times columnist Mark Oppenheimer at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue): OMGWTFBIBLE

[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($10): Gary Denoia plays star Vin Diesel "reading a children's book and exploring the book's theme with the audience" at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Vin Diesel Reads Children's Books to Adults

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): Staff members of hit website Funny or Die screen videos and perform live on stage at the UCB East theatre: Funny or Die Live

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

[FREE] 11:00 pm: Jo Firestone, plus 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

[TOP PICK] [ALMOST FREE] 6:30 pm ($1): In this delightful weekly open mic show, each comic has 3-5 minutes to try out a character-based bit (e.g., for a solo show, sketch, or audition) at The PIT downstairs lounge, typically hosted by Jamie Aderski: Personality Disorder Character Jam

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

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

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

[ALMOST FREE] 10:30 pm ($1): A chance for you to get on stage and improvise with PIT faculty at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Tuesday After Class Jam

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

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

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

NYC Comedy Picks for Wednesday 3/30/16

Storytellers Adam Wade (record-breaking 20-time Moth StorySlam Champion), Alex Mar (writer/documentary filmmaker), Jason Diamond (book author), Julian Fleisher (singer/writer), and Akilah Hughes (stand-up) tell true tales about their experiences in show business hosted by Blaise Allysen Kearsley: How I Learned There's No Business Like Show Business (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] 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 Krashin and Tracy Mull at 7:00 pm; group Gypsy Danger, which includes Katie Hartman and Evan Kaufman at 8:00 pm; and PIT owner Ali Farahnakian & friends at 10:25 pm—at The PIT upstairs theatre: Super Free Wednesday

7:00 pm ($5): Phil Hanley, Mary Houlihan, Ryan Beck, and more 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 Will Bleakley: The Sensible Show

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

[FREE] 7:00 pm: NYC stand-ups Liam McEneaney, Menuhin Hart, and more performing at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Eric Vetter: No Name...and A Bag O' Chips

[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): Ace improvisor Silvija Ozols (The Stepfathers) teaches you about different improv styles throughout history, from commedia dell'arte to Theatre of the Oppressed, and leads UCB comics to improvise in those styles. "It's like David McCullough explaining a fart joke, but less erotic" at the UCB East theatre: The History of Improv

7:30 pm ($7): Sketch comedy from two sharp house groups at The Magnet theatre: Magnet Sketch Teams

[FREE] 7:30 pm: A "longform storytelling" show, providing a whopping 25 minutes per storyteller, with tonight's guests Kate Greathead and Moran Cerf performing at Brooklyn's Local 61 (61 Bergen Street) hosted by Eli Reiter: Long Story Long

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): A one-man autobiographical show by Brian Finkelstein about his four years working a suicide hotline at the UCB Chelsea theatre: First Day Off in a Long Time

8:00 pm ($10): A double-bill of one-man shows by Cole Orloff and Thomas Whittington at Brooklyn's The Annoyance Theatre (367 Bedford Avenue; take J/M/Z to Marcy Avenue or L to Lorimer Street): I Have a Job to Do and My Ass

[FREE] 8:00 pm: Stand-up, sketch, music, and more at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) hosted by Mike Lewis & Jaqi Furback: Variety Society

[FREE] 9:00 pm: Myka Fox, Mo Mandel, and more performing for this free weekly stand-up show at Lucky Jack's Pub (129 Orchard Street) produced by Kyle Fincham, Lance Weiss, and Brendon Fitzgibbons: Gandhi, Is That You?

9:00 pm ($5): "Over 30 years have passed since the Ghostbusters opened up shop, and now their kids have taken over. They are struggling. If possible, they are even worse at managing a business than their fathers before them." That's the fun foundation for this entirely improvised show at The PIT upstairs theatre: Busted! Improvised Ghostbusters

9:00 pm ($7): Eight sharp female comics perform sketch comedy at The Magnet theatre: Lady Sketch Show

[FREE] 9:00 pm: Big Jay Oakerson (Comedy Central Presents, HBO, Showtime, MTV), Luis J. Gomez, Dave Smith, and other NYC stand-ups performing live on stage for this podcast show at The Creek downstairs lounge in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue): Legion of Skanks

9:00 pm ($7): In this game show, after each stand-up performs his or her set, the comic must choose to either improvise a set of jokes from the audience's suggestions or answer a grueling question from the "Truth" bucket at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Christina Verde: Questionable Comedy

[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

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): At the UCB Chelsea theatre, sketch group Astronomy Club—which includes Keisha Zollar and Jonathan Braylock—invite you to "join Reverend Professor Ray Cordova in the year 2025 as he delivers a lesson in what really happened in black history. In our past, discover what the Underground Railroad has in common with the MTA, watch in awe as Batman meet the Black Panthers, and in our not-too-distant future, Obama is all washed up, Rick Ross sings protest anthems, and the first female president will shock you! This show is the realization of MLK's dream...or maybe his nightmare:" Astronomy Club: A Journey Through Black History...

...and in the second half of this sketch double-bill, An Evening with the Trumpet Boys

9:30 pm ($5): "Citing vague notions of states’ rights, a cabal of loose-canon 'activists' have occupied a federal building. The press is waiting with bated breath to ask the one question on everyone’s mind: What’s this bunch of assholes doing while locked up together? The answer: Improvised fuckery of men doing the terrible, stupid things that men do" at Brooklyn's The Annoyance Theatre (367 Bedford Avenue; take J/M/Z to Marcy Avenue or L to Lorimer Street): Garden & Gun Magazine’s Best Armed Takeover of the Year

[TOP PICK] 10:00 pm ($5; no min.): This super-affordable weekly club stand-up show features Sean Patton (one of the finest stand-ups in the country; killer sets on Jimmy Fallon and Conan O'Brien, Comedy Central Half Hour, VH1, feature film Wifed Out; co-host of Esquire Network's Best Bars in America; frequent guest host of Whiplash), Mike Lawrence (nerd persona but razor-sharp mind has made this stand-up a rapidly rising star; staff writer for Emmy-winning Inside Amy Schumer; frequently invited lightning wit on @midnight; Conan O'Brien, Seth Meyers, Comedy Central Half Hour, John Oliver's NY Stand-Up, comedy album Sadamantium), Nate Bargatze (David Letterman, Conan O'Brien, Comedy Central Presents), Joe List (HBO, David Letterman, Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central), Amber Nelson (dynamic stand-up & character comic; Comedy Central, TruTV's Almost Genius; sketch group Murderfist), Monroe Martin (finalist on Last Comic Standing), and more performing at The Stand Comedy Club (239 Third Avenue, off 20th Street): $5 Funnies at The Stand: Sean Patton, Mike Lawrence, Nate Bargatze, Joe List, Amber Nelson, and More

[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

10:15 pm ($5): Randomly selected UCBT students perform with UCBT improv veterans at the UCB East theatre: The Lottery

11:00 pm ($5): Improv group Higgins performs the season finale of a long-running TV show that never actually existed based on an audience suggestion of the series title at the UCB Chelsea theatre: Season Finale

Wednesday Open Mics & Jams

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[FREE] 11:15 pm: Your chance to perform with veteran UCB improvisors on the UCB East stage: The Lottery Jam

NYC Comedy Picks for Thursday 3/31/16

Delightful career interviews with Mike Lawrence and Myq Kaplan here.

A fun new show from Giulia Rozzi (Jimmy Kimmel, Chelsea Lately, writer for MTV's Girl Code, VH1, Playgirl Magazine, co-host of Stripped Stories, comedy album True Love), who interviews comics as they share rare and embarrassing footage of one of their first sets—and will also perform new material for comparison's sake. Tonight's guests are Naomi Ekperigin (dynamite rising star stand-up; writer for Comedy Central's Broad City and Hulu's Difficult People; MTV, VH1, FX), Kevin Allison (legendary MTV sketch series The State, HBO, Comedy Central, VH1, host of award-winning storytelling show and podcast Risk!, owner of The Story Studio), Kendra Cunningham (SNL, Jimmy Fallon, The Tyra Banks Show, Law & Order), Nick Vatterott (Conan O'Brien, Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central's The Half Hour, MTV, Second City), and Nick Turner (Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers, Comedy Central, VH1). P.S. This show will be taped by This American Life for possible inclusion in a future episode: First Set (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:

7:00 pm ($10): An autobiographical one-man show by Marc Abbott about his journey to becoming a writer/performer with the help of his cat at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue): Of Cats and Men A Storytellers Journey

[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

7:30 pm ($5): Seaton Smith (rising star stand-up; FOX's Mulaney, Seth Meyers, The Nightly Show), Matt Goldich (staff writer for Seth Meyers; Comedy Central, VH1), Zach Sims, and Courtney Hill performing stand-up at UCB East hosted by Sean Crespo, Dan Wilbur, and Katina Corrao: Lasers in the Jungle

[$] 7:30 pm ($32.75 & 2-drink min.): An Irish comedy headlining tonight through Sunday at the Carolines Comedy Club: Des Bishop

7:30 pm ($5): Greg Portz & Danielia Donohue Reidy "improvise a long convoluted tale in which they weave the audience's deepest and darkest secrets into the narrative, all while Chopin's Complete Nocturnes plays just enough to be disconcerting. All audience secrets will be anonymous, so get real weird if you must" at The PIT downstairs theatre: Nocturne Admission

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): At UCB Chelsea, a sketch show about the NYC subway: The BEENG BOONG: The Great & Powerful MTA...

...and in the second half of this double-bill, a soap-operish play with a large cast: Ocean's Lake

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($15; no min.): In this special show, stand-ups take suggestions from the audience and make up an entirely new set on the spot, tonight featuring Judah Friedlander, Dan Soder, Annie Lederman, Josh Gondelman, Emily Tarver, Greg Stone, Jeff Leach, and Casey Balsham performing at The Stand Comedy Club (239 Third Avenue & 20th Street) hosted by Robby Slowik: Stand-Up on the Spot

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm-Midnight ($10 for the entire evening): Two veteran house improv groups, master improvisors Ed Herbstman & Tami Sagher in The Therapists Present: Bone Daddy, themed improv show Hall of Mirrors ("every piece of this show reflects back some facet of every other piece, revealing the strange and spooky undercurrent of meaningful coincidence that might just underpin the universe as we know it"), and improv competition Inspirado, all for just $10 at The Magnet theatre: The Magnet's Thursday Night Out

[FREE] 8:00 pm: "A night of sharing stories and horrible memories, because we all need to vent" at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) hosted by Rekha Shankar: Misery Loves Company

[$] 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

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

8:30 pm ($5): What is white feminism? How do white people stop fucking this up for everyone? Is true intersectionality possible? What privileges are women denied? What are we granted? Is this always going to be a world where the white, male, and cisgendered hold most of the cards? How do we take power and topple the patriarchy?" Gal comics, plus an all-gal writing staff, attempt to provide entertaining answers at The PIT downstairs lounge: The Box

9:00 pm ($5): Stand-ups TBA performing at UCB East hosted by Ashley Brooke Roberts & Jim Tews: Fresh Out

9:00 pm ($5): Chris Aurilio & friends perform a sketch show at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Aurilishow

9:00 pm ($5): Comics Tony Zaret, Liz Magee, Jarret Berenstein, Ayanna Dookie, and Fredric Goldstein improvise TED Talks at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Ryan Stanisz: Stand-Ups Improvise TED Talks

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): The writers of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert gather on the UCB Chelsea stage to perform an all-improvised Alfredo: Late Show Writers Improv

[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

[MEGA-TOP PICK] 11:00 pm ($5): Two of the best improv groups in NYC, Fuck That Shit (so far winning seven Cage Match shows in a row) and Airwolf (super-smart UCB East Saturday night group) compete for your laughs and votes at UCB Chelsea in the raucous Cage Match

11:00 pm ($5): "Improvisers and stand-ups do what they do best...and then switch places to try their hand at what the other does best. Performing to sold out crowds at UCBT-LA, this show is a cross-discipline Cage Match," with tonight's stand-ups Naomi Ekperigin (dynamite rising star stand-up; writer for Comedy Central's Broad City and Hulu's Difficult People; MTV, VH1, FX), Carolyn Castiglia (Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central, VH1; for sample of Carolyn as white rapper, please click here), and Ian Fidance, and improv from group Goofy Snitches (Alan Starzinski, David Bluvband, and Shaun Diston), all performing at UCB East hosted by Boris Khaykin: Impro(vs)tandup

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: All-gal stand-up open mic at UCB East hosted by Anna Drezen & Sue Smith: Open Michelle: Ladies Open Mic

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

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

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

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

[ALMOST FREE] 10:30 pm ($1): A chance for you to get on stage and improvise with PIT faculty at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Thursday 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 downstairs lounge in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) hosted by Patrick Hastie: Beer, Booze, and Bits

NYC Comedy Picks for Friday 4/1/16

Delightful career interviews with Mike Lawrence and Myq Kaplan here.

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 Allison Goldberg & Jen Jamula: Blogologues (8:00 pm, $15, The PIT Upstairs Theatre 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:

[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): "Who knew that the nerd you were casual acquaintances with in high school was secretly a famous elf warrior? Or that the quiet girl in math class was a 1,000-year-old witch? In fact, all those weirdoes you never talked to were secretly battling the forces of darkness in their mother's basement. This show flips back and forth between fantasy and reality, magic spells and homework anxiety, the bravest campaign against evil ever fought and the hopes and dreams of the kids who imagine it all" at The Magnet theatre: Dragons & Dungeons

7:00 pm ($5): A comedic play from duo Nancy McCabe-Kelly & Bruce Jarchow about "a baby boomer couple taking a road trip to Wisconsin for a destination wedding. Along the way they examine their lives, past, present, and future with the local radio, landscape, and nostalgia of Wisconsin as the backdrop" at The PIT upstairs theatre (123 East 24th Street): Been There, Still There

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

7:00 pm ($5): Indie improv groups perform at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue): ASSSSTORIA 3000

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

7:30 pm ($5): Five veteran improvisors make stuff up at The PIT downstairs lounge as troupe Lead McEnroe

[$] 7:30 pm ($32.75 & 2-drink min.): An Irish comedy headlining tonight through Sunday at the Carolines Comedy Club: Des Bishop

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

8:00 pm ($10): "A teen drama in which everyone has a secret. (hint: they’re all gay). On the outside it’s a typical high school with science fairs, basketball games, and homecoming dances, but below the surface it’s filled with secrets, betrayal, and most importantly drama...with a new episode each week!" at Brooklyn's The Annoyance Theatre (367 Bedford Avenue; take J/M/Z to Marcy Avenue or L to Lorimer Street): Lake Homo High

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

[FREE] 8:00 pm: A mashup of stand-up, sketch, and minor league sports gimmickry—cheap beer, mascots, questionable seat upgrades, kiss cameras, hot dog cannons, and more—at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' Long Island City: Instantacular

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

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

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

9:00 pm ($10): Two PIT downstairs theatre 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

9:00 pm ($7): Sketch comedy at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Boogie Manja

[TOP PICK] [$] 9:30 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 chapter in the most epic fantasy trilogy of all time" directed by the highly talented Kristin McCarthy Parker at The PIT upstairs theatre (123 East 24th Street): Fly, You Fools!

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): "A love letter to beloved shows such as Pee Wee’s Playhouse and Lamb Chop’s Play-Along, comedians Joe Rumrill and Mary Houlihan invite you to a cavalcade of original costumed characters, animations, and sketches from both real humans and puppet humans" at Brooklyn's The Annoyance Theatre (367 Bedford Avenue; take J/M/Z to Marcy Avenue or L to Lorimer Street): Cartoon Monsoon

[TOP PICK] 10:00 pm ($10; includes one free drink): Drunken actors perform a reading of John Ford's play Tis Pity SHe's a Whore, with an interactive element that allows the audience to choose its own adventure, and decide which performers get totally sloshed and which get offstage. It all happens at The Players Theatre Loft/Steve & Marie Sgouros Theatre (115 MacDougal Street, between West 3rd Street and Bleecker, 3rd Floor): Drunk Restoration Comedy: Tis Pity She's a Whore

[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

[FREE] 10:00 pm: Four pairs of stand-ups try to entertain you with their unrehearsed banter at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) hosted by Scotland Green & Alison Zeidma (who will interrupt whenever they feel there's a lull with a random new topic for discussion): Banter 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): Zach Sims, Peggy O'Leary, and more performing stand-up, sketch, storytelling, or improv at UCB East hosted by Brandon Scott Jones, Justin Tyler, and/or Alden Ford: Gentrify

10:30 pm ($5): A young all-guy comedy group performing improv and/or sketch at The PIT downstairs lounge: Gentlemen Party

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

11:30 pm ($7): A veteran house improv group performs at the Magnet theatre: Hello Laser

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

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 Sydney Beveridge & Davey Melch: Queens Open Mic Fridays

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

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

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

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

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

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

NYC Comedy Picks for Saturday 4/2/16

Compelling career interviews with Mike Lawrence and Myq Kaplan here.

This one-man show which recently received a rave review from The New York Times stars charismatic and hilarious rising star David Carl, who transforms into Gary Busey—and portrays child-like Busey doing a one-man version of the psychologically complex masterpiece Hamlet. The result is consistently inventive, joyful, and laugh-out-loud funny. This was my second favorite show—out of 196—at the 2014 FringeNYC, went on to further acclaim at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and is one of the funniest shows in New York, period. If you haven't seen GBOMH, don't miss this wonderful opportunity to do so. And if you have, share it with a loved one who's been deprived of GBONH: Gary Busey's One-Man Hamlet (As Performed by David Carl) (10:30 pm, $20, 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:

11:00 am-Noon ($5): A sketch and stand-up show for kids—with no irony, this is for children aged 4-9—with guests TBA at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Mark Malkoff: Two Juice Minimum

[TOP PICK] [$] 6:00 pm ($10 cover plus $10 drink min.; reservations highly recommended by calling 212.989.9319): Four funny people tell amazing stories. Three of the tales are absolutely true...but one of them is a pack of lies. The audience then asks questions to try and identify the fibber—and everyone who chooses correctly gets a free t-shirt! This evening's yarn-spinners are Cammi Climaco (host of Ask Me Stories), Tim Manley (author of Fairytales For Twenty-Somethings), Jeff Scherer (Chicago City Limits), and Danusia Trevino (Moth GrandSlam Champion). Come to the West Village's Cornelia Street Cafe (29 Cornelia Street) and let these talented storytellers and guest host Peter Aguero (Conan O'Brien, Moth GrandSlam Champion, WNYC's Moth Radio Hour, The BTK Band) attempt to mislead you at The Liar Show

[$] 5:45 pm, 8:00 pm, 10:00 pm, and Midnight ($15-$25; no min.): Stand-ups Mike Lawrence, Rachel Feinstein, Pete Lee, Christian Finnegan, and more performing at The Stand Comedy Club (239 Third Avenue, off 20th Street): The Stand Saturday

6:00 pm ($5): A one-woman sketch show by Jessica Hopkins pokes fun at the fitness industry at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Exceptional People, Look Exceptional: A Comedic Look Inside the Fitness Industry

[FREE] 6:00 pm: Ben Conrad, Lizzy Mazzucchelli, Will Carey, and Will Watkins each perform a different 10-minute stand-up every Saturday in March at The Creek's upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) hosted by Grant Lindahl: The 8

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

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

7:00 pm ($5): Three improv groups performing at Brooklyn's The Annoyance Theatre (367 Bedford Avenue; take J/M/Z to Marcy Avenue or L to Lorimer Street): Gun Club + Shadows + 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 Alexis Lambright—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 ($8): NYC stand-ups performing at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Charles McBee: Nerd is the New Black

[$] 7:30 pm ($32.75 & 2-drink min.): An Irish comedy headlining tonight and Sunday at the Carolines Comedy Club: Des Bishop

8:00 pm ($10): Michelle Wolf (star stand-up who's also staff writer for and performer on Seth Meyers; MTV's Girl Code, IFC), Brett Davis, Conner O'Malley (Seth Meyers, Louie), Mary Houlihan, Mary Mack, Mike Kelton, Harry Gensemer, and Ethan Beach performing stand-up or sketch at Brooklyn's Union Hall (702 Union Street; take R subway to Union Street): Oh, Such a Good Show, Oh

[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):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] [FREE] 9:00 pm: In this acclaimed monthly show, NYC stand-ups "risk getting slapped by Satan himself. Actually, he hosts only bringer shows, but join Matt Wayne and Doug Smith as they step into the Big Man's shoes and put NYC's finest through comedy purgatory. Hula-hoops, celebrity impressions, unwanted audience participation, all incorporated into each performance! Will they triumph or will the nether world eat their souls? Come see for yourself in this monthly showcase" at Queens LIC's The Creek upstairs theatre hosted by Matt Wayne & Doug Smith: See You in Hell

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

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

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

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

9:30 pm ($10): Andy Sandford (Conan O'Brien, Comedy Central, Adult Swim, The Beards of Comedy), Mara Wilson (former iconic child star of Matilda and Mrs. Doubtfire; currently a writer; cast member of podcast Welcome to Night Vale), and James Goff performing stand-up featuring "the dirtiest, most unsafe for prime-time jokes, bits, and riffs" at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) produced by Ben Conrad & Lucas Connolly: The Dirty Show

[$] 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

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’s Steakhouse

[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] [FREE] 10:00 pm: Comics perform their darkest, saddest, and most traumatically funny bits for this monthly catharsis machine at Queens LIC's The Creek upstairs theatre (10-93 Jackson Avenue) hosted by Shane Torres, Nate Fridson, and Alison Zeidman: Dark Spots

[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 Greek Tragedy—at The Magnet theatre: The Cast: Greek Tragedy 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

11:00 pm ($10):Singing comics cover the top hits of Lady Gaga at The PIT upstairs theatre hosted by Henry Koperski: The Kennedy Center Honors Lady Gaga

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

[TOP PICK] 11:30 ($5): An enormously fun freestyle rap contest at UCB East with NYC comics (not announced), plus a volunteer from the audience!, hosted by superstar human beatbox Chris "Shockwave" Sullivan (The Daily Show, The Electric Company, Freestyle Love Supreme) and Victor Varnado (Conan O'Brien, Jimmy Kimmel, Comedy Central): Battlicious

[TOP PICK] Midnight ($5): Sharp NYC stand-ups performing at UCB Chelsea hosted by Aaron Glaser: Midnight Stand-Up

[FREE] Midnight: "Food sketches, street food interviews, and live cooking" at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue): Late Night Snack

Saturday Open Mics and Jams

[FREE] 5:00 pm: Walk-in stand-up open mic (or signup via email), with 5 minutes per comic at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Anne Victoria Clark & Meggie Spellman: The Workout 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

[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 downstairs lounge hosted by Raymond Morency & Richie Alfson: Off Top!: A Hip Hop Mixer

[FREE] 10:30 pm: If you're female, this is your chance to get on stage for an improv jam hosted by all-gal group Gun Club 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

NYC Comedy Picks for Sunday 4/3/16

Laugh-packed career interviews with Mike Lawrence and Myq Kaplan here.

As of last night, HBO has revived Amy Schumer's Live at the Apollo stand-up special from back in October and is also debuting Amy's first starring feature film Trainwreck. If you missed either of these showcases moving Amy closer to superstardom, spend some time with HBO and get caught up.

Plus are you watching Horace and Pete, Louis C.K.'s new TV series that just doesn't happen to be on TV? If not, you can fix that right now here.

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] 5:00 pm: A mix of longform, shortform, and musical improv from five groups, including Mishmash, at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) hosted by Michael Venzor: Mishmash: The Long and Short of It

5:30 pm ($5): Improvisors who cut across all regions and schools come together for one evening at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Supernova

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

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

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

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

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

[$] 7:30 pm ($32.75 & 2-drink min.): An Irish comedy headlining one last night at the Carolines Comedy Club: Des Bishop

7:30 pm ($5): Dana Krashin 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

8:00 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), Kendra Cunningham (SNL, Jimmy Fallon, The Tyra Banks Show, Law & Order), Roger Hailes (Jimmy Fallon, Chappelle's Show, MTV; writer for VH1's Best Week Ever and FUSE's A Different Spins; Web series Mansome), Pat Burtscher, Zach Sims, Tyson Karrasch, and Travis Rust performing stand-up at UCB East guest-hosted by Tim Dillon: If You Build It

8:00 pm ($8): Alison Leiby, Robert Dean, Mike Brown, Andrew Collin, Noah Gardenswartz, and Shalewa Sharpe performing stand-up, storytelling, or music at Brooklyn's Union Hall hosted by Kyle Ayers: Dicking Around with Kyle Ayers

8:00 pm ($5): Sharp improvisors, plus improv musician Alan Schmuckler, make up theatrical scenes at The PIT upstairs theatre for this weekly show produced by Sarah Nowak: People Improvising

8:00 pm ($5): 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

8:30 pm ($5): Comic James III and friends play characters at The PIT downstairs lounge: James III and Friends

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

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

9:00 pm ($5): Indie improv groups make up scenes at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street) hosted by Ian Herrin: The Ian Herrin Improv Hour

9:30 pm ($5): Improvisors interview an audience member for his or her memories of a randomly chosen historical event and then reenact the event based on the audience member's description at The PIT upstairs theatre (123 East 24th Street): Historical Context

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

NYC Comedy Picks for Tonight

Previous NYC Comedy Picks

Home Page

Email: hy@hyreviews.com