NYC Comedy Picks for Monday 5/1/17
Judah Friedlander (one of the quickest minds and very finest stand-ups in comedy; 30 Rock, Meet the Parents, Along Came Polly, author of bestselling cartoon book If the Raindrops United), Jena Friedman (wry dark political stand-up; former staff writer for David Letterman, former producer for The Daily Show), Barry Rothbart (Conan O'Brien, Jay Leno, Comedy Central, MTV's Punk'd, IFC's Do Whatever), Jordan Temple (writer for MTV's Decoded), and Kerry Coddett (The Nightly Show, MTV's Joking Off, TruTV) perform stand-up guest-hosted by Alex English: 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—including at 8:00 pm group Poor Melissa, which features superb comics Dana Shulman & Adrian Sexton—at The PIT Underground: Super Free Monday
7:00 pm ($7): Musical improv group Mom's in Town promises "ridiculous dance moves, mad melodies, and in-your-face comedy...loud, emotional, and made up on the spot" at The PIT Mainstage: Mom's in Town
7:00 pm ($7): Improv groups Coffee N Cream, Mommie Dearest, and Ragdoll play a challenging Groundhog Day game: Perform a monoscene, then repeat it over and over with less time on the clock—specifically, first 5 minutes, then 3 minutes, 2 minutes, 1 minute, 30 seconds, and finally 15 seconds. Team members switch roles and try to hit all the same beats and moments in each rendition of the same scene. It all happens at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Improv Groundhog Day
[TOP PICK] [$] 7:30 pm, 9:30 pm, and 11:30 pm ($12 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Some of the finest stand-ups in the country spread among three shows at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane): Comedy Cellar Monday
[TOP PICK] [FREE] 7:30 pm: Emmy Blotnick (rising star; staff writer & warm-up comic for Comedy Central's spectacular The President Show; writer for Comedy Central's @midnight, Roast of Rob Lowe, and Not Safe with Nikki Glaser; MTV's Nikki and Sara Live, VH1's Best Week Ever), Jen Kwok (MTV, Date an Asian), Vicky Kuperman (comedy album All Good), and Anthony DeVito (Adam Devine's House Party, This American Life) perform stand-up at the HiFi Bar (169 Avenue A) hosted by Mindy Raf (stellar one-woman show Saving My Kidneys; MTV's Girl Code, College Humor; author of YA novel The Symptoms of My Insanity; often performs as singing alter ego Leibya Rogers) & Katie Compa: Golden Spiral Comedy
7:30 pm ($7): Comedy groups Stockton and Kinfolk perform sketch comedy at The Magnet theatre: Magnet Sketch Teams
[TOP PICK] 8:00 ($7): Rejected New Yorker cartoons presented by New Yorker cartoonists Jeremy Nguyen and Ellis Rosen; plus stand-up by Rae Sanni (writer for Comedy Central's The President Show), musician Daniel Koren, an interview with Phil Hartman (owner of Two Boots Pizza), and an NYC trivia contest (with prizes) conducted by Jamela Zarha Williams, all at UCB East hosted by Nat Townsen: Downtown Variety Hour
[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm ($8 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Wil Sylvince (Comedy Central, HBO, Showtime) hosts Mark Normand, Michelle Wolf, Ryan Hamilton, 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, 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...
...and in the second other of this double bill, an ever-changing group of eight improvisors—who tonight include Brian Faas and Morgan Philips—make up scenes to delight you: An Improv Show
8:00 pm ($5): Producers, writers, and other staff members of TruTV show Impractical Jokers improvise scenes at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Impractical Jokers Staff Infection
[FREE] 8:00 pm: Four improvisers form teams with comics they've never performed with before at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' Long Island City: The Kaleidoscope
[TOP PICK] 8:30 pm ($6): Frank Conniff (TV's Frank on Mystery Science Theater 3000) hosts as "Moodsy, the Clinically Depressed Owl showing weird/crappy old cartoons in between sets," with guests Justin Herman, Brian McGuinness, and Liam McEneaney at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue). Described by Patton Oswalt as "like a kid's show done in Bosnia," it's Frank Conniff's Cartoon Dump
9:00 pm ($7): Talented comics do solo characters—this month each exclusively performing material created by a writer friend he or she has chosen—at The Magnet theatre hosted by Ari Miller & Elena Skopeto: Character Bash
[FREE] 9:00 pm: NYC stand-ups perform at this free weekly stand-up show at Brooklyn's Freddy's Backroom (627 Fifth Avenue) hosted by Calvin Cato (Oxygen's My Crazy Love) & Richard James: Ed Sullivan on Acid
[FREE] 9:00 pm: Stand-ups Missy Baker, Brad Austin, Dan Perlman, Matt Bachus, and Jim Search perform for this biweekly show at Astoria Queens' Passage Irish Bar and Kitchen (40-11 30th Avenue) produced & hosted by Adam Sokol, Tim Unkenholz, Lindsay Boling, and/or Bryan Yang: Ares-toria Comedy
9:30 ($7): House sketch groups Cha-Cha and Pretty Boys try out new material at UCB Chelsea for Maude Night
9:30 pm ($7): Improv veterans Chelsea Clarke, Anthony Apruzzese, and/or Steve Theiss host and perform this show at UCB East with guest improvisors: Improv Nerds
9:30 pm ($7): Two indie improv groups (not announced) perform the classic long form called The Harold at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Bluetooth Night
[TOP PICK] [FREE] 10:00 pm: Dan St. Germain (enormously likeable and rapidly rising star who has several TV shows in the works; Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central Half-Hour Special, The Electric Company, MTV, VH1), Dan Soder (smart, edgy rising star; Conan O'Brien, Comedy Central hour-long special Not Special, Comedy Central Half Hour, Inside Amy Schumer, MTV's Guy Code and Guy Court, VH1), Ari Shaffir (Conan O'Brien, host of Comedy Central's This Is Not Happening, HBO's Down and Dirty, National Lampoon, Comedy Central special Passive Aggressive), Samantha Ruddy, Mike Lebovitz, Kelsey Cook, Amy Shanker, and Dave Merheje perform stand-up at one of best comedy clubs in NYC at absolutely no cost to you (feel encouraged to order food and//or drinks, but you don't have to) for 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
10:00 pm ($7): Sixteen comics are given 3½ minutes each to perform whatever they want—comedy, drama, interpretive art—at The PIT Mainstage: Bit Purge
10:30 pm ($7): Improv trios Boyz Club, Not Safe for Work, AVA, and host Eaves (Molly Kiernan, Sam Johnson, and Michael Stevens) make up three-person scenes at The Magnet theatre: Three's Company
10:30 pm ($7): An improvisor from the Philippines and another from Poland make up scenes as a duo at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): The Unexpected Duo
[MEGA-TOP PICK] [FREE; reservations go quickly, but you can probably get in if you arrive early and are okay with standing] 11:00 pm: Some of the finest comics in the world—who aren't announced in advance, but it's usually a great lineup and often an extraordinary one—at UCB Chelsea hosted by Aparna Nancherla (one of the very best stand-ups in the country; co-star of HBO's Crashing; former writer for Seth Meyers; Conan O'Brien, @Midnight, Comedy Central Half Hour, comedy album Just Putting It Out There): Whiplash
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 & Situ Mel ton: Raining Buckets
6:00 pm ($3): A walk-in stand-up open mic hosted by Katherine Dudas and a walk-in improv jam hosted by Collin Gossel somehow happen at the same time at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): The Improv Open Mic Stand-Up Jam
6:00 pm & 8:00 pm ($5 for both comics and audience members): Open mic stand-up providing 5-7 minutes per comic, with each show running 1 hour and 45 minutes. Arrive 30 minutes before the show you want to be in to get on the signup sheet. This is a fine opportunity to perform at the only comedy club in the East Village: Eastville Comedy Club Open Mic
[FREE] 6:00 pm: Your chance to make up scenes in a 7-minute set with veteran improvisors who are supporting diverse voices at The Magnet theatre: Diversity 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
[TOP PICK] [FREE] 8:00 pm: Walk-in open mic for telling stories or jokes about sex, desire, and romance, with each performer getting 7 minutes at The Delancey (168 Delancey Street) produced by Ames Beckerman: Safe Word: The Sexiest Open Mic in NYC
[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 ($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: 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
[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
NYC Comedy Picks for Tuesday 5/2/17
Legendary satirist P. J. O'Rourke is interviewed by NPR's Peter Sagal (host of Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me) about P. J.'s new book on the 2016 Presidential election, aptly titled How the Hell Did This Happen?: P. J. O'Rourke (8:00 pm, $15-$45, 92nd Street Y's Buttenwieser Hall at 1395 Lexington Avenue, between 91st and 92nd Streets)...
...or enjoy a monthly wild pun competition hosted by father-daughter duo Fred Firestone 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 with Fred of #1 bestselling Punderdome: A Card Game for Pun Lovers), with 18 audience members competing in Punderdome 3000 (8:00 pm, $10—sold out of advance seats, but there'll be 150 tickets at the door; Brooklyn's Littlefield at 622 Degraw Street; take R subway to Union Street)
More recommendations for the best in New York City comedy tonight (in chronological order, with top picks noted and shows over $10 marked with $) include:
6:45 pm ($7): A one-woman show by Susan Jeremy inspired by the life of jazz musician Billy Tipton, who in the 1950s had a wife and son but was secretly a woman, with sound design by Tim Shellenbaum and direction by Cheryl King (creator of Stage Left Studio) at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): She Was a Great Dad
[TOP PICK] [$] 7:00 pm ($5 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Broadway, TV, and film star Colin Quinn (Trainwreck, comedy national treasure) hones material for a one-man show at The Fat Black Pussycat Lounge (130 West 3rd Street): Colin Quinn: Law Abiding Criminals
[TOP PICK] 7:00 pm-11:00 pm ($7 for the whole evening): In this 4-hour extravaganza, eight singing & dancing improv groups at The Magnet make up musicals based on audience suggestions (preceded by a free improv jam at 6:00 pm that gives you a chance to perform with some of these sharp talents): Magnet Musical Megawatt
7:00 pm ($7): Improv groups watch clips of music videos and then make up scenes showing how those videos came to be made at The PIT Underground: Re-Making the Video
7:00 pm ($7): Improv group That's Dinner makes up an entire movie that never existed based on a suggestion from the audience at The PIT Mainstage: That's Dinner and a Movie
[TOP PICK] [$] 7:30 pm, 9:30 pm, and 11:30 pm ($12 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Some of the finest stand-ups in the country spread among three shows at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane): Comedy Cellar Tuesday
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm [$] ($27, which includes a copy of the book): W. Kamau Bell (star of CNN's United Shades of America) celebrates the release of his book The Awkward Thoughts of W. Kamau Bell with bestselling author Chuck Klosterman at 149 7th Street, i.e., Brooklyn's The Bell House (no relation): W. Kamau Bell Book Release Show
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm pm ($8):"A comedy show about truth," with Alexandra Song (writer for Jimmy Fallon), Elna Baker (brilliant storyteller, and bestselling author of comedic book The New York Regional Mormon Singles Halloween Dance; NPR's This American Life; writer for Glamour, Elle; for sample tales, please click here), Dylan Marron (Ridgefield Middle School Talent Nite, Seriously.tv, Welcome to Night Vale podcast), Catherine Cohen (co-host of It's a Guy Thing), Dr. Helen Fisher, and Patti Harrison performing at Brooklyn's BRIC Arts/Media House (647 Fulton Street; take 2/3/4/5 subway to Nevins Street or B/D/N/Q/R/W subway to DeKalb Avenue) hosted by Blythe Roberson (The Onion, McSweeney's) & Madelyn Freed: The Scientists
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($20): Improvisors drinking beer make up scenes based on audience suggestions. Performers are systematically eliminated by audience voting (i.e., your votes) until only one player remains. Tonight's superb improvisors are Tracy Mull, Rachel Rosenthal, Kevin Laibson, Rory Scholl, Jon Bander, Lorraine Cink, Devin Heater, and Joshua Eakright performing at the Highline Ballroom (431 West 16th Street) hosted by Jim Robinson (Second City): BeerProv
[TOP PICK] [FREE; plus FREE DRAFT BEER 8:00-8:30!] 8:00 pm: Dan St. Germain (enormously likeable and rapidly rising star who has several TV shows in the works; Jimmy Fallon, Conan O'Brien, Comedy Central Half-Hour Special, The Electric Company, MTV, VH1; staff writer for CBS' Superior Donuts), Alingon Mitra (Stephen Colbert, Conan O'Brien, The Daily Show, Last Comic Standing), Jess Salomon, and Kendall Farrell perform stand-up at Brooklyn's Two Boots Pizza Williamsburg (558 Driggs Avenue) hosted by Lucas Connolly, David Piccolomini, and Jake Fromm: Ambush Comedy
[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: Comic Book Club
8:00 pm ($7): A monthly show about obsessions with pop culture, with tonight's topic Dads with Jeremy J. King, Alexis Pereira, and Julia Whitehouse performing at UCB East hosted by Damian Bellino & Anne Rodeman: So Into It: A Fanatic Variety Show
[FREE] 8:00 pm: Dan St. Germain (tentative "surprise" guest; Jimmy Fallon, Conan O'Brien, Comedy Central Half-Hour Special, The Electric Company, MTV, VH1; staff writer for CBS' Superior Donuts), Dina Hashem (Comedy Central's Roast Battle, Seeso's Night Train), Yamaneika Saunders (Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central Roast Battle), Subhah Agarwal (Comedy Central, TruTV, Fusion), Ester Steinberg, and Ryan Schutt perform stand-up at Brooklyn's Bar Schimmi (54 North 11th Street) hosted by Ryan Reszelbach: Creative Rezistance Comedy
8:00 pm ($10): Sketch and improv comics "create a brand new show in only one week, and then perform improvised sketches based off of your suggestions, just like The Second City used to do" at The PIT Mainstage: Old School Sketch Show
8:00 pm ($5): UCB house groups Some Kid and Moose make up scenes using the long improv form called The Harold at the UCB Chelsea theatre (see also 9:30 pm): Harold Night, Part 1
[FREE, plus FREE BEER] 8:00 pm: Enjoy a comfy seat and a free beer while you watch comedy at The Creek's downstairs lounge in Queens' Long Island City: Couch Cave Live
[TOP PICK] [$] 8:30 pm ($20 plus 2-item food/drink min.): A stand-up with numerous appearances on David Letterman, Jay Leno, and Louie, and who's also an Emmy-nominated comedy writer and talk show host, headlines at The Fat Black Pussycat Lounge (130 West 3rd Street): Nick DiPaolo
[TOP PICK] [FREE] 8:30 pm: Conner O'Malley (staff writer/performer for Seth Meyers; Louie, Broad City), Marina Franklin (Trainwreck, Louie, Jay Leno, Last Comic Standing, Chappelle's Show), Corinne Fisher (co-host of popular podcast Guys We Fucked), Bardia Salimi, and Sefa Castanet perform stand-up hosted by Joe Pera (hilarious and genius deadpan stand-up; killer set on Seth Meyers; Conan O'Brien, Comedy Central, Adult Swim; for a very special one-minute set at Carolines, please click here; for Joe's Kaufman awards submissions, please click here and here), Charles Gould (Comedy Central), and Dan Licata (The Chris Gethard Show) at Brooklyn's NY Distilling Company (79 Richardson Street; take L subway to Lorimer Street): Dan + Joe + Charles' 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
[FREE] 8:30 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), Chris Gersbeck (co-host of Everythign Is Dumbn, and Bunk Bed and Murray Povich open mics), Sarah Kennedy, and three audience volunteers (maybe you) tell stories about favorite songs on this month's theme I Can't Make You Love Me: Unrequited and then karaoke-sing them—while wearing pajamas—at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Jenn Wehrung, Coree Spencer, and/or Sharron Paul: The Jammy Jam
[TOP PICK] 9:00ish pm ($10): Michelle Wolf (star stand-up who's also a star writer/correspondent for The Daily Show; previously staff writer & performer for Seth Meyers), Pete Lee (David Letterman, Comedy Central Half Hour, Last Comic Standing), Liz Miele (David Letterman, Conan O'Brien, Comedy Central, Damaged, comedy album Mind Over Melee), Jordan Carlos (HBO's Girls, Comedy Central's Broad City and The Nightly Show, Showtime, MTV's Guy Code, Guy Court, VH1, Adult Swim), and more performing at The Slipper Room (167 Orchard Street) hosted by Seth Herzog (long-time Jimmy Fallon staff comic; NBC's 30 Rock, Comedy Central's @midnight, VH1's Best Week Ever, CBS): Sweet
[$] 9:00 pm ($15): In this musical written & directed by Elias Rubin, the 3rd graders of TV series The Magic Schoolbus have grown up and are enjoying their last day of high school...when their former teacher Ms. Frizzle abruptly reappears to take them on an out-of-this-world adventure at The PIT Mainstage: The Edge of the Universe: A Magic School Bus Musical Parody
[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($7): The razor-sharp writers of Late Night with Seth Meyers—who include such brilliant stage comics as John Lutz and Connor O'Malley—share with you their rejected jokes and sketches at at the UCB East theatre: Seth Meyers Writers: Late Night Trash Can
9:30 pm ($7): Sketch group Mountain Rapids Soda performs a play in which oddball characters trapped together out on the high seas must uncover a killer in their midst at The PIT Mainstage: Boat Show Expo: A Murder Mystery
9:30 pm ($5): UCB house groups Ice Cold Bev and Mermaids make up scenes using the long improv form called The Harold at the UCB Chelsea theatre (see also 8:00 pm): Harold Night, Part 2
10:00 pm ($7): Improv and stand-up (details not announced) "dumped here for your pleasure" at The PIT Underground: Dump
11:00 pm ($5): Going beyond the classic Harold, group Fluffty performs whatever type of long form improv it likes at the UCB East theatre: Harold on the Run
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
[FREE] 6:00 pm: In this free Magnet show, audience members can join in with veteran musical improvisors to make up stories in song on the spot: Musical Magnet Mixer
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
[TOP PICK] [FREE] 8:00 pm: This weekly two-hour open mic storytelling show allows each performer 6 minutes to tell a compelling and funny tale at Queens LIC's The Creek upstairs theatre hosted by Jake Hart and a guest co-host: The Dump
[FREE] 9:00 pm: Weekly open mic for any kind of act (with sign-up starting at 8:30) at Brooklyn's Little Skips (941 Willoughby Avenue) hosted by Joe Crow Ryan: Tuesday Night Open Mic
[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
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
11:00 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
NYC Comedy Picks for Wednesday 5/3/17
Roy Wood Jr. (correspondent for The Daily Show; David Letterman, Conan O'Brien, Seth Meyers, HBO's Def Comedy Jam, TBS' Sullivan & Son; Comedy Central one-hour special Father Figure) performs a 45-minute stand-up set, with opening sets from Lauryn Petrie, Walker Hays, a TruTV star whose name can't be advertised, and host Jonas Barnes: Roy Wood Jr. (10:00 pm, $10, Queens Long Island City's The Creek upstairs lounge 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 $) include:
[TOP PICK] [FREE] 6:00 pm: A staged reading of a musical work-in-progress about Joan of Arc "who uses rock 'n roll music to fight the man and free France," with lyrics by Zack Willis (star member of musical improv group Rumpleteaser), music by Matthew Rubano, direction by Carrie McCrossen, and a cast of 10 including Connor Ratliff, Sunita Mani, Lauren Adams, and Jeff Hiller at the UCB Chelsea theatre: Joan of Rock
[FREE] 6:00 pm-midnight: Six hours of free improvisation—including musical improv from group Vern (which includes superb singer & comic Julie A. Feltman) at 7:15 pm, such stellar improvisors as Pat Swearingen and Langston Belton in Hero Complex at 8:30 pm, and star instructors such as Dana Shulman, Adrian Sexton, Chris Booth, and sometimes even PIT owner Ali Reza Farahnakian at The Faculty at 10:00 pm, all at The PIT Mainstage: Super Free Wednesday
[TOP PICK] [$] 7:00 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): All-female character & sketch comedy at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): hosted by Carly Ann Filbin: Lady Parts
7:00 pm-11:00 pm ($7 for the entire evening): Four hours of improv from eight groups at The Magnet theatre: Magnet Megawatt
[TOP PICK] [$] 7:30 pm, 8:00 pm, 9:30 pm, and 11:30 pm ($14, plus 2-item food/drink min.): Some of the finest stand-ups in the country spread among three shows at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane) and an 8:00 pm show at Village Underground (130 West 3rd Street, off Sixth Avenue): Comedy Cellar Wednesday
7:30 pm ($5): Extending the improv showcased at UCB Chelsea's Tuesday Harold Night is this weekly show at UCB East which features house groups Hotel Hotel, Zaddy, and seventeen also making up scenes via the long improv form called The Harold: Lloyd Night
7:30 pm ($7): In this Dungeons & Dragons-themed show, comics Maurice Licorish, Wendi Starling, Jenn Wehrung, Neruda Williams, and Stu Melton roll a 20-sided die that determines what tasks they must perform while also performing comedy at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Jacob Galang: Dunces N' Dragons
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($7): Mike Birbiglia's Dream is both a reference to Mike's hit play & film Sleepwalk With Me, and to the group of improvisors he's gathered being a "dream team" for making up scenes springboarding off his stories—which in the past has included Chris Gethard, Tami Sagher, Shannon O'Neill, and more at the UCB Chelsea theatre: Mike Birbiglia's Dream
[FREE] 8:00 pm: Young and/or struggling NYC stand-ups performing at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) produced by Meghan O'Malley, Adrian Davidson, and Erick Hellwig: Barely Making It
8:00 pm ($5): NYC comics (not announced) perform at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street) hosted by Charlie Landsman & David Fried: Milk & Cookies: The World's Sweetest Comedy Show
[TOP PICK] [$] 8:30 pm ($5 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Stand-up Lynne Koplitz (Joan Know's Best, IFC's Z Rock, host of WB's Life & Style) headlines at The Fat Black Pussycat Lounge (130 West 3rd Street): Lynne Koplitz
[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($10): True personal erotic tales from storytellers Kristin Seltman, Kathryn Henson, Tracey Carnazzo, and Gregory Hall at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Caroline Mazzei & Gregory Hall: So Sexy Comedy Night
[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: Seaton Smith (HBO's Girls, FOX's Mulaney, Seth Meyers, Inside Amy Schumer, The Nightly Show), Seth Herzog (long-time staff comic for Jimmy Fallon; 30 Rock, @midnight, CBS, VH1; host of Sweet), Adam Glyn (host of FOX’s South of Wilshire), Oscar Collazos (Comedy Central), Ayanna Dookie, Rosebud Baker, and Jay Gillespie perform stand-up for this free weekly show at Lucky Jack's Pub (129 Orchard Street) produced by Lance Weiss & and Brendon Fitzgibbons: Gandhi, Is That You?
[TOP PICK] 9:15 pm ($7): 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): At the UCB Chelsea theatre, a mostly entertaining sketch show in which "the world's foremost cryptozoologists, monster hunters, and friends of freaky fauna, will convene at our top-secret headquarters under a grocery store to unveil the year's most fascinating and grotesque new beastly discoveries:" Monsters Exist...
...and in the second other of this double bill, a mild parody of girl bands via "the world's first Asian-American pop group from the USA. Join Baby Rice, Quirky Rice, Edgy Rice, Competitive Rice, and Brown Rice as they kick off their tour by dancing, singing, and rapping about boys, friendship, and systemic racism/oppression:" AzN PoP!: Live in Concert
9:30 pm ($7): A sketch-based play by Clay Grable, Mitchell Friedman, and Matt Stofsky in which they "have been given the opportunity of a lifetime: a chance to audition for a reclusive billionaire with deep pockets and a love of comedy. If the boys nail this show, their rich benefactor will make all of their wildest dreams come true. Please laugh!" at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): King Quail Live
[TOP PICK] 10:15 pm ($5): Stellar improvisors Charlie Todd & Kevin Hines provide color commentary on improv sets by other top improvisors at UCB East for this monthly event: Play by Play
[TOP PICK] 11:00 pm ($7): The Chadison High Debate Club take on the controversial topic Is Derek Even For Real? focusing on "sophomore Derek Lavazza, who is best known for setting a small garbage fire in the senior parking lot last spring" performed by James Dwyer & Jackie Jennings at the UCB Chelsea theatre: A Big Dumb Thing
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
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: Monthly open mic for stand-up, characters, storytelling, improv, music, or anything else, providing 4 minutes per person—and a extra minute beyond that if the performer pays a compliment to a fellow performer in the room. Sign up via email by noon today at thecomplimentarymic@gmail.com for one of the 9 reserved spots, or try to nab one of the 5 walk-in spots tonight at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Jenn Wehrung & Coree Spencer: The Complimentary 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
11:00 pm ($5): Weekly open mic that provides 5 minutes per comic, with sign-up at 10:00 pm (maximum of 12 comics, so arrive early), at The PIT Underground hosted by Max Halpert: Awkward High Five Open Mic
[FREE] 11:00 pm: Your chance to perform on stage with experienced improvisors at The PIT upstairs theatre hosted by Bernard Maynore and/or Patrick Cucuta: Improdome
[FREE] 11:15 pm: A gay-themed opportunity to perform improv—especially musical improv—on the UCB East stage: ...XYZ Jam
NYC Comedy Picks for Thursday 5/4/17
Genius comics John Lutz (staff writer for Seth Meyers; cast member of 30 Rock, six years as staff writer for Saturday Night Live) teams with fellow 30 Rock cast member Scott Adsit (voice of robot Baymax in Disney's Big Hero 6; co-writer/director/producer & cast member of Adult Swim's awesome & Emmy-winning Moral Orel) to form a super-smart and hilarious star duo crafting in the moment one of the very finest improv shows you'll ever see: John & Scott (8:00 pm, $7 (even if it sells out of seats, you can probably get in if you arrive early and are okay with standing), 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:
6:00 pm ($7): Improvisors Irene Carroll, Stephen Thornton, and Scotty Watson aim to create a story via "organic discovery and character work" at The PIT Mainstage: 3.14 (pi)
[TOP PICK] 6:30 pm ($5): Jay Malsky is a super-charged & hilarious character comic who also sings beautifully. This one-man musical Jay's created shows off all of his strengths, as he plays a variety of women whose boyfriends he stole. Come enjoy this audition for a regular slot on the UCB Chelsea schedule (I saw it when it debuted last year at Solocom—where it was the best show of the festival): Spank: Jay Malsky Slept With My Boyfriend!
[TOP PICK] 7:00 pm ($7): A one-woman show by fabulous multi-talented comic & singer Katie Hutch about being a lady "featuring original parody songs, awkward video shorts, uncomfortable personal stories, and more" (for video samples, please click here and here and here) at The PIT Mainstage: Katie Hutch: Lady-Like
[TOP PICK] [$] 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
7:30 pm ($7): NYC stand-ups Django Gold, Maria Heinegg, Eman El-Husseini, Sydnee Washington, and Jaboukie Young-White perform at UCB East hosted by Sean Crespo, Dan Wilbur, and Katina Corrao: Lasers in the Jungle
7:30 pm ($5): Eclectic acts that might involve costumes or other props from Dan Perlman, Luke Mones, Dewey Lovett, and Julia Solomon, plus videos by Brian Levy, at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Hannah Boone & Gabe Smith: Ticonderoga
7:30 pm ($7): Sketch comedy by duo Camille Theobald & Josh Hickman at The PIT Underground: Desperate Measures
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($10): Eight performers from the Ten Bones Theatre Company attempt to recreate a Star Wars movie, with each using only what he or she can remember from seeing the movie just once. To add to the fun are a few rules: "Performers must incorporate lines written by the audience; performers must incorporate any sound effect played by the tech booth; one lucky audience member will be given a bell that they can ring three times—once rung, the actors must create a scene that has no business being in Titanic but makes perfect sense given where they are in the story" at The PIT Mainstage: Star Wars: A New Hope...Entirely From Memory
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm-Midnight ($10 for the entire evening): Four veteran house improv groups, themed improv show Hero (making up a brand new superhero...played by eight improvisors exploring such questions as "What does it mean to be a hero? What does it mean to be human?"), and improv competition Inspirado, all for just $10 at The Magnet theatre: The Magnet's Thursday Night Out
[FREE] 8:00 pm: A featured stand-up (not announced) performs a 30-minute set, with a 15-minute opening from another stand-up, at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) hosted by Jenn Welch & Tom Lisi: The Half-Hour Hour
[$] 8:30 pm ($5 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Wil Sylvince (Comedy Central, HBO, Showtime) hosts Liza Treyger, Sam Morril, Alingon Mitra, and more trying out fresh stand-up material at The Fat Black Pussycat Lounge (130 West 3rd Street): New Joke Night
[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($7): Jena Friedman (wry dark political stand-up; former staff writer for David Letterman, former producer for The Daily Show), Charles Gould (Comedy Central; co-host of the Dan + Joe + Charles Show), Kristal Adams, Jamali Maddix, and Rojo Perez perform stand-up at UCB East hosted by rising stars Jim Tews (Louie, Last Comic Standing, co-host of Fresh Out and Homeschooled, New York Times bestselling author of Felines of New York) and/or Ashley Brooke Roberts (energetic, enormously likeable stand-up; writer for Nat Geo and MTV's Guy Code): Fresh Out
9:00 pm ($8): Shalewa Sharpe (Keith and the Girl; comedy album Stay Eating Cookies), Erica Bradshaw, Marc Gerber, and Brian McGuinness perform stand-up at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Liz Simons & Jenn Wehrung: Laugh It Up, Astoria
9:00 pm ($7): Improv who are "quick" make up a show on the spot quickly ("Don't blink, or you might miss it") at The PIT Underground: Real Quick
[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($7): At the UCB Chelsea theatre, comedy duo Amanda Giobbi & Kelley Quinn perform a Top 40 music-driven sketch show: Power Hour...
...and in the second other of this double bill, two of the sharpest improvisors in NYC, Shannon O'Neill (The Chris Gethard Show, Broad City, The Stepfathers, UCB-NY Artistic Director) and Tami Sagher (superb TV writer for Inside Amy Schumer, Broad City, Girls, 30 Rock, How I Met Your Mother; co-star of Mike Birbiglia film Don't Think Twice; writer and producer for Mad TV 2001-2006) invite their brilliant improvisor pals to make up scenes with them: Tami and Shannon Have Friends
[$] 9:30 pm ($15): A musical parody of the Star Wars movies with periodic solid moments, and that includes superb comics Rebecca Vigil & Evan Kaufman (Your Love, Our Musical), and terrific singer Tarik Davis (whose "bromance" duet with Evan as Finn & Poe is the highlight of the show). Unfortunately, most of the time the script doesn't quite hit the mark; but if you're a die-hard fan, you might get a kick out of this production playing through May 6th at The PIT Mainstage: Star Wars: The Farce Awakens
[TOP PICK] 10:00 pm ($7): An improv show revolving around the song & CD Jock Jamz. Specifically, every scene will be edited with someone screaming "Jock Jams!;" music from Jock Jams will play over the sound system; and all members of the host improv group—which coincidentally is named Jock Jamz—will dance wildly no matter where they are in the theatre until the music stops. This special energy happens with 2-3 guest improv troupes at The PIT Underground: Jock Jamz
[TOP PICK] 11:00 pm ($7): In another upset, last week indie improv challenger Funky Hard Beats slammed Airwolf to the ground with a narrow vote of 84 to 75. New champion FHB will compete against house improv group Higgins for your laughs and votes at UCB Chelsea's raucous Cage Match
11:00 pm ($7): A variety show that encourages comics to perform whatever they're most passionate about at the UCB East theatre hosted by Nicole Pasquale: WOKE AF: A Mind-Opening Variety Show
11:00 pm ($7): Improv with feedback at The PIT Mainstage hosted by Matthew Woods & Dan Miller: Improv MD
Thursday Open Mics & Jams
5:00 pm ($5): Two-hour open-mic for 20 stand-ups performing for 5 minutes each, with sign-up online here, at the Stand Up NY Comedy Club (236 West 78th Street): Stand Up NY Open Mic
[FREE] 6:00 pm: Stand-up open mic in which 15 walk-ins whose names are drawn from a bucket get to tell jokes on stage for 4 minutes each at UCB East hosted Brandon Scott Wolf & Paul Oddo: Thursday Night Open Mic
[FREE] 6:00 pm: Open mic stand-up with 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 & 7:00 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 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 ($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: In this free Magnet show, audience members (signing in at 6:00) can join in with a veteran improv group to make up scenes on the spot: Magnet Mixer Thursday
[FREE] 10:30 pm: Walk-in stand-up open mic (signup at 10:30 pm) at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Chelsea Condren, Kate Moran, and Kristin Seltman: Late Night Snack Open Mic
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
NYC Comedy Picks for Friday 5/5/17
Celebrating yesterday's Star Wars Day (May the 4th), brilliant improvisor & character comic Connor Ratliff (The Stepfathers) invites you to "join filmmaker George Lucas (Radioland Murders) as he embarks upon an exciting new career as a comedian and talk show host! He'll be joined by his hilarious talk show sidekick as they revolutionize the talk show format the same way Lucas once revolutionized cinema," with guests James Monroe Iglehart (Broadway's Hamilton; Tony Award winner for Broadway's Aladdin), Jena Friedman (wry dark political stand-up; former staff writer for David Letterman, former producer for The Daily Show), and Charles Soule (writer of Marvel comics Star Wars, X-Men, Daredevil, and She-Hulk), plus sidekick Griffin Newman: The George Lucas Talk Show (Midnight, $7, UCB East at 153 East 3rd Street)
More recommendations for the best in New York City comedy tonight (in chronological order, with top picks noted and shows over $10 marked with $) include:
[TOP PICK] 7:00 pm ($7): In this Magnet theatre double-bill, first house group Dinosaur Jones performs sketch comedy, and then Willy Appelman performs a one-man show as the CEO of a Dance Camp: Dinosaur Jones and Danny Loves Dance
[TOP PICK] [$] 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 ($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 7:30, 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 ($7): Improvisors make up a documentary based on an audience member's suggestion at The PIT Mainstage: Observer Effect: An Improvised Documentary
[TOP PICK] [$] 7:30 pm & 10:00 pm ($35 & 2-drink min.) A highly popular NYC stand-up who's performed on David Letterman, Conan O'Brien, and Jimmy Kimmel; starred in his own Comedy Central Presents half-hour special; and was a writer and correspondent for FX's Totally Biased headlines tonight through Sunday at the Carolines Comedy Club: Hari Kondabolu
7:00 pm ($7): A one-woman show by Julia Lemay Darden reminiscing about her past puppet projects at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): UConn Puppetry Class of 2007 Reunion
[TOP PICK] [$] 7:30 pm ($12): At the UCB Chelsea theatre, "Becky Abrams is determined to go on a date with every boy she can, and you're damn right that she's going to enjoy it while she does:" A Date with Every Boy...
...and in the second other of this double bill, Mark Vigeant springboards off audience suggestions to create and launch a website on the spot: Let's Make a Website
[$] 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): Eight New York comics—tonight including Selena Coppock and Emily Winter—tell stories of where they came from (Chicago, Texas, LA, etc.) and the journey that led them to NYC performing at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Katie Boyle (who's from Ireland): Transplants
7:30 pm ($7): Improv group The Wrasslers performs and hosts three other indie improv groups at The PIT Underground: The Wrasslers' Friday Night Smackdown
8:00 pm ($7): In this late-night talk show format, guests Emmy Blotnick (rising star; staff writer & warm-up comic for Comedy Central's spectacular The President Show; writer for Comedy Central's @midnight, Roast of Rob Lowe, and Not Safe with Nikki Glaser; MTV's Nikki and Sara Live, VH1's Best Week Ever), Ana Fabrega (Portlandia, The Chris Gethard Show), Brad Howe (Funny or Die), Julia Solomon, and Jake Head perform stand-up and are then interviewed by hosts Courtney Maginnis & Chris Calogero at Brooklyn's Pine Box Rock Shop (12 Graham Street; take the L subway to Morgan Avenue) with announcer Steve Whalen and one-man-band Steven DeSiena: Not Quite Midnight
[$] 8:00 pm ($15): A musical parody of the Star Wars movies with periodic solid moments, and that includes superb comics Rebecca Vigil & Evan Kaufman (Your Love, Our Musical), and terrific singer Tarik Davis (whose "bromance" duet with Evan as Finn & Poe is the highlight of the show). Unfortunately, most of the time the script doesn't quite hit the mark; but if you're a die-hard fan, you might get a kick out of this production playing through May 6th at The PIT Mainstage: Star Wars: The Farce Awakens
8:00 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
8:00 pm ($5): "Food sketches, street food interviews, and live cooking" at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue): Late Night Snack
[FREE] 8:00 pm: Jeffrey Joseph (Jay Leno, HBO, FOX's In Living Color, Comedy Central), Amber Rollo, Regina DeCicco, Rohan Padhye, Kevin Seefried, and Matt Schwartzer perform stand-up at the HiFi Bar (169 Avenue A) produced by Gary Levitt and guest-hosted by Graham VanBach: I Don't Get It Stand-Up
[TOP PICK] 8:30 pm ($10): Before this Magnet show, audience members may anonymously submit written confessions, secrets, rants, advice and opinions which will be used onstage by the improvisors—who include such talents as Phoebe Tyers and Sebastian Conelli: The Friday Night Sh*w
[TOP PICK] [$] 8:30 pm ($12): The delightful Erin Hall sings silly, sly songs while nestling a large instrument between her legs for Cinco De Mayo at the Rockwood Music Hall, Stage 3 (185 Orchard Street, near the F subway's Second Avenue stop). Erin is the real deal, a truly gifted artist, and any show she does is recommended: Erin and Her Cello
[TOP PICK] [$] 9:00 pm ($12): Some of the finest improv in the country from brilliant comics Connor Ratliff, Shannon O'Neill, Silvija Ozols, Alexandra Dickson, and/or Michael Delaney forming a seamless and hilarious group mind at UCB Chelsea—the all-star members of The Stepfathers
[TOP PICK] [$] 9:00 pm ($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 ($10): Matt Koff (writer for The Daily Show), Tommy McNamara, Phill Hunt, and Lenny Burnham perform stand-up at The PIT Underground hosted by Derek Humphrey & Anne Victoria Clark: Up and Coming: Stand-Up Comics to Know
9:00 pm ($10): NYC sketch comedy groups Laser Baby and St. Olaf performing at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Boogie Manja
9:30 pm ($10): A group of six comedic actors performs sketch at The PIT Mainstage: Uncle Function
[TOP PICK] 10:00 pm ($10): Musical improv group Premiere—which typically features the best improv piano player in the biz, Frank Spitznagel—springboards off an audience suggestion to create a complete story with song and dance at The Magnet theatre: Premiere: The Improvised Musical
10:00 pm ($5): NYC stand-ups perform hosted by Molly Austin (TruTV's Late Night Snack) and Christi Chiello (Comedy Central's Roast Battle, Last Comic Standing, MTV's Girl Code, TruTV, co-host of White Chocolate Sundaes) at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) doing "the best and only show to ever have that name! It’s meowsome!": Cats!
[TOP PICK] [$] 10:30 pm ($12): Superb improvisors James Dwyer, Craig Rowin, Connor O'Malley, Matt Fisher, Sue Galloway, Brian Faas, Matt Moses, and Shaun Diston make up scenes about an audience member's legal dispute at the UCB Chelsea theatre: The Law Firm: Law & Disorder
[$] 10:30 pm ($12): Lynn Bixenspan (Comedy Central), Rojo Perez (MTV's Decoded), Alyssa Stonoha, and Matt Bachus perform stand-up at UCB East hosted by Brandon Scott Jones, Justin Tyler, and/or Alden Ford: Gentrify
10:30 pm & 11:30 pm ($10 per show): Sketch group The Hubbies hosts "an entire sketch festival in one hour—sixty acts, one minute per act" at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): The Penn Station Area Sketch Festival
10:30 pm ($7): An audience member with a decision to make becomes the basis of an improvised court trial at The PIT Underground: The People's Court
[TOP PICK] 11:00 pm ($7): Improvisors make up a musical that's a sequel to a Broadway musical selected by the audience at the Magnet theatre: Sequel: The Musical
11:00 pm ($10): A sketch comedy show (from the group that brought you Millennial Nightmare) at The PIT Mainstage: Seafood Mayhem
[TOP PICK] Midnight ($7): A mix of characters and improv in which anyone might stop by when the doorbell rings—surprising both the audience and hosts Brian Faas & Dom Manzolillo—at the UCB Chelsea theatre: Ding Dong!
[TOP PICK] [FREE] Midnight: Comics perform stand-up sets and then go on dates with each other as part of the live show at Queens LIC's The Creek upstairs theatre hosted by Rob Harper & Rachel Coleman: We're All Getting Laid
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
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 PIT Underground 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 5/6/17
Last year I was lucky enough to see comedy genius Chris Gethard perform live his transcendently great one-man show about depression, perseverance, and the healing powers of laughter, love, and medication. In this show Chris seamlessly blends stand-up and storytelling in a way that creates a deep, poignant, and hilarious experience as wonderful as virtually anything currently playing on NYC stages—and that I predicted on this site would go on to become an HBO special. Tonight I'm proved right; and I highly recommend tuning in at 10:00 pm or 12:30 am to experience the HBO debut of Chris Gethard: Career Suicide...
...and on current NYC stages, a highly popular NYC stand-up who's performed on David Letterman, Conan O'Brien, and Jimmy Kimmel; starred in his own Comedy Central Presents half-hour special; and was a writer and correspondent for FX's Totally Biased headlines tonight and Sunday at Carolines: Hari Kondabolu (7:30 pm & 10:00 pm, $35 plus 2-drink min., Carolines Comedy Club at 1626 Broadway)
More recommendations for the best in New York City comedy tonight (in chronological order, with top picks noted and shows over $10 marked with $) include:
[$] 2:00 pm ($20): A kid-friendly musical that "promotes positive messages of creativity, niceness, acceptance, and frivolity" by Lard Dog and his 6-piece Band of Shy at The PIT Mainstage: Life's a Real Dream
[TOP PICK] [$] 2:00 pm ($20): David Carl (hilarious, charismatic rising star; Point Break Live) performs a new one-man show, this time "about a fictional solo performer named Carl David who receives critical acclaim playing President Trump doing King Lear by himself. President Trump hears about Carl's parody and requests Mr. David's presence." Considering a series of bizarre events eventually led David to change the title of his award-winning one-man show Gary Busey's One Man Hamlet (As Performed by David Carl) to David Carl's Celebrity One-Man Hamlet, this show just might be inspired by actual events. Come judge for yourself at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Trump Lear
[TOP PICK] [$] 3:00 pm ($15): Grammy-nominated family comic Billy Kelly performs a squeaky-clean matinee show for all ages—but especially recommended for kids 8 and up—at The PIT Underground: Billy Kelly's Family Comedy Show
[TOP PICK] [$] 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 Jeff Simmermon (NPR's This American Life, Moth GrandSlam Champion, host of And I Am Not Lying), Erin Barker (co-host of The Story Collider), Rory Scholl (Chicago City Limits, The Moth, BTK Band), and Sydnee Washington. Come to the West Village's Cornelia Street Cafe (29 Cornelia Street) and let these storytellers and host Andy Christie (The New York Times, NPR, Moth GrandSlam champion, exceptionally nice guy) attempt to mislead you at The Liar Show
6:00 pm ($7): Graduates of Adam Wade's storytelling class tell their polished tales at The Magnet theatre: Adam Wade's Graduate Storytelling Show
6:00 pm ($7): Solo improv by Dion Flynn (frequent sketch comic on Jimmy Fallon) at The PIT Mainstage: Works Well With Others
6:30 pm ($5): International improvisors use their native languages & diverse backgrounds to make up scenes in unique ways at The PIT Underground: Passport
[TOP PICK] [$] 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
[TOP PICK] 7:00 pm ($10): Improv group Big Black Car 2, plus improv group The Quitters, make up scenes at The PIT Mainstage: BBC2 and The Quitters
7:00 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
[TOP PICK] 7:30 pm ($10): "Created in 1995 at the iO Theater in Chicago, The Armando Diaz Experience is the longest running improv show ever. A guest monologist—who tonight is Peter Aguero (Conan O'Brien, Moth GrandSlam Champion, WNYC's Moth Radio Hour, The BTK Band)—takes a suggestion from the audience and shares true personal tales. These stories are then brought to life by a rotating cast of improv all-stars—and occasionally Armando himself" at The Magnet theatre: The Armando Diaz Experience
[TOP PICK] [$] 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
7:30 pm ($10): In this parody inspired by Westworld, Matt Grote & Ryland Duncan take you on a tour of a future biosphere at The PIT Underground: Pleasuredome 2069
7:30 pm ($8): Kristal Adams, Kevin Sean, Julie Kotakis, Alex Barnett, and Mike Cross perform stand-up at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) produced by Charles McBee (MTV, VH1) and guest-hosted by Khalid Rahmaan: Nerd is the New Black
[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm ($20): Members of stellar improv groups Gypsy Danger, The Baldwins, and Off Top pit mainstream musical improv against hip-hop improv in this fundraiser for fallen NYC firefighter Yadira "Yari" Arroyo at The PIT Mainstage: Off Top!: A Fallen Hero's Benefit
8:00 pm ($5): NYC stand-ups perform at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) hosted by Gideon Hambright and/or Patrick Hastie: Jackknife Comedy
8:00 pm ($10): Jack Frederick & Melissa Aquiles give out awards to things they like, plus musical improv from duo James & Stoddy, at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): The We Like It Awards
[TOP PICK] [$] 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 ($10): A highly talented freestyle rapping long-form improv group makes up scenes with fierce musical energy at The PIT Underground: North Coast
[TOP PICK] [$] 9:00 pm ($12): An improvised apocalypse from sharp comics John Murray, Sean Casey, Jackie Jennings, Caroline Cotter, Joanna Bradley, David Bluvband, and Zach Cherry 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
9:00 pm ($10): Improv group Seattle Spaceman performs and hosts other indie improv teams All That!, Ghostly, and Destination Wedding at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): The Seattle Spaceman Invasion
[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($10): Emmy Blotnick (rising star; staff writer & warm-up comic for Comedy Central's spectacular The President Show; writer for Comedy Central's @midnight, Roast of Rob Lowe, and Not Safe with Nikki Glaser; MTV's Nikki and Sara Live, VH1's Best Week Ever), Subhah Agarwal (Comedy Central, TruTV, Fusion), Eli Sairs (Comedy Central's Roast Battle), and Rosebud Baker perform stand-up featuring "the dirtiest, most unsafe for prime-time jokes, bits, and riffs" at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Ben Conrad & Lucas Connolly: The Dirty Show
[$] 9:30 pm ($15): A musical parody of the Star Wars movies with periodic solid moments, and that includes superb comics Rebecca Vigil & Evan Kaufman (Your Love, Our Musical), and terrific singer Tarik Davis (whose "bromance" duet with Evan as Finn & Poe is the highlight of the show). Unfortunately, most of the time the script doesn't quite hit the mark; but if you're a die-hard fan, you might get a kick out of this production playing through May 6th at The PIT Mainstage: Star Wars: The Farce Awakens
[TOP PICK] [$] 10:00 pm ($12): A powerhouse group of improvisors—Zhubin Parang (writer for The Daily Show), Michael Kayne (Baby Wants Candy, Diamond Lion), Natasha Vaynblat (one-woman show United Federation of Teachers), Casey Jost (former writer for NBC's Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and TruTV's Impractical Jokers), and Lui Vega—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 pm ($5): A game-based comedy show in which "three comics choose three topics, and then you and the audience write questions on those subjects. If the comics can't answer a question correctly, the author of it wins a free shot of whiskey. And at the end of the night the audience chooses one of the comics to perform a 'Punishment Set' of improvised stand-up" at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) hosted by Chris Milner: Specific Ignorance
[TOP PICK] 10:30 pm ($10): Long form improv about the behavior of a theatrical troupe both on-stage and off-stage, revolving around a different show biz theme each week—which tonight is Shakespeare—at The Magnet theatre: The Cast: Shakespeare Edition
[TOP PICK] [$] 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 ($7): In this double-bill, Harmon Leon and Matt Nagin each do a one-man show he's going to perform at August's Edinburgh Fringe Festival at The PIT Underground: Edinburgh Preview: Harmon Leon & Matt Nagin
10:30 pm ($7): "A former college liberal is the only one who can stop the evil Hillary Clinton from committing the world's most heinous crime" in this play at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Flouridians
[TOP PICK] 11:30 ($7): 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 ($7): In this acclaimed monthly show, six NYC stand-ups (not announced) each perform an 8-minute set while they "risk getting slapped by Satan himself. Actually, he hosts only bringer shows, but join Matt Wayne and Doug Smith as they step into the Big Man's shoes and put NYC's finest through comedy purgatory. Hula-hoops, celebrity impressions, unwanted audience participation, all incorporated into each performance! Will they triumph or will the nether world eat their souls? Come see for yourself" at the UCB Chelsea theatre: See You in Hell
[TOP PICK] [FREE] Midnight: Pot stand-up from "highly talented comics who have been highly recommended from people who are thought highly of in the business. Oh, and they'll be high" at Queens LIC's The Creek upstairs theatre: High Five
Saturday Open Mics & Jams
4:00 pm ($5; your ticket provides $3 off a drink at nearby Pioneers Bar): Walk-in lottery style open mic (sign-up starting at 2:45 pm) at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Swing Riders Open Mic
[FREE] 5:00 pm-7:00 pm: Walk-in comedy open mic (lottery system, with sign-up starting at 4:30 pm) providing each selected comic 4 minutes on stage at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Chris Gersbeck & Veronica Garza: Murray Povich Mic
[FREE] 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
NYC Comedy Picks for Sunday 5/7/17
David Carl (hilarious, charismatic rising star; Point Break Live) has a new one-man show, this time "about a fictional solo performer named Carl David who receives critical acclaim playing President Trump doing King Lear by himself. President Trump hears about Carl's parody and requests Mr. David's presence." Considering a series of bizarre events eventually led David to change the title of his award-winning one-man show Gary Busey's One Man Hamlet (As Performed by David Carl) to David Carl's Celebrity One-Man Hamlet, this show just might be inspired by actual events (albeit that have nothing to do with Trump...). Come judge for yourself at Trump Lear (2:00 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 $) include:
[$] 2:00 pm ($20): This musical with puppets is a family-friendly and interactive reinvention of the fairy tale The Three Billy Goats that urges the audience to work at improving the environment. Today's performance at The PIT Mainstage is the NYC premiere of Gruff!
[$] 5:00 pm ($15): Peter Michael Marino improvises a soul-baring one-man show inspired by interactions with the audience (and with the help of stellar director Michole Biancosino) at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Show Up
6:00 pm ($5): Three NYC improv groups that are independent (i.e., not a house team of any particular improv school/theatre) compete for audience member laughs and votes at UCB East hosted by Lou Gonzalez, Chrissie Gruebel, and Brian Urreta of improv group The Mannequin Room: Indie Cage Match
[TOP PICK] [$] 7:00 pm ($5 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Ryan Hamilton (one of the finest stand-ups in the country, with consistently fresh ideas and great crafting of language; Stephen Colbert, Conan O'Brien, Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central, Showtime) performs a rare NYC solo stand-up show at The Fat Black Pussycat Lounge (130 West 3rd Street): Ryan Hamilton Doing His Hour
[TOP PICK] 7:00 pm ($7): Solo character bits by Laura Shepard, David Bluvband, James III, Christine Piñeiro, Liz Leimkuhler, and Sarah Smallwood at The PIT Mainstage: Avocado Toast: A Character Show
[$] 7:00 pm ($15): In this musical written & directed by Elias Rubin, the 3rd graders of TV series The Magic Schoolbus have grown up and are enjoying their last day of high school...when their former teacher Ms. Frizzle abruptly reappears to take them on an out-of-this-world adventure at The PIT Mainstage: The Edge of the Universe: A Magic School Bus Musical Parody
7:00 pm ($5): Selena Coppock (Amazon's Red Oaks, VH1, author of book The New Rules for Blondes), Mike Recine (Conan O'Brien, Comedy Central Half Hour), and Courtenay Fearrington perform stand-up, plus improv from group Snapshirt, at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Kaity Neagle: The Dream Team Variety Hour
[FREE] 7:00 pm: Nine-person improv group The Internet Disagrees makes stuff up at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue): The Internet Disagrees
[TOP PICK] [$] 7:30 pm ($25): Jon Glaser (HBO's Girls, NBC's Parks and Recreation, star of Adult Swim's Delocated and TruTV's Jon Glaser Loves Gear; long-time writer/performer and 5-time Emmy nominee for Conan O'Brien), Aparna Nancherla (one of the very finest stand-ups in the country; co-star of HBO's Crashing; former writer for Seth Meyers; Conan O'Brien, @Midnight, Comedy Central Half Hour, comedy album Just Putting It Out There; opens for Tig Notaro; hosts top weekly NYC stand-up show Whiplash), David Cross (Mr. Show, Arrested Development, Modern Family), Eugene Mirman (Conan O'Brien, Comedy Central Presents, HBO's Flight of the Conchords, FOX's Bob's Burgers, Adult Swim's Delocated, VH1; pioneer of NYC downtown comedy), Caroline Rhea (Sabrina the Teenage Witch, The Caroline Rhea Show, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Comedy Central; feature films Man in the Moon, Christmas With the Kranks, The Perfect Man), and more perform stand-up at Brooklyn's The Bell House (149 7th Street): 4th Annual Grist Comedy Extravaganza
[TOP PICK] [$] 7:30 pm ($32.75 & 2-drink min.) A highly popular NYC stand-up who's performed on David Letterman, Conan O'Brien, and Jimmy Kimmel; starred in his own Comedy Central Presents half-hour special; and was a writer and correspondent for FX's Totally Biased headlines one last night at the Carolines Comedy Club: Hari Kondabolu
[TOP PICK] [$] 7:30 pm, 8:00 pm, 9:30 pm, 10:00 pm, and 11:30 pm ($14 per show, plus 2-item food/drink min.): Some of the finest stand-ups in the country spread among five shows, with three shows at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane), and the 8:00 pm & 10:00 pm shows at Village Underground (130 West 3rd Street, off Sixth Avenue): Comedy Cellar Sunday
[TOP PICK] [$] 7:30 pm ($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 ($7): Keith Alberstadt (David Letterman, Seth Meyers, VH1, contributor to SNL's Weekend Update), Nore Davis (HBO's Last Week Tonight, Comedy Central's Inside Amy Schumer and Russell Simmons Presents The Ruckus, Showtime's Boardwalk Empire, MTV), Saurin Choksi, Alyssa Wolff, Kristal Adams, and Tamer Kattan perform stand-up at UCB East produced by Kara Klenk (writer for MTV's Girl Code & Guy Code and contributor to Broad City) and hosted by Robert Dean: If You Build It
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
7:30 pm ($7): Improv from two groups at The Magnet theatre: Lack Lobster and Gyre
[MEGA-TOP PICK] [$] [DISCOUNTED] 8:30 pm ($14.80 online using discount code BOX!2, otherwise $18): My favorite FringeNYC 2016 show (out of over 60 seen) was a production taking place entirely inside a box, written & performed by breathtakingly talented sketch comic/actress/writer/singer Dominique Salerno (for my review, please click here). This amazing production is now enjoying a revival running Sundays at 8:30 pm at The PIT Mainstage through June 11th. Take advantage of this wonderful chance to experience The Box Show
[TOP PICK] 8:30 pm ($7): Improvisors make up a brand new play in the style of William Shakespeare at The PIT Underground: As You Will: Shakespearean Improv
[$] 8:30 pm ($8 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Jared Freid (Comedy Central) and Nimesh Patel (Comedy Central, TruTV; written for Chris Rock hosting the 2016 Oscars; co-host of Broken Comedy) each perform a headlining stand-up set at The Fat Black Pussycat Lounge (130 West 3rd Street): Jared Freid and Nimesh Patel
8:30 pm ($5): Musicians and/or comics 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
[MEGA-TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($10): For one night only, duo improv from Magnet co-owner & master improvisor Armando Diaz and Rick Andrews at The Magnet theatre: Diaz & Andrews
[TOP PICK] [FREE] 9:00 pm: Dan St. Germain (enormously likeable and rapidly rising star who has several TV shows in the works; Jimmy Fallon, Conan O'Brien, Comedy Central Half-Hour Special, The Electric Company, MTV, VH1; staff writer for CBS' Superior Donuts), Clare O'Kane (Amazon's Budding Prospects, Viceland's Flophouse, webseries Semi-Famous; former writer for SpongeBob SquarePants), Nore Davis (HBO's Last Week Tonight, Comedy Central's Inside Amy Schumer and Russell Simmons Presents The Ruckus, Showtime's Boardwalk Empire, MTV), Maria Heinegg, Brent Gill, and Jono Zalay perform stand-up at Brooklyn's Knitting Factory (361 Metropolitan Avenue) hosted by Will Miles, Clark Jones, and/or Kenny DeForest: Comedy Night at the Knit
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 ($7): 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
[ALMOST FREE] 10:00 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
5:30 pm ($3): Email Michelle Thomas at improv10000hrs@gmail.com to improvise with experienced PIT performers at The PIT Underground: 10K Jam Jam
9:30 pm ($10, or just $1 with student ID): Students from all around the city are invited to come watch and perform improv scenes at The PIT Underground: NYC Student Improv Jam
[FREE] 10:00 pm: An open-mic stand-up show (sign up is at 9:45 pm) providing 5 minutes for each comic whose name is pulled from the bucket at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) hosted by Ian Kitchen: The Grandstand
[FREE] 11:00 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
