NYC Comedy Picks for Monday 5/9/16
Great lineup of musical improv geniuses Chris "Shockwave" Sullivan (amazing human boombox; The Daily Show, The Electric Company, Freestyle Love Supreme) & Rebecca Vigil (rising star powerhouse improv singer; Your Love Our Musical, The Vigilante), plus Aparna Nancherla (one of the finest stand-ups in the country; writer for Late Night with Seth Meyers; Conan O'Brien, Comedy Central's Meltdown, Last Comic Standing, @midnight, Totally Biased, opens for Tig Notaro), Josh Gondelman (HBO's Last Week Tonight, The New Yorker), Giulia Rozzi (Jimmy Kimmel, Chelsea Lately, writer for MTV's Girl Code, VH1, Playgirl Magazine, co-host of Stripped Stories, comedy album True Love), and Will Miles (co-host of Comedy Night at the Knit), all hosted by 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): Myq Kaplan & Friends (8:30 pm, $5, Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell at 27-16 23rd Avenue)
More recommendations for the best in New York
City comedy tonight
(in chronological order, with top picks noted and shows
over $10 marked with $) include:
[FREE] 6:00 pm to midnight: Six free hours of improvisation at The PIT downstairs lounge: Super Free Monday
[TOP PICK] 7:30 pm [$] ($25): Ophira Eisenberg tapes her comedy trivia radio show live, with tonight's guest Kimiko Glenn (Orange Is The New Black), at Brooklyn's The Bell House (149 7th Street): Ask Me Another
[TOP PICK] [$] 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 ($7): Sketch comedy from two sharp house groups at The Magnet theatre: Magnet Sketch Teams
7:30 pm ($5): Sharp duo improvisors Kelly Buttermore & Justin Peters make up one-act plays based on audience suggestions at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): From Justin to Kelly
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): At the UCB Chelsea theatre, a one-man show about letting go of integrity: Sellout...
...and in the second other of this double bill, a typically brilliant parody of Seinfeld made up on the spot: Improvised Seinfeld
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): Superb comics & writers—Jon Glaser (HBO's Girls, NBC's Parks and Recreation, star of Adult Swim's Delocated; long-time writer/performer and 5-time Emmy nominee for Conan O'Brien), Naomi Ekperigin (dynamite rising star stand-up; writer for Comedy Central's Broad City and Hulu's Difficult People; MTV, VH1, FX), Jordan Carlos (writer/correspondent for The Nightly Show; MTV's Guy Code, Girl Code, Guy Court, HBO's Girls, Comedy Central, VH1, Adult Swim), Anna Roisman (MTV; co-host of You Probably Think This Song Is About You), and Samantha Ruddy (Someecards)—share at this confessional storytelling show at UCB East hosted by Ruby Karp: HelloGiggles
[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm ($10): Mike Reiss (four-time Emmy winner for his 25 years writing for The Simpsons), Krystyna Hutchinson & Corinne Fisher (hosts of popular Guys We Fucked podcast), John Gallagher Jr. (10 Cloverfield Lane, The Newsroom), Josh Gondelman (Last Week Tonight), and Lisa Ann (Lisa Ann Does Fantasy) being interviewed or performing at Brooklyn's Union Hall (702 Union Street; take R subway to Union Street): Running Late with Scott Rogowsky
8:30 pm ($5): An audience member with a decision to make becomes the basis of an improvised court trial at The PIT downstairs lounge: The People's Court
[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
9:00 pm ($7): A sketch show by duo Matt Alspaugh & Brad Howe that takes you through Northeastern activities such as "apple cider tasting, Yankee Candle smelling, Red Sox romanticizing, and a pancake breakfast fundraiser for the local Christian Youth basketball team" at The Magnet theatre: New England Sunday
9:30 ($5): House sketch groups Estevez and Monaco try out new material at UCB Chelsea for Maude Night
9:30 pm ($5): A hip-hop musical parody of Orange is the New Black, but set in an animal shelter for dogs and cats, with book and lyrics by Catya McMullen and direction Michael Raine at The PIT upstairs theatre: Locked Up B*tches
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: 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), Joe Pera (hilarious and genius deadpan stand-up; Comedy Central, Adult Swim; for a very special one-minute set at Carolines, please click here; for Joe's latest Kaufman awards submissions, please click here and here; co-host of the Dan + Joe + Charles Show), Monroe Martin (finalist on Last Comic Standing), and more perform for this free weekly show at The Stand Comedy Club (239 Third Avenue, off 20th Street) hosted by Aaron Berg (TV series 24 Hour Rental, documentary A Universal Language): Frantic Mondays
[FREE] 10:00 pm: Veteran improvisors reunite, new improvisors perform, and then old and new merge to create a one-night-only team at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) hosted by Nick Arret: Old, New, Borrowed, and Blue
10:30 pm ($7): Two "coming out" tales from storytellers serve as springboards for LGBTQ improvisers to make up scenes—some of which will be musical—at The Magnet theatre: Thank You For Coming Out: An LGBTQ Event
[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 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
4:30 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 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 5/10/16
Michael O'Connell (genius YouTube video What’s It Gonna Be? with Ken Jeong), 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), David Carl (hilarious, charismatic rising star; Point Break Live, Gary Busey's One Man Hamlet), Jade Catta-Preta (NBC”s Manhattan Love Story, Showtime’s Californication, CBS’ 2 Broke Girls, Comedy Central), Melanie Maras (storyteller/comic), and more performing for host 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)...
...creator Terry Matalas and cast members Amanda Schull & Aaron Stanford of SyFy's gripping time-travel series 12 Monkeys 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, Free!, The PIT Loft at 154 West 29th Street)...
...and hilarious character comic Katie Hartman (half of Skinny Bitch Jesus Meeting, frequently collaborates with David Carl) performs a one-woman sketch show in which she manages the difficult feat of being over-the-top and beautifully vulnerable at the same time. Come experience this brilliant rising star in her most fearless show to date: The Onion Show (7:00 pm, $5, 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-11:00 pm ($7 for the whole evening): In this 4-hour extravaganza, six singing & dancing improv groups at The Magnet make up musicals based on audience suggestions, followed at 10:15 pm by an improv jam open to the audience hosted by group Pipe Dreams: Magnet Musical Megawatt
[TOP PICK] 7:30 pm ($5): Musical guest Ivan Anderson (band Sweet Fix) is 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
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 ($7): 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), Frank Conniff (TV's Frank on Mystery Science Theater 3000; Cinematic Titanic), Ophira Eisenberg (Comedy Central, VH1, Showtime, The Today Show, host of NPR's trivia/puzzle show Ask Me Another, bestselling book Screw Everyone, comedy album Bangs!), Liam McEneaney, and Joyelle Nicole perform stand-up for Sirius XM radio at Brooklyn's Union Hall (702 Union Street; take R subway to Union Street) hosted by Rob Paravonian (Comedy Central, VH1; to watch his hit video Pachelbel Rant, which has been viewed by over 13 million people on YouTube, please click here): Comedy Recording Show
[TOP PICK] [FREE] 8:00 pm: Jo Firestone (exceptionally inventive and irresistible rising star; The Chris Gethard Show, radio host of WFMU's Dr. Gameshow, live-on-stage host of Punderdome 3000, The Unexpectashow, and The Incredible Game Show Showcase), Jena Friedman (wry dark comedy stand-up and rising star; producer for The Daily Show, former staff writer for David Letterman), Carmen Christopher (IFC), and more perform stand-up hosted by the hilarious Joe Pera, Charles Gould, and Dan Licata at Brooklyn's The Shanty (79 Richardson Street; take L subway to Lorimer Street): Dan + Joe + Charles' Show
8:00 pm ($5): Making great use of UCB East's previous incarnation as an indie movie theatre, tonight features screenings of select films running five minutes or less—most of them funny—crafted in the style of TV pilots. The shorts receiving the most audience votes get to continue with additional episodes, while the others are "canceled" at Channel 101
8:00 pm ($5): There's nothing more unpredictable on a stage than an animal. In this show, pet owners perform improv along with their real-life pets at The PIT upstairs theatre (123 East 24th Street): Pet Prov
[FREE] 8:00 pm: NYC stand-ups and musicians drink and perform at The Creek downstairs lounge in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) hosted by Justin Peele: Party & Bullshit
8:00 pm ($5): Sketch, improv, and stand-up 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 upstairs theatre directed by Micah Sherman: Old School Sketch Show
8:30 pm ($5): Superb improvisors and guest improv groups join host Skycopter (which includes the incredible David Carl) to make up one-act plays on the spot at The PIT downstairs lounge: Act One
[FREE] 8:30 pm (reserve your free spots by clicking here): Typically terrific stand-ups (for the line-up, usually posted by 1:00 pm, please click here) performing at The Irish Exit (978 Second Avenue, off 52nd Street, in the back room) produced every Tuesday by Mark Normand, Matt Ruby, Gary Vider, and Sachi Ezura: Hot Soup
9:00 pm ($5): Comics Anna Roisman, Alex Ptak, Katie Hannigan, Tyler Richardson, and Kevin Froleiks 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
9:00 pm ($5): All-gal improv groups compete for audience laughs and votes at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street) hosted by improv group Punch: Battlestar GIRLactica
9:15 pm ($8, which includes free beer): NYC stand-ups performing at Brooklyn's The Experiment Comedy Gallery (20 Broadway) hosted by Jaqi Furback & Mike Lewis: The Party
[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): Dave Hill, Jeffrey Joseph, Alyssa Wolf, and Eli Yudin present comedic lectures on silly topics—e.g., "Octopuses: Squishy Satans of the Sea"—at the UCB East theatre produced by Kara Klenk and hosted by Jim Tews: Homeschooled—A Comedic Lecture Series
[TOP PICK] 10:00 pm ($5; no min.): This super-affordable weekly club stand-up show features 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), Joe List (HBO, David Letterman, Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central), Bonnie McFarlane (HBO, David Letterman, Jay Leno, Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central), Monroe Martin (finalist on this season's Last Comic Standing), Derek Gaines, Kelsey Cook, and Mikey Garcia performing stand-up at The Stand Comedy Club (239 Third Avenue, off 20th Street): $5 Funnies with Ari Shaffir, Joe List, Bonnie McFarlane, Monroe Martin, and More
[FREE] 10:00 pm: Comics and audience members who've drunk too much engage in a spelling competition at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) hosted by Jake Flores & Blake Midgette: The Drunk Spelling Bee
[TOP PICK] [FREE] 11:00 pm: Joe Machi (Jimmy Fallon; breakout star of 2014 Last Comic Standing) and other stand-ups TBA 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
[FREE] 6:00 pm: Walk-in open mic storytelling show, with each yarn-spinner (selected via names from a bucket) getting up to 8 minutes to tell a true and funny tale at Astoria Queens comedy venue QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Vincent Chang: Flynn's Mic
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
[TOP PICK] [FREE] 8:00 pm: This weekly two-hour open mic storytelling show allows each performer 8 minutes to tell a compelling and funny tale at Queens LIC's The Creek downstairs lounge hosted by Jake Hart and a guest co-host: The Dump
[FREE] 8:00 pm: Weekly open mic for any kind of act (with sign-up starting at 7:30) at Brooklyn's Goodbye Blue Monday (1087 Broadway) hosted by Joe Crow Ryan: Goodbye Blue Monday
[FREE] 10:15 pm: In this free Magnet show, audience members can join in with musical improv group Pipe Dreams 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 5/11/16
MSNBC star journalist Steve Kornacki (helped bring down Chris Christie), beloved comic Anthony KIng (staff writer for Comedy Central's Broad City and Netflix's Wet Hot American Summer; legendary former UCB Artistic Director), Jess Mcintosh (former spokesman for Al Franken), and Nathan Min (sketch comic) chug two beers on stage and talk politics at the UCB East theatre hosted by Charlie Todd & Cody Lindquist: Two Beers In (7:30 pm, $5, 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:
[FREE] 6:00 pm-midnight: Six free hours of improvisation—including an open-to-all improv jam at 6:00 pm; group Lovers, which includes the spectacular Dana Shulman and Tracy Mull at 7:00 pm; and PIT owner Ali Farahnakian & friends at 10:25 pm—at The PIT upstairs theatre: Super Free Wednesday
7:00 pm ($5): Erin Judge (Comedy Central; comedy album So Many Choices; for hilarious short bit on men vs. women, please click here), Julio Torres (inventive experimental stand-up/sketch comic), Abbi Crutchfield (Broad City, MTV, VH1), Jen Spyra (Late Show with Stephen Colbert), and David Ebert (MTV2) 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 Evan Kaufman: The Sensible Show
7:00 pm-10:00 pm ($7 for the entire evening): Three hours of improv from six groups—plus a free improv jam at 6:00 pm—at The Magnet theatre: Magnet Megawatt
[TOP PICK] [$] 7:30 pm, 8:00 pm, 9:30 pm, and 11:30 pm ($14, plus 2-item food/drink min.): Some of the finest stand-ups in the country spread among three shows at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane) and an 8:00 pm show at Village Underground (130 West 3rd Street, off Sixth Avenue): Comedy Cellar Wednesday
7:30 pm ($5): A one-man show by Dean Masello about his living with obsessive-compulsive disorder at The PIT downstairs lounge: I'm So OCD
7:30 pm ($5): Rachel Scherer (X Plus One) and Beth White host an improvised talk show while playing Long Island moms at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Wake Up, America
7:30 pm ($5): NYC stand-ups performing at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Jessica Watkins: Homespun Comedy
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($10): Comics Zhubin Parang, Giulia Rozzi, and Alison Leiby, and scientist S. Matthew Liao, get drunk and then compete to present the best scientific dissertation to a panel of genuine scientists at Brooklyn's Littlefield (622 Degraw Street): Drunk Science
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): James Dwyer & Caroline Cotter host an improvised show about our political process at the UCB Chelsea theatre: Open Call: A Presidential Town Hall
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($10): A fake QVC show featuring "musical numbers, 80s montages, the apocalypse, dracula, multiple homicides, and two different marriages failing" at Brooklyn's The Annoyance Theatre (367 Bedford Avenue; take J/M/Z to Marcy Avenue or L to Lorimer Street): Bargain Bin Sale of a Lifetime
[TOP PICK] [FREE] 8:00 pm: A hodgepodge of theatre, art, and comedy talents hosted by the wonderful and quick-witted Amanda Duarte, with stand-up Joel Kim Booster, singer Mark Eitzel, and writer/performer Gardiner Comfort, plus celebrity guest bartenders Deborah Check & Alex Guida (All That Glitters), all performing at Judson Memorial Church (239 Thompson Street): Dead Darlings
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($15; no min.): Sean Patton, Ari Shaffir, Janeane Garofalo, Monroe Martin, and more performing stand-up at The Stand Comedy Club (239 Third Avenue, off 20th Street): The Stand Wednesday
[FREE] 8:00 pm: Comedic storytellers Nathaniel Coco-Bates, David Rex Josef, Simi Tolendo, and Harmon Leon 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
[FREE] 8:00 pm: Young and/or struggling NYC stand-ups performing at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) produced by Meghan O’Malley, Adrian Davidson, and Erick Hellwig: Barely Making It
[TOP PICK] 8:30 pm ($10): A comedic play written and starring Andrew Benedict and directed by Annie Donley in which "Rusty Bertrand, famous eccentric orphan millionaire, made his fortune turning his vagabond childhood into the book franchise The Hobo Kids. Now he uses his wealth and power to assemble an elite group of crime fighting orphans" at Brooklyn's The Annoyance Theatre (367 Bedford Avenue; take J/M/Z to Marcy Avenue or L to Lorimer Street): Orphan Action League
9:00 pm ($10): Roy Wood Jr., Joe Pera, Ana Fabrega, Janelle James, and Devin Field performing stand-up at Brooklyn's Sunnyvale (1031 Grand Street) hosted by Harris Mayersohn: Just a Show
9:00 pm ($7): Stand-ups Drew Anderson, Lauren Hope Krass, Steve Marden, Carolyn Bergier, and Joe Welkie performing at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Jen Flanagan: Cootie Free Zone Comedy 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
[FREE] 9:00 pm: NYC stand-ups performing for this free weekly show at Lucky Jack's Pub (129 Orchard Street) produced by Kyle Fincham, Lance Weiss, and Brendon Fitzgibbons: Gandhi, Is That You?
[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): Top improvisors Connor Ratliff, Shannon O'Neill, Brandon Scott Jones, and Shaun Diston "talk to one person for less than 10 minutes and let them know how they die 45 minutes later" at the UCB Chelsea theatre: We Know How You Die
[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): Adam Rubin will attempt to mystify and amaze you with not quite half a dozen illusions at Brooklyn's The Annoyance Theatre (367 Bedford Avenue; take J/M/Z to Marcy Avenue or L to Lorimer Street): Five Magic Tricks in a Basement
[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
10:00 pm ($5): A one-man show by Marcus Bishop-Wright at The PIT downstairs lounge: The Marcus Rebellion: Seven Sketches About How You're Racist
[TOP PICK] 10:15 pm ($5): Improvisors make up scenes about obsessions at the UCB East theatre: The Fix
[TOP PICK] 11:00 pm ($5): Jo Firestone (exceptionally inventive and irresistible rising star; The Chris Gethard Show, radio host of WFMU's Dr. Gameshow, live-on-stage host of Punderdome 3000 and The Incredible Game Show Showcase) hosts this new "anything might happen comedy chaos" monthly show. Tonight "Ashley, a recent college grad, is finally launching her one-woman show after all these years. The role of Ashley will be played by Sunita Mani, Tessa Hersh, and Connor Ratliff. The role of Ashley's Mother will be played by Matt Dennie" at the UCB Chelsea theatre: Jo Firestone Presents The Unexpectashow
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 (no cover, 1 drink min. for both comics and audience members): Open mic stand-up providing 5-7 minutes per comic, running 2 1/2 hours. Arrive 30 minutes before the show to get on the signup sheet. This is a fine opportunity to perform at the only comedy club in the East Village: Eastville Comedy Club Open Mic
[FREE] 6:00 pm: Your chance to improvise on stage at The PIT upstairs theatre hosted by Anthony Velez & Parker Denton: Recess
[FREE] 6:00 pm: Sign up at 5:45 pm for the opportunity to make up scenes at The Magnet with veteran improvisors: Magnet Mixer Wednesday
[FREE] 7:00 pm: Four booked NYC stand-ups, plus one open spot for an audience member whose name is pulled from a bucket, plus drop-in spots for up to five TV-credited comics who care to walk in! Spots are at least 5 minutes each, but go up by a minute per comic for every TV-credited drop-in spot that isn't filled (e.g., if no drop-ins appear, every comic will receive up to 10 minutes per set). It all happens at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) hosted by Daniel Ahrens: Drop-In/The Bucket
[FREE] 7:00 pm: Open mic stand-up providing 4 minutes per comic. Email PhoningItInMic@gmail.com to sign up, or take a chance at lottery sign-up live between 6:45 and 7:45, at Brooklyn's Halyards Bar (406 Third Avenue) hosted by Lukas Kaiser: Comics Phoning It In
[FREE] 11:00 pm: Weekly walk-in open mic stand-up providing 3 minutes for each comic whose name is pulled from a bucket (but no actual punch or pie, that's just a lure to entice you to come) at Queens LIC's The Creek downstairs theatre hosted by Matthew Tenenbaum: Punch & Pie
11:00 pm ($3): Open mic stand-up show, with each comic whose name is selected from a bucket getting on stage for 3-5 minutes (depending on the number of comics) at The PIT downstairs lounge: The Camel Butt
[FREE] 11:00 pm: Your chance to perform on stage with experienced improvisors at The PIT upstairs theatre hosted by Bernard Maynore and/or Patrick Cucuta: Improdome
[FREE] 11:15 pm: Your opportunity to perform on the stage of UCB East with improv veterans at UCB East hosted by members of improv group The Curfew: Rotisserie Jam
NYC Comedy Picks for Thursday 5/12/16
A burlesque comedic tribute to The Wizard of Oz spearheaded by Cherry Pitz (a.k.a. sharp storyteller Cyndi Freeman) and Brad Lawrence (Moth GrandSlam Champion): Hotsy Totsy Burlesque: The Cherry of Oz (8:00 pm, $10, 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 ($5): Superb "overactors" Pat Swearingen, Jay Malsky, and many more make up a ridiculous soap-operish TV movie on the spot at The PIT upstairs theatre: Made For TV Movie
[TOP PICK] [$] 7:30 pm, 8:00 pm, 9:30 pm, and 11:30 pm ($14 per show, plus 2-item food/drink min.): Some of the finest stand-ups in the country spread among three shows at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane) and an 8:00 pm show at Village Underground (130 West 3rd Street, off Sixth Avenue): Comedy Cellar Thursday
[TOP PICK] [$] 7:30 pm ($49 & 2-drink min.) A major comedy star (for a sample set, please click here) headlines tonight through Sunday at the Carolines Comedy Club: D. L. Hughley
7:30 pm ($5): Leah Bonnema (VH1, WeTV's Cinematherapy, Logo, Opie & Anthony’s Virus Channel), Lynn Bixenspan (MTV), Brian Frange, Jason Burke, and Mpire Comedy performing stand-up or sketch at UCB East hosted by Sean Crespo, Dan Wilbur, and Katina Corrao: Lasers in the Jungle
[FREE] 7:30ish pm: Robert Dean, Julie Kottakis, Katie Halper, Calvin Cato, Gabe Pacheco, and Alex Moore performing stand-up, followed with a 9:00 pm live screening of the Democratic debate on CNN, and at 11:00 pm by karaoke, all at Brooklyn's Legion Bar (790 Metropolitan Avenue) hosted by Deepak Ananthapadmanabha & Kaitlyn Holland: AbeMixture
7:30 pm ($5): Sketch comedy duo Anthony Jackson & Jeff Mondoro performing at The PIT downstairs lounge: New Team Honeybear
7:30 pm ($5): Pro storytellers, plus a storytelling open mic, at Astoria Queens comedy venue QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Lori Baird: Talk Therapy Stories
[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm ($15; no min.): Great lineup of Michael Che (SNL Weekend Update star; former star correspondent for The Daily Show and staff writer for Saturday Night Live; David Letterman, Comedy Central Half Hour, VH1), Sean Patton (one of the finest stand-ups in the country; killer sets on Jimmy Fallon and Conan O'Brien, Comedy Central Half Hour, VH1, feature film Wifed Out; co-host of Esquire Network's Best Bars in America; frequent guest host of Whiplash), Ari Shaffir (Conan O'Brien, host of Comedy Central's This Is Not Happening, HBO's Down and Dirty, National Lampoon, Comedy Central special Passive Aggressive), Dan Soder (smart, edgy rising star; Conan O'Brien, Comedy Central Half Hour, Inside Amy Schumer, MTV's Guy Code and Guy Court, VH1), Jim Florentine (Comedy Central, MTV)and Aaron Berg (TV series 24 Hour Rental, documentary A Universal Language) performing stand-up at The Stand Comedy Club (239 Third Avenue, off 20th Street): The Stand Thursday: Michael Che, Sean Patton, Ari Shaffir, Dan Soder, Jim Florentine, and Aaron Berg
[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm ($10): A comic excavation of teen angst artifacts (journals, letters, poems, lyrics, home movies, stories, and more) are shared by their original authors before total strangers at Brooklyn's Littlefield (622 Degraw Street): Mortified
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm-Midnight ($10 for the entire evening): Four veteran house improv groups, themed improv show Uncivilians ("follows realistic characters and situations to their unpredictable extremes"), and improv competition Inspirado, all for just $10 at The Magnet theatre: The Magnet's Thursday Night Out
[TOP PICK] [FREE—and FREE BEER!] 8:00 pm: Comics share their shit stories—needing to go at the worst moments, major accidents in pants, and so on—at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) hosted by the spectacular Natalie Wall: Awkward Poop...and the City
8:00 ($5): At UCB Chelsea, sketch comedy from Molly Cahen & Ariel Karlin about "Millennial women who do everything wrong:" Eggs for Sale...
...and in the second half of this double-bill, 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
8:00 pm ($10): LGBTQ stand-up and storytellers performing at Chinatown's The Unicorn (105 Henry Street; take the F to East Broadway) hosted by Bobby Hankinson: Kweendom: Gaypril
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 + Selfish Green Men + Dim Wit
8:30 pm ($5): Improvisors springboard scenes off of actual NYC police reports of oddball crimes at The PIT downstairs lounge: Internal Investigation
[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($10): A four-person comedic play in which "Attendees of this mandatory interactive theatrical seminar will learn valuable office skills that will optimize their performance in the workplace, and in their personal lives. Refreshments will be not provided. You will come" at Brooklyn's The Annoyance Theatre (367 Bedford Avenue; take J/M/Z to Marcy Avenue or L to Lorimer Street): The Dingleberry Theater Foundation Presents Mandatory Seminar
[$] 9:00 pm ($20): A version of Moby Dick in space, with an extra twist: "The show is performed in an entirely dark theater, with the only light emanating from the duo’s custom-built million-color LED space helmets, creating a unique otherworldly aesthetic" at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Moby Alpha
9:00 pm ($5): NYC stand-ups performing at UCB East hosted by Ashley Brooke Roberts & Jim Tews: Fresh Out
[FREE] 9:00 pm: NYC stand-ups performing in Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Liz Simons & Jenn Wehrung: Laugh It Up, Astoria
[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): Superb comics David Carl, Katie Hartman, Jay Malsky, Langston Belton, Jon Bander, and many more give you an insider's view of one of the most exciting events of our time at The PIT upstairs theatre (123 East 24th Street): A Donald Trump Rally
9:30 pm ($5): Gary RIchardson, Drew Michael, and more performing stand-up or sketch at the UCB Chelsea theatre in the name of a popular comedy site: College Humor Live
[FREE] 10:00 pm: NYC stand-ups performing at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) hosted by Justin Williams & Akash Bhasin: Death Comedy Jam
[FREE] 10:30 pm: NYC stand-ups performing at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Chris Gersbeck, Lauren Hope Krass, and Peter Bandyk: Casual Sets
[FREE] 10:30 pm: "A curated hour of eclectic comedic material written in a week with no rehearsals" at Brooklyn's The Annoyance Theatre (367 Bedford Avenue; take J/M/Z to Marcy Avenue or L to Lorimer Street): The Holy Fuck Comedy Hour
[TOP PICK] 11:00 pm ($5): Two sharp Improv groups, Fuck That Shit and Women & Men, compete for your laughs and votes at UCB Chelsea for the raucous Cage Match
11:00 pm ($5): Joe Pera (hilarious and genius deadpan stand-up; Comedy Central, Adult Swim; for a very special one-minute set at Carolines, please click here; for Joe's latest Kaufman awards submissions, please click here and here; co-host of the Dan + Joe + Charles Show), Will Martinez, and Julia Solomon are guests on this show hosted by Gary Richardson, John Reynolds, Carmen Christopher, and Joey Dundale at the UCB East theatre: $$$
Thursday Open Mics & Jams
5:00 pm ($5): Two-hour open-mic for 20 stand-ups performing for 5 minutes each, with sign-up online here, at the Stand Up NY Comedy Club (236 West 78th Street): Stand Up NY Open Mic
[FREE] 6:00 pm: Stand-up open mic in which 15 walk-ins whose names are drawn from a bucket get to tell jokes on stage for 4 minutes each at UCB East hosted Brandon Scott Wolf & Paul Oddo: Thursday Night Open Mic
[FREE] 6:00 pm: Open-mic stand-up with comics' names drawn from a bucket and each chosen receiving 2 minutes—and if that goes well, maybe a hug (but not actual puppies)—at The Creek's upstairs theatre in Queens' Long Island City hosted by Ross Parsons & Trey Galyon: Free Puppies
6:00 pm (no cover, 1 drink min. for both comics and audience members): Open mic stand-up providing 5-7 minutes per comic, running 2 1/2 hours. Arrive 30 minutes before the show to get on the signup sheet. This is a fine opportunity to perform at the only comedy club in the East Village: Eastville Comedy Club Open Mic
[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 5/13/16
Jen Kirkman (HBO, VH1, Chelsea Lately, After Lately, Craig Ferguson, Comedy Central's Drunk History, former staff writer for NBC's Perfect Couples, comedy albums Self Help and Hail to the Freaks, Netflix special I'm Gonna Die Alone (And I Feel Fine), author of bestselling I Can Barely Take Care of Myself) tells stories in celebration of the release of her new book: I Know What I’m Doing and Other Lies (8:00 pm, $25, Brooklyn's Bell House at 149 7th Street in Brooklyn; take R subway to 9th Street or F/G to Fourth Avenue)...
...and a TV, movie, and radio star (for a sample, please click here) headlines tonight through Sunday at Carolines: D. L. Hughley (7:30 pm & 10:00 pm, $49 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 $) include:
[TOP PICK] [$] 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): 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
[TOP PICK] 7:30 pm ($10): 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, Sebastian Conelli invites four of his favorite improvisers—who tonight are Don Fanelli, Will Stephen, Chet Siegel, and Alexandra Dickson—to do a show with him: Party of Five
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): Stand-ups and improvisors performing at The PIT downstairs lounge hosted by Matt Catanzano & Richie Moriarty: Simply Unemployable Live
7:30 pm ($7): Storytellers share nostalgic tales from the 80s and 90s with hosts Robin Gelfenbien & Danny Artese at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue): A Very Special Episode
[MEGA-TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($12, which is super cheap; this show has regularly sold out at $18 at other venues): World-class singing improvisors Rebecca Vigil & Evan Kaufman interview an audience couple about their love life and then turn it into a musical—with breathtaking skill (see my review of their award-winning FringeNYC 2015 shows here)—at Brooklyn's Littlefield (622 Degraw Street) for their phenomenal Your Love, Our Musical
[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm ($20): From the team that created the amazing Hold On To Your Butts: Kyle Schaefer, Nick Abeel, Matt Zambrano, and foley artist Blair Busbee create live on stage "a 'shot for shot' parody of the first chapter in the most epic fantasy trilogy of all time" directed by the highly talented Kristin McCarthy Parker at The PIT upstairs theatre (123 East 24th Street): Fly, You Fools!
[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm & 10:00 pm & Midnight ($15-$20; no min.): Stand-ups 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), 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), and more performing at The Stand Comedy Club (239 Third Avenue, off 20th Street): The Stand Friday
8:00 pm ($10): A comedic play that proclaims "Love is patient, love is blind. Love is deaf and dumb. Love is a burden dressed in a top hat and spats, tearing the pulse from the blood. Love is closing your eyes to come, baby, split yourself in nine. Love is a jerk-off partner and a sad meal. Love ain’t never gonna..."
...and in the second half of this double-bill, "a dark, surreal comedy exploring themes of marriage, power dynamics and crown molding" at Brooklyn's The Annoyance Theatre (367 Bedford Avenue; take J/M/Z to Marcy Avenue or L to Lorimer Street): Love Ain’t Never Gonna and Burn It Down Presents: Fix This House
8:00 pm ($5): Comedy trio Eli Sairs, Joel Walkowski, and Jeff Wesselschmidt performs at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue): Wildcats
[FREE] 8:00 pm: NYC stand-ups performing at the HiFi Bar (169 Avenue A) produced by Gary Levitt & Matt Schwartzer and guest-hosted by Patrick Holbert: I Don't Get It Stand-Up
8:00 pm ($10): Peggy O'Leary, Kendra Cunningham, and Narinder Singh performing stand-up at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Derek Humphrey: Headliner's Ball
[TOP PICK] 8:30 pm ($10): Before this Magnet show, audience members may anonymously submit written confessions, secrets, rants, advice and opinions which will be used onstage by the improvisors—who include such talents as Sebastian Conelli (2014 Cage Match Champion The Enemy): The Friday Night Sh*w
[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($10): Some of the finest improv in the country from brilliant comics Connor Ratliff, 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 "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 ($7): Sketch comedy at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Boogie Manja
[TOP PICK] [$] 9:30 pm ($18): Kyle Schaefer, Nick Abeel, and foley artist Kelsey Didion perform a spectacular live shot for shot stage version of Jurassic Park at The PIT upstairs theatre directed by the exceptional Kristin McCarthy Parker: Hold On To Your Butts...Jurassik Parc
[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($10): Storytellers Corinne Fisher (co-host of Guys We F*cked podcast), Amy Miller (Last Comic Standing), Tim Manley (HBO's Girls), Marc Gerber, and Wilson McDermut share tales of relationships in front of a panel of comics and therapy experts who then give advice at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Lynn Bixenspan & Morgan Pielli: Relationshit
9:30 pm ($5): Comics "perform kooky bits based off online videos. The goal of the show is primarily to be louder than the jazz music coming from upstairs" at Brooklyn's The Annoyance Theatre (367 Bedford Avenue; take J/M/Z to Marcy Avenue or L to Lorimer Street) hosted by Matt Barats: Louder Than Jazz
[TOP PICK] 10:00 pm ($5): "There is one great struggle that haunts every romantic relationship between two comedians: Who gets the bit? This show brings romantic comedians together onstage to show their two different versions of a shared premise" at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) hosted by Alison Klemp & Nate Fridson: Bae-O: Bits About Each Other
[TOP PICK] 10:00 pm ($10): Musical improv group Premiere—which features the best improv piano player in the biz, Frank Spitznagel—springboards off an audience suggestion to create a complete story with song and dance at The Magnet theatre: Premiere: The Improvised Musical
10:00 pm ($5): Petey DeAbreu invites several of his comic friends to joke around with him at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue): Petey's World
[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): Anna Roisman (MTV; co-host of You Probably Think This Song Is About You), Lynn Bixenspan (MTV), Brendan Fitzgibbons, and Anne Victoria Clark 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 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
[TOP PICK] 11:00 pm ($10): David Feldman (co-creator of The Jack and Triumph Show), 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), and Myka Fox (SNL freelance contributor; host of Myka Fox & Friends podcast on Keith and The Girl Network) riff on entertainingly terrible 2008 film Birdemic at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Chris Gersbeck & Freddy G: Birdemic
11:00 pm ($5): Josh Krebs performs a one-man show about such characters as "an angry 13-year-old girl with a penchant for art films, an alcoholic rocker whose claim to fame is a theme to a popular children's show, and a salesman with a time share of a lifetime on the moon" at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Maniac
Midnight ($5): Comics playing characters answer obscure quiz questions in this comedic game show at UCB East hosted by Vincent Moore: Best Answer
[FREE] 8:00 pm: "A new game show where three contestants get quizzed on random topics; raps, video games, different types of soda. We'll even have a few comics drop by" at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) hosted by Marvin Lattimore: A Night of Thrill-Vila
Friday Open Mics & Jams
[FREE] 5:00 pm: Walk-in open mic (signup at 4:30 pm), with 5 minutes per comic, storyteller, poet, or singer, at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Davey Melch & Sydney Beveridge: Queens Free Mic Fridays
5:00 pm ($5): Two-hour open-mic for 20 stand-ups performing for 5 minutes each, with sign-up online here, at the Stand Up NY Comedy Club (236 West 78th Street): Stand Up NY Open Mic
5:45 pm (no cover, 1 drink min. for both comics and audience members): Open mic stand-up providing 5-7 minutes per comic, running 1 hour. Arrive 30 minutes before the show to get on the signup sheet. This is a fine opportunity to perform at the only comedy club in the East Village: Eastville Comedy Club Open Mic
[ALMOST FREE] 6:00 pm ($1): Walk-in open mic that allows everyone to get on stage at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): $1 Mic
[FREE] 6:00 pm: An open-mic show on a lottery system (sign-ups happen at 5:45-6:00 pm) at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' Long Island City hosted by Shalewa Sharpe & Courtney Fearrington: Thug Passion
[ALMOST FREE] 6:30 pm ($1): PIT improv veterans mix with improv novices on-stage at the downstairs lounge for Happy Hour
7:00 pm ($5): Show up at 6:45 pm to place your name in a dog bowl for the chance to get called up on stage and jam with veteran improvisors at Brooklyn's The Annoyance Theatre (367 Bedford Avenue; take J/M/Z to Marcy Avenue or L to Lorimer Street): Dog Fight
[FREE] 8:00 pm: An open-mic show that's first come, first serve (sign-up starts at 7:30 pm), with each comic getting 5 minutes on stage at The Creek downstairs lounge in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) hosted by Seena Jon: Mic and Cheese
[FREE] 11:00 pm: Walk-in stand-up open mic (signup at 10:30 pm) at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Chelsea Condren, Kate Moran, and Kristin Seltman: Late Night Snack Open Mic
[TOP PICK] [FREE] Midnight: Improv is dominated by guys...and for no good reason. A way to help remedy this situation are shows like this one, which is an open improv jam for any gal wanting to participate, at any experience level, at the UCB Chelsea theatre: The Lady Jam
NYC Comedy Picks for Saturday 5/14/16
Four New Yorker cartoonists—Emily Flake (above left), Drew Dernavich (above right), Corey Pandolph, and Benjamin Schwartz—show off select cartoons, host sketches, and more, plus comedy from Joe Garden (former Features Editor of The Onion): The Four Horsemen (8:00 pm $8, Brooklyn's Union Hall at 702 Union Street; take R subway to Union Street)
More recommendations for the best in New York
City comedy tonight
(in chronological order, with top picks noted and shows
over $10 marked with $) include:
[FREE; reserve tickets here] 1:00 pm: A rare lunchtime stand-up show for families, with all kids under 15 allowed on stage to tell a joke, at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) hosted by Peggy O'Leary & Lindsay Boling: Guess What?
6:00 pm ($5): A topical sketch comedy show about the Civil War at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Last Century Tonight: Civil War Edition
[FREE] 6:00 pm: Ben Conrad, Lizzy Mazzucchelli, Will Carey, and Will Watkins each perform a different 10-minute stand-up every Saturday in April at The Creek's upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) hosted by Grant Lindahl: The 8
6:00 pm ($5): Four Indie improv troupes performing at The Magnet theatre: The Rundown
[TOP PICK] 7:30 pm ($10): "Created in 1995 at the iO Theater in Chicago, The Armando Diaz Experience is the longest running improv show ever. A guest monologist—who tonight is Lex Morales—takes a suggestion from the audience and shares true personal tales. These stories are then brought to life by a rotating cast of improv all-stars—and occasionally Armando himself" at The Magnet theatre: The Armando Diaz Experience
[TOP PICK] [$] 7:00 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 improv group swap personal stories and then use them as springboards for improv scenes at the UCB East theatre: The Living Room
7:00 pm ($5): "A live half hour show made up of real clips from fake shows that never aired in the first place. Sketch group PEP samples new shows and old shows that never saw the light of day" at Queens LIC's The Creek upstairs theatre: Clip Show: A Sketch Show
7:00 pm ($10): Improv group Big Black Car 2, plus an improv group TBA, make up scenes at The PIT upstairs theatre: BBC2 and Friends
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 & 10:00 pm ($49 & 2-drink min.) A major comedy star (for a sample, please click here) headlines tonight and Sunday at the Carolines Comedy Club: D. L. Hughley
[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
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 ($5): A one-man lecture about sex at The PIT downstairs lounge: Nic Cage Teaches Sex to Adults
7:30 pm ($8): NYC stand-ups performing at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Lauren Krass: Laughter School Special
8:00 pm ($10): Sketches and characters from Dylan Evans (writer/co-star) and friends at Brooklyn's The Annoyance Theatre (367 Bedford Avenue; take J/M/Z to Marcy Avenue or L to Lorimer Street): The Dylennium Approaches
[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
8:00 pm ($5): NYC stand-ups performing at Queens LIC's The Creek upstairs theatre hosted by Peggy O'Leary & Lucas Connolly: Hard, Lonely, and Vicious
[TOP PICK] 8:30 pm ($10): Improv group Airwolf—with big talents Molly Lloyd, Tim Martin, Achilles Stamatelaky, Eddie Dunn, Ben Rameaka, and Adam Fruccie—make up scenes about terrible audience experiences related to a home at UCB East: Airwolf: Let's Go Back to Your Place
[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($10): An improvised apocalypse from superb comics Anthony Atamanuik, John Murray, Sean Casey, Jackie Jennings, Joanna Bradley, Chad Carter, and Joel Weidel at the UCB Chelsea theatre: Goat
[TOP PICK] [$] 9:00 pm ($15): Groundbreaking and highly acclaimed improvisors Matt Higgins, Jay Rhoderick, and Kevin Scott performing at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Centralia
[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($10): A freestyle rapping long-form improv group that includes such talents as Evan Kaufman (Your Love Our Musical) takes the stage for nearly an hour at The PIT downstairs lounge: North Coast
[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($10): Sharp improvisors Peter McNerney, Elana Fishbein, and Elena Skopetos 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): A Brooklyn-based sketch comedy group performs at The PIT upstairs theatre: The Shorts Show Vs. Scientists: The Dawn of Comedy?
9:30 pm ($5): Long-form improv with a playful title directed by Conner O'Malley at Brooklyn's The Annoyance Theatre (367 Bedford Avenue; take J/M/Z to Marcy Avenue or L to Lorimer Street): Michael Jordan Steakhouse
[TOP PICK] [$] 10:00 pm ($25; no min.): Judah Friedlander, Sean Patton, Ari Shaffir, Dan Soder, Adrienne Iapalucci, and more performing stand-up at The Stand Comedy Club (239 Third Avenue, off 20th Street): The Stand Saturday
[TOP PICK] 10:00 pm ($10): A powerhouse group of improvisors—Zhubin Parang (writer for The Daily Show), Michael Kayne (Baby Wants Candy, Diamond Lion), Langan Kingsley (rising star; sketch group Beige, one-woman show The Dicewoman Cometh), Aaron Jackson (Fuck That Shit, Newsadoozies), Natasha Vaynblat (one-woman show United Federation of Teachers), and Nate Dern (News Editor for Funny or Die)—springboard scenes off interviewing an audience member about his or her love life at the UCB East theatre: What I Did For Love
[TOP PICK] 10:00 pm ($5): "Starting in 1982, the city of Atlanta threw an annual party called Freaknik which essentially became the largest black spring break party in the country. The party became so big and wild that the city shut it down for good in 1996. But comedians Andy Sandford and Noah Gardenswartz are bringing Freaknik back...to Long Island City. 'Comedy Freaknik' will be a lot like the original Freaknik, except it’s going to happen once a month, and it will be a comedy show hosted by three white guys. That’s basically the only difference" at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' Long Island City: Freaknik
[TOP PICK] 10:30 pm ($10): At UCB Chelsea, improv group Grandma's Ashes—which includes stellar talents Ryan Karels, Morgan Grace Jarrett, Brandon Scott Jones, and more—takes your written secrets and turns them into very funny improv scenes: Grandma's Ashes: We Won't Tell
[TOP PICK] 10:30 pm ($10): Long form improv about the behavior of a theatrical troupe both on-stage and off-stage, revolving around a different show biz theme each week—which tonight is U--------------------------------nderstudy—at The Magnet theatre: The Cast: Un--------------------------------derstudy Edition
10:30 pm ($10): Musical improv from a six-person group at The PIT downstairs lounge: The Agency
10:30 pm ($5): "A monthly show produced by Anthony Oberbeck; every show is new, every show is beautiful" at Brooklyn's The Annoyance Theatre (367 Bedford Avenue; take J/M/Z to Marcy Avenue or L to Lorimer Street): Beautiful Horses
11:00 pm ($5): Tracie & Matt Higgins play loud-mouthed Met fans from Astoria, Queens in this scripted show about "30 years of heartbreak and struggle...and they believe more than ever this is their year" at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Sheila & Hammerhead
[FREE] 11:00 pm: Stand-ups performing at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Freddy Goldstein: Last Stop Laughs
[TOP PICK] 11:30 pm ($5): Sketch comedy that aims to have you "laughing until blood pours out of your throat and eyes and you die and you go to hell and you're like 'god damn that was worth it!' to Satan and he'll be like 'Yeah, I know, I was there, it was dope'" at the UCB East theatre: O.S.F.U.G. A Fast Fuckin' Sketch Show
[FREE] 11:30 pm: Improvisors make up scenes at The PIT upstairs theatre: Matt's Emotions
[FREE] Midnight: "Food sketches, street food interviews, and live cooking" at The Creek downstairs lounge in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue): So You Think You Can Rap
[FREE] Midnight-4:00 am: A comedy show celebrating Hilary Clinton, featuring Jena Friedman, Selena Coppock, Liam McEneaney, Catie Lazarus, and more at Brooklyn's Gold Sounds (44 Wilson Street) hosted by Heather Fink w DJ Brandy Crawford: Chillary NYC 2016
Saturday Open Mics and 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 3:45 pm) at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Swing Riders 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
[FREE] 5:00 pm: Reserved (via email annevictoriaclark+workout@gmail.com) and walk-in (time permitting) stand-up & sketch open mic providing each comic 5 minutes at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Meggie Spellman & Anne Victoria Clark: The Workout Open Mic
[FREE] 9:00 pm: Walk-in open mic for character bits, stand-up, etc. at Queens LIC's The Creek downstairs theatre hosted by Elise Edwards: Discount Disco
NYC Comedy Picks for Sunday 5/15/16
Dave Hill (one of the most original and hilariously sharp alternative comics in the country; host of WFMU's The Goddamn Dave Hill Show; HBO, Comedy Central, NPR, bands Valley Lodge and Diamondsnake, book Tasteful Nudes, comedy album Let Me Turn You On) celebrates the release of his second book with readings and signings, plus stand-up from stellar comics Aparna Nancherla and Jo Firestone, hosted by Chris Gersbeck: Dave Hill Doesn't Live Here Anymore (9:00 pm, $7, Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell at 27-16 23rd Avenue)
More recommendations for the best in New York
City comedy tonight
(in chronological order, with top picks noted and shows
over $10 marked with $) include:
[FREE] 5:00 pm: A smorgasbord of stand-up, comedic music, comedic dance, sketch, and more at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) hosted by Chris O'Neil: Mishmash Variety Hour
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
6:00 pm ($5): A one-man show by Brad Benson that, through storytelling and sketch, describe five adventures he's had exploring the world; and Zach Myers & Camber Carpenter perform a show about combatting bullies at this showcase for new scripted works at The Magnet theatre: Show Offs: #BRADpacking and The Power of You
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] 7:00ish pm: NYC stand-ups Subah Agarwal, Khalid Rahmaan, Sara Armour, Albert Kirchner, Phil Stamato, and Zach Swan performing at Bunga's Den (137 West 14th Street, between Sixth & Seventh Avenues) hosted by Jimmy LeChase: Church!
7:00 pm ($5): Sketch comedy at The PIT upstairs theatre from group Sunday School Dropouts
7:15 pm ($7): A comedic play about a reluctant family reunion co-written & performed by Elana Fishbein & Elena Skopetos at The Magnet theatre: Sisters Three
[TOP PICK] [$] 7:30 pm, 8:00 pm, 9:30 pm, 10:00 pm, and 11:30 pm ($14 per show, plus 2-item food/drink min.): Some of the finest stand-ups in the country spread among five shows, with three shows at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane), and the 8:00 pm & 10:00 pm shows at Village Underground (130 West 3rd Street, off Sixth Avenue): Comedy Cellar Sunday
[TOP PICK] 7:30 pm ($10) and 9:30 pm [FREE]: UCB Chelsea's signature improv comedy extravaganza, which typically includes superstars in the improv world such as Shannon O'Neill and Anthony Atamanuik, and sometimes network TV & movie stars such as Amy Poehler and Horatio Sanz: ASSSSCAT 3000
7:30 pm ($7): Long-form improv revolving around the worlds of Tinder and Grindr at The Magnet theatre: Swipe Right
7:30 pm ($5): Dana Shulman and friends are improv group Student Driver, which hosts two indie improv troupes making up scenes and then performs itself, all at The PIT downstairs lounge: Student Driver Indie Road
[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm & 10:00 pm ($15; no min.): Sean Patton, Laurie Kilmartin, Ari Shaffir, and more performing stand-up at The Stand Comedy Club (239 Third Avenue, off 20th Street): The Stand Sunday
8:00 pm ($5): Carmen Lynch (David Letterman, Last Comic Standing finalist, Comedy Central), Emmy Blotnick (staff writer for @midnight; MTV's Nikki and Sara Live, VH1's Best Week Ever), Eliot Chang, Brian Frange, David Nguyen, Meghan Hanley, and Yusuf Ali performing stand-up at UCB East hosted by Kara Klenk (Comedy Central, Spike, Nickelodeon): If You Build It
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): Three improv groups perform, on a rotating basis, at Brooklyn's The Annoyance Theatre (367 Bedford Avenue; take J/M/Z to Marcy Avenue or L to Lorimer Street): The Annoyance Presents Improv
[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($10): Duo improv from Louis Kornfeld & Rick Andrews at The Magnet theatre: Kornfeld & Andrews
9:00 pm ($7): Typically solid stand-ups perform at Brooklyn's Knitting Factory (361 Metropolitan Avenue) hosted by Will Miles, Clark Jones, and/or Kenny DeForest: Comedy Night at the Knit
[FREE] 9:00 pm: 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 use details from audience members to make up a robbery at The PIT upstairs theatre: Captive Audience: An Improvised Heist
Sunday Open Mics & Open Stages
[FREE] 3:30 pm: An improv jam celebrating diversity in comedy that lets audience members—whose names are drawn from a bucket—perform with sharp improv/sketch group Astronomy Club (which includes Keisha Zollar and Jonathan Braylock) at the UCB East theatre: Diversity Improv Jam
[FREE] 4:00 pm: An unusually early walk-in open-mic stand-up show (put your name in the bucket, drawings every half hour), providing 4 minutes per comic at The Creek downstairs lounge in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue): Intestinal Fortitude
[FREE] 5:00 pm: Walk-in stand-up lottery style open mic that provides 4 minutes per comic at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Andrea Shapiro & Chris Gersbeck: Bunk Bed Time Open Mic
5:30ish pm (no cover, 1 drink min.): Weekly open mic stand-up, with comics selected from names tossed into a bucket starting at 5:00ish pm, at Brooklyn's Legion Bar (790 Metropolitan Avenue): Sunday Open Mic
[ALMOST FREE] 5:00 pm ($1): Sign up at 4:30 pm to do improv with experienced PIT performers at The PIT downstairs lounge hosted by Sasha Capelli, Eitan Levine, and Shaina Stigler: 10K Jam Jam
[FREE to watch, $1 to participate on stage] 7:00 pm: An opportunity to perform any kind of improv—long form, short form games, musical—at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Rory Scholl & Jason Specland: In a Jam
[FREE] 10:00 pm: An open-mic stand-up show (sign up is at 9:45 pm) providing 5 minutes for each comic whose name is pulled from the bucket at The Creek downstairs lounge in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) hosted by Ian Kitchen: The Grandstand
9:30 pm ($3): Open-mic comedy, with 3-5 minutes per walk-in performer who signs up (first come, first serve) at The PIT downstairs lounge, hosted by Will Neville: Amateur Night At The Gemini
[FREE] 10:00 pm: The only open-stage show for entire groups of improvisors and sketch comics, running weekly at UCB East hosted by Austin Rodrigues: Bring Your Own Team: Improv/Sketch Team Jam
Copyright © 2016 Hy Bender
Email: hy@hyreviews.com
