Please note that these listings are updated frequently. The best way to be instantly notified about new show postings is to subscribe to my BestNewYorkComedy.com blog and allow for email notifications, and/or to follow me on Twitter (@hybender) or Instagram (@hybenderny).
That said, my top NYC comedy recommendations for November 2019 included the following:
Friday 11/1: Stars Jean Grae (top left; renowned, seminal hip hop recording artist; also sharp pro comic and comedy host), Arturo Castro (top right; Comedy Central's Broad City and Alternatino), and Tim Herlihy (The Wedding Singer) are the guests of brilliant improvisor & character comic Connor Ratliff (bottom right; Netflix's Orange is the New Black, Amazon's The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Stephen Colbert, John Oliver, Comedy Central, TBS, TruTV), who transforms into "filmmaker George Lucas (Radioland Murders) as he embarks upon an exciting new career as a comedian and talk show host!" He's joined by talk show sidekick Griffin Newman (bottom left; brilliant character/improv comic; Arthur on Amazon's The Tick, Jared Kushner on Showtime's Our Cartoon President, HBO, CBS, MTV, TBS; feature films Draft Day, Fort Tilden, Night Moves) "as they revolutionize the talk show format the same way Lucas once revolutionized cinema:" The George Lucas Talk Show (7:30 pm, $14, UCB Hell's Kitchen at 555 West 42nd Street)
Friday 11/1: David Cross (right; comedy legend; Mr. Show, Arrested Development, Modern Family), Josh Gondelman (left; one of the sharpest comics in the country; writer/producer for Showtime's Desus & Mero; previously Emmy & Peabody Award-winning writer/producer for HBO's phenom Last Week Tonight with John Oliver; Conan O'Brien, The New Yorker; author of book Nice Try; stand-up albums Dancing On a Weeknight and Physical Whisper), Myka Fox (SNL freelance contributor; host of Myka Fox & Friends podcast on Keith and The Girl Network), Kerry Coddett (writer for HBO's Wyatt Cenac: Problem Areas; HBO's Crashing, BET's The Rundown, Comedy Central's The Nightly Show, MTV's Joking Off; host of Brooklyn, Stand Up!), and Alex English (writer for BET's The Rundown with Robin Thede) perform stand-up at this comedy show that's also a voter registration drive for 2020 hosted by Selena Coppock, Alison Klemp, Matt Nedostop, and Jarret Bernstein: Standup 2020 (7:30 pm, $15, The PIT Underground at 123 East 24th Street)
Friday 11/1: TV & movie star Janeane Garofalo, Josh Gondelman (one of the sharpest comics in the country; writer/producer for Showtime's Desus & Mero; previously Emmy & Peabody Award-winning writer/producer for HBO's phenom Last Week Tonight with John Oliver; Conan O'Brien, The New Yorker; author of book Nice Try; stand-up albums Dancing On a Weeknight and Physical Whisper), The Lucas Brothers (Jimmy Fallon, 22 Jump Street, FOX's Lucas Bros Moving Company, Arrested Development),Tom Thakkar (Conan O'Brien, Comedy Central Half Hour; co-host of podcast Stand by Your Band), Shalewa Sharpe (Comedy Central's The New Negroes; HBO's 2 Dope Queens; comedy album So, You Just Out Here?), and more perform for this seminal monthly stand-up show: Whiplash (7:30 pm, $10, Brooklyn's Union Hall at 702 Union Street; take R subway to Union Street)
Friday 11/1: Because there isn't enough strife pitting the living against each other, comics Alise Morales (News & Politics Editor of Betches; Reductress, Above Average), Kevin Bauer (MTV), Julian Edward Williams (co-host of WALT), Lucyana Randall, and Danny Groh roast long-past historical figures and events, ranging from Rasputin to The Beat Generation to The 1968 Democratic Convention hosted by Matt Strickland (Comedy Central): The Roast of History (7:00 pm, $12, LES' Caveat at 21-A Clinton Street; take F/J/M/Z subway to Delancey Street/Essex Street)
Friday 11/1: Musical improvisors make up the story, songs, and dances of a new musical on the spot based on periodic "fill in the blank" audience suggestions: Blank! The Musical (9:30 pm; $22 in advance online or $25 at the door; The PIT Loft at 154 West 29th Street)
Saturday 11/2: Femme fatales Selena Coppock (right; Amazon's Red Oaks, VH1, author of book The New Rules for Blondes, stand-up album Seen Better Days, co-host of Standup 2020) and Lauren Maul (left; host of Gathering the Coven) perform songs, frequently change costumes, and host stand-up and/or music from Corinne Fisher (with comedy partner Krystyna Hutchinson, host of popular Guys We Fucked podcast and author of F*CKED: Being Sexually Explorative and Self-Confident in a World That’s Screwed),
Shalewa Sharpe (Comedy Central's The New Negroes; HBO's 2 Dope Queens; comedy album So, You Just Out Here?), Shonali Bhowmik (singer/songwriter/guitar player of indie band Tigers and Monkeys; host of show/podcast We Don't Even Know), Danny Artese (The Moth), Brändy Rowëll, and BLK GRL MGK (Tahlia Sworld & Tiara Francis):
Bitchcraft! (7:30 pm, Free!, Sid Gold's Request Room at 165 West 26th Street)
Saturday 11/2: In this unique show, animators spontaneously bring the jokes of stand-ups Rachel Pegram, Mary Houlihan, Martin Urbano, Tim Platt, Nick Naney, and Carmen Christopher to visual life with lightning speed & wit. Part of the fun is that the comics don’t know what the animators will draw and the animators don’t know how the comics will react. Produced by Sam Varela & Brandie Posey and hosted by Clare O'Kane (Amazon, Viceland, stand-up album Let It Be): Picture This! (7:30 pm, $10, Brooklyn's Union Hall at 702 Union Street; take R subway to Union Street)
Saturday 11/2: Dan St. Germain (right; Jimmy Fallon, Conan O'Brien, John Oliver, Comedy Central Half Hour, Crashing, @midnight, This is Not Happening, The Electric Company, MTV, VH1; former staff writer for CBS' Superior Donuts, Netflix's The Break with Michelle Wolf, and TruTV's Ten Things; album No Real Winners Here), Brian Parise (left; staff writer and Emmy Award winner for HBO's phenom Last Week Tonight with John Oliver; co-host and chef of The Pasta Show), Nimesh Patel (exceptionally sharp stand-up; staff writer for Saturday Night Live; Comedy Central, TruTV; written for Chris Rock hosting the 2016 Oscars; co-host of Broken Comedy), Molly Kornfeld, Fareeha Khan, Maddy Smith, and Kevin Sean perform stand-up for host Khalid A. Rahmaan (Conan O'Brien): Electric Laughs (7:30 pm; Free!, plus free "magic punch surprise"!; Brooklyn's Work Heights/Franklin Electric at 650 Franklin Avenue; take the S subway to Park Place or the A/C to Franklin Avenue)
Saturday 11/2: Every Saturday night, a highly talented freestyle rapping long form improv group takes the stage for an hour: North Coast (9:00 pm, $12, The PIT Underground at 123 East 24th Street)
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Saturday 11/2: A top musical improv troupe that has wowed audiences around the world with its skill at making up an hour-long musical moment by moment. The plot and characters, the musical accompaniment, even the song lyrics and "choreography" are invented on the spot, with no pre-planned structure, by such ace talents as Becky Drysdale, Zack Willis, Amber Ruffin, Tim Sniffen, Katy Berry, Olivia Petzy, Jeff Hiller, Tarik Davis, Elizabeth Slack, William Martinez, MIke Poole, and Woody Fu, plus stellar improv musicians Dan Reitz (keyboards) & Sarah Mullins (drums/percussion). Come see why this show won a FringeNYC Award for Outstanding Unique Theatrical Event: Baby Wants Candy (10:30 pm, $14, UCB Hell's Kitchen at 555 West 42nd Street)
Sunday 11/3: A correspondent for The Daily Show who's also performed on Conan O'Brien, The Tonight Show, and Seth Meyers performs a deliciously long stand-up set in an intimate comedy club: Michael Kosta (7:00 pm, $10 plus 2-item food/drink min., West Village's The Fat Black Pussycat Lounge at 130 West 3rd Street)
Sunday 11/3: A show based on this premise: "Influencers. They’re hotter than you. They have more followers. People love them. Brands love them. They’re not just people, they’re also brands themselves. #TheirPostsMatter. They live their dreams and graciously let you live…vicariously. Without influencers, all that we know and love would die. If you’re not influencing, why do you even bother? Why are you even alive? Watch two real, live influencers, Jerome Lamaar (Instagram influencer extraordinaire, fashion designer, and Beyonce’s Adidas campaign director) and Steve Faktor (LinkedIn influencer, futurist, entrepreneur, and satirist) deconstruct the dirty secrets, lies, and future of Instafame. This is your last chance to get your Insta-sh!t together before it’s too late!" If you want your life to have meaning, come and learn at Influencers: The Dirty Secrets, Lies, and Future of Insta-Fame (7:00 pm, $25, LES' Caveat at 21-A Clinton Street—take F/J/M/Z subway to Delancey Street/Essex Street)
Sunday 11/3: Roy Wood Jr. (correspondent for Comedy Central's The Daily Show and host of This is Not Happening) and Aasif Mandvi (HBO's The Brink, Netflix's A Series of Unfortunate Events, numerous films; former correspondent for The Daily Show; author of No Man's Land) try out new jokes at this popular weekly safe space for the stand-up creation process hosted by Nat Towsen (Esquire, VICE, College Humor, host of Downtown Variety): New Material Night (8:00 pm, $12, The PIT Underground at 123 East 24th Street)
Sunday 11/3: Emmy Blotnick (brilliant and Emmy-nominated rising star stand-up who's performed on Stephen Colbert and in a Comedy Central Half Hour; staff writer for Stephen Colbert; comedy album Party Nights), Melanie Maras (Indonesian stand-up; two-time Moth Storyslam winner; writer of acclaimed play Kiss Me on the Mouth), Sammy Obeid (Conan O'Brien, Last Comic Standing; "voted #1 comedian by animals"), Andy Haynes (Jimmy Fallon, Conan O'Brien, Comedy Central Half Hour), Kevin McCaffrey (former warm-up comic for David Letterman; TruTV), Dina Hashem (Conan O'Brien, Comedy Central's Roast Battle), and Sam Evans perform stand-up hosted by Alison Leiby (writer for The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, former writer for Comedy Central's The Opposition and The President Show; VICE, Triumph The Insult Comic Dog; host of It's a Long Story): If You Build It (9:30 pm, $9, UCB at SubCulture, 45 Bleecker Street—take #6 subway to Bleecker Street stop)
Sunday 11/3: This weekly comedy roast battle tonight features Gianmarco Soresi vs. Alex La, Drew Drevyanko vs. Jill Weiner, John Ajodah vs. Jerry LaLee, and Vanetta Schoefield vs. Oscar Aydin judged by Maddy Smith, Mike Feeney, and more TBA hosted by Matt Maran: Comedy Fight Club (9:00 pm; $8.13 online using code CFC, with no min.; The Stand Upstairs at 116 East 16th Street)
Monday 11/4: Max Wittert, who is both an illustrator for The New Yorker and a stand-up, performs alongside his drawings for a visually driven night of comedy, with openers Ana Fabrega (breakout star of HBO's Los Espookys; Am Home with Amy Sedaris, Portlandia, The Jim Gaffigan Show, The Chris Gethard Show) and Rachel Kaly (Clickhole): Max Wittert: Portrait of the Artist Seated with Grapes (7:30 pm, $12, Brooklyn's Union Hall at 702 Union Street; take R subway to Union Street; #NYCF2019)
Monday 11/4: Lindsey Metselaar hosts this show that encourages uncommon openness and honesty in talking and telling stories about millennial dating in NYC, with tonight's guests Mark Normand, Napoleon Emill, Remy Kassimir, and Ali Kolbert: We Met at Acme (7:30 pm, $22, Chelsea Music Hall at 407 West 15th Street)
Monday 11/4: The annual Roastmasters Tournament returns (after a year's hiatus), with comics & judges TBA, giving NYC Champion Eli Sairs the chance to defend his title. This competition kicks off tonight at 7:30 pm, will continue Tuesday at 9:30 pm, and then climax Sunday at 10:00 pm, all hosted by master insulter Kim Congdon: Roastmasters NYC Tournament 2019 (7:30 pm, $10, The Stand Upstairs at 116 East 16th Street; #NYCF2019)
Monday 11/4: Aparna Nancherla (co-star of HBO's Crashing, Netflix's Master of None, and Comedy Central's Corporate), Jo Firestone (staff writer for Jimmy Fallon, co-author of #1 bestselling Punderdome: A Card Game for Pun Lovers), and Maeve Higgins (Maeve in America, co-host of Nat Geo's Star Talk) host TV & movie star Janeane Garofalo, Hari Kondabolu (David Letterman, Conan O'Brien, Comedy Central Presents; fascinating TruTV documentary The Problem with Apu; Netflix special Warn Your Relatives; co-host of Kondabolu Brothers podcast), Lorelei Ramirez (fresh, explosively brilliant stand-up; Adult Swim, VICE), The Lucas Brothers (Jimmy Fallon, 22 Jump Street, FOX's Lucas Bros Moving Company, Arrested Development), Clare O'Kane (Amazon's Budding Prospects, Viceland's Flophouse, webseries Semi-Famous; former writer for SpongeBob SquarePants; stand-up album Let It Be), and Kaleb Stewart (Comedy Central) performing stand-up, plus music from DJ Donwill: Butterboy with Jo, Aparna, and Maeve (8:00 pm, $10, Brooklyn's Littlefield at 635 Sackett Street—take R subway to Union Street; 10:00 pm afterparty at Parklife at 636 Degraw Street; #NYCF2019)
Monday 11/4: True tales on this month's theme of Outliers from comedic storytellers and/or scientists Saad Sarwana (physicist; co-host of ScienceChannel's Outrageous Acts of Science), Bryan Berlin (storyteller; host of podcast Love Hurts), Carla Katz (storyteller; solo show Body Parts), Tazmin Uddin (teacher), and Karen Washington (community activist) hosted by Zack Stovall (Splitsider) & Paula Croxson (neuroscientist; Senior Manager for Education Programs at Columbia University’s Zuckerman Institute; please wish Paula a Happy Birthday!): The Story Collider: Outliers (8:00 pm, $12, LES' Caveat at 21-A Clinton Street—take F/J/M/Z subway to Delancey Street/Essex Street)
Monday 11/4: Big Jay Oakerson (Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central Presents, Louie, Inside Amy Schumer, HBO, Showtime, MTV, IFC; co-host of podcast The SDR; stellar comedy special Live at Webster Hall; Netflix's The Degenerates), Dave Smith (FOX; host of podcast Part of the Problem), Luis J. Gomez (special Luis J. Gomez Presents Luis J. Gomez), and other NYC comics "discuss the skankier sides of life, love, and stand-up comedy" for this free weekly podcast taping: Legion of Skanks (9:30 pm, Free!, The Stand Upstairs at 116 East 16th Street)
Monday 11/4: Alice Wetterlund (Conan O'Brien; Carla on HBO's Silicon Valley, TBS' People of Earth, Netflix's Glow, SyFy's Resident Alien) hosts Hari Kondabolu (David Letterman, Conan O'Brien, Comedy Central Presents; fascinating TruTV documentary The Problem with Apu; Netflix special Warn Your Relatives; co-host of Kondabolu Brothers podcast), Dulcé Sloan (powerhouse comic and correspondent for The Daily Show; Conan O'Brien, @midnight), Sonia Denis (HBO's High Maintenance, Netflix's Set It Up, Emmy-nominated webseries Brown Girls), James Harris (co-host of JLTV's James & Sunda), and Zach Sims: Alice Wetterlund and Friends (10:00 pm, $12, Brooklyn's Union Hall at 702 Union Street; take R subway to Union Street; #NYCF2019)
Tuesday 11/5-Sunday 11/10: On top of the 100+ shows of @NYComedyFest , the 8th Annual Gotham Storytelling Festival kicks off today and runs through Sunday, with shows from such treasures as Ophira Eisenberg (How to Get Rid of Scars) and David Lawson (The 2020 Book Report). For a complete list of offerings and ticket-buying links, please click here—and use code 8YEARS for discounts: The Eighth Annual Gotham Storytelling Festival (running 11/5-11/10 at various times; $15-$20, with online discounts using code 8YEARS; The Kraine Theatre at 85 East 4th Street, off Second Avenue)
Tuesday 11/5: Mark Normand, Tim Dillon, Ian Fidance, and Kerryn Feehan (please note Chris Gethard and Yamaneika Saunders, while in the show poster above, can't make it tonight) reveal neuroses and dark obsessions that either hinder or fuel their comedy, hosted by Ron Bennington: One Flew Over the Comedy Club: Addictions and Compulsions of Stand-Ups (8:00 pm, $15, The Stand Upstairs at 116 East 16th Street; #NYCF2019)
Tuesday 11/5: Emmy Blotnick (brilliant and Emmy-nominated rising star stand-up who's performed on Stephen Colbert and in a Comedy Central Half Hour; staff writer for Stephen Colbert; comedy album Party Nights), Nicole Conlan (staff writer for Stephen Colbert), Miriam Nielsen (co-host of PBS-sponsored Hot Mess), and more discuss climate change with hosts Rollie Williams (who pretends to be Al Gore) and Mark Vigeant (who pretends to be his trusty sidekick Sandy the Crab): An Inconvenient Talk Show (7:00 pm, $12, LES' Caveat at 21-A Clinton Street; take F/J/M/Z subway to Delancey Street/Essex Street; #NYCF2019)
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Tuesday 11/5: A Broadway, TV, and film star who once said, "There’s no way to predict what is good or bad. You just do what you think is funny, and either it works or you’re finished" tries out new material tonight and tomorrow in an intimate club for his next mass media solo show: Colin Quinn (7:00 pm, $10 plus 2-item food/drink min., West Village's The Fat Black Pussycat Lounge at 130 West 3rd Street)
Tuesday 11/5: Grammy-winning singer/songwriter Paula Cole helped define the late 1990s with such haunting hits as "Where Have All the Cowboys Gone?" and "I Don't Want to Wait" (used as the theme song for all six seasons of Dawson's Creek). She's released nine albums to date, with This Fire in 1996 going double platinum, and her most recent Ballads in 2017 and Revolution in 2019. And she's tonight's guest of this NPR comedy trivia show taped live in Brooklyn hosted by the wonderful Ophira Eisenberg (one of the finest comedic storytellers and stand-ups in the country; author of bestselling book Screw Everyone: Sleeping My Way to Monogamy, comedy album Bangs!; NBC, CBS, Comedy Central, VH1, Showtime) with music by Jonathan Coulton: Ask Me Another (7:30 pm, $20, Brooklyn's The Bell House at 149 7th Street; take R subway to 9th Street or F/G to Fourth Avenue)
Tuesday 11/5: An LA-based filmmaker and actress (NBC's Sunnyside, The Mindy Project, Weeds) and stand-up who advocates, Buddha-like, getting into a healthy range (see video here) performs a deliciously long set for one night only in Brooklyn: Kiran Deol (7:30 pm, $12, Union Hall at 702 Union Street; take R subway to Union Street; #NYCF2019)
Tuesday 11/5: A comic who's starred on shows for HBO and Comedy Central, won Emmy and Peabody Awards for his work at Jon Stewart's The Daily Show, and is now working for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, performs a deliciously long stand-up set at an iconic comedy club: Paul Mecurio Headlines at Gotham (7:30 pm, $20 plus 2-drink min., Gotham Comedy Club at 208 West 23rd Street; #NYCF2019)
Tuesday 11/5: A raucous monthly pun competition hosted by Fred Firestone (co-author with Jo Firestone of #1 bestselling Punderdome: A Card Game for Pun Lovers), with 18 audience members (a dozen sign-ups and six returning champions) fiercely competing for wordplay dominance—and the chance to become an instant star based on verbal cleverness, and the ability to drum up the most applause from a packed and loudly cheering crowd. This special Halloween edition also features a spooky Pun-Costume competition: Punderdome 3000: Halloween Special (8:00 pm, $12, Brooklyn's Littlefield at 635 Sackett Street—take R subway to Union Street; show up early—doors open at 7:00—to nab a seat, or plan on standing)
Tuesday 11/5: Every Tuesday at 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, with giveaways of comics and gift certificates: Comic Book Club (8:00 pm, Free!, The PIT Loft at 154 West 29th Street)
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Tuesday 11/5: Monroe Martin (David Letterman, Jimmy Fallon, finalist on Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central's The Jim Gaffigan Show, Netflix's Master of None; host of podcast No Need for Apologies) performs an autobiographical stand-up show about his growing up in the foster care system, experiencing multiple failed relationships. and now being a newly married man trying to build a family and figure it all out: Monroe Martin: System Failure (8:30 pm, $10 plus 2-item food/drink min., Comedy Cellar's The Fat Black Pussycat Lounge at 130 West 3rd Street; #NYCF2019)
Tuesday 11/5: It's Night #2 of the annual Roastmasters NYC Tournament, with Kim Congdon hosting and Luis J. Gomez judging. The winners from yesterday and tonight will face off at the Finals on Sunday at 10:00 pm to cap New York Comedy Festival 2019: Roastmasters NYC Tournament 2019 (9:30 pm, $10, The Stand at 116 East 16th Street #NYCF2019)
Tuesday 11/5: Ace stand-ups Emmy Blotnick (brilliant and Emmy-nominated rising star stand-up who's performed on Stephen Colbert and in a Comedy Central Half Hour; staff writer for Stephen Colbert; comedy album Party Nights) & Joe Zimmerman (Jimmy Fallon, Conan O'Brien, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, Comedy Central Half Hour, Last Comic Standing) host fellow comics Michael Kosta, Shalewa Sharpe, Daniel Simonsen, Greg Stone, and Doogie Horner. After each guest's stand-up set, Emmy & Joe ask follow-up questions to generate yet more and more jokes for an endless conveyor belt of comedy they call the Joke Machine (10:00 pm, $10, Brooklyn's Union Hall at 702 Union Street; take R subway to Union Street; #NYCF2019)
Tuesday 11/6: Hosts Karen Chee (staff writer for Seth Meyers; The New Yorker, McSweeney's) & Larry Owens (staff writer for TruTV's Paid Off; feature film To Dust) fight the power with tonight's stellar guests Aparna Nancherla (one of the very finest stand-ups in the country; co-star of Super Bowl 2019 commercial, Comedy Central's Corporate, and HBO's Crashing; also performed on HBO's 2 Dope Queens, Netflix's Master of None and The Standups, TBS' Conan O'Brien, and Comedy Central's @Midnight and Half Hour; former writer for Seth Meyers; comedy album Just Putting It Out There), Jaboukie Young-White (correspondent for The Daily Show), Ana Fabrega (breakout star of HBO's Los Espookys; Am Home with Amy Sedaris, Portlandia, The Jim Gaffigan Show, The Chris Gethard Show), Ziwe Fumudoh (writer for Showtime's Desus & Mero; previously writer for The Rundown with Robin Thede; host of hilarious webseries Baited with Ziwe; host of Pop Show), and Randall Otis (writer for The Daily Show): Decolonize Your Mind (10:30 pm, $11, Chelsea Music Hall at 407 West 15th Street; #NYCF2019)
Wednesday 11/6: The National Lampoon Radio Hour ran weekly from November 1973 through December 1974. A number of its comics then moved on to Saturday Night Live, including John Belushi, Chevy Chase, Bill Murray, Gilda Radner, Harold Ramis, and brilliant writer Michael O'Donoghue. Decades later, you can come see NLRH resurrected as a podcast and stage show with a brand new cast of writers and performers: Jo Firestone, Maeve Higgins, Aaron Jackson, Brett Davis, Alex English, Rachel Pegram, Lorelei Ramirez, Meg Stalter, Martin Urbano, and Cole Escola: The National Lampoon Radio Hour (7:30 pm, $25, Brooklyn's The Bell House at 149 7th Street; take R subway to 9th Street or F/G to Fourth Avenue; #NYCF2019)
Wednesday 11/6: Comics share their rejected comedy material at this all-star show with Aparna Nancherla (left, abandoned by Elmo; one of the very finest stand-ups in the country; co-star of Super Bowl 2019 commercial, Comedy Central's Corporate, and HBO's Crashing; also performed on HBO's 2 Dope Queens, Netflix's Master of None and The Standups, TBS' Conan O'Brien, and Comedy Central's @Midnight and Half Hour; former writer for Seth Meyers; comedy album Just Putting It Out There), Michelle Collins (middle, holding axed jokes; host of TLC's 90 Day Live and Sirius XM's The Michelle Collins Show; former co-host of ABC's The View and Bachelor in Paradise: After Paradise), and Scott Rogowsky (right, dumped by umbrella; NBC's The Voice, WB's Penn & Teller: Fool Us; host of wildly popular trivia game app HQ Trivia), plus music from superb duo Stuckey & Murray, fab band The Defibulators, and SNL Musical Director Eli Brueggemann, all hosted by Jon Friedman (Jimmy Fallon; former writer for MTV's Guy Code and Girl Code, YouTube series Part Timers): The Rejection Show (7:30 pm, $11, Chelsea Music Hall at 407 West 15th Street; #NYCF2019)
Wednesday 11/6: "Do you ever leave a comedy show saying 'Hmm, that was pretty funny but not enough reading'? Literati is a night of comics in character performing hilarious readings—sometimes while wearing wigs," with tonight's small army of guests John Reynolds (Stranger Things, Search Party), Lorelei Ramirez (Adult Swim, VICE), Clare O’Kane (VICE, Comedy Central Half Hour), Josh Sharp (The Opposition, At Home w/Amy Sedaris), Monique Moses (Netflix, Comedy Central), Sydnee Washington (The Unofficial Expert Podcast), Natasha Vaynblat (Comedy Central), Meg Stalter (National Lampoon Comedy Hour), Alex Song (HBO, Netflix, Tonight Show), Branson Reese (Cartoon Network), Becky Chicoine & Sam Reece (Comedy Central’s Shop Talk), Rollie Williams (An Inconvenient Talk Show), Mark Vigeant (Internet Explorers), and Carmen Christopher (The Chris Gethard Show) hosted by Colin O'Brien & Michael Wolf: Literati: A Comedy Show About Books and the Idiots Who Write Them (7:00 pm, $12, LES' Caveat at 21-A Clinton Street; take F/J/M/Z subway to Delancey Street/Essex Street; #NYCF2019)
Wednesday 11/6: Barry Katz is a long-time TV comedy producer (Last Comic Standing, Whitney, Tourgasm) and has managed such giants as Dave Chappelle, Bill Burr, Tracy Morgan, and Whitney Cummings. Tonight he interviews a top comic about what it takes to have a successful career for this live version of his podcast: Industry Standard (7:00 pm, $15, The Stand at 116 East 16th Street #NYCF2019)
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Wednesday 11/6: A Broadway, TV, and film star who once said, "There’s no way to predict what is good or bad. You just do what you think is funny, and either it works or you’re finished" tries out new material tonight and tomorrow in an intimate club for his next mass media solo show: Colin Quinn (7:00 pm, $10 plus 2-item food/drink min., West Village's The Fat Black Pussycat Lounge at 130 West 3rd Street)
Wednesday 11/6: Mekki Leeper is an LA-based stand-up who grew up in a Muslim-Christian home, has appeared on James Corden (please see his January 2019 set here), wrote & directed the Comedy Central digital series Resolutions, and stars in the Comedy Central digital special Control Room—and he's performing a solo stand-up show tonight in Brooklyn as part of #NYCF: Mekki Leeper (7:30 pm, $10, Brooklyn's Union Hall at 702 Union Street; take R subway to Union Street; #NYCF2019)
Wednesday 11/6: Representing some of UCB-New York's best scripted comedy for the New York Comedy Festival is this double-bill. First up is a mini-play written and co-starring Elena Skopetos titled Impressing My Dad, and then Maude house group The Foundation reprises its favorite sketches: The Best of UCBT-NY (9:00 pm, $12, UCB Hell's Kitchen at 555 West 42nd Street; #NYCF2019)
Wednesday 11/6: Stand-ups tell their darkest and most personal jokes, and then sit down for an intimate conversation with Crystal Marie about the real-life experiences that inspired them, answering such questions as "When and how did you give yourself permission to talk about your trauma?", featuring guests Chris Redd (cast member of Saturday Night Live; NBC's Will & Grace, Netflix's Disjointed, movie Popstar: Never Stop Stopping), Nikki Glaser (host of You Up on SiriusXM; star of former Comedy Central series Not Safe; Comedy Central and Netflix specials; films Trainwreck and I Feel Pretty), Dulcé Sloan (powerhouse comic and correspondent for The Daily Show; Conan O'Brien, @midnight), Andrew Schulz (MTV's Guy Code, Girl Code, Failosophy), Sam Morril (Stephen Colbert, Conan O'Brien, Comedy Central Half Hour, America's Got Talent), Petey DeAbreu (host of Petey's World and co-host of White Chocolate), and Moses Storm (Conan O'Brien, Last Comic Standing): Behind the Bit (9:00 pm, $20 cover and no min., The Stand Upstairs at 116 East 16th Street; #NYCF2019)
Wednesday 11/6: A solo show about losing a sister to suicide, quitting stand-up, and eventually finding joy in comedy again, loosely based on the 2018 memoir Tragedy Plus Time: Adam Cayton-Holland: Happy Place (10:00 pm, $12, Brooklyn's Union Hall at 702 Union Street; take R subway to Union Street; #NYCF2019)
Wednesday 11/6: Mind reader Eric Dittelman (America’s Got Talent, Ellen) hosts professional magicians testing out new acts—including comedic bits—for this long-running free monthly show: Amazeballs (10:00 pm, Free!, The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC at 10-93 Jackson Avenue; take 7 subway to Vernon Boulevard–Jackson Avenue)
Thursday 11/7-Sunday 11/10: Hilarious, quick-witted Norm Macdonald both gets in trouble and is beloved for not being afraid to make waves. For example, way back in 1997 Norm got the biggest laugh ever out of Conan O'Brien when he began by declaring that if Carrot Top is the star of the new movie of another guest, a good title for the film would be "Box Office Poison." Conan then asked the guest for the actual title, and she responded Chairman of the Board. Conan turned to Norm and said, "Do something with that, you freak." Without missing a beat, Norm replied, "I bet Board is spelled B-O-R-E-D." Conan, and the audience, went into hysterics. (Also famed is Norm's moth story.) Norm was a popular cast member of Saturday Night Live for five seasons and the anchor of Weekend Update for three seasons. He was also a regular on several network sitcoms, and even starred in his own ABC sitcom The Norm Show, which ran for three seasons. More recently, Norm is the voice of Yaphit on The Orville and hosts the Netflix interview program Norm Macdonald Has a Show. Norm is also one of the most acclaimed stand-ups in the biz, and well worth catching. He's headlining Thursday through Sunday as part of the New York Comedy Festival: Norm Macdonald (8:00 pm & 10:30 pm, $57.25 plus 2-drink min., Carolines Comedy Club at 1626 Broadway; #NYCF2019)
Thursday 11/7: Writer/actress/producer/comic Quinta Brunson has co-starred on HBO's A Black Lady Sketch Show, the webseries Girl Who Has Never Been on a Nice Date, a bunch of Buzzfeed videos, and more—including a pilot she's developing for CBS. Tonight you can see this red-hot rising star live on stage hosting Sam Jay (writer for Saturday Night Live; performed on Jimmy Kimmel, Comedy Central Stand-Up Presents, Take My Wife), Sydnee Washington (Conan O'Brien, MTV2's Vidiots, co-host of podcast The Unofficial Expert), Taylor Garron (editor for Reductress), Ayo Edebiri (Comedy Central), and Anthony Moore: Quinta Brunson + Friends (7:30 pm, $20, Brooklyn's The Bell House at 149 7th Street; take R subway to 9th Street or F/G to Fourth Avenue; #NYCF2019)
Thursday 11/7: This solo production, which debuted at last year's FringeNYC and is now enjoying a monthly revival at LES' Caveat, starts out pretending to be a scientific lecture about and demonstration of chaos theory.
But it's really a highly interactive show that uses comedy and thoughtfully structured game-play for nudging audiences to explore their wishes and desires, push past boundaries, connect with everyone around them, and be open to anything.
It's all courtesy of writer/performer Jessica Ellen Creane, who cycles between faux-shyly giving illustrated talks about such things as fractals, love, and velociraptors, making herself fearlessly vulnerable, and improvising quick-witted responses to audience choices. For example, when Creane asked me to name a goal, I replied, "writing and selling a movie." She immediately gave me the best pep talk I've ever had, stating beyond doubt that I'd succeed. In gratitude, I added, "I'll cast you in it." Without missing a beat, and fully committing to her scientist character (wearing thick black-frame glasses with no lenses), Creane tossed off, "I'm not good at acting" before moving on to help someone else. That she even thought of that line demonstrates what a superb actress Creane is...and how completely she performs in the moment.
Because this show relies so deeply on interaction, each edition will be different based on the decisions made by you and your fellow audience members. Along the same lines, how much you enjoy it, and genuinely get out of it, will depend heavily on what you bring to it.
For me, it was a **** (out of 4) show. If you come experience this—and you should—I hope you have a wonderful time too; and that it moves you closer to your dreams.
Chaos Theory (7:00, $27.63 in advance online or $30 at the door, LES' Caveat at 21-A Clinton Street; take F/J/M/Z subway to Delancey Street/Essex Street)
Thursday 11/7: Superb UCB character comics—including such rising stars as Desi Domo and Michael Cruz Kayne—perform some of their best solo bits for the New York Comedy Festival: UCBT Character Showcase (7:30 pm, $12, UCB Hell's Kitchen at 555 West 42nd Street; #NYCF2019)
Thursday 11/7: Open mic storytelling show, with each yarn-spinner whose name is picked from a basket receiving 5 minutes on stage to share something that happened in his or her life (and that's interesting enough to make the audience feel okay about missing tonight's debate), hosted by David Lawson (fresh, sharp, edgy storyteller; The Flyer Guy): The Astoria Bookshop Storytelling Show (7:00 pm, Free!, Astoria Bookshop at 31-29 31st Street)
Thursday 11/7: A group of nearly a dozen Philadelphia comics (Joe Bell, Shannon Fahey, Caitlin Feeney, Ari Fishbein, Kyle Harris, Rose Luardo, Pete Steele, Dan Vetrano, Christine Walden, Michael S. Watkins, and Andrew Jeffrey Wright) visits us to participate in #NYCF2019, with stellar guests Ana Fabrega (breakout star of HBO's Los Espookys; Am Home with Amy Sedaris, Portlandia, The Jim Gaffigan Show, The Chris Gethard Show) and Sarah Squirm (creator of infamous Adult Swim video here): Darlings (8:00 pm, $5, The Kraine Theatre at 85 East 4th Street, off Second Avenue)
Thursday 11/7: Douglas Widdick & Ken McGraw perform an hour-long musical, directed by Caitlin Bitzegaio, on the myriad very wrong ways to try to pick up women and live a bachelor lifestyle: Toxic Masculinity: The Musical (9:00 pm, $12, UCB Hell's Kitchen at 555 West 42nd Street; #NYCF2019)
Thursday 11/7: With brutal honesty, top comics Dan Soder (one of the very finest stand-ups in the country; Dudley Mafee on Showtime's Billions; films Trainwreck, Drunk Parents; Conan O'Brien, Comedy Central hour-long special Not Special, Comedy Central Half Hour, Netflix's The Standups, Inside Amy Schumer, MTV's Guy Code and Guy Court, upcoming HBO special; hosts with Big Jay Oakerson Sirius XM's The Bonfire), Robert Kelly (Louie, Trainwreck, HBO, CBS, two Comedy Central specials, YKWD podcast), and Lynne Koplitz (star of stand-up specials Hormonal Beast on Netflix and a Comedy Central Presents; HBO's Crashing; upcoming Judd Apatow movie Staten Island; Joan Know's Best, IFC's Z Rock, host of WB's Life & Style, Chris Rock movie Top Five) each shares a story of one of the worst things he or she has ever experienced, with periodic questions and other interjections from host Big Jay Oakerson (Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central Presents, Louie, Inside Amy Schumer, HBO, Showtime, MTV, IFC; co-host of podcasts Legion of Skanks and The SDR; stellar comedy special Live at Webster Hall): The Worst (9:00 pm, $20 cover and no min., The Stand at 116 East 16th Street; #NYCF2019)
Thursday 11/7: Stand-ups Chris Gethard (star of HBO 90-minute special Career Suicide; star of TruTV's & Fusion's The Chris Gethard Show; co-star of Mike Birbiglia film Don't Think Twice; host of Webby-winning podcast Beautiful Stories From Anonymous People) and Meg Stalter (National Lampoon Comedy Hour) each performs a stand-up set and is then analyzed by a genuine professional therapist based on the material, all hosted by by Michael S. Watkins & Joe Bell: Comedian Psychoanalysis (9:30 pm, $5, The Kraine Theatre at 85 East 4th Street, off Second Avenue; #NYCF2019)
Friday 11/8: Superb storyteller David Lawson (Comedy Central; solo shows include The Flyer Guy, No Oddjob, The Prequels; host of The Astoria Bookshop Storytelling Show) performs a one-man show "standing onstage judging people who are seeking The White House in 2020. The only qualification David has? He's read their books:" David Lawson's 2020 Book Report (7:00 pm; $13.72 online using code 8YEARS; The Kraine Theatre at 85 East 4th Street off Second Avenue)
Friday 11/8: Ace comics Jo Firestone, Ana Fabrega, Sydnee Washington, Catherine Cohen, Natalie Walker, and Ayo Edebiri—aided by musical director James Harvey—perform for host Larry Owens (staff writer for TruTV's Paid Off; feature film To Dust): Larry Owens + Friends (7:30 pm, $20, Brooklyn's The Bell House at 149 7th Street; take R subway to 9th Street or F/G to Fourth Avenue; #NYCF2019)
Friday 11/8: Storytelling, catharsis, and laughter as comics who identify as survivors of sexual assault or harassment share their experiences, featuring Amber Rollo, Wendi Starling, Arti Gollapudi, Irene Fagan Merrow, Rebecca O'Neal, and Dylan Adler hosted by Kelly Bachman (filmmaker/comic; recent op-ed in The New York Times). This show will be filmed as part of a documentary: Rape Jokes by Survivors (7:30 pm, $17, UCB at SubCulture at 45 Bleecker Street—take #6 subway to Bleecker Street stop; #NYCF201)
Friday 11/8: A solo stand-up show self-described as "fiercely personal, remorselessly dark, morally bankrupt comedy" from a comic who's performed on Comedy Central and Amazon Prime: Rosebud Baker (7:30 pm, $15, Brooklyn's Union Hall at 702 Union Street; take R subway to Union Street; #NYCF2019)
Friday 11/8: Baron Vaughn (Conan O'Brien, Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central Half Hour, co-host of Comedy Central's The New Negroes; Tom Servo in the Netflix reboot of Mystery Science Theater 3000; cast member of Netflix's Grace and Frankie and USA's Fairly Legal; films Cloverfield, Black Dynamite, and his own documentary Fatherless) and Open Mike Eagle (stand-up and hip-hop artist; Adult Swim; co-host with Baron of The New Negroes) perform and host other notable stand-ups in this stage version of their Comedy Central showcase: The New Negroes Live (8:00 pm, $25, Brooklyn's Littlefield at 635 Sackett Street; take R subway to Union Street; #NYCF2019)
Friday 11/8: A unique game show in which an oddball Internet video is screened, and then over a dozen contestants have three minutes to prepare a dance routine inspired by what everyone just experienced. It'll all be judged by typically cool comics TBA: Dancify That! (8:00 pm, $15, The PIT Mainstage at 123 East 24th Street)
Friday 11/8: Sarah Squirm, who created the infamous Adult Swim video here, gifts us with a live show filled with her disturbingly gross dark comedy, plus for musical guests phenom comics Ana Fabrega & Lorelei Ramirez (as duo Beautiful Souls Al Fresco): Sarah Squirm's HellTrap Nightmare (10:00 pm, $15, Brooklyn's The Bell House at 149 7th Street; take R subway to 9th Street or F/G to Fourth Avenue; #NYCF2019)
Friday 11/8: A game show that describes itself as follows: "Ever talk to a straight guy and think, 'Jesus Christ you're boring!' Two straight men (who tonight are comics Moses Storm and Michael Cruz Kayne) enter the arena, but only one leaves with the title of Queen of the Straights. Lifelines include a Woman Who Gets It (Catherine Cohen) and a Wise Queer (Pat Regan)" hosted by Matt Rogers & Dave Mizzoni, who invite you to "come witness the ultimate test of who Is honorarily Gay As Fuck:" GAYme Show (Midnight, $25, Gramercy Theatre at 127 East 23rd Street off Park Avenue South; #NYCF2019)
Saturday 11/9: Sydnee Washington & Marie Faustin (above) host this live-on-stage recording of their podcast that tests stand-ups on their masterful knowledge of an intriguing subject, with tonight's topic and guests TBA: The UnOfficial Expert Live (5:00 pm, $15, Brooklyn's Union Hall (702 Union Street; take R subway to Union Street)
Saturday 11/9: Bonnie McFarlane (HBO, David Letterman, Jay Leno, Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central Presents special; co-host of My Wife Hates Me podcast; author of You're Better Than Me; writer/director of documentary Women Aren't Funny) records a new comedy album tonight...with the help of your energy and joy. Come have your laughs immortalized at Bonnie McFarlane: 3 1/2 Stars (8:00 pm, $25 cover and no min., The Stand Mainstage at 116 East 16th Street; #NYCF2019)
Saturday 11/9: This "woke" Japanese-style game show will push to the max the problem-solving skills of comedy giants (in alphabetical order) Wyatt Cenac, Judah Friedlander, Aparna Nancherla, and Larry Owens. Hosting this star-studded event, which promises to be enormous fun, will be the charming Atsuko Okatsuka (HBO's Room 104; writer for Adult Swim's wonderfully surreal The Eric Andre Show and Soft Focus with Jena Friedman): Let's Go, Atsuko! (8:30 pm, $11, Chelsea Music Hall at 407 West 15th Street)
Saturday 11/9: A show celebrating the app that redefined online dating, with the lovely and quick-witted Lane Moore (above middle; author of bestselling book How to Be Alone; HBO's Girls; Sex & Relationship Editor of Cosmo; writer for The Onion, McSweeney's) going on a live Tinder safari for guys while a packed audience watches her every choice with fascination. Offering comments and suggestions are guests Jean Grae (left; renowned, seminal hip hop recording artist; also sharp pro comic and comedy host), Connor Ratliff (right; brilliant improvisor & character comic; The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Orange is the New Black, Broad City, The Chris Gethard Show, The President Show; co-star of legendary improv group The Stepfathers; host of The George Lucas Talk Show), and Chase Mitchell (staff writer for FOX's What Just Happened?; former long-time staff writer for Jimmy Fallon): Tinder Live (8:30 pm, $18 at the door or $19.51-$22.76 online; Brooklyn's Littlefield at 635 Sackett Street; take R subway to Union Street; #NYCF2019)
Saturday 11/9: Gastor Almonte (Comedy Central’s This Is Not Happening, host of Stoops2Stages, co-host of Sandwich, comedy album Immigrant Made) hosts a long-form storytelling show with Aida Rodriguez, Jay Jurden, and Chanel Ali that, like a good meal, will satisfy and sustain you: Beef & Broccoli (8:30 pm, $20 cover and no min., The Stand Upstairs at 116 East 16th Street; #NYCF2019)
Saturday 11/9: Every Saturday night, a highly talented freestyle rapping long form improv group takes the stage for an hour: North Coast (9:00 pm, $12, The PIT Underground at 123 East 24th Street; #NYCF2019)
Saturday 11/9: Director, writer, actor, and national treasure Kevin Smith (Clerks, Chasing Amy, Comic Book Men, Jay and Silent Bob) and Jason Mewes (co-star of the View Askewniverse; host of popular and long-running podcast Jay & Silent Bob Get Old) perform a storytelling and Q&A show—which I'll be attending—promoting their just-released latest movie Jay and Silent Bob Reboot: The Jay and Silent Bob Reboot Roadshow (9:45 pm, BMCC Tribeca Performing Arts Center at 99 Chambers Street; take the 1/2/3 subway to Chambers Street; #NYCF2019. PLEASE NOTE: This show has SOLD OUT.)
Saturday 11/9: "When I encountered rich people for the first time, I discovered that not only do they holiday in places that are hard to find on a map, but that they use the names of seasons as verbs. When they asked me, 'Where did you summer and winter growing up?' I would usually say, 'As a child? The same place I springed and autumned.'" A veteran comic performs a long stand-up set at midnight: Artie Lange is Back (Midnight, $25 cover and no min., The Stand Mainstage at 116 East 16th Street)
Sunday 11/10: Each of us endures a lot more, and is far tougher, than is apparent from surface appearances. And that refers to not only emotional and spiritual hardships, but permanent bodily mementos. In this show, Ophira Eisenberg (one of the very finest storytellers in the country; NBC's The Today Show, CBS' The Late Late Show, Comedy Central, VH1, Showtime, host of NPR's trivia/puzzle show Ask Me Another, bestselling book Screw Everyone, comedy album Bangs!; for a sampling of Ophira's remarkably deep comedic tales, please click here) reveals "I have a lot of scars. And I don’t mean metaphorical ones, I'm talking actual physical scars. I'm actually covered in them. They stem from incidents throughout my life, from putting my finger into a meat grinder at age 4 to surviving a near-fatal car crash. This show is about my scars, filled with both comedic and tragic stories, and how to accept these patterns etched in my skin day after day after day." Opening for Ophira during this 90-minute show are storytellers Michaela Murphy (recommended by The New Yorker) and Mike Albo (writer for The New Yorker, The New York Times, New York Magazine; author of novels Homito and The Underminer): Ophira Eisenberg: How to Get Rid of Scars (2:00 pm; $17.96 in advance online using code 8YEARS; The Kraine Theatre at 85 East 4th Street off Second Avenue)
Sunday 11/10: Amazing lineup of some of the finest comics in the biz—Judah Friedlander, Aparna Nancherla, Mark Normand, Alison Leiby, and Peter Grosz—performing stand-up hosted by Robert Dean: If You Build It (9:30 pm, $12, UCB at SubCulture, 45 Bleecker Street—take #6 subway to Bleecker Street stop; #NYCF2019)
Sunday 11/10: Mothers, and nonprofit group MIMSI that "offers life-saving prenatal care to mothers in areas of the world that need it most," are celebrated by Judy Gold (top left; star of HBO's At The Multiplex With Judy Gold; star of multiple stand-up specials on HBO, Comedy Central, and LOGO; former writer & producer for The Rosie O’Donnell Show, for which Judy won two Daytime Emmy Awards; Showtime's I'm Dying Up Here; Stephen Colbert, Conan O'Brien, Jay Leno, The View; popular weekly podcast Kill Me Now), Karen Chee (bottom left; staff writer for Seth Meyers; The New Yorker, McSweeney's), Krystyna Hutchinson (bottom right; with comedy partner Corinne Fisher, host of popular Guys We Fucked podcast and author of F*CKED: Being Sexually Explorative and Self-Confident in a World That’s Screwed), Chris Distefano (top right; star of Comedy Central's hour-long special Size 38 Waist and weekly interstitial series Stupid Questions; David Letterman, Seth Meyers, MTV2's Guy Code), and Lucas O'Neil in this fundraiser hosted by X Mayo (The Daily Show): Another Mother's Day (7:30 pm, $25, Brooklyn's The Bell House at 149 7th Street; take R subway to 9th Street or F/G to Fourth Avenue; #NYCF2019)
Sunday 11/10: Aasif Mandvi (HBO's The Brink, Netflix's A Series of Unfortunate Events, numerous films; former correspondent for The Daily Show; author of No Man's Land), Erik Bergstrom (Comedy Central Half Hour, MTV, VH1, Fuse; cartoonist/author of Grimmer Tales, The New Yorker), and Kelsey Claire Hagen (host of Don't Grab My Pussy) try out new jokes at this popular weekly safe space for the stand-up creation process hosted by Nat Towsen (Esquire, VICE, College Humor, host of Downtown Variety): New Material Night (8:00 pm, $12, The PIT Underground at 123 East 24th Street)
Sunday 11/10: Comics competitively roast each other, with tonight's main bout Anya Volz (writer for Riot Fest, The Hard TImes; host of Thirst Trap With Anya Volz) vs. Dan Wickes (producer of Popped Collar Comedy and Stationary Circus), all hosted by Matt Maran: Comedy Fight Club (9:00 pm, $10, The Stand Upstairs at 116 East 16th Street)
Sunday 11/10 SOLD OUT, but buy tix for Tuesday 11/12: Jena Friedman (wry dark political stand-up; star of Adult Swim's Soft Focus; Conan O'Brien, Stephen Colbert, @midnight, The New Yorker, Netflix mockumentary Undecided; former staff writer for David Letterman and Roseanne; former producer for The Daily Show) performs a solo show "as America slips into fascism that celebrates free speech, while she still has it." Sunday's 7:00 pm show quickly sold out, so a 5:00 pm show was added...and it sold out too. So if you didn't nab tickets in time, you can't see this show today. However, you can still buy tickets for one more performance (outside #NYCF2019) this Tuesday 11/12 at 10:00 pm—which I recommend you do right now, before it sells out too: Jena Friedman: Miscarriage of Justice (Tuesday 11/12 at 10:00 pm, $15, Brooklyn's Union Hall at 702 Union Street; take R subway to Union Street)
Sunday 11/10 SOLD OUT, but buy tix for Saturday 11/16: Courtney Pauroso (Jimmy Kimmel, Key & Peale, American Housewife) performs her hit Edinburgh Fringe show that “takes its audience on an intense and hilarious journey in an hour of chaos that somehow portrays a deep, life-spanning story.” Today's show is SOLD OUT, but you can still nab tickets for additional performances (outside #NYCF2019) on Saturday 11/16: Gutterplum (Saturday 11/16 at 7:30 pm or 10:00 pm, $15, Brooklyn's Union Hall at 702 Union Street; take R subway to Union Street)
Monday 11/11: New York Comedy Festival 2019 is over, but its fond memories will linger for years. Personally, I want to give special thanks to two of the greatest comics ever, Pete Holmes and John Mulaney, for bringing the fest to a spectacular close at Pete's (almost instantly) sold out show Sunday night at Brooklyn's Murmrr Theatre. John was an unannounced opener, and an enormously happy and much-beloved surprise. And Pete reminded NYC why he's one of the finest and most joyful stand-ups of all time. Gratitude and blessings to both of these giants.
Monday 11/11: Celebrating their show's Second Year Anniversary are stellar comics Aparna Nancherla (co-star of HBO's Crashing, Netflix's Master of None, and Comedy Central's Corporate), Jo Firestone (staff writer for Jimmy Fallon, co-author of #1 bestselling Punderdome: A Card Game for Pun Lovers), and Maeve Higgins (Maeve in America, co-host of Nat Geo's Star Talk), who tonight host Todd Barry, Joyelle Nicole Johnson, Rob Haze, Jes Tom, James Fritz, and more performing stand-up, plus music from DJ Donwill: Butterboy with Jo, Aparna, and Maeve: 2 Year Anniverary Show (8:00 pm, $10, Brooklyn's Littlefield at 635 Sackett Street—take R subway to Union Street; 10:00 pm afterparty at Parklife at 636 Degraw Street)
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Monday 11/11: Ace comics Mark Normand & Joe List take their popular weekly yarn-spinning podcast with guests to the Comedy Cellar stage (on a Monday, but suspend your disbelief and have fun): Tuesdays With Stories Live (8:00 pm, $15 plus 2-item food/drink min., West Village's Village Underground at 130 West 3rd Street off Sixth Avenue)
Monday 11/11: Big Jay Oakerson (Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central Presents, Louie, Inside Amy Schumer, HBO, Showtime, MTV, IFC; co-host of podcast The SDR; stellar comedy special Live at Webster Hall; Netflix's The Degenerates), Dave Smith (FOX; host of podcast Part of the Problem), Luis J. Gomez (special Luis J. Gomez Presents Luis J. Gomez), and tonight's slated guests Joe DeRosa (razor-sharp stand-up; HBO's Crashing, Comedy Central Presents and Comedy Central Half Hour specials, HBO’s Bored to Death and Down and Dirty, FX's Louie, AMC's Better Call Saul, E!'s Chelsea Lately, stand-up album The Depression Auction) and Kerryn Feehan (Comedy Central, TruTV, Spike TV; co-host of Frantic Mondays) "discuss the skankier sides of life, love, and stand-up comedy" for this free weekly podcast taping: Legion of Skanks (9:30 pm, Free!, The Stand Upstairs at 116 East 16th Street)
Monday 11/11: Deliciously long stand-up sets from each of two recently married comics: Clare O'Kane (Comedy Central Half Hour, Amazon's Budding Prospects, Viceland's Flophouse, webseries Semi-Famous; former writer for SpongeBob SquarePants; stand-up album Let It Be) and Courtney Maginnis (Comedy Central, College Humor; host of podcast The Narcisistas and free weekly East Village stand-up show Let's See, What Else?), plus an opening set from phenom Lorelei Ramirez (fresh, explosively brilliant stand-up; Adult Swim, VICE): Clare O'Kane, Courtney Maginnis, Lorelei Ramirez: The Newlywed Hour (10:00 pm, $15, Brooklyn's Union Hall at 702 Union Street; take R subway to Union Street)
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Monday 11/11: Sherrod Small (Jimmy Kimmel, A&E's Black & White, TBS' Are We There Yet?, NBC's Showtime at the Apollo, Comedy Central, VH1; co-host of podcast Race Wars) performs a deliciously long stand-up set in an intimate West Village club: Sherrod Small (10:30 pm, $20 plus 2-item food/drink min., West Village's The Fat Black Pussycat Lounge at 130 West 3rd Street)
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Tuesday 11/12: A Broadway, TV, and film star who once said, "Marie Antoinette, I'm sure she was just misinterpreted. You know the 'Let them eat cake' line? She seems kind of funny, like a Kathy Griffin type" tries out new material tonight and tomorrow in an intimate club for his next mass media solo show: Colin Quinn (7:00 pm, $10 plus 2-item food/drink min., West Village's The Fat Black Pussycat Lounge at 130 West 3rd Street)
Tuesday 11/12: David Cross (comedy legend; Mr. Show, Arrested Development, Modern Family, latest comedy special Oh Come On) tries out new stand-up material in Brooklyn: David Cross: Shootin' the Shit, Seein' What Sticks (8:00 pm, $15, Brooklyn's Littlefield at 635 Sackett Street; take R subway to Union Street)
Tuesday 11/12: Every Tuesday at 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, with giveaways of comics and gift certificates: Comic Book Club (8:00 pm, Free!, The PIT Loft at 154 West 29th Street)
Tuesday 11/12: Corinne Fisher (with comedy partner Krystyna Hutchinson, host of popular Guys We Fucked podcast and author of F*CKED: Being Sexually Explorative and Self-Confident in a World That’s Screwed) and Joe DeRosa (razor-sharp stand-up; HBO's Crashing, Comedy Central Presents and Comedy Central Half Hour specials, HBO’s Bored to Death and Down and Dirty, FX's Louie, AMC's Better Call Saul, E!'s Chelsea Lately, stand-up album The Depression Auction) team up to launch a new podcast tonight which they describe as follows: "Amidst a culture filled with loud pigs and whiny cows, we discuss current news stories and how each is covered differently by our media's most biased, poker-prodding news sources. We are hell bent on finding the quiet, spineless middle ground that must exist somewhere between cries of Vulture and Breitbart:" Without A Country Podcast— Live! (9:30 pm, $15 cover and no min., The Stand Upstairs at 116 East 16th Street)
Tuesday 11/12: Jena Friedman (wry dark political stand-up; star of Adult Swim's Soft Focus; Conan O'Brien, Stephen Colbert, @midnight, The New Yorker, Netflix mockumentary Undecided; former staff writer for David Letterman and Roseanne; former producer for The Daily Show) performs a solo show described as follows: "As America slips into fascism, Jena celebrates free speech while she still has it in this unapologetic political hour of comedy. Fresh off a critically acclaimed 2019 Edinburgh Fringe Festival run, Jena brings her unique insight and acerbic wit at a time when politics in America and worldwide has become more contentious and divisive than ever." This show was part of the New York Comedy Festival, and quickly sold out. Another performance was added...and it quickly sold out too. Don't miss this additional chance to experience Jena Friedman: Miscarriage of Justice (10:00 pm, $15, Brooklyn's Union Hall at 702 Union Street; take R subway to Union Street)
Wednesday 11/13: Mike Zakarian (solo show Christ Kid: A Journey Through Snow Camp) hosts comedic storytellers Milly Tamarez, Lana Schwartz, Eitan Levine, Amanda Giobbi, Tiffany Firebaugh, and Adrian Frimpong sharing their experiences "growing up in the eyes of the Lord:" Holy Hour (7:30 pm, $10, Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell at 27-16 23rd Avenue)
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Wednesday 11/13: A beloved Broadway, TV, and film star (Trainwreck, Sandy Wexler, Drunk Parents), and star of Netflix specials Red State Blue State, The New York Story, and Unconstitutional, tries out new material in an intimate club for his next mass media solo show: Colin Quinn (7:00 pm, $10 plus 2-item food/drink min., West Village's The Fat Black Pussycat Lounge at 130 West 3rd Street)
Wednesday 11/13: Stand-up from Mark Normand (one of the very finest stand-ups in the country; Conan O'Brien, Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, HBO's 2 Dope Queens, Inside Amy Schumer, @midnight, Last Comic Standing, VH1's Best Week Ever; Comedy Central Half Hour, stellar Comedy Central special Don't Be Yourself, comedy album Still Got It; hosts podcast Tuesdays With Stories; tours with Amy Schumer), Joe DeRosa (razor-sharp stand-up; HBO's Crashing, Comedy Central Presents and Comedy Central Half Hour specials, HBO’s Bored to Death and Down and Dirty, FX's Louie, AMC's Better Call Saul, E!'s Chelsea Lately, stand-up album The Depression Auction), Paul Virzi (FOX, Spike TV), Derek Gaines (Jaybird on The Last O.G.; former host of MTV's Broke A$$ Game Show), Shane Gillis (co-host of Matt and Shane's Secret Podcast; very nearly a cast member of SNL), and Nina Daniels (IFC's Maron, Showtime's Masters of Sex): Stars at the Stand (8:00 pm, $15 cover and no min., The Stand Mainstage at 116 East 16th Street)
Wednesday 11/13: Josh Gondelman (one of the sharpest comics in the country; writer/producer for Showtime's Desus & Mero; previously Emmy & Peabody Award-winning writer/producer for HBO's phenom Last Week Tonight with John Oliver; Conan O'Brien, The New Yorker; author of book Nice Try; stand-up albums Dancing On a Weeknight and Physical Whisper), Sonia Denis (HBO's High Maintenance, Netflix's Set It Up, Emmy-nominated webseries Brown Girls), Katie Boyle (co-host of podcast The Shift; host of Transplants Comedy), Jared Goldstein, Ronnie Fleming, and Zain Sharif perform stand-up for hosts Julia Shiplett, Carolyn Busa, and/or Ben Wasserman: Side Ponytail Comedy (8:00 pm, Free!, Brooklyn's Friends and Lovers at 641 Classon Avenue)
Wednesday 11/13: Frank Conniff (TV's Frank on Mystery Science Theater 3000; Cinematic Titanic; author of How to Write Cheesy Movies) hosts an open mic for MST3K-style riffing on film clips of awful movies. Sign-up is open to all, and riffing happens in randomly assigned groups of three, with no advance knowledge of what's going to be screened. Whoever Frank and guest judges decide is best will get to riff with Frank at the end of the night: Frank Conniff's Open Riff Night (9:00 pm, $5 to riff or $8 to just watch, Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell at 27-16 23rd Avenue)
Wednesday 11/13: Stand-up from Tom Green (icon), Mark Normand (one of the very finest stand-ups in the country; Conan O'Brien, Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, HBO's 2 Dope Queens, Inside Amy Schumer, @midnight, Last Comic Standing, VH1's Best Week Ever; Comedy Central Half Hour, stellar Comedy Central special Don't Be Yourself, comedy album Still Got It; hosts podcast Tuesdays With Stories; tours with Amy Schumer), Joe DeRosa (razor-sharp stand-up; HBO's Crashing, Comedy Central Presents and Comedy Central Half Hour specials, HBO’s Bored to Death and Down and Dirty, FX's Louie, AMC's Better Call Saul, E!'s Chelsea Lately, stand-up album The Depression Auction), Paul Virzi (FOX, Spike TV), Derek Gaines (Jaybird on The Last O.G.; former host of MTV's Broke A$$ Game Show), Shane Gillis (co-host of Matt and Shane's Secret Podcast; very nearly a cast member of SNL), and Kerryn Feehan (Comedy Central, TruTV, Spike TV; co-host of Frantic Mondays): Stars at the Stand II (10:00 pm, $15 cover and no min., The Stand Mainstage at 116 East 16th Street)
Thursday 11/14: What's it like to reach age 28 without ever having an orgasm? Comic Molly Brenner shares her "long, harrowing, and strangely expensive journey to her first orgasm" in this solo storytelling show that was a hit at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, plus an opening stand-up set by Jess Salomon (Jimmy Fallon, CBS, Sirius XM, co-host of Sandwich; stand-up album All the Best Choices): Molly Brenner: "I'm Coming" (7:30 pm, $7, Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell at 27-16 23rd Avenue)
Thursday 10/14: Andrea Jones-Rooy, who is a Professor and Director of Undergraduate Study at the NYU Center for Data Science—and also a fire-wielding circus performer—uses data-driven political research to answer such questions as "Are protests actually effective? How often, and under what conditions, do people engaged in protests actually get what they want? Even if they don't get what they want, are there other indirect benefits (or costs) of protests? And what might make your next protest more likely to succeed?:" Political Circus: Do Protests Work? (7:00 pm, $15, LES' Caveat at 21-A Clinton Street; take F/J/M/Z subway to Delancey Street/Essex Street)
Thursday 11/14: Strong line-up of Robert Kelly, Rachel Feinstein, Joe DeRosa, and Corinne Fisher performing stand-up for hosts Justin Silver & Krystyna Hutchinson...who want to be sure you know they're involved only comedically: We're Not Banging (8:00 pm, $15 cover and no min., The Stand Mainstage at 116 East 16th Street)
Thursday 11/14: Enjoy a comic excavation of teen angst artifacts (journals, letters, poems, lyrics, home movies, stories, and more) shared by their original authors before total strangers at this popular monthly show—which is now also a six-part series titled The Mortified Guide on Netflix: Mortified (8:00 pm, $12, Brooklyn's Littlefield at 635 Sackett Street; take R subway to Union Street)
Thursday 11/14: Storytellers Adam Wade (two-time Moth GrandSlam Storytelling Champion (2006 & 2009) and record-breaking 20-time StorySlam Champion; album The Human Comedy; for a sampling of Adam's award-winning tales, please click here), Grant Bowen (writer/actor), and Katie Rivard (copywriter) tell comedic tales on this month's theme Holidays for this long-running stage series and podcast hosted by the wonderful David Martin: The Nights of Our Lives: The Holidays (8:30 pm, $7, The Magnet at 254 West 29th Street)
Thursday 11/14: Stars Nikki Glaser (left; host of You Up on SiriusXM; star of former Comedy Central series Not Safe; Comedy Central and Netflix specials; films Trainwreck and I Feel Pretty) and Rachel Feinstein (right; HBO's Crashing, Amazon's Red Oaks, Netflix's The Standups, Comedy Central special Only Whores Wear Purple; finalist on Last Comic Standing; Jimmy Fallon, Conan O'Brien, Inside Amy Schumer, The View; films include Trainwreck and Top Five), plus Katharyn Henson (co-host of podcasts Somewhat Scientific and Yikes Yikes Baby), Josef Anolin, and Peter Ryan O'Connell perform stand-up hosted by Joe Gorman: Dog & Pony (9:30 pm, $10 cover and no min., The Stand Upstairs at 116 East 16th Street)
Thursday 11/14: Skilled punsters Sam Corbin, Tim Donnelly, Jerzy Gwiazdowski, Ally Spier, and Nikolai Vanyo will show off their word expertise by punching up news headlines, tightening movie titles, merging words to create new terms, taking etymological deep-dives, and playing a variety of other word games: The PUN-ch Up (9:30 pm, $12, LES' Caveat at 21-A Clinton Street; take F/J/M/Z subway to Delancey Street/Essex Street)
Thursday 11/14: Ziwe Fumudoh (writer for Showtime's Desus & Mero, and previously for The Rundown with Robin Thede; host of hilarious webseries Baited with Ziwe) invites comics Eudora Peterson, Benito Skinner, Ayo Edebiri, and Hannah Berner to perform pop songs, preceded by comedic presentations—plus a reading by Larry Owens: Pop Show (10:00 pm, $10, Brooklyn's Union Hall at 702 Union Street; take R subway to Union Street)
Thursday 11/14: Seaton Smith (HBO's Girls, FOX's Mulaney, Chris Rock's film Top Five, Conan O'Brien, Seth Meyers, Inside Amy Schumer, The Nightly Show; album Greatest Album of the Year) performs a deliciously long stand-up set in an intimate venue, with several other talented stand-ups as openers: Seaton C. Smith (10:30 pm, $10 plus 2-item food/drink min., The Fat Black Pussycat Lounge at 130 West 3rd Street)
Friday 11/15: Superb comics Gastor Almonte (left), Jeena Bloom (middle), Josh Gondelman (right), Carolyn Castiglia, and more perform stories or sketches on sexual topics—including a "best of" segment celebrating this show's One Year Anniversary—hosted by Dani Faith Leonard: Adult Sex Ed: Happy Anniversary Edition (7:00 pm; $17 online or $20 at the door; LES' Caveat at 21-A Clinton Street—take F/J/M/Z subway to Delancey Street/Essex Street)
Friday 11/15: Josh Sharp (HBO's 2 Dope Queens, CBS' Two Broke Girls, Comedy Central's The Opposition, IFC's How Shit Works, MTV; co-creator of Cool Shit/Weird Shit) and Natasha Vaynblat (Comedy Central, Funny or Die, McSweeney's, Reductress; ace improv group What I Did For Love) each perform stand-up and/or characters for 30 minutes: Josh Sharp & Natasha Vaynblat Do Half Hours (7:30 pm, $10, Brooklyn's Union Hall at 702 Union Street; take R subway to Union Street)
Friday 11/15: Storytellers TBA share tales of relationships in front of a panel of comics and bona fide therapists who then provide their professional advice, hosted by Lynn Bixenspan (Comedy Central, MTV; former writer for Fuse TV) & Morgan Pielli (cartoonist): Relationshit (7:30 pm, $10, Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell at 27-16 23rd Avenue)
Friday 11/15: Jo Firestone (above; one of the most relentlessly inventive comics in the biz; staff writer for Jimmy Fallon; star of Comedy Central Stand-Up Presents special; HBO's Crashing, Comedy Central's Broad City; radio host of WFMU's Dr. Gameshow; live-on-stage co-host of Butterball; comedy album The Hits), Damien Lemon (host of TruTV's Comedy Knockout; Comedy Central Half Hour; MTV's Guy Code, Girl Code, Guy Court), and Christian Finnegan (creator & co-host of A&E's Black and White; co-star of TBS' Are We There Yet?; Conan O'Brien; three Comedy Central specials, Netflix special The Fun Part; TBS, VH1, MSNBC, Chappelle's Show, The Today Show) perform stand-up for the only comedy club in Brooklyn: Firestone, Lemon, and Finnegan at Eastville (8:00 pm; normally $21 with no min., but free following these instructions [support this special by optionally buying food and/or drinks]; Brooklyn's Eastville Comedy Club at 487 Atlantic Avenue—take 2/3/4/5/B/D/N/Q/R subway to Atlantic Avenue-Barclays Center)
Friday 11/15: Comics TBA try to figure out and articulate the meaning of a piece of art. Then an actual art expert tells them what the piece is generally considered to be about and its cultural impact. Plus select audience members—maybe including you—will draw their art on the spot and have it interpreted by the comics. According to hosts Matt Hartin & Akmal Tajihan, "This is the only show you'll want to Van Gogh to:" Modern Whitney (9:30 pm; $12, LES' Caveat at 21-A Clinton Street—take F/J/M/Z subway to Delancey Street/Essex Street)
Friday 11/15: Storytellers TBA share cringe-worthy experiences from their pasts hosted by Brendan Busee & Ron Raganella: Shame!: The Not-So-Honorable Comedy Show (9:30 pm, $8, Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell at 27-16 23rd Avenue)
Friday 11/15: The 1943 movie Son of Dracula starring Lon Chaney is a terrible sequel to the Bela Legosi classic. (Chaney plays Count Alucard—which is Dracula spelled backwards—and the script goes downhill from there...).Tonight this embarrassment will be screened and mercilessly skewered by ace comics Mike Drucker (hilarious stand-up and staff writer for TBS' Full Frontal with Samantha Bee; previously staff writer for Comedy Central's The President Show and nearly 400 episodes of NBC's Jimmy Fallon, and contributing writer for Saturday Night Live), Eric Drysdale (hilarious stand-up and staff writer for TBS' Full Frontal with Samantha Bee; previously staff writer for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, The Colbert Report, and The Daily Show), Carolina Hidalgo (co-host with MST3K's Frank Conniff & Trace Beaulieu of Movie Sign with the Mads podcast), and Matthew Reiser (co-host with Chris Gersbeck of podcast Hacks on Drac). Their cruelty will be contrasted by exceptionally kind host Chris Gersbeck (co-host of Soft Core!, which is essentially a porn version of this show, and producer of many other shows): Movies R Dumb: Son of Dracula (11:00 pm, $10, Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell at 27-16 23rd Avenue)
Friday 11/15: Alia Janine (above right; former adult film star; host of the Whormones Podcast; owner of Hardcore Comedy Entertainment) hosts this free monthly comedy show featuring stand-ups, porn stars, and/or more, plus audience games and sex toy prizes: The Hardcore Comedy Show (Midnight, Free!, The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC at 10-93 Jackson Avenue; take 7 subway to Vernon Boulevard–Jackson Avenue)
Saturday 11/23: Dina Hashem (Conan O'Brien, Comedy Central's Stand-Up and Roast Battle) and Kevin Iso (Hulu's High Fidelity, Comedy Central's This Week at the Comedy Cellar and Adam Devine’s House Party) each performs a 30-minute stand-up set: Dina Hashem and Kevin Iso Do Long Sets (10:00 pm, $10, Brooklyn's Union Hall at 702 Union Street; take R subway to Union Street)
Saturday 11/16: Laurie Kilmartin (dynamite stand-up; writer for Conan O'Brien; finalist on Last Comic Standing; Jimmy Kimmel, Comedy Central, VH1; special 45 Jokes About My Dead Dad; author of books Dead People Suck and Sh*tty Mom) & Jackie Kashian (Comedy Central Presents, Last Comic Standing; podcast and album I Am Not The Hero Of This Story; podcast The Dork Forest; for hilarious cartoon about LA pet owners, please click here) perform stand-up and record an episode of their long-running (since 2015) podcast that covers current events in comedy and typically spotlights a female comic: The Jackie & Laurie Show Live (6:00 pm, $20 cover and no min., The Stand Upstairs at 116 East 16th Street)
Saturday 11/16: Jeff Simmermon (NPR's This American Life, Moth GrandSlam Champion, host of And I Am Not Lying) records his second stand-up & storytellling comedy album—twice, via 7:00 pm and 9:30 pm shows—with openers Joe Zimmerman, Nonye Brown-West, and Fem Appeal. Come lend Jeff your joy and get your laughter immortalized at Jeff Simmermon Album Recording Show (7:00 pm & 9:30 pm, $12, Brooklyn's Bluebird: The Nest at 504 Flatbush Avenue); take B/S/Q subway to Prospect Park)
Saturday 11/16: World-class singing improvisors Rebecca Vigil & Evan Kaufman interview an audience couple about their love life and then turn it into a musical—with breathtaking skill (see my review of their award-winning FringeNYC 2015 shows here). I highly recommend the phenomenal Your Love, Our Musical (7:00 pm; $22.32 for a seat, or $17 for standing room, online; LES' Caveat at 21-A Clinton Street—take F/J/M/Z subway to Delancey Street/Essex Street. PLEASE NOTE: The 11/16 show has SOLD OUT. However, you can still nab tickets for the Saturday 12/14 show here.)
Saturday 11/16: Courtney Pauroso (Jimmy Kimmel, Key & Peale, American Housewife) performs her hit Edinburgh Fringe and sold out New York Comedy Festival show (directed by award-winning Phil Burgers) that “takes its audience on an intense and hilarious journey in an hour of chaos that somehow portrays a deep, life-spanning story.” Catch this delightful character comic tonight at either 7:30 or 10:00 because she returns to LA: Gutterplum (7:30 pm or 10:00 pm, $15, Brooklyn's Union Hall at 702 Union Street; take R subway to Union Street)
Saturday 11/16: Stand-up from Tom Green (icon), Laurie Kilmartin (dynamite stand-up; writer for Conan O'Brien; finalist on Last Comic Standing; Jimmy Kimmel, Comedy Central, VH1; special 45 Jokes About My Dead Dad; author of books Dead People Suck and Sh*tty Mom), Joe DeRosa (razor-sharp stand-up; HBO's Crashing, Comedy Central Presents and Comedy Central Half Hour specials, HBO’s Bored to Death and Down and Dirty, FX's Louie, AMC's Better Call Saul, E!'s Chelsea Lately, stand-up album The Depression Auction), Sherrod Small (Jimmy Kimmel, A&E's Black & White, TBS' Are We There Yet?, Comedy Central, VH1), Bonnie McFarlane (HBO, David Letterman, Jay Leno, Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central Presents special; co-host of My Wife Hates Me podcast; author of You're Better Than Me), Ian Lara (Comedy Central Stand-Up, NBC's Bring the Funny), and Josh Wesson (Comedy Central, MTV2, FX): Stars at the Stand (8:00 pm, $25 cover and no min., The Stand Mainstage at 116 East 16th Street; PLEASE NOTE: This show has SOLD OUT.)
Saturday 11/16: Every Saturday night, a highly talented hip-hop improv group takes the stage for an hour: North Coast (9:00 pm, $12, The PIT Underground at 123 East 24th Street)
Sunday 11/17: This amazing smorgasbord of a show provides stand-up from Aparna Nancherla (Comedy Central's Corporate, HBO's Crashing and 2 Dope Queens, Netflix's Master of None and The Standups, TBS' Conan O'Brien, and Comedy Central's @Midnight and Half Hour; former writer for Seth Meyers; comedy album Just Putting It Out There) and Nick Maritato (This American Life, MTV, host of podcast Reality Blows), and interviews & games with Jo Firestone (staff writer for Jimmy Fallon; star of Comedy Central Stand-Up Presents special; HBO's Crashing, Comedy Central's Broad City; comedy album The Hits) and Gary Richardson (writer for Saturday Night Live; brilliant improvisor; Comedy Central), all revolving around the theme of self-discovery hosted by Ashley Brooke Roberts (energetic, enormously likeable rising star stand-up, sketch comic, and actress; stellar host of Fresh Out; former writer for NatGeo Explorer and MTV's Guy Code; UCB Maude sketch groups The Prom and Absolutely): Ashley Explains How To Be Yourself (7:30 pm, $10, Brooklyn's Union Hall at 702 Union Street; take R subway to Union Street)
Sunday 11/17: Sketch group and stand-up trio Three Michelles—consisting of Belinda Boxer, Alli Brown, and Meghan Radespiel—perform and host NYC stand-ups TBA. To get a feel for the dark comedy of these gals, please click here and here: Three Michelles (7:00 pm, $5 cover and no min., The Stand Upstairs at 116 East 16th Street)
Sunday 11/17: Stand-up and/or music from Anna Drezen (superb stand-up who blends jokes with characters, movement, and sketch; Supervising Writer for Saturday Night Live; Editor-at-Large of Reductress; co-author of How May We Hate You and How to Win at Feminism), Sydnee Washington (Conan O'Brien, MTV2's Vidiots, co-host of podcast The Unofficial Expert), Sarah Dooley (author of book Are You My Uber? and music album Stupid Things), Emma Jayne (award-winning singer/songwriter; music album Jetlag), Lauren Servideo (character comic Instagram star), and Devon Walker (Comedy Central) hosted by Benito Skinner (YouTube star) & Mary Beth Barone (Viceland; host of podcast Mildly Offensive): Cruel Intentions (7:30 pm, $18, Brooklyn's The Bell House at 149 7th Street; take R subway to 9th Street or F/G to Fourth Avenue)
Sunday 11/17: Anya Volz (above; writer for Riot Fest, The Hard Times; host of Thirst Trap With Anya Volz), Aasif Mandvi (HBO's The Brink, Netflix's A Series of Unfortunate Events, numerous films; former correspondent for The Daily Show; author of No Man's Land), and Steve Whalen (HBO, Comedy Central) try out new jokes via deliciously long sets at this popular weekly safe space for the stand-up creation process hosted by Nat Towsen (Esquire, VICE, College Humor, host of Downtown Variety): New Material Night (8:00 pm, $10, The PIT Underground at 123 East 24th Street)
Sunday 11/17: Comics competitively roast each other, with tonight's main bout Mark Benjamin ("Looking forward to the Senate acquitting Trump on this sham so he can get to work for the American people and ask Saudi Arabia to murder Elizabeth Warren") vs. Shawn Gardini, all hosted by Matt Maran: Comedy Fight Club (9:00 pm, $10, The Stand Upstairs at 116 East 16th Street)
Sunday 11/17: Stand-ups Joe Kwaczala, Jess Salomon, Rob Cantrell, Sarah Tollemache, Glenn Moore, Kenice Mobley, and Kendall Farrell perform for host Alison Leiby (writer for The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, former writer for Comedy Central's The Opposition and The President Show; VICE, Triumph The Insult Comic Dog; host of It's a Long Story): If You Build It (9:30 pm, $9, UCB at SubCulture, 45 Bleecker Street—take #6 subway to Bleecker Street stop)
Sunday 11/17: Patrick McCartney (member of acclaimed theatrical improv group Centralia) performs a comedic solo show about addiction and recovery, directed by Shira Piven (HBO's Divorce and Room 104, Amazon's Transparent), that's received raves from the likes of Elizabeth Gilbert (superstar author of Eat Pray Love), who wrote, "Patrick McCartney is a phenomenally gifted performer, whose work I have admired for years. But we almost lost this extraordinary artist to alcoholism and drug addiction—which would have been a tragedy on so many levels. Now McCartney has returned to the stage with a one-man show about his struggle with substance abuse. Miraculously, it manages to be simultaneously brilliant, devastating, hilarious, humble, searching, and triumphant. Go see it. It’s a beautiful piece of work:" Sinister Kid (10:30 pm, $10, The PIT Loft at 154 West 29th Street)
Monday 11/18: Jo Firestone (staff writer for Jimmy Fallon, co-author of #1 bestselling Punderdome: A Card Game for Pun Lovers) and Maeve Higgins (Maeve in America, co-host of Nat Geo's Star Talk) host stellar stand-ups Chris Gethard (above; star of HBO 90-minute special Career Suicide; star of TruTV's & Fusion's The Chris Gethard Show; co-star of Mike Birbiglia film Don't Think Twice; host of Webby-winning podcast Beautiful Stories From Anonymous People; The Office, Comedy Central, IFC; author of A Bad Idea I'm About to Do and Weird New York), Christi Chiello (above; multi-talented rising star; Comedy Central's Roast Battle, MTV's Girl Code, TruTV, PBSKids, stellar solo show It's Christi, B*tch!, co-host of Battle of the Divas and White Chocolate; tours with Chris Gethard), Liza Treyger (fresh, fierce, fearless stand-up; Seth Meyers, Comedy Central Half Hour, This Is Not Happening, @midnight, Horace and Pete, Chelsea Lately), Glenn Moore (UK-based comic; Comedy Central, BBC, Absolute Radio), and Rohan Padhye, plus music from DJ Donwill: Butterboy with Jo, Aparna, and Maeve (8:00 pm, $10, Brooklyn's Littlefield at 635 Sackett Street—take R subway to Union Street; 10:00 pm afterparty at Parklife at 636 Degraw Street)
Monday 11/18: This brand new show is about "the science of astrology, which is very real and definitely not fake. Each month, hosts Melissa Stokoski, Karolena Theresa, and Brian Bahe (famously all Virgos) along with resident Astrologist Lizzie Martinez (Taurus) welcome a lineup of comedians all born under the current zodiac." This month's group of Scorpio stand-ups include Petey DeAbreu (host of Petey's World and co-host of White Chocolate), Marcia Belsky (Reductress; Handmaid's Tale The Musical; lead singer of band Free the Mind), and Pooja Reddy (host of Kutti Gang): Star F*ckers: Astrology, But Make It Comedy (7:30 pm, $10, Brooklyn's Union Hall at 702 Union Street; take R subway to Union Street)
Monday 11/18: Anna Drezen (superb stand-up who blends jokes with characters, movement, and sketch; Supervising Writer for Saturday Night Live; Editor-at-Large of Reductress; co-author of How May We Hate You and How to Win at Feminism) headlines, with opening stand-up from Anna's Saturday Night Live colleagues Bowen Yang, Alex Moffat, and Sam Jay: Anna Drezen and SNL Friends (8:30 pm, $15, Brooklyn's Murmrr Ballroom at 17 Eastern Parkway—take 2/3 subway to Grand Army Plaza)
Monday 11/18: The great Sean Patton (one of the very finest stand-ups in the country; killer sets on Jimmy Fallon and Conan O'Brien; Comedy Central's Half Hour, This Week at the Comedy Cellar, Inside Amy Schumer, @midnight, This Is Not Happening, The Meltdown; VH1, TruTV, IFC, Viceland; feature film Wifed Out; former co-host of Esquire Network's Best Bars in America) is this week's guest of Big Jay Oakerson (Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central Presents, Louie, Inside Amy Schumer, HBO, Showtime, MTV, IFC; co-host of podcast The SDR; stellar comedy special Live at Webster Hall; Netflix's The Degenerates), Dave Smith (FOX; host of podcast Part of the Problem), and Luis J. Gomez (special Luis J. Gomez Presents Luis J. Gomez) "discussing the skankier sides of life, love, and stand-up comedy" for this free weekly podcast taping: Legion of Skanks (9:30 pm, Free!, The Stand Upstairs at 116 East 16th Street)
Monday 11/18: Great lineup of Sean Patton (one of the very finest stand-ups in the country; killer sets on Jimmy Fallon and Conan O'Brien; Comedy Central's Half Hour, This Week at the Comedy Cellar, Inside Amy Schumer, @midnight, This Is Not Happening, The Meltdown; VH1, TruTV, IFC, Viceland; feature film Wifed Out; former co-host of Esquire Network's Best Bars in America), Mark Normand (one of the very finest stand-ups in the country; Conan O'Brien, Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, HBO's 2 Dope Queens, Inside Amy Schumer, @midnight, Last Comic Standing, VH1's Best Week Ever; Comedy Central Half Hour, stellar Comedy Central special Don't Be Yourself, comedy album Still Got It; hosts podcast Tuesdays With Stories; tours with Amy Schumer), Joe DeRosa (razor-sharp stand-up; HBO's Crashing, Comedy Central Presents and Comedy Central Half Hour specials, HBO’s Bored to Death and Down and Dirty, FX's Louie, AMC's Better Call Saul, E!'s Chelsea Lately, stand-up album The Depression Auction), Olivia Grace (Comedy Central's Roast Battle; writer for Roast of Bruce Willis; co-host of The Doug Stanhope Podcast), Shalewa Sharpe (Comedy Central's The New Negroes; HBO's 2 Dope Queens; comedy album So, You Just Out Here?), Shane Gillis (co-host of Matt and Shane's Secret Podcast; very nearly a cast member of SNL), Francis Ellis (co-host of Oops the Podcast), Annette Mullaney (San Francisco-based comic; host of "Shame Cave"), Phoebe Bottoms (Adult Swim; writer for Tig Notaro), and Chloe McGovern try out material at this free weekly show hosted by Aaron Berg (TV series 24 Hour Rental, documentary A Universal Language) and/or Kerryn Feehan (Comedy Central, TruTV, Spike TV): Frantic Mondays (10:00 pm, Free!, The Stand Mainstage at 116 East 16th Street)
Monday 11/18: Dina Hashem (Conan O'Brien, Comedy Central's Stand-Up and Roast Battle) and Kevin Iso (Hulu's High Fidelity, Comedy Central's This Week at the Comedy Cellar and Adam Devine’s House Party) each performs a 30-minute stand-up set: Dina Hashem and Kevin Iso Do Long Sets (10:00 pm, $10, Brooklyn's Union Hall at 702 Union Street; take R subway to Union Street)
Tuesday 11/19: Colin Quinn (above left; iconic TV, film, and Broadway comedy star; SNL, Tough Crowd, HBO, NBC; movies Trainwreck, Sandy Wexler, Drunk Parents; star of Netflix specials Red State Blue State, The New York Story, and Unconstitutional), Wyatt Cenac (above middle; star of HBO's Problem Areas and TBS' Friends of Earth; former star correspondent for The Daily Show; writer for South Park; albums Comedy Person, Brooklyn, and Furry Dumb Fighter; host of Night Train, Shouting at the Screen), Tara Summer (above right; numerous TV acting appearances include Master of None, Madam Secretary, Lucifer, Mercy Street, CSI, and Boston Legal, and films include Driven, Hitchcock, and What a Girl Wants), Seaton Smith (HBO's Girls, FOX's Mulaney, Chris Rock's film Top Five, Conan O'Brien, Seth Meyers, Inside Amy Schumer, The Nightly Show; album Greatest Album of the Year), Rebecca Vigil (powerhouse improv singer; Your Love Our Musical, The Vigilante), Avital Ash (LA-based comic/actress; for sample stand-up, please click here), Chris Matesevac (SNL, Girls, Inside Amy Schumer, The Wolf of Wall Street), and more, all hosted by Seth Herzog (long-time staff comic for Jimmy Fallon; 30 Rock, @midnight, CBS, VH1): Sweet (9:00 pm, $13 at the door or $15.61 in advance online, Chelsea Music Hall at 407 West 15th Street)
Tuesday 11/19: Unique and delightfully unsettling stand-up Joe Machi (above; Conan O'Brien, Jimmy Fallon; HBO's Crashing, Comedy Central's This Week at the Comedy Cellar & Roast Battle, Netflix's Bumping Mics; breakout star of 2014 Last Comic Standing), plus TV & movie star Janeane Garofalo, Yamaneika Saunders (HBO's Crashing, NBC's Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central Roast Battle; stand-up album Damsel in Distress), and Shane Gillis (co-host of Matt and Shane's Secret Podcast; very nearly a cast member of SNL) perform stand-up for host Stavros Halkias (Comedy Central Stand-Up, IFC, co-host of podcast Cum Town): Fat Tuesdays (8:00 pm, $15 cover and no min., The Stand Mainstage at 116 East 16th Street)
Tuesday 11/19: A beloved Broadway, TV, and film star who said, "The thing that drives me crazy is when comics say 'I have low self-esteem.' No, you don't. You're standing on stage asking people to pay. You don't play an instrument. You want people to pay to hear what's in your mind. You don't have low self-esteem. You might have other problems." tries out new material in an intimate club for his next mass media solo show: Colin Quinn (7:00 pm, $10 plus 2-item food/drink min., West Village's The Fat Black Pussycat Lounge at 130 West 3rd Street)
Tuesday 11/19: Every Tuesday at 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, with giveaways of comics and gift certificates: Comic Book Club (8:00 pm, Free!, The PIT Loft at 154 West 29th Street)
Tuesday 11/19: The innovative and award-winning Broken Box Mime troupe performs their finest wordless sketches & stories, mixed with fresh bits, all set to a "rip-roarin' soundtrack:" BKBX: Quiet Riot (9:00 pm, $17.35 in advance online or $20 at the door, The PIT Mainstage (Striker) at 123 East 24th Street)
Tuesday 11/19: Stand-up from the great Sean Patton (one of the very finest stand-ups in the country; killer sets on Jimmy Fallon and Conan O'Brien; Comedy Central's Half Hour, This Week at the Comedy Cellar, Inside Amy Schumer, @midnight, This Is Not Happening, The Meltdown; VH1, TruTV, IFC, Viceland; feature film Wifed Out; former co-host of Esquire Network's Best Bars in America), Andrew Schulz (Amazon's Sneaky Pete, Hulu's There's...Johnny!, HBO's Crashing, Netflix, MTV), Derek Gaines (Jaybird on The Last O.G.; former host of MTV's Broke A$$ Game Show), Shane Gillis (co-host of Matt and Shane's Secret Podcast; very nearly a cast member of SNL), Paul Virzi (FOX, Spike TV) , and Yannis Pappas (Comedy Central Half Hour, VH1; co-host of podcast History Hyenas): $5 Funnies (10:00 pm, $5 cover and no min., The Stand Mainstage at 116 East 16th Street)
Wednesday 11/20: Superb comics Dan St. Germain (Jimmy Fallon, Conan O'Brien, John Oliver, Comedy Central Half Hour, Crashing, @midnight, This is Not Happening, The Electric Company, MTV, VH1; former staff writer for CBS' Superior Donuts, Netflix's The Break with Michelle Wolf, and TruTV's Ten Things; album No Real Winners Here), Rachel Feinstein (HBO's Crashing, Amazon's Red Oaks, Netflix's The Standups, Comedy Central special Only Whores Wear Purple; finalist on Last Comic Standing; Jimmy Fallon, Conan O'Brien, Inside Amy Schumer, The View; films include Trainwreck and Top Five), and Andrew Schulz (Amazon's Sneaky Pete, Hulu's There's...Johnny!, HBO's Crashing, Netflix, MTV; co-host of The Brilliant Idiots podcast) perform stand-up and more for this interactive audience show that will probably include a rap battle, all hosted by Brendan Gay, Charles Engle & Santiago Angel: Freestyle Comedy Show (7:00 pm, $10 cover and no min., The Stand Upstairs at 116 East 16th Street)
Wednesday 11/20: Come join a comedy-loving group watch 10 Democratic Presidential candidates debate, enhanced by the lightning-quick wit of host Frank Conniff (TV's Frank on Mystery Science Theater 3000; Cinematic Titanic) and other comics TBA: Democratic Debate Watch Party: Second Rachel Maddow/MSNBC Edition (7:30 pm, $10, Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell at 27-16 23rd Avenue)
Wednesday 11/20: Get in the right mood for tonight's debate with a beloved Broadway, TV, and film star (Trainwreck, Sandy Wexler, Drunk Parents) who is also a political comic via Netflix specials Red State Blue State (above) and Unconstitutional, and is trying out new material in an intimate club for his next mass media solo show: Colin Quinn (7:00 pm, $10 plus 2-item food/drink min., West Village's The Fat Black Pussycat Lounge at 130 West 3rd Street)
Wednesday 11/20: A mostly-gal stand-up show with Rachel Sennott (HBO's High Maintenance), Saurin Choksi (Comedy Central; former co-host of Fuse's White Guy Talk Show, now host of Brown Privilege Comedy), Chanel Ali (MTV), Zach Zimmerman (The New Yorker), and Ellen Harrold hosted by Molly Brenner (Edinburgh Fringe Festival) & Laura Merli (McSweeney's, Reductress; half of sketch duo Soul Crush Comedy; host of How to be Less Awkward podcast): Good Girl (7:30 pm, $7, Brooklyn's Cantina Royale at 58 North 3rd Street between Wythe & Kent; take the L subway to Bedford Avenue)
Wednesday 11/20: Participants (maybe you, if you apply) pitch their single friends via fun PowerPoint presentations and then conduct a Q&A session with the audience, after which everyone mingles: YouShouldDate.ppt (7:30 pm, $12, Brooklyn's Littlefield at 635 Sackett Street; take R subway to Union Street)
Wednesday 11/20: Mike Drucker (right; hilarious stand-up and staff writer for TBS' Full Frontal with Samantha Bee; previously staff writer for Comedy Central's The President Show and nearly 400 episodes of NBC's Jimmy Fallon, and contributing writer for Saturday Night Live), Caitlin Peluffo (left; Stephen Colbert), Richie Owens, and more TBA perform stand-up hosted by Emily Winter, Julia Shiplett, Carolyn Busa, and/or Ben Wasserman: Side Ponytail Comedy (8:00 pm, Free!, Brooklyn's Friends and Lovers at 641 Classon Avenue)
Wednesday 11/20: Stand-ups Remy Kassimir, Christiana Jackson, Drexton Clemons, Gus Constantellis, and host Sarah Garner tell jokes about their lives and then take questions about yours. Come to the show that provides not only laughs but personalized life advice for way less than a therapist would charge: Not a Therapist: A Stand-Up Comedy Advice Show (9:00 pm, $10 cover and no min., The Stand Upstairs at 116 East 16th Street)
Wednesday 11/20: Stand-up Trixx records a comedy album, with the help of your laughs. The 8:00 pm show has sold out, but there are still tickets available for this late show: Trixx Comedy Album Recording (10:00 pm, $20 cover and no min., The Stand Mainstage at 116 East 16th Street)
Thursday 11/21-Sunday 11/24: It's the 7th year of this annual 4-day PIT festival devoted to over 100 new comedic solo shows. (The fest was originally created by Peter Michael Marino & Toby Knops and co-produced by Ronny Pascale, all giants in PIT history, but they've moved on to let others curate & run the extravaganza.) The only requirements for any production are it's a one-person show that's funny and has never been performed in public before. The types of entertainment are therefore wide-ranging, encompassing sketch, characters, storytelling, stand-up, cabaret, music, dance, puppetry, magic, clowning, multimedia, and more. Based on nothing other than a quick skim of the performers involved, shows that appear especially promising include Carolyn Bergier and Cole Steffensen (Thursday 7:00 at UG), Micaela Blei (Thursday 11 at UG), Regan Sims and Matt Zambrano (Friday 7:00 at Striker), Jack Blankenship and Rachael Burke (Friday 9:30 at Loft), Adrien Pellerin and Adrian Sexton (Saturday 7:30 at UG), Lagina Hill and Anoush Froundjian (Saturday 8:00 at Striker), Sarah Morgan Ashey and Dillon Geyselaers (Saturday 8:30 at UG), Angela Cobb (Saturday 10:30 at Striker), Abby Feldman (Sunday 4:30 at Striker), and Andi Lee Carter (Sunday 8:00 at Loft): Solocom 2019 ($12 per show, or $30 for an all-you-can-see festival pass (a fantastic deal for a vibrant, fun festival with scores of shows): The PIT Mainstage (Striker) and PIT Underground (UG) at 123 East 24th Street and The PIT Loft at 154 West 29th Street)
Thursday 11/21: Celebrating the 10th Anniversary of this superb storytelling show are stellar comic Aparna Nancherla (one of the very finest stand-ups in the country; co-star of Super Bowl 2019 commercial, Comedy Central's Corporate, and HBO's Crashing; also performed on HBO's 2 Dope Queens, Netflix's Master of None and The Standups, TBS' Conan O'Brien, and Comedy Central's @Midnight and Half Hour; former writer for Seth Meyers; comedy album Just Putting It Out There) and storytellers Nick Flynn, Kera Bolonik, Andrew McGill, and Anita Flores telling tales on this month theme "It's Not Like on TV" hosted by Blaise Allysen Kearsley: How I Learned It's Not Like on TV: Tenth Anniversary Show! (7:00 pm, $12, LES' Caveat at 21-A Clinton Street; take F/J/M/Z subway to Delancey Street/Essex Street)
Thursday 11/21: Jo Firestone (one of the most relentlessly inventive comics in the biz; staff writer for Jimmy Fallon; star of Comedy Central Stand-Up Presents special; HBO's Crashing, Comedy Central's Broad City; radio host of WFMU's Dr. Gameshow; live-on-stage co-host of Butterball; comedy album The Hits) and Michael Kosta (correspondent for The Daily Show) perform stand-up in an intimate space for twin hosts Max & Nicky Weinbach: Jo Firestone, Michael Kosta, and Max & Nicky (9:00 pm, $10 cover and no min., The Stand Upstairs at 116 East 16th Street)
Thursday 11/21: Sherrod Small (Jimmy Kimmel, A&E's Black & White, TBS' Are We There Yet?, NBC's Showtime at the Apollo, Comedy Central, VH1; co-host of podcast Race Wars) performs a deliciously long stand-up set in an intimate West Village club: Sherrod Small (10:30 pm, $20 plus 2-item food/drink min., West Village's The Fat Black Pussycat Lounge at 130 West 3rd Street)
Thursday 11/21: Stand-up from Sean Patton (one of the very finest stand-ups in the country; killer sets on Jimmy Fallon and Conan O'Brien; Comedy Central's Half Hour, This Week at the Comedy Cellar, Inside Amy Schumer, @midnight, This Is Not Happening, The Meltdown; VH1, TruTV, IFC, Viceland; feature film Wifed Out; former co-host of Esquire Network's Best Bars in America), Ari Shaffir (Conan O'Brien, former host of Comedy Central's This Is Not Happening, HBO's Down and Dirty, National Lampoon, Comedy Central special Passive Aggressive, Netflix special Double Negative), Andrew Schulz (Amazon's Sneaky Pete, Hulu's There's...Johnny!, HBO's Crashing, Netflix, MTV), Shane Gillis (co-host of Matt and Shane's Secret Podcast; very nearly a cast member of SNL), Aaron Berg (TV series 24 Hour Rental, documentary A Universal Language, host of Frantic Mondays), and Kerryn Feehan (Comedy Central, TruTV, Spike TV; co-host of Frantic Mondays): Stars at The Stand (11:00 pm, $15 cover and no min., The Stand Mainstage at 116 East 16th Street)
Friday 11/22-Sunday 11/24: It's Day #2 of the 7th Annual Solocom, a 4-day PIT festival devoted to over 130 new comedic solo shows. Events that sound promising include Matt Zambrano and Regan Sims (above left and middle; Friday 7:00 at Striker), Jack Blankenship and Rachael Burke (above right; Friday 9:30 at Loft), Adrien Pellerin and Adrian Sexton (Saturday 7:30 at UG), Lagina Hill and Anoush Froundjian (Saturday 8:00 at Striker), Sarah Morgan Ashey and Dillon Geyselaers (Saturday 8:30 at UG), Angela Cobb (Saturday 10:30 at Striker), Abby Feldman (Sunday 4:30 at Striker), and Andi Lee Carter (Sunday 8:00 at Loft): Solocom 2019 ($12 per show, or $30 for an all-you-can-see festival pass (a fantastic deal for a vibrant, fun festival with scores of shows): The PIT Mainstage (Striker) and PIT Underground (UG) at 123 East 24th Street and The PIT Loft at 154 West 29th Street)
Friday 11/22: Mammoth social media platform Twitter is explored by host Mark Vigeant (Funny Or Die, Prairie Home Companion), his comedic helpers Sam Reece & Rollie Williams, and his guests Eve Peyser (The New York Times, Vice), Ryan Broderick (Buzzfeed), Nathan Allebach (@steak_umm), and Shoshana Wodinsky (Adweek): Internet Explorers: Twitter (7:00 pm; $12, LES' Caveat at 21-A Clinton Street; take F/J/M/Z subway to Delancey Street/Essex Street)
Friday 11/22: Karen Chee (staff writer for Seth Meyers; The New Yorker, McSweeney's) and Rachel Pegram (Stephen Colbert, Samantha Bee, Comedy Central's Alternatino, MTV, BET; movies Don't Think Twice and The Week Of; member of UCB star improv group ASSSSCAT 3000) each performs a deliciously long 30-minute stand-up set hosted by Jeff Hiller (30 Rock, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, musical improv group Rumpleteaser): Karen Chee and Rachel Pegram Do One Collective Hour of Comedy (7:30 pm, $10, Brooklyn's Union Hall at 702 Union Street; take R subway to Union Street)
Friday 11/22: Stand-up from Sean Patton (one of the very finest stand-ups in the country; killer sets on Jimmy Fallon and Conan O'Brien; Comedy Central's Half Hour, This Week at the Comedy Cellar, Inside Amy Schumer, @midnight, This Is Not Happening, The Meltdown; VH1, TruTV, IFC, Viceland; feature film Wifed Out; former co-host of Esquire Network's Best Bars in America), Ari Shaffir (Conan O'Brien, former host of Comedy Central's This Is Not Happening, HBO's Down and Dirty, National Lampoon, Comedy Central special Passive Aggressive, Netflix special Double Negative), Marina Franklin (staff writer for HBO's Divorce; HBO's Crashing, Stephen Colbert, Jay Leno, @midnight, Chappelle's Show; film Trainwreck; stand-up special Single Black Female, Shane Gillis (co-host of Matt and Shane's Secret Podcast; very nearly a cast member of SNL), Yamaneika Saunders (HBO's Crashing, NBC's Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central Roast Battle; stand-up album Damsel in Distress), and Lev Fer (host of Yung Daddy Podcast): Stars at The Stand (8:00 pm & 10:00 pm, $25 cover and no min., The Stand Mainstage at 116 East 16th Street)
Friday 11/22: Native Americans Brian Bahe (Tohono O'odham/Hopi/Navajo), Tai Leclaire (Mohawk/Mi'kmaq), Dash Turner (Yurok), and more offer their own take on the holidays via stand-up, characters, and games: Thanks But No Thanksgiving (10:00 pm, $10, Brooklyn's Union Hall at 702 Union Street; take R subway to Union Street)
Saturday 11/23-Sunday 11/24: It's Day #3 of the 7th Annual Solocom, a 4-day PIT festival devoted to over 130 new comedic solo shows. Delightful surprises yesterday included fascinating shows by Dylan Eshbaugh about his experiences as an early YouTube teen star (above left) and Jack Blankenship about his being an Internet meme as Alabama's "The Face Guy" (above right). Events that sound promising for this weekend include Adrien Pellerin and Adrian Sexton (Saturday 7:30 at UG), Lagina Hill and Anoush Froundjian (Saturday 8:00 at Striker), Sarah Morgan Ashey and Dillon Geyselaers (Saturday 8:30 at UG), Angela Cobb (Saturday 10:30 at Striker), Abby Feldman (Sunday 4:30 at Striker), and Andi Lee Carter (Sunday 8:00 at Loft): Solocom 2019 ($12 per show, or $30 for an all-you-can-see festival pass (a fantastic deal for a vibrant, fun festival with scores of shows): The PIT Mainstage (Striker) and PIT Underground (UG) at 123 East 24th Street and The PIT Loft at 154 West 29th Street)
Saturday 11/23: Charlyne Yi (FOX's House; voiceover for Steven Universe, We Bare Bears, Summer Camp Island; winner of the prestigious Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award) performs comedy, music, and/or magic, and hosts guests including Casey Trela (singer/songwriter): Charlyne Yi Variety Show (5:00 pm, $15, Brooklyn's Union Hall at 702 Union Street; take R subway to Union Street)
Saturday 11/23: Ron Funches (one of the funniest and most irresistibly likeable performers in show biz—co-stared in NBC's Powerless and Undateable; HBO's Crashing, ABC's Black-ish; Jimmy Fallon, Conan O'Brien, Chelsea Lately, King Shark on Harley Quinn; starred in a Comedy Central Half Hour, was a writer & cast member of Kroll Show, and the top contestant on @midnight; comedy album The Funches of Us ) headlines one last night at Carolines: Ron Funches (7:30 pm & 10:00 pm, $35 plus 2-drink min., Carolines Comedy Club at 1626 Broadway, between 49th and 50th Streets)
Saturday 11/23: Stand-ups sandwich new jokes they're trying out in between reliably time-tested opening and closing material, with tonight's guests Emmy Blotnick (brilliant and Emmy-nominated rising star stand-up who's performed on Stephen Colbert and in a Comedy Central Half Hour; staff writer for Stephen Colbert; comedy album Party Nights), Monroe Martin (David Letterman, Jimmy Fallon, finalist on Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central's The Jim Gaffigan Show, Netflix's Master of None; host of podcast No Need for Apologies), Marie Faustin (co-host of 99.5 FM's Tall Tales in the Big City and podcast The Unofficial Expert; former host of Oxygen's Very Real Talk; MTV's Girl Code and Vidiots), and Jeff Simmermon (NPR's This American Life, Moth GrandSlam Champion, comedy album & show And I Am Not Lying) performing for hosts Gastor Almonte (Comedy Central’s This Is Not Happening, host of Stoops2Stages, co-host of I'm Dead Comedy, comedy album Immigrant Made) & Jess Salomon (former UN war crimes lawyer turned comic; Jimmy Fallon, CBS, Sirius XM): Sandwich (7:30 pm, $10, Brooklyn's Union Hall at 702 Union Street; take R subway to Union Street)
Saturday 11/23: Langston Kerman (Comedy Central Half Hour; cast member of ABC's Bless This Mess, HBO's Insecure, and Comedy Central's South Side; written for Chris Rock's hosting of the Oscars) performs stand-up with Mark Normand (one of the very finest stand-ups in the country; Conan O'Brien, Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, HBO's 2 Dope Queens, Inside Amy Schumer, @midnight, Last Comic Standing, VH1's Best Week Ever; Comedy Central Half Hour, stellar Comedy Central special Don't Be Yourself, comedy album Still Got It; hosts podcast Tuesdays With Stories; tours with Amy Schumer) and more: Langston Kerman, Mark Normand, and More (9:00 pm, $20 cover and no min., The Stand Mainstage at 116 East 16th Street)
Saturday 11/23: Stand-up from Mark Normand (one of the very finest stand-ups in the country; Conan O'Brien, Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, HBO's 2 Dope Queens, Inside Amy Schumer, @midnight, Last Comic Standing, VH1's Best Week Ever; Comedy Central Half Hour, stellar Comedy Central special Don't Be Yourself, comedy album Still Got It; hosts podcast Tuesdays With Stories; tours with Amy Schumer), Dan Soder (one of the very finest stand-ups in the country; Dudley Mafee on Showtime's Billions; films Trainwreck, Drunk Parents; Conan O'Brien, Comedy Central hour-long special Not Special, Comedy Central Half Hour, Netflix's The Standups, Inside Amy Schumer, MTV's Guy Code and Guy Court, upcoming HBO special; hosts with Big Jay Oakerson Sirius XM's The Bonfire), Ari Shaffir (Conan O'Brien, former host of Comedy Central's This Is Not Happening, HBO's Down and Dirty, National Lampoon, Comedy Central special Passive Aggressive, Netflix special Double Negative), Marina Franklin (staff writer for HBO's Divorce; HBO's Crashing, Stephen Colbert, Jay Leno, @midnight, Chappelle's Show; film Trainwreck; stand-up special Single Black Female), Derek Gaines (Jaybird on The Last O.G.; former host of MTV's Broke A$$ Game Show), Josh Wesson (Comedy Central, MTV2, FX), and more: Stars at the Stand (10:00 pm, $25 cover and no min., The Stand Mainstage at 116 East 16th Street)
Sunday 11/24: It's the fourth and final day of the 7th Annual Solocom, a 4-day PIT festival devoted to over 130 new comedic solo shows. Yesterday's highlights included Anoush Froundjian (above left) sharing memorable and moving coming of age tales (for a stellar sample, please click here), and witty original comedic songs and banter by Gwendolyn Coburn (above right). Take full advantage of this final day of shows, running from noon to 10:30 pm at all three PIT theatres: Solocom 2019 ($12 per show, or $30 for an all-you-can-see festival pass (a fantastic deal for a vibrant, fun festival with scores of shows): The PIT Mainstage (Striker) and PIT Underground (UG) at 123 East 24th Street and The PIT Loft at 154 West 29th Street)
Sunday 11/24: LA-based star Langston Kerman (Comedy Central Half Hour; regular on ABC's Bless This Mess and HBO's Insecure, and both writer and actor on Comedy Central's South Side; written for Chris Rock's hosting of the Oscars; comedy album Lightskinned Feelings) performs a rare NYC solo stand-up show: Langston Kerman for the Hour (5:00 pm, $15, Brooklyn's Union Hall at 702 Union Street; take R subway to Union Street)
Sunday 11/24: This weekly stand-up show isn't formally part of The PIT's Solocom fest (which will be happening all around it), but it's done in the same spirit—four comics each perform 30 minutes of solo stand-up that's either brand new or relatively new, for the sake of honing their material. Tonight's comics are the luminous Maria DeCotis (above), Phil Jamesson, Adam Mamawala, and Doogie Horner, all hosted by Nat Towsen (Esquire, VICE, College Humor, host of Downtown Variety): New Material Night (8:00 pm, $12, The PIT Underground at 123 East 24th Street)
Sunday 11/24: This weekly competitive roast battle tonight features a main bout of Bobby Sheehan ("When I ask a woman out and she says yes, I get the same feeling as when I type a long word and spell check doesn't correct me") vs. Ryan Long hosted by Matt Maran: Comedy Fight Club (9:00 pm; $8.13 online using code CFC, otherwise $10; The Stand Upstairs at 116 East 16th Street)
Sunday 11/24: Stand-up from Sean Patton (one of the very finest stand-ups in the country; killer sets on Jimmy Fallon and Conan O'Brien; Comedy Central's Half Hour, This Week at the Comedy Cellar, Inside Amy Schumer, @midnight, This Is Not Happening, The Meltdown; VH1, TruTV, IFC, Viceland; feature film Wifed Out; former co-host of Esquire Network's Best Bars in America), Mark Normand (one of the very finest stand-ups in the country; Conan O'Brien, Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, HBO's 2 Dope Queens, Inside Amy Schumer, @midnight, Last Comic Standing, VH1's Best Week Ever; Comedy Central Half Hour, stellar Comedy Central special Don't Be Yourself, comedy album Still Got It; hosts podcast Tuesdays With Stories; tours with Amy Schumer), Joe List (David Letterman, Conan O'Brien, Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central Half Hour, Netflix's The StandUps, comedy albums So Far No Good and Are You Mad at Me?), Ari Shaffir (Conan O'Brien, former host of Comedy Central's This Is Not Happening, HBO's Down and Dirty, National Lampoon, Comedy Central special Passive Aggressive, Netflix special Double Negative), Shane Gillis (co-host of Matt and Shane's Secret Podcast; very nearly a cast member of SNL), and Lev Fer (host of Yung Daddy Podcast): Stars at The Stand (10:00 pm, $15 cover and no min., The Stand Mainstage at 116 East 16th Street)
Monday 11/25: Three comics whose names are Carolyn— Carolyn Riley (left), Carolyn Busa (middle), and Carolyn Castiglia (right)—perform stand-up for host Myq Kaplan (one of the quickest minds in comedy; finalist on Last Comic Standing, semi-finalist on America's Got Talent; David Letterman, Conan O'Brien, Seth Meyers, Jay Leno, Comedy Central Presents; comedy albums No Kidding, Small, Dork, and Handsome, Vegan Mind Meld, and Meat Robot; podcast Broccoli and Ice Cream): Myq Kaplan and Friends (9:00 pm, $8, Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell at 27-16 23rd Avenue)
Monday 11/25: The guys from High Society Radio are this week's guests of Big Jay Oakerson (Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central Presents, Louie, Inside Amy Schumer, HBO, Showtime, MTV, IFC; co-host of podcast The SDR; stellar comedy special Live at Webster Hall; Netflix's The Degenerates), Dave Smith (FOX; host of podcast Part of the Problem), and Luis J. Gomez (special Luis J. Gomez Presents Luis J. Gomez) "discussing the skankier sides of life, love, and stand-up comedy" for this free weekly podcast recording and GaS Digital Network live stream: Legion of Skanks (9:30 pm, Free!, The Stand Upstairs at 116 East 16th Street)
Monday 11/25: Seven comics (see above left) and one audience member compete to win the heart of comic Mary Beth Barone (Viceland; host of podcast Mildly Offensive) for this 1990's-style dating game show hosted by Taylor Ortega, John Everett Trowbridge, Jenny Gorelick, and Yoni Lotan: First Impressions: The 90’s Dating Game Show (9:30 pm, $12, Brooklyn's Union Hall at 702 Union Street; take R subway to Union Street)
Monday 11/25: Ari Shaffir (Conan O'Brien, former host of Comedy Central's This Is Not Happening, HBO's Down and Dirty, National Lampoon, Comedy Central special Passive Aggressive, Netflix special Double Negative), Mark Normand (one of the very finest stand-ups in the country; Conan O'Brien, Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, HBO's 2 Dope Queens, Inside Amy Schumer, @midnight, Last Comic Standing, VH1's Best Week Ever; Comedy Central Half Hour, stellar Comedy Central special Don't Be Yourself, comedy album Still Got It; hosts podcast Tuesdays With Stories; tours with Amy Schumer), Mary Beth Barone (Viceland; host of podcast Mildly Offensive), Chrissie Mayr (co-host of Comedy at Stonewall), Emma Willmann (Stephen Colbert, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, @midnight), Lauren Vino (MTV News), Luz Pazos (Kroll Show). Saunt Yübear (musical comedy duo, and sisters, Gracie Walsh and Maddy Hubert), and more try out material at this free weekly show hosted by Aaron Berg (TV series 24 Hour Rental, documentary A Universal Language) and/or Kerryn Feehan (Comedy Central, TruTV, Spike TV): Frantic Mondays (10:00 pm, Free!, The Stand Mainstage at 116 East 16th Street)
Tuesday 11/26:: Readings of short humor pieces by guest comics Jen Spyra (staff writer for Stephen Colbert; The New Yorker, The Wall Street Journal, The Daily Beast; former Senior Writer/director/producer for The Onion), Kate Villa (writer for MTV, TruTV, NPR, McSweeney's, Mad Magazine; voice of Amy Klobuchar on Showtime's Our Cartoon President), and Delmonte Bent (Editor of Flexx), and by hosts Brian Angler, Luke Burns, and James Folta (all writers for The New Yorker and McSweeney's): :An Evening of Humorous Readings (7:00 pm—arrive at 6:30 to hang out a bit with the guests, $12, LES' Caveat at 21-A Clinton Street—take F/J/M/Z subway to Delancey Street/Essex Street)
Tuesday 11/26: Emmy Blotnick (brilliant and Emmy-nominated rising star stand-up who's performed on Stephen Colbert and in a Comedy Central Half Hour; staff writer for Stephen Colbert; comedy album Party Nights), Ari Shaffir (Conan O'Brien, former host of Comedy Central's This Is Not Happening, HBO's Down and Dirty, National Lampoon, Comedy Central special Passive Aggressive, Netflix special Double Negative), and Ian Fidance (regular on SiriusXM's You Up? with Nikki Glaser, Comedy Central Radio; former host of Picture This!) perform stand-up for host Stavros Halkias (Comedy Central Stand-Up, IFC, co-host of podcast Cum Town): Fat Tuesdays (8:00 pm, $15 cover and no min., The Stand Mainstage at 116 East 16th Street)
Tuesday 11/26: Comics Joe Castle Baker, Joe Rumrill, Kenice Mobley, Annie Donley, Edy Modica, and Karolena Theresa perform for this monthly stand-up showcase named after Stevie Nicks and hosted by Marcia Belsky, Sam Taggart, and Drew Anderson: Stevie (8:00 pm, $10, Brooklyn's Union Hall at 702 Union Street; take R subway to Union Street)
Tuesday 11/26: The wonderful Shonali Bhowmik (second row; singer/songwriter/guitar player of indie band Tigers and Monkeys) & Christian Felix host exceptional people for their live show & podcast recording. This month's guests are Hope Hall (above left; documentary filmmaker who was previously Principal Videographer for President Barack Obama and is currently Senior Advisor for Video for Elizabeth Warren), McQueen Adams (above middle; Comedy Central, Funny or Die; popular experimental album Black Cat), and Kenice Mobley (co-host of podcast Love About Town and The Pasta Show): We Don't Even Know—Live (8:00 pm; no cover charge but 2-drink min., with cheapest options $8 each, so figure on spending at least $16 plus tip; KGB Bar's upstairs Red Room at 85 East 4th Street off Second Avenue)
Tuesday 11/26: Every Tuesday at 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, with giveaways of comics and gift certificates: Comic Book Club (8:00 pm, Free!, The PIT Loft at 154 West 29th Street)
Tuesday 11/26: The fab Emma Vernon (North Coast Hip-Hop Improv, Anybody: The Improv Musical, Off Top; host of In a World) & Pooja Reddy (host of Kutti Gang) host this free biweekly comedy show, tonight featuring Myka Fox (above right; fearless, boundary-busting stand-up; SNL freelance contributor; host of Myka Fox & Friends podcast on Keith and The Girl Network), Melissa Stokoski (above middle; TruTV; regular on John Fuselsang's Tell Me Everythling; co-writer & co-star of Handmaid's Tale The Musical; host of Star Fuckers), Emma Jayne (above left; award-winning singer/songwriter; music album Jetlag), Julian Edward Williams (WALT), and Ilana Rubin (The Bop Pod): Critical Darlings (8:30 pm, Free!, LES' Under the Oven Gallery Serafina Ludlow at 98 Rivington Street—take the F/M/J/Z subway to Delancey Street/Essex Street)
Tuesday 11/26: The innovative and award-winning Broken Box Mime troupe performs their finest wordless sketches & stories, mixed with fresh bits, all set to a "rip-roarin' soundtrack:" BKBX: Quiet Riot (9:00 pm, $17.35 in advance online or $20 at the door, The PIT Mainstage (Striker) at 123 East 24th Street)
Tuesday 11/26: Dan Perlman (right; cast member of MTV's Vidiots; co-writer, co-director, and co-star of series Flatbush Misdemeanors; written for Lewis Black and Roy Wood Jr.), Dina Hashem (left; Conan O'Brien, Comedy Central's Stand-Up and Roast Battle),and Molly Austin (middle; TruTV's Late Night Snack; stand-up album Zero to New Jersey) each performs a deliciously long 30-minute stand-up set: Dan Perlman, Dina Hashem, and Molly Austin: Triple Half Hours (9:30 pm, $10, The Stand Upstairs at 116 East 16th Street)
Wednesday 11/27: On Thanksgiving Eve, The PIT is offering a myriad of improv shows. A stand-out for being different is Kevin McNair taking an audience suggestion of "a universally shared experience" and then performing a one-man improv show of which he "doesn't promise funny or tears, but tons of heart;" plus guests Kathryn Whisler (storyteller) and improv duo Kermit's Flailing Arms (Michelle Drozdick & Benjamin Jones): A Significant Moment (7:00 pm, $10, The PIT Loft at 154 West 29th Street)
Wednesday 11/27: Something to be grateful for—a free Brooklyn stand-up show, co-sponsored by Union Square comedy club The Stand, starring Derek Gaines (Jaybird on The Last O.G.; NBC's Will & Grace; former host of MTV's Broke A$$ Game Show), Monroe Martin (David Letterman, Jimmy Fallon, finalist on Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central's The Jim Gaffigan Show, Netflix's Master of None; host of podcast No Need for Apologies), Lawrence DeLoach (CBS Sports Network; host of lifestyle podcast Sup?), Aminah Imani (host of podcast Wine Before Nine, co-host of Comedy at The Knit), and Corinne Fisher (with comedy partner Krystyna Hutchinson, host of popular Guys We Fucked podcast and author of F*CKED: Being Sexually Explorative and Self-Confident in a World That’s Screwed): Pop-Up Show (7:30 pm, Free!, Brooklyn's Arrogant Swine at 173 Morgan Avenue; take the L subway to Morgan Avenue)
Wednesday 11/27: The wonderful Comedy Cellar is charging a $24 "holiday cover" at most of its venues tonight, but is asking for just a $15 cover at the intimate Fat Black Pussycat Lounge...and the 7:30 show features a terrific lineup of Emmy Blotnick (brilliant and Emmy-nominated rising star stand-up who's performed on Stephen Colbert and in a Comedy Central Half Hour; staff writer for Stephen Colbert; comedy album Party Nights), Ryan Hamilton (above left; 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; Netflix special Happy Face; opens for Jerry Seinfeld), Kevin Iso (above middle; Hulu's High Fidelity, Comedy Central's This Week at the Comedy Cellar and Adam Devine’s House Party), Nick Griffin (above right; Stephen Colbert, David Letterman, Conan O'Brien, Jay Leno, Comedy Central Half Hour), Nathan Macintosh (Stephen Colbert, Conan O'Brien), and Eagle Witt (Amazon Prime, MTV) hosted by Eric Neumann (stand-up album Nervous Lover): Ryan Hamilton, Kevin Iso, Nick Griffin, Emmy Blotnick, and More (7:30 pm, $15 plus 2-item food/drink min., West Village's The Fat Black Pussycat Lounge at 130 West 3rd Street)
Wednesday 11/27: Sean Patton (one of the very finest stand-ups in the country; killer sets on Jimmy Fallon and Conan O'Brien; Comedy Central's Half Hour, This Week at the Comedy Cellar, Inside Amy Schumer, @midnight, This Is Not Happening, The Meltdown; VH1, TruTV, IFC, Viceland), Paul Virzi (hour-long special I'll Say This, currently streaming on Comedy Central; TruTV, FOX; host of podcast The Virzi Effect; stand-up album Night at The Stand, which hit #1 on iTunes; tours with Bill Burr), Emma Willmann (Stephen Colbert, Netflix's The Comedy Lineup, @midnight; regular on WB's Crazy Ex-Girlfriend), Kevin Brennan (David Letterman, Conan O'Brien, Carson Daly; star of HBO special One Night Stand; former writer for SNL; co-host of podcast Misery Loves Company), Ian Lara (Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central Stand-Up, NBC's Bring the Funny; former host of Out of Tune music app) and Yannis Pappas (Comedy Central Half Hour, VH1; co-host of podcast History Hyenas)): Stars at The Stand (8:00 pm & 10:00 pm, $20, The Stand Mainstage at 116 East 16th Street)
Wednesday 11/27: Stand-ups and/or storytellers Michelle Drozdick, Meghan O'Malley, Carole Montgomery, Esther Chen, Ron Prendimano, and Jared Schwartz tell tales about losing their virginity hosted by Angela Cobb (Sirius XM): My First Time: A Stand-Up and Storytelling Show (9:00 pm, $10, Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell at 27-16 23rd Avenue)
Wednesday 11/27: A long-running November tradition at UCBT-NY is this competition of three-person improv groups, which in the past has produced some epic battles. Tonight you can catch the quarter-finals at 9:00 pm and 10:30 pm, which will then be capped by the Semi-Finals 7:30 pm & 10:30 pm on Friday and Finals 10:30 pm on Saturday: 3-On-3 Improv Tournament (9:00 pm and 10:30 pm, $9, UCB Hell's Kitchen at 555 West 42nd Street off Eleventh Avenue)
Most NYC comedy venues are closed today, but you can find superb stand-up at Comedy Cellar and/or a genuine Thanksgiving dinner with fellow comedy lovers at The Creek:
Thanksgiving 11/28: "The Creek’s Motto: You don’t have to be alone for the holidays unless you want to be (and even then, just come party!) What you can do: Make a donation for groceries, $20 suggested (but only if you can swing it); bring dessert; bring wine; and/or help set up/break down/clean up." On the menu are Sage Roasted Turkey, Truffle Rubbed Turkey, Deep Fried Turkey, Bacon Wrapped Turkey, Maple Glazed Ham, Giblet Gravy, Truffle Gravy, Rubbed Sage Stuffing, Seafood Cornbread Stuffing, Green Bean Casserole, Broccoli with Cheese Sauce, Garlic Roasted Asparagus, Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Candied Sweet Potatoes, Corn Pudding, Cranberries, and Parker House Rolls via comics/cooks Rebecca A. Trent, Gerrilea Adams, Cassidy Weeks, Joseph Roberts, Jamie Cook, and more: The Creek's Orphan Thanksgiving (5:00 pm, $20 (suggested), The Creek and the Cave in Queens' LIC at 10-93 Jackson Avenue; take 7 subway to Vernon Boulevard-Jackson Avenue)
Thanksgiving 11/28: Superb comics—Dave Attell, Myq Kaplan, Joe Machi, Seaton Smith, Andrew Schulz, Shane Torres, Kevin Iso, and more—are slated to perform stand-up in the West Village at 7:30 pm, 9:30 pm, and 11:30 pm at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane), and 8:00 pm & 10:00 pm at Village Underground (130 West 3rd Street), for a $24 cover charge plus 2-item food/drink min.: Comedy Cellar Thanksgiving
Happy Thanksgiving!!!
Friday 11/29: Ally Hord (above left; writer for Seth Meyers), Zhubin Parang (above right; writer for The Daily Show; UCB Saturday night improv group What I Did For Love), and Jason Selvig (half of prankster duo The Good Liars; co-star of 2016 film Undecided) chug a couple of beers on stage and talk politics for this live recording of a podcast hosted by Charlie Todd & Cody Lindquist: Two Beers In (6:00 pm, $9, UCB Hell's Kitchen at 555 West 42nd Street off Eleventh Avenue)
Friday 11/29: Native New Yorkers Ilana Michelle Rubin & Lana Schwartz invite comics who came here from somewhere else to talk about their home towns, with tonight's guests Jes Tom, Arti Gollapudi, Chrissy Shackelford, Sam Saulsbury, Joe Leonardo, and Corie Johnson: My Hometown (7:30 pm, $8, Brooklyn's Union Hall at 702 Union Street; take R subway to Union Street)
Friday 11/29: Powerful lineup of NYC stand-ups Big Jay Oakerson (Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central Presents, Louie, Inside Amy Schumer, HBO, Showtime, MTV, IFC; co-host of podcasts Legion of Skanks and The SDR; stellar comedy special Live at Webster Hall), Sean Patton (one of the very finest stand-ups in the country; killer sets on Jimmy Fallon and Conan O'Brien; Comedy Central's Half Hour, This Week at the Comedy Cellar, Inside Amy Schumer, @midnight, This Is Not Happening, The Meltdown; VH1, TruTV, IFC, Viceland), Ari Shaffir (Conan O'Brien, former host of Comedy Central's This Is Not Happening, HBO's Down and Dirty, National Lampoon, Comedy Central special Passive Aggressive, Netflix special Double Negative), Andrew Schulz (Amazon's Sneaky Pete, Hulu's There's...Johnny!, HBO's Crashing, Netflix, MTV, podcast The Brilliant Idiots), Bonnie McFarlane (HBO, David Letterman, Jay Leno, Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central Presents special; co-host of My Wife Hates Me podcast; author of You're Better Than Me), and Aminah Imani (host of podcast Wine Before Nine, co-host of Comedy at The Knit): Stars at The Stand (8:00 pm & 10:00 pm, $25, The Stand Mainstage at 116 East 16th Street)
Friday 11/29: Sydnee Washington & Marie Faustin (hosts of podcast The Unofficial Expert and, with Aminah Imani, of highly popular weekly Brooklyn showcase Comedy at the Knit) each perform a deliciously long half-hour stand-up set emceed by Petey DeAbreu (host of Petey's World and co-host of White Chocolate). Time Out New York advises, "They may look like models, but Faustin & Washington are...a duo of mercilessly funny stand-ups changing the standards...just try them:" Black Friday (8:00 pm; $8.68 in advance online or $10 at the door; Brooklyn's C'mon Everybody at 325 Franklin Avenue—take the G subway to Classon Avenue)
Friday 11/29: New Zealand comic Guy Montgomery (co-host of the popular podcast The Worst Idea of All Time) performs stand-up about friendship and hosts fellow stand-ups Ayo Edebiri (Comedy Central, The New Yorker), Clare O'Kane (Comedy Central Half Hour, Amazon's Budding Prospects, Viceland's Flophouse, webseries Semi-Famous; former writer for SpongeBob SquarePants; stand-up album Let It Be), Colin Burgess (videomaker for Adult Swim, Comedy Central, Vice), and Carmen Christopher (Seth Meyers, HBO's High Maintenance, TruTV's The Chris Gethard Show, Comedy Central's Alternatino, MTV's Bugging Out) for one night only in Brooklyn: Guy Montgomery: I'm Friends With These People (10:00 pm, $10, Brooklyn's Union Hall at 702 Union Street; take R subway to Union Street)
Friday 11/29: Late night stand-up from Big Jay Oakerson (Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central Presents, Louie, Inside Amy Schumer, HBO, Showtime, MTV, IFC; co-host of podcasts Legion of Skanks and The SDR; stellar comedy special Live at Webster Hall), Luis J. Gomez (Comedy Central's Roast Battle, Last Comic Standing, TruTV; co-host of podcast Legion of Skanks), Emma Willmann (Stephen Colbert, Netflix's The Comedy Lineup, @midnight; regular on WB's Crazy Ex-Girlfriend), Josh Wesson (Comedy Central, MTV2, FX), and Luz Pazos (Kroll Show): Late Show & Afterparty at The Stand (11:00 pm, $20, The Stand Upstairs at 116 East 16th Street)
Saturday 11/30: Joe Mande (Conan O'Brien, Seth Meyers, Comedy Central Half Hour, Ben on Modern Family; former writer for The Good Place, Parks & Recreation, Kroll Show, Delocated, Master of None; author of book Look at This F*cking Hipster, comedy album Bitchface; Netflix's Joe Mande's Award-Winning Comedy Special) performs in Brooklyn as part of his national tour, along with friends and/or business acquaintances Chris Gethard (comedy genius; HBO special Career Suicide, star of TruTV's The Chris Gethard Show, host of Webby-winning podcast Beautiful Stories From Anonymous People), Guy Montgomery (New Zealand comic; co-host of the popular podcast The Worst Idea of All Time), and Ayo Edebiri (Comedy Central, The New Yorker): Joe Mande Definitely Has Friends (8:00 pm, $12, Brooklyn's Littlefield at 635 Sackett Street—take R subway to Union Street; show up early—doors open at 7:00—to nab a seat, or plan on standing)
Saturday 11/30: A stand-up veteran who once said, "When did I start comedy? I came out of the womb and did 10 minutes" performs an early and late solo show in Brooklyn for one night only: Andy Kindler: Live and Loaded (7:30 pm & 10:00 pm, $20, Brooklyn's Union Hall at 702 Union Street; take R subway to Union Street)
Saturday 11/30: Stand-up from Big Jay Oakerson (Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central Presents, Louie, Inside Amy Schumer, HBO, Showtime, MTV, IFC; co-host of podcasts Legion of Skanks and The SDR; stellar comedy special Live at Webster Hall), Sean Patton (one of the very finest stand-ups in the country; killer sets on Jimmy Fallon and Conan O'Brien; Comedy Central's Half Hour, This Week at the Comedy Cellar, Inside Amy Schumer, @midnight, This Is Not Happening, The Meltdown; VH1, TruTV, IFC, Viceland), Ari Shaffir (Conan O'Brien, former host of Comedy Central's This Is Not Happening, HBO's Down and Dirty, National Lampoon, Comedy Central special Passive Aggressive, Netflix special Double Negative), Josh Wesson (Comedy Central, MTV2, FX), Bonnie McFarlane (HBO, David Letterman, Jay Leno, Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central Presents special; co-host of My Wife Hates Me podcast; author of You're Better Than Me), and Vladimir Caamaño (Jimmy Kimmel, CW): Stars at The Stand (8:00 pm & 10:00 pm, $25, The Stand Mainstage at 116 East 16th Street)
Saturday 11/30: The wonderful Ophira Eisenberg (above right; one of the finest comedic storytellers and stand-ups in the country; host of weekly NPR/WNYC show Ask Me Another, author of bestselling book Screw Everyone: Sleeping My Way to Monogamy, comedy album Bangs!; NBC, CBS, Comedy Central, VH1, Showtime), Shane Torres (above left; fresh, hilarious stand-up; Conan O'Brien, Comedy Central's Stand-Up Presents and Comedy Cellar, IFC's Comedy Bang Bang, stand-up album Established 1981), Michael Cruz Kayne (sketches on Seth Meyers and The Chris Gethard Show; HBO's High Maintenance; former writer for @midnight and Billy on the Street; member of ace musical improv group Baby Wants Candy and UCB Saturday night improv group What I Did For Love; co-host of monthly comedy show The Exhibition), and Lizzie Martinez (co-host of Star F*ckers) perform stand-up hosted by Emily Winter, Julia Shiplett, Carolyn Busa, and/or Ben Wasserman: Side Ponytail Comedy (8:00 pm, Free!, Brooklyn's Friends and Lovers at 641 Classon Avenue)
Friday 11/29: Big Jay Oakerson (left; Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central Presents, Louie, Inside Amy Schumer, HBO, Showtime, MTV, IFC; co-host of podcasts Legion of Skanks and The SDR; stellar comedy special Live at Webster Hall), Nikki Glaser (host of You Up on SiriusXM; star of former Comedy Central series Not Safe; Comedy Central and Netflix specials; films Trainwreck and I Feel Pretty), Bonnie McFarlane (HBO, David Letterman, Jay Leno, Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central Presents special; co-host of My Wife Hates Me podcast; author of You're Better Than Me), Ian Lara (Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central Stand-Up, NBC's Bring the Funny; former host of Out of Tune music app), Emma Willmann (Stephen Colbert, Netflix's The Comedy Lineup, @midnight; regular on WB's Crazy Ex-Girlfriend), and Vladimir Caamaño (Jimmy Kimmel, CW): Big Jay Oakerson, Nikki Glaser, Bonnie McFarlane, and More (9:00 pm & 11:00 pm, $20, The Stand Upstairs at 116 East 16th Street)
Saturday 11/30: The charming Ruby Karp (left) hosts The Lucas Brothers (right; Jimmy Fallon, 22 Jump Street, Netflix's The Lucas Bros: On Drugs and Lady Dynamite, FOX's Lucas Bros Moving Company and Arrested Development, HBO's Crashing), Rachel Pegram (middle; Stephen Colbert, Samantha Bee, Comedy Central's Alternatino, MTV, BET; movies Don't Think Twice and The Week Of; member of National Lampoon Radio Hour and UCB star improv group ASSSSCAT 3000), Samantha Ruddy (Stephen Colbert; warm-up comic for Full Frontal with Samantha Bee; written for College Humor, Reductress, Someecards), and Matt Bachus (co-host of podcast Hold My Bread) performing stand-up: We Hope You Have Fun (Midnight, $9, UCB at SubCulture, 45 Bleecker Street—take #6 subway to Bleecker Street stop)
Saturday 11/30: Superb late-night stand-up from Nikki Glaser (host of You Up on SiriusXM; star of former Comedy Central series Not Safe; Comedy Central and Netflix specials; films Trainwreck and I Feel Pretty), Big Jay Oakerson (Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central Presents, Louie, Inside Amy Schumer, HBO, Showtime, MTV, IFC; co-host of podcasts Legion of Skanks and The SDR; stellar comedy special Live at Webster Hall), Ari Shaffir (Conan O'Brien, former host of Comedy Central's This Is Not Happening, HBO's Down and Dirty, National Lampoon, Comedy Central special Passive Aggressive, Netflix special Double Negative), Luis J. Gomez (Comedy Central's Roast Battle, Last Comic Standing, TruTV; co-host of podcast Legion of Skanks), Emma Willmann (Stephen Colbert, Netflix's The Comedy Lineup, @midnight; regular on WB's Crazy Ex-Girlfriend), Lawrence DeLoach (CBS Sports Network; host of lifestyle podcast Sup?), and more: Midnight at The Stand (Midnight, $20, The Stand Mainstage at 116 East 16th Street)
Copyright © 2019 Hy Bender
Email: hy@hyreviews.com
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