I didn't take any time off during the summer, but am putting this site and BestNewYorkComedy.com on hiatus for part of the fall so I can more fully focus on several projects. These include my cross-genre short story anthology Ghosts On Drugs (for details, please click here), a comedy screenplay that needs a lot of research, and some other challenging items that'll require extra time and energy.
I'll be off for at least a month, so please check back here on November 1st for an update.
Meanwhile, you can use the links below to explore the schedules of all the major comedy venues in NYC; and while it's not as complete as this daily site, you can find excellent live comedy recommendations weekly via The New York Times.
That said, here are a few extra special recommendations for October:
Running Thursday 10/5 through Sunday 10/8 is New York Comic Con, one of the largest annual cultural events in the country—according to NYCC, last year it attracted over 185,000 people! In addition to comic books and anime, this ultimate fan fest features many comedians and spotlights lots of TV comedy series. I'll be attending all four days; if you spot me, please feel encouraged to come over, say hey, and share your personal highlights from the fest: New York Comic Con 2017 (Thursday-Saturday 10:00 am-9:00ish pm, Sunday 10:00 am-5:00 pm; Jacob K. Javits Convention Center at 11th Avenue between 34th and 40th Streets)
After a way fun Saturday at New York Comic Con, keep your fan buzz going on by heading over to Brooklyn to spend your evening with comedy superhero Lane Moore (above middle; HBO's Girls; Sex & Relationship Editor of Cosmo; writer for The Onion, McSweeney's), who will use her powers of irresistible charm and lightning wit to have amazing fun with random men she finds on Tinder...while a packed audience watches her every choice with fascination. Offering comments and suggestions during this super-adventure will be Frank Conniff (TV's Frank on Mystery Science Theater 3000; Cinematic Titanic) and Akilah Hughes (writer for Hello Giggles, former writer/producer for Fusion). This show usually sells out, so I recommend nabbing tickets ASAP for Tinder Live (Saturday 10/7, 8:30 pm, $15, Brooklyn's Littlefield (635 Sackett Street; take R subway to Union Street)
Mystery Science Theater 3000 goes street in this delightful series by Wyatt Cenac (star of 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) and Donwill (ace comedy DJ; hip-hop group Tanya Morgan), in which the boys watch a blaxploitation movie and yell comments at it throughout. In addition, they provide obscure film trivia and drinking games. The exact nature of tonight's screening will be a happy surprise, but chances are it'll be related to horror and/or Halloween: Shouting at the Screen (Thursday 10/12, 9:30 pm; $15, Brooklyn's Alamo Drafthouse Cinema at 445 Albee Square West—take the 2/3 subway to Hoyt Street)
On Halloween month, this glorious collection of hilarious film & TV clips and guest media experts hosted by super-fan Kevin Maher focuses on the most terrifying subject imaginable: being an aging actress in Hollywood. This show covers the gamut, "from the former Hollywood A-listers who gained second careers in b-movie grindhouse fare, to post-modern witches and psycho-biddies. The power of the hag is like no other, whether they are reminiscing about better times from a decaying home to tormenting younger women with mind games and/or axes." For a sneak peek video, please click here. Presenters include movie gurus Bob Satuloff, Cristina Cacioppo, Jamie Righetti, Tom Blunt, Tenebrous Kate, Wendy Mays, and Trav S.D.: Kevin Geeks Out About Hagsploitation (Thursday 10/19, 7:00 pm; $15—buying in advance is highly recommended, as this show crammed with rich imagery and fascinating ideas typically sells out; Brooklyn's Alamo Drafthouse Cinema at 445 Albee Square West—take the 2/3 subway to Hoyt Street)
The Sixth Annual NYC SketchFest runs four days, Thursday 10/19-Sunday 10/22, at all three of The PIT's theatres. Notable groups performing include City Hall, Nameless Numberhead, Funny as Tech, National Scandal, Just Karen, The Chris and Paul Show, Dinner for One, Uncle Function, Aspergers Are Us...and lots more, including Dominique Salerno's brilliant The Box Show. Most shows are $10 each, but the sensible thing to do is buy an all-you-can-see pass for a mere $40: NYC SketchFest 2017 (Thursday 10/19 6:00 pm-Midnight, Friday 10/20 6:00 pm-12:30 am, Saturday 10/21 3:00 pm-12:30 am, Sunday 10/22 5:00 pm-11:30 pm; $10 per show or $40 for an all-you-can-see pass; The PIT Mainstage & The PIT Underground at 123 East 24th Street and The PIT Loft at 154 West 29th Street)
A national comedy treasure who co-stars on HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm and ABC's The Goldbergs, and who has a uniquely laid-back, anecdote-based stand-up style that's a delight, headlines at the Carolines Comedy Club: Jeff Garlin (7:30 pm & 10:00 pm Friday 10/20 and Saturday 10/21; $46.50 plus 2-drink min.; Carolines Comedy Club at 1626 Broadway)
Superb storyteller David Lawson (The Flyer Guy, No Oddjob) performs a hilarious and fascinating one-man show "about those three Star Wars movies most people hate. About how art can mean something different at different ages, discovering the limits of one’s own nerddom, the thrill of watching a movie stoned, the final massive cultural event before social media took over, telling the elder at synagogue you think the anti-Semitic character is comedy gold, and the warmth of loving a certain movie trilogy that is so universally loathed," with opening stories by Lynn Bixenspan (sharp host of Relationsh!t), Nick Padilla (co-host of ASS), and Andrew Sanford: David Lawson's The Prequels (7:00 pm, $10, The Tank at 312 West 36th Street between Eighth & Ninth Avenues)
Comics give funny pseudo-scientific lectures about cancer, featuring John Reynolds (co-star of Search Party, cast member of Stranger Things), Jen Spyra (writer for Stephen Colbert), Mamoudou N'Diaye (Comedy Central), and Sachi Ezura (producer for The Rundown with Robin Thede), and then are fact-checked on the spot by Dr. Neal Shukla (Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center) and Malka Greene (Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation). It's all brought to you by seeker-of-truth hosts Blythe Roberson (The Onion, McSweeney's, TheNewYorker.com) & Madelyn Freed: The Scientists (Tuesday 10/24, 8:00 pm, $8, Brooklyn's Union Hall at 702 Union Street; take R subway to Union Street)
Comedy superstar Ricky Gervais visits from the UK for one night only to perform a self-revealing show about his childhood and more that at least some critics are calling his best yet: Ricky Gervais: Humanity (Wednesday 10/25, 8:00 pm, $56.50-$85.50, The Theater at Madison Square Garden at Seventh Avenue between 31st and 33rd Streets)
Two of the sharpest and most likeable comics in the biz, Natasha Leggero & Moshe Kasher, celebrate their getting married (back in October 2015) with this "Honeymoon Tour" in which each performs a long solo stand-up set and then the two of them play around on stage as a couple. Co-headlining at Carolines, it's Natasha Leggero & Moshe Kasher: The Endless Honeymoon Tour (Thursday 10/26, 7:30 pm; Friday 10/27 & Saturday 10/28, 7:30 pm & 10:00 pm; Sunday 10/29, 7:30 pm; $38.25 plus 2-drink min., Carolines Comedy Club at 1626 Broadway)
For the 10th year of this fabulous annual event, over 40 NYC comics get a couple of minutes each to do a set as a famous comedian (e.g., Louis C.K., Amy Schumer, George Carlin, Jimmy Fallon, Rodney Dangerfield...the possibilities are endless) hosted by Mark Normand & Matt Ruby: The 10th Annual Schtick or Treat (Sunday 10/29, 8:00 pm, $15, The Bell House at 149 7th Street; take R subway to 9th Street or F/G to Fourth Avenue)
Judah Friedlander (one of the quickest minds and very finest stand-ups in comedy; 30 Rock, Meet the Parents, Along Came Polly, author of bestselling cartoon book If the Raindrops United) releases a black & white stand-up special via Netflix on Halloween that he wrote, performed, directed, produced, and edited from numerous sets he performed this year at the West VIllage's Comedy Cellar. TItled America is the Greatest Country in the United States, much of the material is a response to our current insane Trump era. According to Judah, the 84-minute special "mostly satirizes American Exceptionalism, including U.S. domestic & foreign policy; it’s a comedy about racism, sexism, imperialism, climate change, health care, LGBTQ rights, fascism, drones, and mass incarceration." For the trailer, please click here.
You can find the vast majority of notable NYC live comedy shows by using the links below to explore the schedules of the following top NYC comedy venues:
Copyright © 2017 Hy Bender
Email: hy@hyreviews.com
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