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 October 2019 included the following:
Tuesday 10/1-Thursday 10/3: Phoebe Robinson (co-star of HBO's 2 Dope Queens; host of podcast Sooo Many White Guys; Conan O'Brien, Seth Meyers, Broad City, MTV’s Girl Code; feature films What Men Want and Netflix's Ibiza; author of Everything's Trash, But It's Okay and You Can't Touch My Hair and Other Things I Still Have to Explain) performs a deliciously long solo stand-up set in an intimate Brooklyn venue this Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday: Phoebe Robinson (8:00 pm, $15, Brooklyn's Union Hall (702 Union Street; take R subway to Union Street)
Tuesday 10/1 (also 10/2): Ruggedly handsome Broadway, TV, film, and Netflix star (Trainwreck, Drunk Parents, Red State Blue State) 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 10/1: 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: Punderdome 3000 (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 10/1: 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; tours with Amy Schumer) hosts stand-ups Shane Torres, Matteo Lane, Emma Willmann, Alex English, and show co-producers Matt Ruby & Gary Vider at an intimate Comedy Cellar venue: Hot Soup (10:30 pm, $10 plus 2-item food/drink min., West Village's The Fat Black Pussycat Lounge at 130 West 3rd Street)
Wednesday 10/2: 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; stand-up albums Dancing On a Weeknight and Physical Whisper; author of book Nice Try (above)), Dina Hashem (Conan O'Brien, Comedy Central's Roast Battle), Mike Brown (TBS' Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, TruTV, MTV, Adult Swim; co-host of Comedy Outliers), Lorelei Ramirez (VICE; host of Not Dead Yet), and Brittany Carney perform stand-up for hosts Sean Crespo, Katina Corrao, and Matt Little: Lasers in the Jungle (9:30 pm, $12, LES' Caveat at 21-A Clinton Street; take F/J/M/Z subway to Delancey Street/Essex Street)
Wednesday 10/2-Thursday 10/3: Phoebe Robinson (co-star of HBO's 2 Dope Queens; host of podcast Sooo Many White Guys; Conan O'Brien, Seth Meyers, Broad City, MTV’s Girl Code; feature films What Men Want and Netflix's Ibiza; author of Everything's Trash, But It's Okay and You Can't Touch My Hair and Other Things I Still Have to Explain) continues her national stand-up comedy tour, which runs tonight and tomorrow at Union Hall, Thursday 10/10 at Bowery Ballroom, and then venues in California and Philadelphia: Phoebe Robinson: "Sorry, Harriet Tubman" Tour (8:00 pm, $15, Brooklyn's Union Hall (702 Union Street; take R subway to Union Street)
Wednesday 10/2: A beloved Broadway, TV, and film star (Trainwreck, Sandy Wexler, Drunk Parents), and star of Netflix specials Red State Blue State (above), 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 10/2: Dan Soder (stellar stand-up; 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, VH1; hosts with Big Jay Oakerson Sirius XM's The Bonfire), Keith Robinson (HBO, Comedy Central, Wanda Sykes Show), Chris Distefano (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), Mike Vecchione (Jay Leno, Comedy Central Half Hour, Last Comic Standing, Howard Stern), 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 at 116 East 16th Street)
Wednesday 10/2: 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), Jessica Kirson (HBO's Crashing, The Tonight Show, The View, Last Comic Standing, Celebrity Apprentice, HBO, Showtime, Comedy Central, Bravo, VH1, Logo one-woman show My Cookie's Gone), The Lucas Brothers (Jimmy Fallon, 22 Jump Street, FOX's Lucas Bros Moving Company, Arrested Development), Keith Robinson (HBO, Comedy Central, Wanda Sykes Show), Sam Jay (writer for Saturday Night Live; performed on Jimmy Kimmel, Comedy Central Stand-Up Presents, Take My Wife), and Petey DeAbreu (host of Petey's World and co-host of White Chocolate): Behind the Bit (10:00 pm, $20 cover and no min., The Stand at 116 East 16th Street)
Wednesday 10/2: The fabulous Christi Chiello (above; 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) hosts a talk show about being rebuffed, refused, and disapproved, with Katie Hartman (brilliant, fearless dark comedy writer/performer and actress; HBO's High Maintenance, Netflix's The Week Of; sketch groups Skinny Bitch Jesus Meeting and Hartman & Carl, ace improv group Straight to Video) and Carly Ann Filbin (luminous & delightful sketch comic/comedic actress/writer; on-camera correspondent for Cosmopolitan.com; host of Hot Young Sluts and Let Me Break You Up: An Anti-Dating Game Show): Rejection: A Talk Show (11:00 pm, streaming free on public access station MNN and ChrisGeth.com/live)
Thursday 10/3-Sunday 10/6: New York Comic Con is one of the largest annual cultural events in the country—according to NYCC, last year it attracted over 250,000 people! In addition to comic books and anime, this ultimate fan fest features many comedians and spotlights lots of TV comedy series or films, including "Rotten Movies We Love: The Stinkers That Stole Our Hearts" (Thursday at 12:30 pm, Room 1A10), "Netflix Presents Big Mouth" (Thursday at 5:30 pm, Main Stage 1D), "SpongeBob Squarepants Appreciation Day" (Friday at 10:30 am, Hammerstein Ballroom), "Adult Swim's Robot Chicken" (Friday at 4:30 pm, Hammerstein Ballroom), "TruTV's Impractical Jokers" (Friday at 6:15 pm, Main Stage 1D), "CollegeHumor's Dropout" (Friday at 6:45 pm, Room 1A21), "The George Lucas Talk Show" (Friday at 9:15 pm, Room 1A21), "Full Frontal with Samantha Bee—Election 2020" (Saturday at 4:30 pm, Room 1A10), and "Hulu's The Orville" (Sunday at 3:15 pm, Main Stage 1D). And slated comedy guests include Paul Rudd, Seth Green & Matthew Senreich, Brian Posehn, Paul Reubens, Laraine Newman, Griffin Newman, Connor Ratliff, Jameela Jamil (The Good Place)...and, given the panels, probably Samantha Bee, Nick Kroll, and many more.
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 2019 (Thursday-Saturday 10:00 am-10:00ish pm, Sunday 10:00 am-5:00 pm; Jacob K. Javits Convention Center at 11th Avenue between 34th and 40th Streets)
Thursday 10/3-Saturday 10/5: One of the smartest and nicest guys in show biz—who hosts NBC's The Wall, AMC's Talking shows, and popular podcast ID10T, and used to host the great @midnight—headlines for three nights at Carolines (while he's here for New York Comic Con) to tell jokes and make you feel good: Chris Hardwick (Thursday at 7:00 pm, Friday-Saturday at 7:00 pm & 10:00 pm, $41 plus 2-drink min., Carolines Comedy Club at 1626 Broadway)
Thursday 10/3: John Cameron Mitchell (Hedwig and the Angry Inch, How to Talk to Girls at Parties, HBO's Girls).is tonight's guest of this NPR comedy trivia show taped live in Brooklyn, with music from Jonathan Coulton, 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): Ask Me Another (7:30 pm, $15, Brooklyn's The Bell House at 149 7th Street; take R subway to 9th Street or F/G to Fourth Avenue)
Thursday 10/3: Phoebe Robinson (co-star of HBO's 2 Dope Queens; host of podcast Sooo Many White Guys; Conan O'Brien, Seth Meyers, Broad City, MTV’s Girl Code; feature films What Men Want and Netflix's Ibiza; author of Everything's Trash, But It's Okay and You Can't Touch My Hair and Other Things I Still Have to Explain) continues her national stand-up comedy tour, which runs tonight at Union Hall, Thursday 10/10 at Bowery Ballroom, and then venues in California and Philadelphia: Phoebe Robinson: "Sorry, Harriet Tubman" Tour (8:00 pm, $15, Brooklyn's Union Hall (702 Union Street; take R subway to Union Street)
Thursday 10/3: Comic book super-hosts Alex Zalben, Justin Tyler, and Pete LePage provide a lively & hilarious discussion about four-color pop culture, with giveaways of comics and gift certificates, and at this special Comic Con edition welcome guests Judah Friedlander (one of the quickest minds and very finest stand-ups in comedy; 30 Rock, Meet the Parents, Along Came Polly; Netflix stand-up special America is the Greatest Country in the United States; bestselling cartoon book If the Raindrops United) and Donny Cates (writer of Marvel Comics' Guardians of the Galaxy, Absolute Carnage, and Silver Surfer: Black): Comic Book Club (9:30 pm, $15, LES' Caveat at 21-A Clinton Street; take F/J/M/Z subway to Delancey Street/Essex Street)
Friday 10/5-Sunday 10/7: The highlights of the first day of New York Comic Con included a gloriously long Q&A session with the writers and voice actors of Big Mouth—who are some of the funniest comics in the world (among the panelists were Nick Kroll, Jason Mantzoukas, and Jessi Klein)—plus the screening of the Season 3 premiere, which is a jaw-dropping, laugh-crammed epic about Florida. You can actually see all the episodes right now, as Netflix released Season 3 in its entirely last night. Netflix also renewed the series for another three seasons—and green-lit a spin-off devoted to the monsters, titled Human Resources. Highly recommended.
Another highlight was Randall Munroe giving a thoroughly entertaining and thought-provoking talk about his new book How To: Absurd Scientific Advice for Common Real-World Problems, which encourages thinking in ridiculous ways to come up with uniquely effective solutions. Too many Comic Con panels are little more than self-congratulatory PR stunts. In contrast, Munroe championed an uncommon way of thinking, with uniformly funny examples, that could end up being life-altering for anyone with an open mind. You still have a chance to see Munroe, as he's doing a show tonight at Caveat with Zach Weinersmith (please see directly below).
My biggest difficult decision yesterday was choosing between a Dragon Ball panel with stellar voice actors Sean Schemmel and Christopher Sabat and a panel about bad movies. I let love for greatness win over love for terribleness, and had a delightful time. But I expect the movie panel was also way fun, so want to recommend the book it celebrated, titled Rotten Movies We Love: Cult Classics, Underrated Gems, and Films So Bad They're Good by the razor-sharp editors of the popular Rotten Tomatoes movie reviews site.
Comedy-related panels for Day 2 of NYCC19 include "SpongeBob Squarepants Appreciation Day" (10:30 am, Hammerstein Ballroom), "Adult Swim's Robot Chicken" 4:30 pm, Hammerstein Ballroom), "TruTV's Impractical Jokers" 6:15 pm, Main Stage 1D), "CollegeHumor's Dropout" (6:45 pm, Room 1A21), and "The George Lucas Talk Show" (9:15 pm, Room 1A21).
I'm 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 2019 (Thursday-Saturday 10:00 am-10:00ish pm, Sunday 10:00 am-5:00 pm; Jacob K. Javits Convention Center at 11th Avenue between 34th and 40th Streets)
Friday 10/4-Saturday 10/5: One of the smartest and nicest guys in show biz—who hosts NBC's The Wall, AMC's Talking shows, and popular podcast ID10T, and used to host the great @midnight—headlines for two more nights at Carolines (while he's here for New York Comic Con) to tell jokes and make you feel good: Chris Hardwick (7:00 pm & 10:00 pm, $41 plus 2-drink min., Carolines Comedy Club at 1626 Broadway)
Friday 10/4: Engineer, author, and cartoonist (webcomic xkcd) Randall Munroe was a clear highlight of yesterday's New York Comic Con, delivering a funny and fascinating talk about his new book How To: Absurd Scientific Advice for Common Real-World Problems, which encourages outside-of-the-box thinking to create great solutions that might otherwise be overlooked. Tonight you can have Randall and host Zach Weinersmith try to solve your problems...via ridiculous ideas. The audience will then break into groups for a hackathon, challenging each other to devise the most oddball fixes before pitching them in a lightning round competition for the entire room's most non-obvious solution: How To: A Night of Absurd Problem-Solving (7:00 pm, $35 (includes a copy of Randall's superb book), LES' Caveat at 21-A Clinton Street; take F/J/M/Z subway to Delancey Street/Essex Street)
Saturday 10/6-Sunday 10/7: Highlights of the second day of New York Comic Con included a wonderful hour with Paul Reubens (above) as he answered audience questions by telling numerous stories about his career, including the almost miraculous set of circumstances leading to his hiring Tim Burton to direct Tim's first feature film; a fascinating talk by Michael Uslan on the long, difficult journey he took to get the first modern Batman film made (which was also directed by Tim Burton), and how he came to cast Jack Nicholson as The Joker off of a promotional photo from The Shining; Felicia Day promoting her new book Embrace Your Weird while being so poised, dynamic, and charming that "weird" is the last word that would occur to anyone attending; TNT's new AEW Wrestling group showing themselves to be quick wits and great showmen—including staging a fight at the end that brought everyone in the audience up from their chairs and rushing toward the stage; Connor Ratliff, pretending to be Star Wars' George Lucas, doing one squirt into the air of Billy Dee Williams' old fragrance "Undeniable" and finding it filled the huge room we were in with the appeal of a noxious gas (one panelist exclaimed, "Oh no! It's triggering my asthma!"), screening and panel discussions of HBO's Watchmen, Adult Swim's Robot Chicken and Primal; and more than I have time to relate. Am rushing off to try and get into this morning's panel The Walking Dead. If you're attending today, just know that there's a ton to see—including comedy panel "Full Frontal with Samantha Bee—Election 2020" (Saturday at 4:30 pm, Room 1A10),
I'm 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 2019 (Thursday-Saturday 10:00 am-10:00ish pm, Sunday 10:00 am-5:00 pm; Jacob K. Javits Convention Center at 11th Avenue between 34th and 40th Streets)
Saturday 10/5: Don't tell anyone, but tonight is the last chance to spend an evening with the immensely popular and charming host of AMC's Talking shows, NBC's The Wall, podcast ID10T, and more performing jokes and Q&A: Chris Hardwick (7:00 pm & 10:00 pm, $41 plus 2-drink min., Carolines Comedy Club at 1626 Broadway)
Sunday 10/6: 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 10/3-Sunday 10/6: New York Comic Con is one of the largest annual cultural events in the country—according to NYCC, last year it attracted over 250,000 people—and this year was a perfect example of why. I had a total blast over the four days of #NYCC19, and have described highlights of the con here. Please read to find cool stories, insider info, and other treats.
Monday 10/7: Comedic storytellers and/or scientists TBA share tales on this month's theme of opening doors and taking chances: The Story Collider: Enter at Your Own Risk (8:00 pm, $12, LES' Caveat at 21-A Clinton Street—take F/J/M/Z subway to Delancey Street/Essex Street)
Tuesday 10/8: Emmy Blotnick (above; 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; former writer for Comedy Central's The President Show and @midnight), Mark Normand (above; 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; tours with Amy Schumer), Greg Warren (Seth Meyers, Craig Ferguson, Comedy Central Presents, Last Comic Standing), Jim Tews (Louie, Last Comic Standing; host of Homeschooled and co-host of Fresh Out; New York Times bestselling author of Felines of New York; comedy album I Was in Band), Matt Ruby (MTV; award-winning blog Sandpaper Suit, comedy album Hot Flashes), and Neko White (TruTV, MTV2) perform stand-up hosted by Gary Vider (Stephen Colbert, Conan O'Brien, America's Got Talent finalist): Hot Soup (10:30 pm, $10 plus 2-item food/drink min., West Village's The Fat Black Pussycat Lounge at 130 West 3rd Street)
Tuesday 10/8 (also 10/9): 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)
Tuesday 10/8: 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 10/8: Gabe Gonzalez (Scruff, MTV News) and Steve Dean (dating industry consultant & relationship coach) will choose audience members with dating woes and use data to transform their lives by helping them find who they're looking for. "Along the way we'll hear some crazy stories, learn insane truths about the dating industry, and meet some new people:" The Nerds & the Bees (9:30 pm, $12, LES' Caveat at 21-A Clinton Street; take F/J/M/Z subway to Delancey Street/Essex Street)
Wednesday 10/9: Killer lineup of Bill Burr (legendary comedy force of nature), 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; tours with Amy Schumer), Dan Soder (stellar stand-up; 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, VH1; hosts with Big Jay Oakerson Sirius XM's The Bonfire), Laurie Kilmartin (dynamite stand-up; writer for Conan O'Brien; finalist on Last Comic Standing; Jimmy Kimmel, Comedy Central, VH1), Derek Gaines (Jaybird on The Last O.G.; former host of MTV's Broke A$$ Game Show), and Lev Fer (host of the Yung Daddy podcast): Stars at the Stand (8:00 pm, $15 cover and no min., The Stand at 116 East 16th Street)
Wednesday 10/9: 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 10/9: Comics play a game of Dungeons & Dragons live on stage, and "bring it to life through stagecraft and performance," with Dave Murray, Glo Tavarez, Jason Sweeten, and a guest comic TBA: Adventures from Shimmering Grove: A Live D&D Show (7:30 pm, $5, Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell at 27-16 23rd Avenue)
Wednesday 10/9: Robert Kelly (Louie, Trainwreck, HBO, CBS, two Comedy Central specials, frequent guest on The Opie and Anthony Show) performs a long stand-up set in an intimate venue, with several other talented stand-ups as openers: Robert Kelly (8:30 pm, $10 plus 2-item food/drink min., The Fat Black Pussycat Lounge at 130 West 3rd Street)
Wednesday 10/9: Frank Conniff (TV's Frank on Mystery Science Theater 3000; Cinematic Titanic) 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 10/9: Rebecca Vigil (above; powerhouse improv singer; Your Love Our Musical, The Vigilante), Doug Smith (Conan O'Brien, co-host of See You In Hell), Nore Davis (HBO, Showtime, CBS, Comedy Central, MTV, Netflix; album You Guys Are Dope), Rita Sengupta (Buzzfeed), and Brittany Carney perform music or stand-up for hosts Sean Crespo, Katina Corrao, and Matt Little: Lasers in the Jungle (9:30 pm, $12, LES' Caveat at 21-A Clinton Street; take F/J/M/Z subway to Delancey Street/Essex Street)
Thursday 10/10: 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), Rob Cantrell (HBO, Comedy Central, NBC's Last Comic Standing, VHI, FX; documentary Metaphysical Graffiti, High Times; comedy album Pure Uncut Joy), Usama Siddique, Jordan Jenson, and Xazmin Garza perform stand-up hosted by Brian Parise & Kenice Mobley: The Pasta Show (7:30 pm for the free Pasta e Ceci, 8:00 pm for the show; $10; Frank's Cocktail Lounge at Brooklyn's 660 Fulton Street, near the G subway's Fulton Street stop or A/C Lafayette Avenue stop)
Thursday 10/10: 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 "What does majority rule even mean and what are the consequences of it?", "Are we actually getting more polarized?", and "Why, despite the historical records in the midterm election, do so many candidates and leaders still look the same?": Political Circus: Why Democracy is F*cked (And What to Do About It) (7:00 pm, $15, LES' Caveat at 21-A Clinton Street; take F/J/M/Z subway to Delancey Street/Essex Street)
Thursday 10/10: A burlesque comedic horror tribute to the works of Stephen King is spearheaded & hosted by Cherry Pitz (a.k.a. sharp storyteller Cyndi Freeman) and Brad Lawrence (Moth GrandSlam Champion), who are both pictured above, and features acts by Brief Sweat as Georgie from IT, Candy Apples as Annie Wilkes from Misery, Fem Appeal as Pennywise from IT, Matt Knife paying tribute to the 237 Documentary, Venatrix as Jessie Burlingame from Gerald’s Game, and Bimini Cricket as Carrie from Carrie: Hotsy Totsy Burlesque Tribute to Stephen King (8:00 pm, $15-$25, The Slipper Room at LES' 167 Orchard Street)
Thursday 10/10: 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: Mortified (8:00 pm, $12, Brooklyn's Littlefield at 635 Sackett Street; take R subway to Union Street)
Thursday 10/10: Storytellers Matt Dennie (MTV, IFC; improv group Higgins; co-creator of Cool Shit/Weird Shit), Julia Whitehouse (Moth StorySlam winner; host of Happy Hour Story Time open mic; solo show Naked People), and 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) tell comedic tales on this month's theme Nightmares for this long-running stage series and podcast hosted by the wonderful David Martin: The Nights of Our Lives: Nightmares (8:30 pm, $7, The Magnet at 254 West 29th Street)
Thursday 10/10: Comics tell true stories and jokes about drug, alcohol, and/or sex addictions, featuring Mark Normand, Jessica Kirson, Sean Donnelly, Matt Richards, Jonas Barnes, and Richie Redding hosted by Jeff Leach: Stand-Ups Anonymous (9:30 pm, $15 cover and no min., The Stand Upstairs at 116 East 16th Street)
Thursday 10/10: Comics Pat Regan, Lily Marotta, and Tawanda Gona 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)
Thursday 10/10: Phoebe Robinson (co-star of HBO's 2 Dope Queens; host of podcast Sooo Many White Guys; Conan O'Brien, Seth Meyers, Broad City, MTV’s Girl Code; feature films What Men Want and Netflix's Ibiza; author of Everything's Trash, But It's Okay and You Can't Touch My Hair and Other Things I Still Have to Explain) is giving us New Yorkers one last chance to enjoy her national stand-up comedy tour, which runs tonight at Bowery Ballroom and then moves on to venues in California and Philadelphia: Phoebe Robinson: "Sorry, Harriet Tubman" Tour (6:00 pm doors, 7:00 pm show; $35; East Village's The Bowery Ballroom at 6 Delancey Street; PLEASE NOTE: This show has SOLD OUT.)
Friday 10/11: The wonderful Brian Posehn (hilarious stand-up, comedic actor, and writer; recurring roles on The Big Bang Theory, New Girl, The Sarah Silverman Program, Just Shoot Me, Mr. Show, and more; star of indie film Uncle Nick; Netflix special The Fartist; writer of Marvel Comics' wildly popular Deadpool; author of book Forever Nerdy) graces Brooklyn with his special blend of comic book & heavy metal wit for one night only: The Great Brian Posehn (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)
Friday 10/11: Multitalented rising star Emma Vernon (hip-hop musical improvisor, stand-up, actor, writer, and romance expert) uses her exceptional matchmaking skills to bring together love applicants and have them experience their first dates live on stage...while ace improvisors Alex Song, Grace Leeson, Patrick Keene, and X Mayo instantly create the settings for those dates (e.g., a music festival, a bowling alley, under the sea). To get a feel for this long-running monthly extravaganza, please click here, and then nab tickets for In A World: The Dating Show (8:00 pm, $12 online or $15 at the door, The PIT Mainstage (Striker) at 123 East 24th Street)
Friday 10/11: 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 guest comics Scott Rogowsky (bottom row; NBC's The Voice, WB's Penn & Teller: Fool Us; host of wildly popular trivia game app HQ Trivia), Liz Plank (right; Senior Producer and Political Correspondent at Vox Media; author of book For the Love of Men), and Cat Cohen (left; Seth Meyers; host of podcast Seek Treatment): 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)
Friday 10/11: Two stand-ups each perform a deliciously long 30-minute set, with tonight's headliners rising star Christi Chiello (above; 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; opens for Chris Gethard) and Mary Beth Barone (Comedy Central, Viceland; host of podcast Mildly Offensive), all hosted by Gavin Matts (Conan O'Brien, Comedy Central): The Half Hours: Christi Chiello and Mary Beth Barone (9:00 pm, $12, The Stand Upstairs at 116 East 16th Street)
Friday 10/11: Surreal sketch group Terrorbird performs a new oddball series of scenes designed to unsettle and delight you: Terrorbird (9:00 pm, $12, The PIT Loft at 154 West 29th Street)
Saturday 10/12: Hilariously oddball amateur VHS videos discovered and curated by Joe Pickett (The Onion) & Nick Prueher, with this year's finds including the 1987 Miss Junior America Wisconsin pageant, a mysterious tape labeled "bonion sergery," home movies taken at a Canadian hose factory, and a fitness video called Jugglercise: The Found Footage Festival Volume 9 (8:00 pm; $17, Brooklyn's The Bell House at 149 7th Street; take R subway to 9th Street or F/G to Fourth Avenue)
Saturday 10/12: Carly Ann Filbin (luminous sketch comic/comedic actress/writer; on-camera correspondent for Cosmopolitan.com; host of Let Me Break You Up: An Anti-Dating Game Show) pushes boundaries with this comedic game show: "Romance today isn't what it used to be—swiping, clicking, dick-picing. It's time we went retro with an old fashioned IRL dating show! Millennials choose their hottie based on how well they answer questions like 'If you wanted morning sex, how would you initiate it?', all while I make fun of them because, well, why not? Let's make some love connections or, at the very least, a one-night stand to talk about at brunch:" Young Hot Sluts: A Matchmaking Show (8:00 pm; $15 at the door or $14.30 online; Brooklyn's C'mon Everybody at 325 Franklin Avenue—take the G subway to Classon Avenue)
Saturday 10/12: 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 Flirting, and the experts Mary Beth Barone and Jay Jurden: The UnOfficial Expert Live: Flirting! (10:00 pm, $15, Brooklyn's Union Hall (702 Union Street; take R subway to Union Street)
Sunday 10/13: Hari Kondabolu (fresh, sharp, rising star stand-up; 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), Ronny Chieng (correspondent for The Daily Show), Sam Jay (writer for Saturday Night Live; performed on Jimmy Kimmel, Comedy Central Stand-Up Presents, Take My Wife), Rebecca Vigil (powerhouse improv singer; Your Love Our Musical, The Vigilante, Kick It!), Sam Morril (Stephen Colbert, Conan O'Brien, Comedy Central Half Hour, America's Got Talent), 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 Steinbrunner perform stand-up for host David Drake: Comedians You Should Know: Hari Kondabolu, Ronny Chieng, Sam Jay, Rebecca Vigil, and More (7:00 pm, $10, Brooklyn's Littlefield at 635 Sackett Street; take R subway to Union Street)
Sunday 10/13: Corinne Fisher & Krystyna Hutchinson (authors of F*CKED: Being Sexually Explorative and Self-Confident in a World That’s Screwed) record their wildly popular Guys We Fucked: The Anti Slut-Shaming Podcast live on stage: Guys We F*cked (7:00 pm; $22.32 in advance online or $24 at the door; LES' Caveat at 21-A Clinton Street; take F/J/M/Z subway to Delancey Street/Essex Street)
Sunday 10/13: Jordan Klepper (star of docuseries Klepper; former star of Comedy Central's The Opposition and correspondent for The Daily Show), Julia Johns (member of sketch group All Female Reboot; former writer for MTV's Girl Code; Girls are Roommates webseries), and Steve Whalen (HBO, Comedy Central), 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, $10 online or $12 at the door, The PIT Underground at 123 East 24th Street)
Sunday 10/13: Comedic singer/songwriter Killy Dwyer is taking a break from NYC: "October marks my 25th year here in the Big Apple, and what a fuckin' ride! I'd compare it to the Coney Island Cyclone: fun, but painful, you don't really go anywhere, and you can only take so much. So we're heading west for awhile! A year?! Who knows. We need a change of venue, baby! This evening is part retrospective, part new material, lot's of special guests who SCREAM NYC to me, and an after-party not soon to be forgotten," with scheduled comics including Lauren Maul, Mike Milazzo, Jackson Sturkey, Dan Ricker, David Turner Jr., Joe Crow, and Ryan Sourdoe: Goodbye NY! A Killy Dwyer Farewell Show (8:00 pm doors, 8:30 pm show; no cover 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)
Monday 10/14: A sketch show springboarding off the "bonus feature" content of beloved movie DVDs auditions for a spot on the UCB schedule, written by Alex Field, directed by Eric Feurer, and starring Claire Burns, Alex Field, Tim Girrbach, Eliza Kingsbury, Xave A Flave. and Michael Stevens: The Bonus Features (6:00 pm, $7, UCB Hell's Kitchen at 555 West 42nd Street; on a double-bill with another Spank audition show, Branded Content Reloaded: The Feminine Mystique)
Monday 10/14: Emily Flake is a brilliant writer/cartoonist whose work appears in The New Yorker, The New York Times, and more. She's also the author of cartoon books These Things Ain't Gonna Smoke Themselves and Mama Tried—and now, the just-released That Was Awkward: The Art and Etiquette of the Awkward Hug. Emily will be celebrating her new book with guests 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; stand-up albums Dancing On a Weeknight and Physical Whisper, author of book Nice Try) and Shalewa Sharpe (Comedy Central's The New Negroes; HBO's 2 Dope Queens; comedy album So You Just Out Here?): Emily Flake's That Was Awkward Book Release Celebration (7:30 pm, Free!, Brooklyn's Books Are Magic at 225 Smith Street; take the F/G subway to Bergen Street)
Monday 10/14: 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 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), Seaton Smith (rising star; 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), Aisling Bea (Netflix's The Comedy Lineup, The Great British Bakeoff), Chris Duffy (staff writer for HBO's Wyatt Cenac: Problem Areas; stellar host of You're the Expert and You Get a Spoon), Becky Yamamoto (Web series Uninspired), and Usama Siddiquee 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)
Tuesday 10/15: Members of the West Wing Writers group (which includes former Presidential speechwriters) break down their favorite speeches, give behind-the-scenes looks at the speech drafting process, and even lead you in crafting your own keynote speech—with help from comics Ziwe Fumudoh (Kamala Harris on Showtime's Our Cartoon President; 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 Taylor Garron (editor at Reductress)—all hosted by Chandler Dean (McSweeney's): SpeakEasy (7:00 pm, $12, LES' Caveat at 21-A Clinton Street; take F/J/M/Z subway to Delancey Street/Essex Street)
Tuesday 10/15: 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)
Tuesday 10/15: Come join a comedy-loving group watch a dozen 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: CNN Edition (7:30 pm, $10, Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell at 27-16 23rd Avenue)
Tuesday 10/15: Stellar writers of late-night comedy TV shows perform stand-up, with 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), 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), Jourdain Fisher (writer for The Tonight Show), and Randall Otis (writer for The Daily Show) hosted by Matt Goldich (staff writer for Seth Meyers; Comedy Central, VH1): The Writers' Room: A Stand-Up Show (8:00 pm; normally $13 with no min., but free following these instructions [support this special by optionally buying food 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)
Tuesday 10/15: Strong lineup of 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; tours with Amy Schumer), Dan Soder (stellar stand-up; 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, VH1; hosts with Big Jay Oakerson Sirius XM's The Bonfire), 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?), Nina Daniels (The Last O.G., Shameless, Maron), and more: Stars at the Stand (8:00 pm, $15 cover and no min., The Stand at 116 East 16th Street; see also 10:00 pm)
Tuesday 10/15: 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 10/15: Jessica Kirson (HBO's Crashing, Comedy Central's This Week at the Comedy Cellar, The Tonight Show, The View, Last Comic Standing, Celebrity Apprentice, Showtime, Bravo, VH1) performs a deliciously long set, preceded by other talented comics, at a top stand-up club: Jessica Kirson Headlines Comedy Cellar's Village Underground (9:00 pm, $15 plus 2-item min., West Village's Village Underground at 130 West 3rd Street off Sixth Avenue)
Tuesday 10/15: Strong lineup of 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; tours with Amy Schumer), Dan Soder (stellar stand-up; 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, VH1; hosts with Big Jay Oakerson Sirius XM's The Bonfire), 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?), Derek Gaines (Jaybird on The Last O.G.; former host of MTV's Broke A$$ Game Show), and more: $5 Funnies (10:00 pm, $5 cover and no min., The Stand at 116 East 16th Street)
Wednesday 10/16: The wonderful Emily Flake (brilliant writer/cartoonist; The New Yorker, The New York Times; author of just-released book That Was Awkward: The Art and Etiquette of the Awkward Hug) & Kat Burdick (Moth Grandslam champion; webseries KCK; host of Let's Say You're Right) host this monthly show that features funny people sharing their nightmares while Emily or a guest draws them, with tonight's dreamers Mindy Tucker (beloved, super-talented, and indispensable long-time photographer of comedians who has been called "NYC comedy's soul"), Hilary Campbell (cartoonist for The New Yorker), Felipe Torres Medina (writer for The New Yorker, McSweeney's, Buzzfeed), and Elsa Waithe (activist stand-up): Nightmares: The Best People Tell Their Worst Dreams (6:30 pm doors, 7:00 pm show; no cover 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)
Wednesday 10/16: A beloved Broadway, TV, and film star who is a friend to all, 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 10/16: Star of Netflix's The Break, former star correspondent for The Daily Show, and former writer for Seth Meyers tries out new material in an intimate club: MIchelle Wolf (10:30 pm, $10 plus 2-item food/drink min., West Village's The Fat Black Pussycat Lounge at 130 West 3rd Street; reservations are sold out, but you might still get in if you arrive early on the stand-by line)
Thursday 10/17: Host Molly Gaebe invites female storytellers, comics, and historians to share the tales of "some of the greatest women the world has ever known, but history erased" for this live-on-stage podcast recording, with this month's theme Women in the Horror Genre tackled by guests Sarah Hartshorne (HBO's Vice, Netflix's Explained, America’s Next Top Model), Katie & Allie (hosts of podcast HERstory on the Rocks), Anna Cain Bianco (actress), Brittany Carney (stand-up), and Junior Mint: Nevertheless She Existed: Horror Queens (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)
Thursday 10/17: A staff writer for HBO's Divorce who's performed on Trainwreck, Crashing, Stephen Colbert, Jay Leno, @midnight, The Jim Gaffigan Show, The Nightly Show, Last Comic Standing, Chappelle's Show, and her own stand-up special Single Black Female performs a long set at an intimate Comedy Cellar venue: Marina Franklin (7:00 pm, $10 plus 2-item food/drink min., West Village's The Fat Black Pussycat Lounge at 130 West 3rd Street)
Thursday 10/17: Comics who are immigrants perform stand-up, storytelling, or characters, and comics who aren't perform immigrant-related material, for this show celebrating talents who weren't born in the US—tonight featuring Pedro Gonzales, Shafi Hossein, Youngmi Mayer, Sonja Savanovic, Bassam Shawl, Atheer Yacoub, Becky Yamamoto, and Angel Yau—hosted by German-American Lucie Pohl (above; voice of Mercy in Overwatch and Harmony in Red Dwarf XI; Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them): Immigrant Jam (7:30 pm, $7, Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell at 27-16 23rd Avenue)
Friday 10/18: Comics TBA pitch the worst ideas for Halloween TV specials they can think of, only to have them nickel-and-dimed by a panel of TV exec judges, in this monthly show hosted by Ned Ehrbar: Bad Pitches: Halloween TV Special Edition (8:30 pm, Free!, Crystal Lake Brooklyn at 647 Grand Street; take L subway to Brooklyn's Lorimer Street or Graham Avenue)
Friday 10/18: Experts and comics have a frank and taboo-free discussion of drugs, this month focused on Sex & Psychedelics, hosted by Sarah Rose Siskind (comedy writer for NatGeo's StarTalk with Neil deGrasse Tyson): Drug Test: Sex on Acid (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 10/18: 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 (7:00 pm, $12, The PIT Loft at 154 West 29th Street)
Friday 10/18: Exceptionally charming stand-up Chanel Ali (MTV's Girl Code; opens for Michael Che and Marc Maron; for a delightful sample, please click here) performs a deliciously long set in an intimate comedy club room: An Hour with Chanel Ali (9:00 pm, $20, The Stand Upstairs at 116 East 16th Street)
Friday 10/18: Comics Taylor Ortega (top left), Keisha Zollar & Andrew Kimler (middle left), and Maya Deshmukh (bottom left) celebrate the upcoming dark holidays by wearing silly costumes and discussing sex-related material that scares us, hosted by Dani Faith Leonard: Adult Sex Ed: Halloween Edition (9:30 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)
Saturday 10/19: In this unique show, animators spontaneously bring the jokes of stand-ups Rosebud Baker, Chanel Ali, Dee Nasty, Rebecca O'Neal, and Doug Smith 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 Samantha Ruddy: Picture This! (7:30 pm, $10, Brooklyn's Union Hall at 702 Union Street; take R subway to Union Street)
Saturday 10/19: TV & movie star Janeane Garofalo, Jo Firestone (top right; 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; comedy album The Hits), Joyelle Johnson (top middle; Seth Meyers, HBO's Crashing, TruTV; former writer for Broad City), and Christina Glaston (top left; co-host of NYC Blunt Club podcast) perform stand-up 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 (10:00 pm, $10, Brooklyn's Union Hall at 702 Union Street; take R subway to Union Street)
Saturday 10/19: Comedic personal tales about mental health and getting through tough times from Julie Ann Korpi (left; teacher), Nelson Lugo (middle; magician), Bryan Berlin (right; Moth Storyslam winner; host of podcast Love Hurts), and Christine Magee: Speak Up, Rise Up: Navigating the Dark (11:00 pm, $20, Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell at 27-16 23rd Avenue)
Sunday 10/20: The multitalented Jamie Loftus (writer for Adult Swim's Robot Chicken and Chelsea Handler; animator for Comedy Central; co-host of podcast The Bechdel Cast) performs her acclaimed Edinburgh Fringe Festival solo show about "a toxic corporate feminist who is teaching all fellow girlbosses how to use technology to steal data for fun, profit, and #feminism:" Boss Whom Is Girl (5:00 pm, $15, Brooklyn's Union Hall at 702 Union Street; take R subway to Union Street)
Sunday 10/20: Comedy giant Jo Firestone and fine stand-ups Nore Davis, Shalewa Sharpe, and Devon Walker perform for hosts Cody Wilkins & Electra Telesford, who between sets will read questions and comments from audience members dropped into the Pomodoro Punch Bowl: Pomodoro (7:00 pm, $10 cover and no min., The Stand Upstairs at 116 East 16th Street)
Sunday 10/20: Comedic personal tales about "finding yourself and choosing to do you" from the great Aparna Nancherla (left), Anna Roisman (middle), Adrien Behn (right), Ronna Levy, Jackson Fisher, and Michele Carlo: Speak Up, Rise Up: You Do You (7:00 pm, $20, Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell at 27-16 23rd Avenue; take the N/W subway to Ditmars Boulevard)
Sunday 10/20: 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), Jeff Simmermon (NPR's This American Life, Moth GrandSlam Champion, comedy album & show And I Am Not Lying), and more TBA 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, $12, The PIT Underground at 123 East 24th Street)
Monday 10/21: Spooky history-based lectures, including Colin Dickey's "The Amazing True Tales of BooBuddy Jr., the Incredible Ghost Hunting Teddy Bear" (see above), Bethany Gingrich's "Behind the Mask: A Brief History of Fancy Dress, Costume Parties, and Halloween Revelry," and Anna Rasche's "Mummies of the World:," hosted by the The Society of the Advancement of Social Studies: SASS Presents: Scary History (7:00 pm, $12, LES' Caveat at 21-A Clinton Street—take F/J/M/Z subway to Delancey Street/Essex Street)
Monday 10/21: 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 stand-ups Ilana Glazer (above; co-star of Comedy Central smash Broad City, and upcoming movie False Positive), Rhys Darby (above; co-star of HBO's beloved musical comedy series Flight of the Conchords), Sam Jay (writer for Saturday Night Live; performed on Jimmy Kimmel, Comedy Central Stand-Up Presents, Take My Wife), Alzo Slade (HBO's VICE News Tonight), Brooks Wheelan (Comedy Central Half Hour, SNL), and Charles McBee (Comedy Central, MTV, host of Nerd is the New Black), 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 10/21: Host Winnifred Coombe (Caroline Kingsley), a Victorian spiritualist and magical traveler, transcends time and space to interview guests Melissa Villaseñor (Emmy-winning star cast member of Saturday Night Live; force-of-nature voiceover artist who's performed characters for Family Guy, Scooby Doo, and many other shows), 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), and Thomas Whittington (sketches on Stephen Colbert and Desus & Mero; voice of Chuck Schumer, Jeff Bezos, Beto O'Rourke and more on Showtime's Our Cartoon President) on such topics as quantum physics and having fun before we destroy ourselves: The Violet Hour with Villaseñor and More (9:30 pm, $12, LES' Caveat at 21-A Clinton Street—take F/J/M/Z subway to Delancey Street/Essex Street)
Tuesday 10/22: Riane Konc (writer for The New Yorker, The New York Times, McSweeney’s, Reductress) celebrates the release of her first book, Build Your Own Christmas Movie Romance: Pick Your Plot, Meet Your Man, and Create the Holiday Love Story of a Lifetime, by reading from it and answering questions, plus readings of short humor pieces from stellar TV comedy and/or New Yorker writers Josh Gondelman, Ziwe Fumudoh, and Kate Sidley, all hosted by New Yorker writers Brian Angler, Luke Burns, and James Folta:An Evening of Humorous Readings Celebrates Riane Konc's Build Your Own Christmas Movie Romance (7:00 pm (arrive at 6:30 to hang out a bit with the guests), $10, LES' Caveat at 21-A Clinton Street—take F/J/M/Z subway to Delancey Street/Essex Street)
Tuesday 10/22: Amy Zimmer (The New Yorker) & Spike Einbinder (above) provide "elaborate slapstick psycho-thrillers in this dizzying array of vignettes showcasing the most romantic, obsessive, and eccentric duos you never knew you wanted, and definitely didn't know you needed," with 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 Cole Escola (At Home with Amy Sedaris, Difficult People): Together At Last (8:00 pm, $10, Brooklyn's Union Hall at 702 Union Street; take R subway to Union Street)
Tuesday 10/22: 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 10/22: Gary Gulman (razor-sharp wordsmith who's one of the best stand-ups in the country; superb recent HBO special The Great Depresh; notable role as stand-up in blockbuster movie Joker; David Letterman, Conan O'Brien, Seth Meyers, Jimmy Kimmel, Jay Leno; finalist on Last Comic Standing; other comedy specials include Boyish Man, In This Economy, and It's About Time), The Lucas Brothers (Jimmy Fallon, 22 Jump Street, FOX's Lucas Bros Moving Company, Arrested Development, Crashing), Nick Thune (films Venom, The Possession of Hannah Grace; comedy specials Nick Thune: Folk Hero and Good Guy; Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central), Brett Davis (HBO's Animals; TruTv's Jon Glaser Loves Gear; creator/host of weekly Manhattan cable TV show The Special Without Brett Davis; winner of the 2015 Andy Kaufman Award), and more, all hosted by Seth Herzog (long-time staff comic for Jimmy Fallon; 30 Rock, @midnight, CBS, VH1): Sweet-O-Ween (9:00 pm, $13 at the door or $15.61 in advance online, Chelsea Music Hall at 407 West 15th Street)
Tuesday 10/15: With brutal honesty, top comics 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), Jessica Kirson (HBO's Crashing, The Tonight Show, The View, Last Comic Standing, Celebrity Apprentice, This Week at the Comedy Cellar, Showtime, Comedy Central, Bravo, VH1), and Kareem Green (BET's Comic View; 3-time Showtime at the Apollo champion) share their worst experiences—the worst thing they've ever seen, the worst thing they've felt, the worst thing that's ever happened to them, etc.—via a blend of stand-up and conversation with 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, $15 cover and no min., The Stand at 116 East 16th Street)
Tuesday 10/22: Real-life scientists Emily, Noah, and Rob "leverage their curiosity and delight in obscure minutiae to bring you a podcast that explores life’s silliest, most unexpected, and outright awe-inspiring stories," with this month's topic the science behind Halloween traditions and stories: Facts Machine Live!: A Halloween Science Seance (9:30 pm, $15, LES' Caveat at 21-A Clinton Street—take F/J/M/Z subway to Delancey Street/Essex Street)
Tuesday 10/22: Strong lineup of 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; tours with Amy Schumer), 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), 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?), Ron Bennington (host of radio shows Bennington and Unmasked), Rosebud Baker (Comedy Central), Erica Spera (host of 20 Minutes of Fire podcast), and more: $5 Funnies (11:00 pm, $5 cover and no min., The Stand at 116 East 16th Street)
Wednesday 10/23: Two exceptionally appealing comics, Ophira Eisenberg (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, comedy album Bangs!) and Adira Amram (spectacular comedic singer & dancer; HBO, Funny or Die; album Hot Jams for Teens), perform and host Joyelle Johnson (Seth Meyers, HBO's Crashing, TruTV; former writer for Broad City), Becky Yamamoto (Web series Uninspired), and Matthew Holtzclaw (magician who Rolling Stone called "unforgettable"): Ophira & Adira (8:00 pm, $10, Brooklyn's Union Hall at 702 Union Street; take R subway to Union Street)
Wednesday 10/23: 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 10/23: Host Molly Gaebe invites female storytellers, comics, and historians to share the tales of "some of the greatest women the world has ever known, but history erased" for this live-on-stage podcast recording, with this week's theme Women's Travels tackled by guests TBA: Nevertheless She Existed: Broads Abroad (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)
Wednesday 10/23: World champion Judah Friedlander (above), Adam Mamawala, Melanie Maras, Irene Tu, Rojo Perez, and Brittany Carney perform stand-up for hosts Sean Crespo, Katina Corrao, and Matt Little: Lasers in the Jungle (9:30 pm, $12, LES' Caveat at 21-A Clinton Street; take F/J/M/Z subway to Delancey Street/Essex Street)
Wednesday 10/23: Stand-ups and/or storytellers Tom Daddario, Carlos Garcia, Joey Novick, Laura Spaeth, and Jonathan Ziegel 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 10/23: If you want to see some of the finest stand-up in the country, come catch comedy treasure Sean Patton (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; VH1, TruTV, IFC, Viceland), star 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 more performing in an elegant comedy club showroom: Stars at the Stand (10:00 pm, $15 cover and no min., The Stand at 116 East 16th Street)
Thursday 10/24-Sunday 10/27: The Eighth Annual NYC SketchFest runs 4 days, from today through Sunday, with over 120 groups from 16 states and 3 countries performing at the East Side PIT Mainstage (Striker) and PIT Underground, and the West Side PIT Loft. Shows happening tonight include Group Kid, Bragging Rights, Show of Shows, Postmen, National Scandal, Mad Libs Musical—and over a dozen more. Shows are $13-$20 each, but the sensible thing to do is buy an all-you-can-see pass (which covers everything except sold out shows) for $50: NYC SketchFest 2019 (Thursday 7:00 pm-12:30 am; $13-$20 per show, or $50 for an all-you-can-see pass for the entire weekend, except sold out shows; The PIT Mainstage & The PIT Underground at 123 East 24th Street and The PIT Loft at 154 West 29th Street)
Thursday 10/24: Learn the history of the MTA via fun lectures, sketches, and more at this ongoing comedic history series about NYC transit, with this month's topic NY Governor Andrew Cuomo (above left), who's in charge of the MTA, and what he's doing wrong and right, and this month's guest journalist Clayton Guse (above right, who's a transit reporter for the New York Daily News), hosted & performed by Meg Pierson (TEDx, Alchemy Comedy) and Justin Williams (Comedy Central; host of Death Comedy Jam): Why Your Train is F*cked (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)
Thursday 10/24: Fareeha Khan (MTV, The 'Sup Show) invites comics to "share what feeling like an outcast means to them," with Sara Hennessey (Canadian TV star/writer of such series as Terrific Women; comedy albums They Know Too Much and Trouble in Saradise), Joe Rumrill (The Chris Gethard Show; co-host of Cartoon Monsoon), Marcia Belsky (Reductress; Handmaid's Tale The Musical; lead singer of band Free the Mind), Martin Urbano (Jimmy Kimmel), and Okay Kaya: Outcast (7:30 pm, $10, Brooklyn's Union Hall at 702 Union Street; take R subway to Union Street)
Thursday 10/24: Seaton Smith (rising star; 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 10/25-Sunday 10/27: The Eighth Annual NYC SketchFest runs 3 more days, through Sunday, with over 120 groups from 16 states and 3 countries performing at the East Side PIT Mainstage (Striker) and PIT Underground, and the West Side PIT Loft. Shows happening tonight include Jeff Ayars & Dan Rosen as duo Cannibal Milkshake (above), Girls With Brown Hair, Paperboy Prince Show: Superhero Music—and over two dozen more. Show slots (which can feature 1-3 shows) are $13-$20 each, but the sensible thing to do is buy an all-you-can-see pass (which covers everything except sold out shows) for $50: NYC SketchFest 2019 (Friday 6:00 pm-12:30 am; $13-$20 per show, or $50 for an all-you-can-see pass for the entire weekend, except sold out shows; The PIT Mainstage & The PIT Underground at 123 East 24th Street and The PIT Loft at 154 West 29th Street)
Friday 10/25: Pairs of TV comedy writers face off in "passionate, high-stakes debates about absolutely unimportant, low-stakes topics," with Asher Perlman, Jes Tom, Steve Waltien, Shane O'Neill, and Heben Nigatu hosted by Karen Chee (staff writer for Seth Meyers; The New Yorker, McSweeney's) & Ariel Dumas (staff writer for Stephen Colbert): Big Debates, Lil Issues (7:30 pm, $12, Brooklyn's Union Hall at 702 Union Street; take R subway to Union Street)
Friday 10/25: A comedy roast for Drugs (because, why not?), with stand-ups Tommy McNamara as Alcohol, Rachel McCartney as Adderall, Eli Sairs as Weed, Maddy Smith as Cocaine, Veronica Rioseco as Molly, Deno DeMartino as Heroin, Greg Warner as Shrooms, David Spector as Zyrtec, and host Raanan Hershberg as "the role I've been researching these last two years," Sobriety): The Roast of Drugs (10:00 pm, $5, The Creek and the Cave upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC at 10-93 Jackson Avenue)
Saturday 10/26-Sunday 10/27: The Eighth Annual NYC SketchFest runs 2 more days, with over 120 groups from 16 states and 3 countries performing at the East Side PIT Mainstage (Striker) and PIT Underground, and the West Side PIT Loft. Shows happening today include The Roast of Your 15-Year-Old Self (above), Super Crazy Fun Time, Black Pantherettes, Joe Pera, Infinite Sketch, Sunday School Dropouts, Elmo Says Laugh, That Just Happened—and over 40 more. Show slots (which feature 1-3 shows) are $13-$20 each, but the sensible thing to do is buy an all-you-can-see pass (which covers everything except sold out shows) for $50: NYC SketchFest 2019 (Saturday Noon-Midnight; $13-$20 per show, or $50 for an all-you-can-see pass for the entire weekend, except sold out shows; The PIT Mainstage & The PIT Underground at 123 East 24th Street and The PIT Loft at 154 West 29th Street)
Saturday 10/26: Michelle Drozdick (above; stage show Message in a Bottle) will try to pull off the exceptionally difficult feat of performing an hour-long improv show solo, playing all the characters herself, using an interview with actor Kimberly Alu and suggestions from the audience as her raw material, plus an opening stand-up set from Dustin D'Addato. This free show is part of this month's FringeNYC BYOV fest: The Gimmick and You (3:30 pm, Free!, Under St. Marks at 94 St. Marks Place, off First Avenue)
Saturday 10/26: Anna Roisman (above; MTV, Funny or Die, HQ Trivia, Tribeca Film Festival; host of The Unemployed Show), Anya Volz (writer for Riot Fest, The Hard TImes; host of Thirst Trap With Anya Volz), Julie Poptart (Viceland's Flophouse), Chloe Koser (solo show Never a Boy), and Jamie Brew of Botnik Studios (presenting "The Weird Algorithm," an automatic song-parody machine) each try to improvise a coherent presentation based on a set of Powerpoint slides they've never seen before. All slides are taken from actual presentations given at business meetings and classrooms, but put together in bizarre arrangements: "How do you move from a slide depicting the annual increase in fertilizer production in Turkmenistan to a slide analyzing gender dynamics in Frasier? We don’t know either, but we intend to find out. Plus an actual scientist will have his or her actual, legit presentation 'improved' by one of our guest improvisers." Hosted by Nat Towsen (Esquire, VICE, College Humor, host of Downtown Variety) and Darren Solomon (In Bb 2.0; Creative Director of Quiet City Music+Sound)í: Powerpoint Roulette (7:00 pm, $12, LES' Caveat at 21-A Clinton Street; take F/J/M/Z subway to Delancey Street/Essex Street)
Saturday 10/26: Six comics who were born outside NYC—ranging from Lebanon to Palestine to Canada—perform stand-up that might include material about where they came from and the journey that led them to New York, with tonight's guests Nataly Aukar (Lebanon), Atheer Yacoub (Palestine), Alexis Guerreros (New Jersey via Cuban mom), Tim Bridge (Vermont), Alex Pavone (Canada), and Nathan Habib (San Francisco), all hosted by the charming Katie Boyle (above, from Ireland; co-host of podcast The Shift): Transplants (7:30 pm, $10, Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell at 27-16 23rd Avenue)
Saturday 10/26: A modern conflict of epic proportions. Evil villains, menacing alien beasts, and giant, city-crushing monsters threaten to destroy the planet. Who will save the helpless humans from total ruin? The Heroes, of course; plus a few privileged audience members getting in on the action, as they try to contain danger within the three-roped arena of Kaiju Big Battel (6:00 pm, $15, Brooklyn's The Bell House at 149 7th Street; take R subway to 9th Street or F/G to Fourth Avenue. PLEASE NOTE: This show has SOLD OUT.)
Saturday 10/26: Sydnee Washington (Conan O'Brien, MTV2's Vidiots, co-host of podcast The Unofficial Expert) performs a new solo show, with Eudora Peterson opening: Sydnee Washington: My Favorite Open Book Of Beautiful Garbage (7:30 pm, $15, Brooklyn's Union Hall at 702 Union Street; take R subway to Union Street)
Saturday 10/26: Friends Who Folk—i.e., delightful singing duo Rachel Wenitsky (writer for Jimmy Fallon, freelance writer for SNL; Deputy Editor of Reductress; co-host of Mouth Time! podcast; Head Writer of The Story Pirates podcast) & Ned Riseley; TheNewYorker.com—host guests Larry Owens, Jes Tom, Amelia Bande, David Sidorov, Hannah Hiaasen, and Dan Chamberlain: Friends Who Folk & Friends (10:00 pm, $10, Brooklyn's Union Hall at 702 Union Street; take R subway to Union Street)
Sunday 10/27: This fourth and last day of the Eighth Annual NYC SketchFest runs 12:30 pm-11:00 pm at the East Side PIT Mainstage (Striker) and PIT Underground, and the West Side PIT Loft. Shows happening on this final day include Time Travel for Petty Revenge (starring Libby Marshall, above), Leather Father, Velvet Mommy, Mixtape Rewind, Bad Jokes for a Good Cause, God Should Not Have Chosen Us (Jewish Sketch), SisterWives Sketch, Wrong House, The Broadway Beat, Pitchfork Patricia, Vodka Pancake, Soul Crush—and over 30 more. Show slots (which feature 1-3 shows) are $13-$20 each, or you can buy an all-you-can-see pass (which covers everything except sold out shows) for $50: NYC SketchFest 2019 (Sunday 12:30 pm-11:00 pm; $13-$20 per show, or $50 for an all-you-can-see pass, except sold out shows; The PIT Mainstage & The PIT Underground at 123 East 24th Street and The PIT Loft at 154 West 29th Street)
Sunday 10/27: 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) performs a deliciously long set in an intimate club, with other fine stand-ups as openers: Mark Normand (7:00 pm, $10 plus 2-item food/drink min., West Village's The Fat Black Pussycat Lounge at 130 West 3rd Street; reservations are sold out, but you might still get in if you arrive early on the stand-by line)
Sunday 10/27: Rebekah Sebastian hosts this crime trivia show that challenges your knowledge of serial killers, unsolved mysteries, the legal system, OJ, and much more: Yellow Tape (8:30 pm, $8, Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell at 27-16 23rd Avenue)
Sunday 10/27: A roast battle for Halloween—comics dress up and square off as characters, including Rachel Maddow vs. Tucker Carlson, John F. Kennedy vs. Marilyn Monroe, and The FBI vs. Insane Clown Posse—hosted by Matt Maran: Comedy Fight Club: Halloween Edition (9:00 pm, $10 with no min., The Stand Upstairs at 116 East 16th Street)
Sunday 10/27: Dan St. Germain (top left; 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), Joyelle Johnson (top right; Seth Meyers, HBO's Crashing, TruTV; former writer for Broad City), Kendra Cunningham (SNL, Jimmy Fallon, The Tyra Banks Show, Law & Order), Ella Gale (bottom; baby parody website Burrito Makes Three; Reductress), Mike Feeney (Carson Daly, FOX, TruTV), Pedro Gonzalez, and Alex Pavone perform stand-up hosted by Robert Dean (Comedy Central): If You Build It (9:30 pm, $9, UCB at SubCulture, 45 Bleecker Street—take #6 subway to Bleecker Street stop)
Monday 10/28: For the 12th year of this fabulous annual event, scores of NYC comics get a couple of minutes each to do a set as a famous comedian (e.g., Amy Schumer, George Carlin, Jimmy Fallon, Rodney Dangerfield, Joan Rivers...the possibilities are endless) hosted by Mark Normand & Matt Ruby. For highlights of last year's show, please click here, and then nab tickets to The 12th Annual Schtick or Treat (8:00 pm; $15 at the door or $20.52 online; Brooklyn's Knitting Factory at 361 Metropolitan Avenue—take the G subway to Metropolitan Avenue or L subway to Lorimer Street)
Monday 10/28: Seven comics—Desi Domo, Rachel Pegram, Tim Platt, Jes Tom, Thomas Whittington, Zach Teague, and Donald Chang—and one audience member compete to win the heart of comic Jay Jurden (Jimmy Fallon; The New Yorker, McSweeney's, Vulture) for this 1990's-style dating game show hosted by Taylor Ortega, John Everett Trowbridge, Jenny Gorelick, and Jonathan Yoni Lotan: First Impressions: The 90’s Dating Game Show (8:00 pm, $10, Brooklyn's Union Hall at 702 Union Street; take R subway to Union Street)
Monday 10/28: 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, with this month's focus scary puns a la EC Comics and HBO's beloved Crypt Keeper (above): The PUN-ch Up: Halloween Edition (9:30 pm, $12, LES' Caveat at 21-A Clinton Street; take F/J/M/Z subway to Delancey Street/Essex Street)
Monday 10/28: 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 10/28: Dan Soder (left; stellar stand-up; 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, VH1; hosts with Big Jay Oakerson Sirius XM's The Bonfire), Ari Shaffir (right; 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 Adam Meyers (host of The Goddamn Comedy Jam and Spotify podcast The 500), Francis Ellis (co-host of Oops the Podcast), Adrienne Iapalucci (David Letterman, Last Comic Standing, Artie Lange, VH1), Xazmin Garza, Tom Cassidy, and Dhaya Lakshminarayana 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 at 116 East 16th Street)
Tuesday 10/29: Meg Hafdahl & Kelly Florence, who host the podcast Horror Rewind, celebrate the release of their book The Science of Monsters by talking about the medical mysteries and scientific marvels that inspired the creation of such characters as Freddy Kruger, Hannibal Lecter, zombies, werewolves, and much more: The Science of Monsters Book Release Show (7:00 pm, $12, LES' Caveat at 21-A Clinton Street—take F/J/M/Z subway to Delancey Street/Essex Street)
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Tuesday 10/29: 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 10/29: Fine lineup of 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), Karen Chee (staff writer for Seth Meyers; The New Yorker, McSweeney's), Clare O'Kane (Amazon's Budding Prospects, Viceland's Flophouse, webseries Semi-Famous; former writer for SpongeBob SquarePants; stand-up album Let It Be), 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), and Larry Owens (staff writer for TruTV's Paid Off; feature film To Dust) perform stand-up for hosts Sam Taggart and Pat Regan: Stevie Presents (8:00 pm, $10, Brooklyn's Union Hall at 702 Union Street; take R subway to Union Street)
Tuesday 10/29: Hosts Austin Bernhardt (writer for Comedy Central, The New Yorker, McSweeney’s) & Megan Meadows (Reductress) "invite you and your worst impulses to a night of gripes, games, and non-scary audience participation," featuring petty complaints from 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), Alex English (writer for BET's The Rundown with Robin Thede), Mary Cella (Comedy Central, The New Yorker, The New York Times), Nicole Boyce (Comedy Central, The New Yorker), and Brian Bahe (Vulture): Where Do You Get Off?: A Show for Petty People (8:00 pm, $10, Brooklyn's Littlefield at 635 Sackett Street; take R subway to Union Street)
Tuesday 10/29: 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 10/29: Judy Gold (iconic veteran stand-up; 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) performs a deliciously long stand-up set in an intimate comedy club: Judy Gold (8:30 pm, $10 plus 2-item food/drink min., West Village's The Fat Black Pussycat Lounge at 130 West 3rd Street)
Wednesday 10/30: Enjoy a blend of stand-up, sketch, music, and murder with Caroline Portu & Marty Miller, Avra Friedman, Alex Boyce, John Everett Trowbridge, Michael Kayne, Maya Deshmukh, and Milly Tamarez hosted by Jenny Gorelick: Jenny's Birthday: Murder Mystery Party! (8:00 pm, $10, Brooklyn's Union Hall at 702 Union Street; take R subway to Union Street)
Wednesday 10/30: Ruggedly handsome Broadway, TV, film, and Netflix star (Trainwreck, Drunk Parents, Red State Blue State) 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 10/30: A show that blends stand-up with piano music (not quite sure how, but I hope to find out tonight), with Dan Soder (stellar stand-up; 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, VH1; hosts with Big Jay Oakerson Sirius XM's The Bonfire), Natasha Vaynblat (Comedy Central, Funny or Die, McSweeney's, Reductress; improv group What I Did For Love), Petey DeAbreu (host of Petey's World and co-host of White Chocolate), Alex English (writer for BET's The Rundown with Robin Thede), Maddy Smith (cast member of MTV's Wild N Out), Josh Wesson (Comedy Central, FX, MTV2), and Giulio Gallarotti (co-host of Oops the Podcast) hosted by pianist Dylan Adler and Ben DeMarco (co-host of Fat Baby): Baby Grand (7:30 pm, $10 cover and no min., The Stand Upstairs at 116 East 16th Street)
Wednesday 10/30: Strong lineup of 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; tours with Amy Schumer), Dan Soder (stellar stand-up; 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, VH1; hosts with Big Jay Oakerson Sirius XM's The Bonfire), Pete Lee (Jimmy Fallon, David Letterman; Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central's Half Hour, Roast Battle, This Week at the Comedy Cellar; TruTV, VH1), Shane Gillis (co-host of Matt and Shane's Secret Podcast; very nearly a cast member of SNL), Tom Cassidy (Adult Swim), and Kerryn Feehan (Comedy Central, TruTV, Spike TV; co-host of Frantic Mondays): Stars at The Stand (8:00 pm, $15 cover and no min., The Stand at 116 East 16th Street)
Wednesday 10/30: Roy Wood Jr. (above; correspondent for Comedy Central's The Daily Show and host of This is Not Happening), Matt Goldich (staff writer for Seth Meyers; Comedy Central, VH1), Julia Johns (member of sketch group All Female Reboot; former writer for MTV's Girl Code), Xasmin Garza, and David Sitrick 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 10/30: A wide range of PIT comics perform sketch, stand-up, burlesque, jazz, and more, plus a stand-up set from the great Aparna Nancherla, hosted by a duo dressed as I Love Lucy's Lucy & Ethel; come at 7:00 pm dressed for Halloween to participate in a costume contest: New York City Comedy Spooktacular (8:00 pm, $10, The PIT Underground at 123 East 24th Street)
Wednesday 10/30: The fabulous Christi Chiello (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) hosts stand-ups Dan Soder (stellar stand-up; 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, VH1; hosts with Big Jay Oakerson Sirius XM's The Bonfire), Josh Sharp (superb sketch writer/performer; HBO's 2 Dope Queens, CBS' Two Broke Girls, Comedy Central's The Opposition, IFC's How Shit Works, MTV; co-host of Cool Shit/Weird Shit), 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), Lorelei Ramirez (VICE; host of Not Dead Yet), Carmen Christopher, and Willie Hunter, plus music from DJ Rebecca Vigil (Your Love, Our Musical): Christi Chiello’s Lost and Found (9:30 pm, $10 cover and no min., The Stand Upstairs at 116 East 16th Street)
Tuesday 10/29: Terrifying holiday-themed sketch comedy from writer/performers Heather Beeman, Jonathan Greaser, Tonia Del Priore, Travis Tack, and Jared Waltzer: Halloween Nightmare (10:30 pm, $10, The PIT Underground at 123 East 24th Street)
Thursday 10/31: An extra special treat for Halloween is this free comedy show performed in Union Square Park's South Plaza featuring Frank Conniff (TV's Frank on Mystery Science Theater 3000; Cinematic Titanic), Carolina Hidalgo (co-host with MST3K's Frank Conniff & Trace Beaulieu of Movie Sign with the Mads podcast), Andrea Allan (producer of Keith & The Girl; host of podcast The Hot Mess Comedy Hour; stand-up album Gonzo), Carmen Lagala (Stephen Colbert; member of sketch group All Female Reboot), and Kelsey Caine (The New York Times; Miss New York State finalist; for a video sample, please click here): The Witching Hour: Live in Union Scare (6:00 pm, Free!, Union Square Park North Plaza between East 16th & 17th Streets; hopefully this will be an unnecessary note, but in case of rain the show will move underground to the MTA station near the mezzanine and N/R subways)
Thursday 10/31: One of the best innovations of UCBT-NY Artistic Director Michael Hartney was creating a new category of house teams (beyond those for improv and sketch) devoted to talented comedic character actors. Tonight UCBT group Velvet Mommy—Jon Bander, Kami Dimitrova, Desi Domo, Johnny Drago, Woody Fu, Chrissie Gruebel, Adrienne Ianniciello, and Corin Wells—performs original characters or impersonations—many of which are likely to be Halloween-themed—directed & hosted by Michael Hartney, Eric Feurer, and/or Sarah Parsons: Characters Welcome—Velvet Mommy: Halloween Edition (7:30 pm, $7, UCB Hell's Kitchen at 555 West 42nd Street)
Thursday 10/31: Stand-up, music, and horror at this costumed Halloween special at Union Hall (come dressed up yourself to have a chance at prizes) with a cast that includes Jay Malsky, Community Dance Corps, Tim Platt, Arti Gollapudi, Sarah Dooley, John Trowbridge, Karolena Theresa, Andrew Coalson, Addison Anderson, Zach Zimmerman, Fareeha Khan, Christina Galston, Jay Jurden, and Eric Fuerer, all hosted by Meg Stalter & Lucas Moneil: Union Halloween (8:00 pm, $10, Brooklyn's Union Hall at 702 Union Street; take R subway to Union Street)
Thursday 10/31: Stand-up from Sam Morrison, Matt Maran, Rachel Blithe, Adam P. Murphy, Danny Suggs, DoRi Dimplez, James Mac, and Alex Kim, followed by a Halloween costume contest for audience members (feel encouraged to come dressed up), at this free show hosted by John Fox & Meg Felling: Halloween Comedy Show and Costume Contest (8:00 pm, Free!, Brooklyn's Pine Box Rock Shop at 12 Graham Street; take the L subway to Morgan Avenue)
Thursday 10/31: Musical theatre group Thicket & Thistle debut this terrifying tale for Halloween: "Making new friends can be hard, especially when there’s a demon tracking your every move. Follow the staffers of an Arctic cruise ship as they're tested and tormented by a demon desperate to corrupt their souls:" Death Cruise: A Horror Comedy Musical (8:00 pm, $15, The PIT Mainstage (Striker) at 123 East 24th Street)
Thursday 10/31: Stand-ups share true personal stories about supernatural experiences, with Adam Mamawala (Comedy Central, MTV, BET; stand-up album One of the Good Ones), Pranav Behari (co-host of Mango Bae podcast), Maria Wojciechowski (editor at Comedywire), Srilatha Rajamani, and Jericho Davidson hosted by Emily Winter (writer for NPR's Ask Me Another; The New Yorker, The New York Times) and Larry Mancini (ESPN radio; band member of The Tracys): BackFat Variety Presents: Comedians with Ghost Stories (9:30 pm, $15, LES' Caveat at 21-A Clinton Street; take F/J/M/Z subway to Delancey Street/Essex Street)
Copyright © 2019 Hy Bender
Email: hy@hyreviews.com
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