NYC Comedy Picks for Week of October 20, 2014

NYC Comedy Picks for Monday 10/20/14

TV Alert: , Casey Wilson is on Conan O'Brien;
Lena Dunham and Melissa McCarthy are on Ellen DeGeneres

Comedy treasure Wyatt Cenac celebrates the release of his second stand-up album Brooklyn at Night Train

Recommendations for the best in New York City comedy tonight

(in chronological order, with top picks noted and shows over $10 marked with $) include:

[TOP PICK] 7:00 pm ($5): Sharp comic Alan Starzinski (Sandino, Fat Penguin) performs a clever one-man sketch show in which he plays characters ranging from Aquaman to Gary Busey to the rescue pilot at the end of Jurassic Park at the UCB Chelsea theatre: Guys You Love to Hate

7:00 pm ($5): Story, song, and dance made up on the spot based on an audience suggestion from a young musical improv group at the PIT upstairs theatre: Good Catch

7:00 pm ($7): "Improvisers spiral deep into amazing situations, characters, and worlds" at The Magnet theatre: Spin Cycle

[FREE] 7:00 pm to midnight: Five free hours of improvisation at The PIT downstairs lounge: Super Free Monday

[FREE] 7:00 pm: Nick Alexander (Sirius XM) hones a long stand-up set tonight and Tuesday at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' Long Island City: Week at the Creek: Nick Alexander

[TOP PICK] [$] 7:45 pm, 9:30 pm, and 11:30 pm ($12 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Tonight's comics include Hannibal Buress, Nick DiPaolo, Robert Kelly, Lenny Marcus, and Zainab Johnson (hosting) at the 7:45 show; Nick Griffin, Greer Barnes, and Marina Franklin (hosting) at the 9:30 show; and Big Jay Oakerson, Colin Jost, and Dan Soder (hosting) at the 11:30 show, all performing stand-up at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane): Comedy Cellar Monday

[MEGA-TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm ($5 at the door or $6.70 online): Celebrating the release of Wyatt's new comedy album Brooklyn are Phoebe Robinson (Comedy Central's Broad City, MTV’s Girl Code, FX’s Totally Biased, Glamour Magazine), probably Eugene Mirman (Conan O'Brien, Comedy Central Presents, HBO's Flight of the Conchords, FOX's Bob's Burgers, Adult Swim's Delocated, VH1; pioneer of NYC downtown comedy), and surprise guests, all performing stand-up at Brooklyn's Littlefield (622 Degraw Street) hosted by Wyatt Cenac (former star correspondent for The Daily Show; albums Wyatt Cenac: Comedy Person and Wyatt Cenac: Brooklyn): Night Train

[MEGA-TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm ($12): Mark DeMayo was an NYC cop for 20 years—who then retired to pursue his true passion, comedy. The charismatic DeMayo blends stand-up and storytelling in this highly engaging, funny, and memorable one-man show about his time on the force at The PIT upstairs theatre, directed by Peter Michael Marino: 20 & Out

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): David Carl (Point Break Live, Gary Busey's One Man Hamlet), Don Fanelli (30 Rock, The Stepfathers), Melissa Gordon (The Story Pirates, Hello), Tim Harrington (Les Savy Fav), Vinny Lopez (Two Jasperjohns), and more performing sketch character bits at UCB East hosted by Justin Tyler & Michael Hartney: Characters Welcome

8:00 pm ($5): At UCB Chelsea, sketch about our national pastime: Baseball is America...

...and in the second half of this double-bill, sketch group Bellevue and director Brandon Gulya create a brand new episode of a classic sitcom: Seinfeld: "The Leaning Susan"

[FREE] 8:00ish pm: Michelle Wolf (staff writer for and performer on Seth Meyers; MTV's Girl Code, IFC), Nimesh Patel (Comedy Central, co-host of Broken Comedy), Sheng Wang (Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central Presents, Totally Biased), Monroe Martin (finalist on this season's Last Comic Standing), and Leah Bonnema (VH1, WeTV's Cinematherapy, Logo, Opie & Anthony’s Virus Channel) performing stand-up at this monthly show at Brooklyn's Knitting Factory (361 Metropolitan Avenue) hosted by DJ Cipha Sounds (Hot 97) and Kerry Overfab Coddett: Brooklyn, Stand Up

[FREE] 8:00 pm: Four improvisers form teams with comics they've never performed with before at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' Long Island City: The Kaleidoscope

8:30 pm ($7): Sketches from participants of this past September's National Sketch Month, which challenged writers to craft 30 sketches in 30 days, brought to life on The Magnet stage: NaNaSkeWriMo Unplugged: The National Sketch Writing Month Sketch Show

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): Two UCB Chelsea house sketch groups try out new material: the daring, out-of-the-box brilliant, and hysterical Legs for Days (which includes stellar performers Livia Scott, Ann Carr, Dan Chamberlain, Sean Hart, and more, plus exceptionally superb writers) and Bellevue (which includes Joanna Bradley and Laura Willcox): Maude Night: Legs For Days and Bellevue

[TOP PICK] [$] 9:30 pm ($12): All-gal comedic storytellers Ashley Ward (Baby Wants Candy, 50 Shades! The Musical Parody, Hello, Taco Supreme), Julia Lundy, and Katie Hutch performing at The PIT upstairs theatre hosted by Val Roder: Story Time

9:30 pm ($5): Improv veterans Brandon Gardner, Chelsea Clarke, Phillip Jackson, and/or Steve Theiss hosting & performing in a show at UCB East with guest improvisors: Improv Nerds

[FREE] 9:30 pm: NYC stand-ups Kendra Cunningham, Miguel Dalmau, Kyle Daniel Bostic, Maya Klausner, and Alex Fossella performing at Brooklyn's Freddy's Backroom (627 5th Avenue) hosted by Pat O'Shea: Ed Sullivan on Acid

[FREE] 10:00 pm: Bonnie McFarlane (HBO, David Letterman, Jay Leno, Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central), Amber Nelson (fearless, innovative rising star; Comedy Central; sketch troupes Murderfist and The Prom), Rory Albanese (The Daily Show), Jordan Carlos (MTV's Guy Code, Girl Code, Guy Court, HBO's Girls, Comedy Central's Broad City, VH1, Adult Swim), Yannis Pappas (Comedy Central Half Hour, VH1), Paul Virzi (FOX, Spike TV), Frank Liotti, Stacey Prussman, Crystian Ramirez, and Alex Pavone performing stand-up for this free weekly show at The Stand Comedy Club (239 Third Avenue & 20th Street) hosted by Aaron Berg (TV series 24 Hour Rental, documentary A Universal Language): Frantic Mondays

[FREE] 10:00 pm: Comedic storytellers Ryan Hernandez, Danny Hatch, and Taylor Clark tell tales on "the shitty things they've done and don't feel bad about" at Brooklyn's Over the Eight (594 Union Ave) for this monthly show hosted by Jake Hart & Nick Padilla: Antagonist Storytelling Series

10:00 pm ($7): Magnet instructors Louis Kornfeld and Rick Andrews pair for a night of improvisation as comedy duo Kornfeld & Andrews

[MEGA-TOP PICK] [FREE] 11:00 pm: Some of the finest comics in the world—who aren't announced in advance, but it's usually a great lineup and often an extraordinary one—at UCB Chelsea hosted by the wonderful Leo Allen: Whiplash

Monday Open Mics & Jams

5:00 pm ($5): Two-hour open-mic for 20 stand-ups performing for 5 minutes each, with sign-up online here, at the Stand Up NY Comedy Club (236 West 78th Street): Stand Up NY Open Mic

[FREE] 6:00 pm: Open mic stand-up show that provides each performer whose name is pulled from a bucket 5 minutes on stage—and also allows everyone play Bingo!—at The Creek downstairs lounge in Queens' Long Island City hosted by Julia Lundy & Veronica Elizabeth: Bingo Open Mic

6:00 pm & 8:00 pm (no cover, 1 drink min. for both comics and audience members): Open mic stand-up providing 5-7 minutes per comic, with each show running 1 hour and 45 minutes. Arrive 30 minutes before the show you want to be in to get on the signup sheet. This is a fine opportunity to perform at the only comedy club in the East Village: Eastville Comedy Club Open Mic

6:00 pm ($5 plus 1 drink min.): Booked open mic stand-up providing 7 minutes per comic for this 2-hour show at Klimat Lounge (77 East 7th Street) hosted by Gregory Joseph. To get on the performance list for future shows, email Gregory at evgigglepit@gmail.com: East Village Giggle Pit

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 6:30 pm: Open-mic storytelling, with names drawn out of a bucket and 5 minutes per performer, at the Slake Bar (251 West 30th Street) hosted by Julia Wiedeman: Happy Hour Story Hour (Open-Mic Storytelling) with Julia Wiedeman

[FREE] 7:00 pm: Open-mic stand-up, with 5 minutes for each comic who reserves a spot in advance (by emailing Dan Fox at danmaxfox@gmail.com) and 3 minutes for each comic who signs up on the spot (sign-up starts at 6:45 and ends at 8:30) at Brooklyn's Muchmore's (2 Havemeyer Street) hosted by Dan Fox: Muchmore's Stand-Up Open Mic

[FREE] 7:00 pm: An open-mic stand-up show, with 10 comics each performing for 5 minutes, at Brooklyn's Colony (274 4th Avenue) hosted by Emily Winter: Sparky the Dog Open Mic

7:30 pm ($10; sign-up starts at 7:00 pm): Open mic for stand-ups, storytellers, singers, poets, actors, and more, with 5 minutes per performer and 25 slots available, at The Parkside Lounge (317 East Houston Street, off Avenue B) hosted by Nathan P., followed by a raucous afterparty with dancing & drink specials from 10:00 to midnight: Inspired Word's Open Mic Joint

[FREE] 10:30 pm: Improv veterans Brandon Gardner, Chelsea Clarke, and Phillip Jackson hosting & performing in a show at UCB East with improvisors taken from the audience...and who may include you: Improv Nerds Jam

11:00 pm ($3): Open mic stand-up, with each comic getting 5 minutes and room for 15 comics who sign up per show, at The PIT upstairs theatre hosted by Kat Toledo and/or Alan Shain: The Power Exchange

[FREE] 11:00 pm: Improv students are welcomed onto the stage at The PIT downstairs lounge for this weekly open access show hosted by Gary DeNoia & Langston Belton: Base Jam

Best Inexpensive Stand-Up, Improv, Sketch, and Storytelling

Upright Citizens Brigade Chelsea
(307 West 26th Street; 150-seater; shows free-$10; one of the most respected comedy theatres in the world)

Upright Citizens Brigade East
(153 East 3rd Street; 99-seat main theatre, bar area for open mics; shows free-$10)

The PIT
(123 East 24th Street; 99-seat upstairs theatre, 40-seat downstairs theatre; shows free-$20)

The Magnet
(254 West 29th Street; 60-seat theatre; shows $5-$10)

The Creek and the Cave
(Queens' Long Island City; 40-seat theatre upstairs, 25 downstairs; virtually all shows free)

This Theater
(154 West 29th Street; new venue that, at its best, features shows comparable to UCB & PIT; free-$12)

Best NYC Stand-Up Comedy Clubs

Comedy Cellar
(117 MacDougal Street; among the finest daily stand-up lineups in the world; 2-item min.)

The Stand
(239 Third Avenue; recent competitor to Comedy Cellar; no drink min.—support this policy!)

Carolines Comedy Club
(1626 Broadway; focuses on the world's top headliners, who perform hour-long sets; 2-drink min.)

Gotham Comedy Club
(208 West 23rd Street; headliners on weekends, specialty & lineup shows weekdays; 2-drink min.)

Eastville Comedy Club
(85 East 4th Street; strong weekend lineups; no cover using code HyReviews; 2-drink min.)

Greenwich Village Comedy Club
(99 MacDougal Street; convenient if Comedy Cellar's sold out; no cover using code HyReviews; 2-drink min.)

Comic Strip Live
(1568 Second Avenue, off 81st; Upper East Side club with typically solid lineups; 2-drink min.)

Stand Up NY
(236 West 78th Street, off Broadway; Upper West Side club with typically solid lineups; 2-drink min.)

Laughing Devil
(4738 Vernon Blvd., by #7 train; Queens LIC club, with MST3K-style movie night on Thursdays; 2-drink min.)

NYC Comedy Picks for Tuesday 10/21/14

TV Alert: Bill Murray is on Jimmy Kimmel;
Bill Hader is on Seth Meyers (repeated from 9/15);
Sara Schaefer is on Carson Daly (repeated from 9/29)

Guitar goddess Marnie Stern and her Web-famous dog are among the stars telling road stories at Rumble Strip Show

Recommendations for the best in New York City comedy tonight

(in chronological order, with top picks noted and shows over $10 marked with $) include:

[TOP PICK] 7:00 pm-11:00 pm ($7 for the whole evening): In this 4-hour extravaganza, five of The Magnet's singing improv groups make up a musical on the spot based on an audience suggestion, followed at 10:15 by a free show that lets audience members join in with a musical improv group to make up stories in song: Magnet Musical Megawatt

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 7:00 pm: Comics creators join super-hosts Alex Zalben, Justin Tyler, and Pete LePage in a lively & hilarious discussion about four-color pop culture at Fontana's (105 Eldridge Street), with giveaways of comics and gift certificates (and if you can't make it, watch in online here): Comic Book Club

7:00 pm ($5): Matt Gehring and Sudi Green perform sketch comedy springboarding off Twitter messages at The PIT upstairs theatre: Matt Gehring's Tweet Show

[FREE] 7:00 pm: Nick Alexander (Sirius XM) hones a long stand-up set one last night at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' Long Island City: Week at the Creek: Nick Alexander

7:30 pm-9:15 pm ($5): Long form improv known as The Harold from UCB Chelsea house groups Smalls, Apollo, and Women & Men at this first half of Harold Night

[$] 7:45 pm, 9:30 pm, and 11:15 pm ($12 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Tonight's stand-ups include Hannibal Buress, Kyle Dunnigan, and Mike Yard (hosting) at the 7:45 show; Nick Griffin, Greg Rogell, and Jeff Leach at the 9:30 show; and Dave Attell, Mark Normand, Nikki Glaser, Keith Alberstadt, and Joe List (hosting) at the 11:15 show, with all shows at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane): Comedy Cellar Tuesday

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 8:00 pm: Stand-ups Adam Newman and Paul Hooper, guitarist Marnie Stern (Kill Rock Stars), and world-famous Instagram dog Marnie (300,000 followers and counting) tell their "funniest, weirdest, most-depraved stories about being on the road" at Queens LIC's The Creek upstairs theatre hosted by Brian McManus (Village Voice Music Editor): Rumble Strip Show

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($10): Storytelling genius Chris Gethard, plus Anna Drezen, Nathan Min, Charles Gould, Alise Morales, Julio Julio Julio, Steve Whalen, Manolocy Mirenno, and Pat Regan, all spin Halloween horror tales in the dark at The New Ohio Theatre (154 Christopher Street, inside the Archive Building) hosted by the spectacular Jo Firestone (dynamic rising star; host of Punderdome 3000 and The Incredible Game Show Showcase): Scary Stories in the Dark

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): Great line-up of Mark Normand (hilarious red-hot rising star; Conan O'Brien, Comedy Central Half Hour, Inside Amy Schumer, Last Comic Standing, VH1's Best Week Ever; co-host of Hot Soup and We're All Friends Here), Dan Soder (smart, edgy rising star; Conan O'Brien, Comedy Central Half Hour, Inside Amy Schumer, MTV's Guy Code and Guy Court, VH1), Rich Vos (stand-up star on two seasons of Last Comic Standing and on Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn; Comedy Central Presents; Opie & Anthony radio show), Bonnie McFarlane (HBO, David Letterman, Jay Leno, Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central), Wil Sylvince (Comedy Central, BET's Comic View), Mike Yard (Comedy Central, Def Comedy Jam), and Nick Turner (Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers, Comedy Central, VH1) performing stand-up at UCB East hosted by Big Jay Oakerson (Comedy Central Presents, Louie, HBO, Showtime, MTV, IFC): Comedy Central Corporate Retreat: Mark Normand, Dan Soder, Rich Vos, Big Jay Oakerson, and More

[FREE, plus FREE PIZZA while the slices last] 8:00 pm: NYC stand-ups Nore Davis (Inside Amy Schumer), Doug Smith, Nick Naney, and Ashley Bez performing stand-up at Bunga's Den (137 West 14th Street, between Sixth & Seventh Avenues) hosted by JF Harris, Lukas Kaiser, John Szeluga, and Sue Smith: Amazingtown

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 8:30 pm (reserve your free spots by clicking here): Typically terrific stand-ups (for the line-up, usually posted by 1:00 pm, please click here) performing stand-up at The Irish Exit (978 Second Avenue, off 52nd Street, in the back room) produced every Tuesday by Mark Normand, Matt Ruby, Gary Vider, and Sachi Ezura: Hot Soup

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 9:00 pm: Storytellers Jeff Simmermon (NPR's The American Life, Moth StorySlam Champion, host of And I Am Not Lying), Jiji Lee, Marie Faustin, and Steve Zimmer tell true tales about this month's theme Creeps at 2A (25 Avenue A off 2nd Street) hosted by Andrew Linderman: Local Stories: Creeps

[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($7): Christian Finnegan (Conan O'Brien, co-star of TBS' Are We There Yet?; three Comedy Central specials; MSNBC, VH1's Best Week Ever, Chappelle's Show, The Today Show), Jeff Leach (UK star), Mary Mack, Tim Harmston, and more performing stand-up at The Slipper Room (167 Orchard Street) guest-hosted by Greg Barris & Dion Flynn: Sweet

[FREE] 9:00 pm: Josh Gondelman (Last Week Tonight), Mike Brown, Christy Coffey, and Aaron Weaver performing stand-up at this free weekly show at Brooklyn's The Alligator Lounge (600 Metropolitan Avenue) hosted by Robert Dean, Sachi Ezura, and/or Steve O'Brien: Comedy at Alligator Lounge

9:15 pm-Midnight ($5): Long form improv known as The Harold from UCB Chelsea house groups Greg, Side Piece, and Higgins at this second half (continued from 7:30 pm) of Harold Night

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): Brilliantly innovative comic Anthony Atamanuik (Death by Roo Roo, 30 Rock, Conan O'Brien, The Nights of Our Lives) plays oddball characters in a mix of sketch and improv (with help from producer Andy Rocco and Jesse VandenBergh), plus NYC stand-ups (not announced), all performing at the UCB East theatre: The Tony Show

[TOP PICK] 10:00 pm ($5; no min.): Chris Gethard (comedy genius; Broad City, Conan O'Brien, The Office, IFC; star of The Chris Gethard Show; author of A Bad Idea I'm About to Do and Weird New York, plus My Comedy Album), Bonnie McFarlane (HBO, David Letterman, Jay Leno, Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central), Rory Albanese (The Daily Show), Damien Lemon (Comedy Central Half Hour, MTV's Guy Code, Girl Code, Guy Court), Crystian Ramirez, and Alexis Guerreros performing stand-up at The Stand Comedy Club (239 Third Avenue & 20th Street): The Illuminati Party: Chris Gethard, Bonnie McFarlane, and More

[FREE] 10:00 pm: Big Jay Oakerson (Comedy Central Presents, HBO, Showtime, MTV), Luis J. Gomez, Dave Smith, and other NYC stand-ups performing live on stage for this podcast show at The Creek downstairs lounge in Queens' Long Island City: Legion of Skanks

[FREE] 10:00 pm: Sachi Ezura and a whole bunch of other NYC stand-ups performing at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' Long Island City hosted by Peggy O'Leary: Creek Cave Live

[FREE] 10:00 pm: Joe Pera (hilarious and genius deadpan stand-up; Adult Swim; for a very special one-minute set at Carolines, please click here; for Joe's latest Kaufman awards submissions, please click here and here), Beth Hoyt, David Agyekum, Nicole Pasquale, Chelsea Davison, Joe Bonacci, and Michael Canfield performing stand-up for this free weekly show at Brooklyn's Over the Eight (594 Union Ave) hosted by Bret Davis (playing a new character at every show): The Tuesday Special

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 11:00 pm: Typically superb stand-ups (not announced) performing at this new free weekly stand-up show at UCB East hosted by Phil Hanley: Chemistry

Tuesday Open Mics & Jams

5:00 pm ($5): Two-hour open-mic for 20 stand-ups performing for 5 minutes each, with sign-up online here, at the Stand Up NY Comedy Club (236 West 78th Street): Stand Up NY Open Mic

[TOP PICK] [ALMOST FREE] 6:00 pm ($1): In this delightful weekly open-mic show, each comic has 3 minutes to try out a character-based bit (e.g., for a solo show, sketch, or audition) at The PIT downstairs lounge, hosted by Jen Kwok (Comedy Central) and Keisha Zollar (Doppelganger): Imposter Open Mic

[ALMOST FREE] 6:00 pm ($1): Open mic sketch that allows you to either perform a sketch with your own performers or bring in pages for the audience to perform at The PIT Green Room, followed by feedback on your bit from PIT "sketch-perts:" Pens & Pencils

6:00 pm (no cover, 1 drink min. for both comics and audience members): Open mic stand-up providing 5-7 minutes per comic, running 2 1/2 hours. Arrive 30 minutes before the show to get on the signup sheet. This is a fine opportunity to perform at the only comedy club in the East Village: Eastville Comedy Club Open Mic

[FREE] 6:00 pm: Open mic for comedy of all types providing 2 minutes for each performer (with sign-up starting at 6:00) at Queens LIC's The Creek upstairs theatre hosted by Tim Unkenholz: Butt Factory

[FREE] 6:30 pm: Weekly stand-up open mic, with walk-ins tossing names into a hat and set length determined by the number of comics who show up, at Bunga's Den (137 West 14th Street, between Sixth & Seventh Avenues) hosted by Jimmy LeChase and/or Justin Perez: Townies Open Mic

[FREE] 6:30 pm: Weekly stand-up open mic (with sign-up starting at 6:00) at People's Republic of Brooklyn (247 Smith Street) hosted by Dustin Drury: This Is Happening Open MIc

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 8:00 pm: This weekly two-hour open mic storytelling show allows each performer 8 minutes to tell a compelling and funny tale at Queens LIC's The Creek downstairs lounge hosted by Jake Hart and a guest co-host: The Dump

[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($5): Open mic stand-up that's first come, first serve (signup starts at 8:30) and provides each performer 5 minutes—or 4 minutes plus 2 minutes of feedback!—at the Producer's Club (358 West 44th Street): Train Wreck Open Mic Stand-Up

[FREE] 10:15 pm: In this free Magnet show, audience members can join in with musical improv troupe Wonderland to make up stories in song on the spot: Musical Magnet Mixer

11:00 pm ($3): A breathtaking 40 comics are given 2 minutes each in this rapid-fire open-mic stand-up show at The PIT upstairs theatre hosted with wit and energy by Jay Welch: Bring It

[FREE] 11:00 pm: Weekly walk-in open mic stand-up providing 3 minutes for each comic whose name is pulled from a bucket at Queens LIC's The Creek upstairs theatre hosted by Michelle Slonim: Rapid Fire

[ALMOST FREE] 11:00 pm ($1): A weekly improv jam for students at all levels to work on their skills at The PIT downstairs lounge hosted by Elke Reid and David Frasure: Study H all