NYC Comedy Picks for Week of October 3, 2016

NYC Comedy Picks for Monday 10/3/18

The wonderful Wyatt Cenac (former star correspondent for The Daily Show; writer for South Park; albums Comedy Person and Brooklyn) is back in town to host his superb Monday night stand-up show, with tonight's guests Seaton Smith (rising star stand-up; HBO's Girls, FOX's Mulaney, Seth Meyers, Inside Amy Schumer, The Nightly Show), Marina Franklin (Trainwreck, Louie, Jay Leno, Last Comic Standing, Chappelle's Show), Emily Heller (Conan O'Brien, Seth Meyers, Comedy Central Half Hour, TBS' Ground Floor), Joel Kim Booster (Billy on the Street), Kenny DeForest (co-host of Comedy Night at the Knit), and Rell Battle: Night Train (8:00 pm, $8, Brooklyn's Littlefield at 622 Degraw Street; take R subway to Union Street)

More recommendations for the best in New York City comedy tonight
(in chronological order, with top picks noted and shows over $10 marked with $) include:

[FREE] 6:00 pm to midnight: Six free hours of improvisation at The PIT downstairs lounge: Super Free Monday

7:00 pm ($5): Superb improvisors Tracy Mull, Rachel Scherer, TJ Mannix, Canedy Knowles, Amelia Bienstock, and Julia Young make up scenes springboarding off stories told by Mean Girls cast member Dwayne Hill at The PIT upstairs theatre: The Mean Girls Show

[TOP PICK] [$] 7:30 pm, 9:30 pm, and 11:30 pm ($12 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Some of the finest stand-ups in the country spread among four shows at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane) and a 7:30 pm show at Village Underground (130 West 3rd Street, off Sixth Avenue): Comedy Cellar Monday

7:30 pm ($7): Comedy groups Stockton and The Executives perform sketch comedy at The Magnet theatre: Magnet Sketch Teams

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): At the UCB Chelsea theatre, a sketch show written by Zack Philips that includes such superb comics as Langan Kingsley and Jim Santangeli: Fuck Nostalgia...

...and in the second half of this double-bill, sketch group One Idiot performs a parody of series such as Serial and Making a Murderer: This Murder A Real Murder

[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm ($5 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Wil Sylvince (Comedy Central, HBO, Showtime) hosts Dan Soder, Nick Griffin, Jeff Maurer, Sam Morril, Rory Albanese, Ricky Velez, Phil Hanley, and Brian Scott McFadden trying out fresh material at The Fat Black Pussycat Lounge (130 West 3rd Street): New Joke Night

[TOP PICK] 8:00 ($5): A comic book night, with Fred Van Lente (author of The Comic Book History of Comics, writer of Marvel's Amazing Spider-Man) Crystal Skillman (author of King Kirby, Geek!), Pete LePage (co-host of Comic Book Club), and Greg Young chatting about pop culture at UCB East hosted by Nat Townsen: Downtown Variety Hour

[$] 8:00 pm ($15): "Dressed only from the waist up and ankles down, Adrienne Truscott undoes and does in the rules and rhetoric about rape, comedy, and the awkward laughs in between. With ‘appearances’ from George Carlin, Louis CK, Robert De Niro, ducks, whistles, and enough gin and tonics to get a girl in trouble, she lets her pussy do the talking. Set to pop music. Can you make jokes about rape? She plans to, all night long. Even if you tell her to stop" at The PIT upstairs theatre (for a London review, please click here): Adrienne Truscott's Asking For It

[FREE] 8:00 pm: NYC stand-ups Nick Vatterott, Kerry Overfab Coddett, Gregory Sparks, May Wilkerson, Andrew Casertano, Michael Svetich, Jill Weiner, and Pedro Gonzalez performing at Brooklyn's The Topaz (251 Bushwick Avenue) hosted by Paul Lombardo: Dodgers Baseball Comedy

[TOP PICK] 8:30 pm ($5): Frank Conniff (TV's Frank on Mystery Science Theater 3000) hosts as "Moodsy, the Clinically Depressed Owl showing weird/crappy old cartoons in between sets," with guests Aparna Nancherla (one of the best stand-ups in the country; writer for Seth Meyers; Conan O'Brien, @Midnight, comedy album Just Putting It Out There; opens for Tig Notaro; hosts top weekly NYC stand-up show Whiplash), Betsy Carrolf, Sharon Houston, and Jeff Kreisler at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue). Described by Patton Oswalt as "like a kid's show done in Bosnia," it's Frank Conniff's Cartoon Dump

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

9:00 pm ($7): Talented comics perform solo characters at The Magnet theatre hosted by Ari Miller & Elena Skopeto: Character Bash

9:00 pm ($5): Stand-ups tell stories which improvisors then turn into TV movies at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street) hosted by Catherine Cypher, Emily Duke, and Christina Sirabian: Live or Die

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): Sketch comics perform before Comedy Central judges who'll determine which talents make up this year's "Comics to Watch" list at the UCB East theatre: Comedy Central's "Comics to Watch" Sketch Auditions

[$] 9:30 pm ($20): A full-blown scripted musical about Donald Trump—"the story of our greatest American, and his rise from humble reality star/heir to the classiest candidate in American history"—at The PIT upstairs theatre: In Trump We Trust

9:30 ($5): House sketch groups Mama's Gotta Go and Choir try out new material at UCB Chelsea for Maude Night

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 10:00 pm: Dan Soder (smart, edgy rising star; Conan O'Brien, Comedy Central hour-long special Not Special, Comedy Central Half Hour, Inside Amy Schumer, MTV's Guy Code and Guy Court, VH1), Ari Shaffir (Conan O'Brien, host of Comedy Central's This Is Not Happening, HBO's Down and Dirty, National Lampoon, Comedy Central special Passive Aggressive), Annie Lederman (Comedy Central, Chelsea Lately, co-host of Pirate Party), Katie Hannigan, Emily Galati, Matt Pavich, Kelsey Cook, and Eric Terrell performing stand-up at one of best comedy clubs in NYC at absolutely no cost to you (feel encouraged to order food and//or drinks, but you don't have to) for The Stand Comedy Club (239 Third Avenue, off 20th Street) hosted by Aaron Berg (TV series 24 Hour Rental, documentary A Universal Language): Frantic Mondays: Dan Soder, Ari Shaffir, Annie Lederman, and More

[FREE] 10:00 pm: Each stand-up performs a set, then improv group The Bodega Cats makes up scenes based on the material, at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue); audience applause then determines the "winner" of Rumble

10:30 pm ($7): Five improv duos each make up scenes at The Magnet theatre: The Duo Show

[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 typically hosted by Aparna Nancherla (one of the best stand-ups in the country; writer for Late Night with Seth Meyers; Conan O'Brien, @Midnight, Last Comic Standing). Reservations go quickly, but you can probably get in if you arrive early and are okay with standing: Whiplash

[TOP PICK] 11:00 pm ($5): Improv group Higgins—which includes Connor Ratliff and Matt Dennie—makes up the season finale of a popular, long-running TV series that does not exist (based on a show title provided by the audience) at the UCB East theatre: Higgins: Season Finale

Monday Open Mics & Jams

4:30 pm-7:00 pm ($5 plus 1 drink min., with drinks as low as $2): Walk-in stand-up open mic with two rounds, the first providing 5-6 minutes per set and the second 2-3 minutes per set, at The Grisly Pear (107 MacDougal Street) hosted by Tuval Mor: Kickin It Open Mic

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

[FREE] 6:00 pm: Open mic stand-up show that provides each performer who shows up time on stage at The Creek downstairs lounge in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) hosted by Jacob Lie & Stu Melton: Raining Buckets

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

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

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

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

[FREE] 11:00 pm: Open mic stand-up show that provides each performer whose name is pulled from a bucket 4 minutes on stage at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' Long Island City hosted by Joseph Robert: PBR & Scrap Paper Open Mic Stand-Up

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

NYC Comedy Picks for Tuesday 10/4/16

Phoebe Robinson (Seth Meyers, Last Comic Standing, Broad City, MTV’s Girl Code, Glamour Magazine, podcast Sooo Many White Guys, co-host of 2 Dope Queens) celebrates the release of her first book, You Can't Touch My Hair and Other Things I Still Have to Explain, with an interview by The Daily Show's Hasan Minhaj and then a signing session: Phoebe's Free Book Launch & Party (7:00 pm, Free!, Housing Works’ Bookstore Café at 126 Crosby Street, between Prince & Houston)...

...and the debate between Vice Presidential candidates Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia and Governor Mike Pence of Indiana might be a snooze-fest—but then again, even a single major blunder by either side could have a significant impact on the election. Experience this watch-for-disaster event with an audience at Manhattan's The Slipper Room (167 Orchard Street) with Emily Heller (Conan O'Brien, Seth Meyers, Comedy Central Half Hour, TBS' Ground Floor), Nick Stevens (CBS Sports comedy host; Comedy Central, AMC, KROQ Radio), and host Seth Herzog (long-time Jimmy Fallon staff comic; NBC's 30 Rock, Comedy Central's @midnight, VH1's Best Week Ever, CBS): Sweet (9:00 pm, $7); or at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) with Frank Conniff (TV's Frank on Mystery Science Theater 3000; Cinematic Titanic), David Feldman (Comedy Central Half Hour, co-creator of The Jack and Triumph Show), and Myka Fox (SNL freelance contributor; host of Myka Fox & Friends podcast on Keith and The Girl Network): VP Debate Watch Party (9:00 pm, $15)

More recommendations for the best in New York City comedy tonight
(in chronological order, with top picks noted and shows over $10 marked with $) include:

6:30 pm ($5): Sketch comedy and music revolving around comic book themes—helping you prepare for this week's upcoming New York Comic Con—at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Comic Book Community Theater

[TOP PICK] [$] 7:00 pm ($5 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Broadway, TV, and film star Colin Quinn (Trainwreck, comedy national treasure) hones material for a one-man show at The Fat Black Pussycat Lounge (130 West 3rd Street): Colin Quinn: Ruined!

[TOP PICK] 7:00 pm-11:00 pm ($7 for the whole evening): In this 4-hour extravaganza, eight singing & dancing improv groups at The Magnet make up musicals based on audience suggestions: Magnet Musical Megawatt

[FREE] 7:00 pm: Storytelling, stand-up, and more from Anna Roisman (MTV; co-host of You Probably Think This Song Is About You), Jolenta Greenberg (BBC, WNYC), JiJi Lee (Reductress, Above Average), Samantha Ruddy (CollegeHumor, Someecards), Michelle Onufrak (The Moth, The Nights of Our Lives), Amber Drea, and Chris Pappas performing at Brooklyn's Pete's Candy Store (709 Lorimer Street): All-Stars of Comedy

7:00 pm ($5): A showcase for two brand new scripted shows—sketch, solo, or what have you—every week at The PIT downstairs lounge produced by the wonderful Ronny Pascale: Pilot Season

[TOP PICK] [$] 7:30 pm, 9:30 pm, and 11:30 pm ($12 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Some of the finest stand-ups in the country spread among three shows at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane): Comedy Cellar Tuesday

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 7:30 pm: Comics creators join super-hosts Alex Zalben, Justin Tyler, and Pete LePage in a lively & hilarious discussion about four-color pop culture at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street), with giveaways of comics and gift certificates (and if you can't make it, watch in online here): Comic Book Club

7:30 pm & 9:15 pm ($5 per show): House groups at UCB Chelsea perform the classic improv form The Harold at Harold Night

[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm ($20, plus 2-item food/drink min.): Kurt Metzger (Emmy Award-winning staff writer for Inside Amy Schumer; Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central special White Precious, Comedy Central Presents, Ugly Americans) headlines at Village Underground (130 West 3rd Street, off Sixth Avenue): Kurt Metzger: You're Making It Worse

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($10): A monthly wild pun competition hosted by father-daughter duo Fred Firestone and Jo Firestone (exceptionally inventive and irresistible rising star; The Chris Gethard Show, radio host of WFMU's Dr. Gameshow, live-on-stage host of The Unexpectashow and The Incredible Game Show Showcase, co-author with Fred of #1 bestselling Punderdome: A Card Game for Pun Lovers), with 18 audience members competing at Brooklyn's Littlefield (622 Degraw Street; take R subway to Union Street): Punderdome 3000

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($8): A pop culture debate, with this month's topic Lady Gaga vs. Beyonce, argued by Matteo Lane, Christi Chiello, Bowen Yang, Matt Rogers, Dusty Boxx, and Molly Austin at Brooklyn's Union Hall: Battle of the Divas: Lady Gaga vs. Beyonce

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): Naomi Ekperigin (dynamite rising star stand-up; writer for Comedy Central's Broad City and Hulu's Difficult People; MTV, VH1, FX), Margaret Lyons (The New York Times, Vulture), and The Shirtwaist Sisters (Ars Nova) performing and/or being interviewed for this show about obsessions with pop culture on tonight's topic Halloween at UCB East hosted by Damian Bellino & Anne Rodeman: So Into It: A Fanatic Variety Show

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 8:00 pm: Sean Donnelly (David Letterman, Conan O'Brien, Comedy Central Half Hour, Last Comic Standing, MTV), Nore Davis (Inside Amy Schumer, HBO's Last Week Tonight, Boardwalk Empire, Comedy Central's Russell Simmons Presents The Ruckus, MTV), Sarah Tollemache (Comedy Central), and Brad Austin perform stand-up hosted by the hilarious Joe Pera, Charles Gould, and Dan Licata at Brooklyn's The Shanty (79 Richardson Street; take L subway to Lorimer Street): Dan + Joe + Charles' Show

[TOP PICK] [$] 8:30 pm ($5 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Judah Friedlander (one of the quickest minds and very finest stand-ups in comedy; 30 Rock, Meet the Parents, Along Came Polly, author of bestselling cartoon book If the Raindrops United) answers your questions for an hour at The Fat Black Pussycat Lounge (130 West 3rd Street): Judah Friedlander

8:30 pm ($5): Superb improvisors and guest improv groups join host Skycopter (which includes the incredible David Carl) to make up one-act plays on the spot at The PIT downstairs lounge: Act One

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

9:00 pm ($5): Skilled improvisors David Rysdahl & Paul Gutkowski make up a play on the spot at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street) as improv duo True East

9:30 pm ($5): Kevin Avery (staff writer for This Week Tonight with John Oliver), Angélique Roché (Black Girl Nerds), Alan Starzinski (MTV), Matt Little, and Victoria McNally join host Lorraine Cink (Marvel Comics) and her musical sidekick Megan Sass celebrate the upcoming New York Comic Con with a pop culture party in which "we gossip, read sexy fanfic, sing-a-long to nerdy jams, and play games with your favorite geek personalities" at The PIT upstairs theatre: Co-Ed Geek Girl Slumber Party

[FREE] 10:00 pm: A frat-themed comedy show at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) hosted by Carmen Lagala, Billy Prinsell, and Samantha Ruddy: Creek Bros

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 10:30 pm: The 2016 NYC Championship for a a show in which stand-ups pair up to brutally insult each other and then be judged for the effectiveness of their viciousness by Mike Lawrence, Ari Shaffir, and Rich Voss at The Stand Comedy Club (239 Third Avenue, off 20th Street) hosted by Luis J. Gomez: The RoastMasters

11:00 pm ($5): Going beyond the classic Harold, improv group Sleuth performs different types of longform at the UCB East theatre: Harold on the Run

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

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

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

[FREE] 8:00 pm: Four booked NYC stand-ups, plus one open spot for an audience member whose name is pulled from a bucket, plus drop-in spots for up to five TV-credited comics who care to walk in! Spots are at least 5 minutes each, but go up by a minute per comic for every TV-credited drop-in spot that isn't filled (e.g., if no drop-ins appear, every comic will receive up to 10 minutes per set). It all happens at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) hosted by Daniel Ahrens: Drop-In/The Bucket

[FREE] 8:00 pm: Weekly open mic for any kind of act (with sign-up starting at 7:30) at Brooklyn's Goodbye Blue Monday (1087 Broadway) hosted by Joe Crow Ryan: Goodbye Blue Monday

[ALMOST FREE] 10:30 pm ($1): A chance for you to get on stage and improvise with PIT faculty at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Tuesday After Class Jam

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

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

NYC Comedy Picks for Wednesday 10/5/16

Comedy genius Chris Gethard tonight kicks off a commercial run of his superb one-man show about anger, depression, perseverance, and the healing power of laughter, seamlessly blending stand-up and storytelling in a way that creates a deep, poignant, and hilarious experience: Chris Gethard: Career Suicide (7:30 pm through November 27th, $38-$48, The Lynn Redgrave Theater (45 Bleecker Street, right next to the #6 subway's Bleecker Street stop)

More recommendations for the best in New York City comedy tonight
(in chronological order, with top picks noted and shows over $10 marked with $) include:

7:00 pm ($5): Emily Heller (Conan O'Brien, Seth Meyers, Comedy Central Half Hour, TBS' Ground Floor), Chelsea Hood, Marcia Belsky, and more performing stand-up at Brooklyn's The Annoyance Theatre (367 Bedford Avenue; take J/M/Z to Marcy Avenue or L to Lorimer Street) hosted by Chris Duffy (host of You're the Expert): The Sensible Show

[FREE] 7:00 pm-midnight: Five free hours of improvisation—including an open-to-all improv jam at 6:00 pm; group Lovers, which includes the spectacular Dana Shulman and Tracy Mull at 7:00 pm; and PIT owner Ali Farahnakian & friends at 10:25 pm—at The PIT upstairs theatre: Super Free Wednesday

7:00 pm-11:00 pm ($7 for the entire evening): Four hours of improv from eight groups—plus a free improv jam at 6:00 pm—at The Magnet theatre: Magnet Megawatt

[TOP PICK] [$] 7:30 pm, 8:00 pm, 9:30 pm, and 11:30 pm ($12-$14, plus 2-item food/drink min.): Some of the finest stand-ups in the country spread among three shows at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane) and an 8:00 pm show at Village Underground (130 West 3rd Street, off Sixth Avenue): Comedy Cellar Wednesday

[TOP PICK] 7:30 pm ($8): Storyteller Lyssa Mandel invites comics to "expose their bleeding-heart adolescent artifacts (journal entries, poetry, original songs, and art), then laugh at and with their own flaws," with tonight's guests Abbi Crutchfield (Broad City, truTV's You Can Do Better), Jen Rudolph (owner of The Actors Green Room), and Chris Griggs (TV Land), plus music from Caitlin Allen (Cait & The Critters), all at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue): The Bitch Seat

7:30 pm ($5): Sketch comedy that pays tribute to Beyonce spearheaded by Florence Friebe & Kate MacLauchlan at The PIT downstairs lounge: Thank You, Beyonce

7:30 pm ($5): Expanding the UCB longform improv showcased on Harold Night is this weekly show at UCB East which features three house groups making up scenes on the spot: Lloyd Night

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): At the UCB Chelsea theatre, four-woman sketch group Lucille—Abby Holland, Julie Rosing, Molly Gaebe, and Jenn Roman—attempt to delve into the minds of men, directed by the fabulous Leslie Meisel: Balls Deep...

...and in the second half of this double-bill, a musical sketch comedy show: Pop Roulette's Amazing Earth

8:00 pm ($8): New Yorker contributors Lily Karlin & Blythe Roberson host this acclaimed comedy show exploring the human condition with comics Mo Fry Pasic, Tim Platt, Rae Sanni, Patti Harrison, and Lucy Cottrell at Brooklyn's Union Hall: Life is Pain

[FREE] 8:00 pm: Young and/or struggling NYC stand-ups performing at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) produced by Meghan O'Malley, Adrian Davidson, and Erick Hellwig: Barely Making It

8:30 pm ($10): "The siblings run, The siblings shout, The siblings throw things all about, They do not want to go to bed, Too many voices in their heads, They run and hide when MomDad seeks, Crawl under here, shh do not speak" written by & starring Kelly Cooper, Caitlin Dullea, and Thomas Fricilone, and directed by Michael Bertrando, at Brooklyn's The Annoyance Theatre (367 Bedford Avenue; take J/M/Z to Marcy Avenue or L to Lorimer Street): The Siblings

[$] 8:30 pm ($15): "Dressed only from the waist up and ankles down, Adrienne Truscott undoes and does in the rules and rhetoric about rape, comedy, and the awkward laughs in between. With ‘appearances’ from George Carlin, Louis CK, Robert De Niro, ducks, whistles, and enough gin and tonics to get a girl in trouble, she lets her pussy do the talking. Set to pop music. Can you make jokes about rape? She plans to, all night long. Even if you tell her to stop" at The PIT downstairs lounge (for a London review, please click here): Adrienne Truscott's Asking For It

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 9:00 pm: Big Jay Oakerson (Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central Presents, Louie, Inside Amy Schumer, HBO, Showtime, MTV, IFC; stellar new comedy album Live at Webster Hall), Dave Smith, Luis J. Gomez, and other NYC comics "discussing the skankier sides of life, love, and stand-up comedy" for this weekly podcast taping at The Creek downstairs lounge in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue): Legion of Skanks

[FREE] 9:00 pm: Seth Herzog (long-time staff comic for Jimmy Fallon; 30 Rock, @midnight, CBS, VH1; host of Sweet), Jim Tews (Last Comic Standing, Louie, co-host of Fresh Out, author of Felines of New York), Louis Katz (Jimmy Fallon, HBO, Comedy Central Half Hour), Hadiyah Robinson (The Nightly Show), Katie Hannigan (MTV’s Inside Joke), Dan Frigolette (HBO’s Boardwalk Empire), David Lee Nelson (Edinburgh Fringe Festival), and Jeremy Pinsly (ESPN.com) performing for this free weekly stand-up show at Lucky Jack's Pub (129 Orchard Street) produced by Kyle Fincham, Lance Weiss, and Brendon Fitzgibbons: Gandhi, Is That You?

9:00 pm ($5): Stand-up and/or comedy short films from Amber Nelson, Josh Johnson, May Wilkerson, Martin Urbano, and Tommy McNamara at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Luke Mones: Great Clips

9:00 pm ($5): Stand-ups Will Abeles, Craig Friedman, and Alex Grubard performing at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Hey Guys! With Will Abeles

[TOP PICK] 9:15 pm ($5): The instructors of UCB's classes include some of the finest improvisors in the country. In this new weekly show a bunch of them get on stage at UCB East hosted by Doug Mo and/or Ben Rameaka: Hot for Teacher: The UCB Faculty Show

9:30 pm ($5): Willy Appelman co-wrote & performs in this show about diverse oddballs who come together to celebrate a wedding at Brooklyn's The Annoyance Theatre (367 Bedford Avenue; take J/M/Z to Marcy Avenue or L to Lorimer Street): Characters From a Wedding

9:30 ($5): Over a dozen talented female improvisors—typically including Lauren Adams, Natasha Vaynblat, and Caitlin Bitzegaio—parody all-gal opinion shows such as The View, making up most of the show on the spot based on a loose outline at at the UCB Chelsea theatre. The result is often proof that "less is more," but if you're very patient there are worthwhile moments to be had from The Female Gaze

[TOP PICK] 10:00 pm ($10): The superb Kurt Metzger (Emmy Award-winning staff writer for Inside Amy Schumer; Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central special White Precious, Comedy Central Presents, Ugly Americans) headlines with a 40-minute stand-up set at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue), plus an opening set from Brooke Arnold (FringeNYC's Growing Up Fundie): Kurt Metzger: You're Making It Worse

10:00 pm ($5; no min.): Annie Lederman, Matteo Lane, Chris DiStefano, Ian Lara, and more performing stand-up at The Stand Comedy Club (239 Third Avenue, off 20th Street): $5 Funnies

10:00 pm ($5): An improv pianist plays for four improv acts—two of which are musical improv—at The PIT downstairs lounge: The Piano Show

[TOP PICK] 10:15 pm ($5): Stellar improvisors Charlie Todd & Kevin Hines provide color commentary on improv sets by other top improvisors at UCB East for this monthly event: Play by Play

10:30 pm ($5): A show that changes each month, with its only constant host Mike Muntner, at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): 10 Weeks a Show

[TOP PICK] 11:00 pm ($5): Dara Katz & Betsy Kenney host a crazed parody of a dance tournament featuring "nine amateur (or worse) teams performing choreographed dances" for a rotating panel of comic judges—and you—at the UCB Chelsea theatre: Nationals: An Amateur Comedy Dance Tournament

Wednesday Open Mics & Jams

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

[FREE] 6:00 pm: Walk-in open mic storytelling show, with each yarn-spinner (selected via names from a bucket) getting up to 8 minutes to tell a true and funny tale at Astoria Queens comedy venue QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Vincent Chang: Flynn's Mic

[FREE] 6:00 pm: Open mic stand-up show that provides each performer whose name is pulled from a bucket 5 minutes on stage at The Creek downstairs lounge in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) hosted by Kaity Neagle & Irene Hartmann: Ragtag Team Open Mic Stand-Up

[FREE] 6:00 pm: Sign up at 5:45 pm for the opportunity to make up scenes at The Magnet with veteran improvisors: Magnet Mixer Wednesday

[FREE] 7:00 pm: Open mic stand-up providing 4 minutes per comic. Email PhoningItInMic@gmail.com to sign up, or take a chance at lottery sign-up live between 6:45 and 7:45, at Brooklyn's Halyards Bar (406 Third Avenue) hosted by Lukas Kaiser: Comics Phoning It In

11:00 pm ($3): Open mic stand-up show, with each comic whose name is selected from a bucket getting on stage for 3-5 minutes (depending on the number of comics) at The PIT downstairs lounge: The Camel Butt

[FREE] 11:00 pm: Weekly walk-in open mic stand-up providing 3 minutes for each comic whose name is pulled from a bucket (but no actual punch or pie, that's just a lure to entice you to come) at Queens LIC's The Creek downstairs lounge hosted by Matthew Tenenbaum: Punch & Pie

[FREE] 11:00 pm: Your chance to perform on stage with experienced improvisors at The PIT upstairs theatre hosted by Bernard Maynore and/or Patrick Cucuta: Improdome

[FREE] 11:15 pm: A gay-themed opportunity to perform improv—especially musical improv—on the UCB East stage: ...XYZ Jam

NYC Comedy Picks for Thursday 10/6/16

Today kicks off the second largest annual event in NYC, attracting over 90,000 people. In addition to comic books and anime, this 4-day ultimate fan fest features many comedians and spotlights lots of TV comedy series: New York Comic Con 2016

More recommendations for the best in New York City comedy tonight
(in chronological order, with top picks noted and shows over $10 marked with $) include:

[TOP PICK] 7:00 pm ($5): Superb "overactors" who typically include Pat Swearingen, Jay Malsky, and many more make up a ridiculous soap-operish TV movie on the spot at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Made For TV Movie

[TOP PICK] 7:00 pm ($5): Six improvisors—including Adrian Sexton, Rory Scholl, Sarah Morgan, and Ron Hill—compete for your laughs and votes at this fun improv game show at The PIT upstairs theatre produced by the wonderful Tracy Mull: The Island: Cutthroat Improv Competition

[TOP PICK] [$] 7:30 pm, 8:00 pm, 9:30 pm, and 11:30 pm ($14 per show, plus 2-item food/drink min.): Some of the finest stand-ups in the country spread among three shows at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane) and an 8:00 pm show at Village Underground (130 West 3rd Street, off Sixth Avenue): Comedy Cellar Thursday

7:30 pm ($5): Erik Bergstrom (Comedy Central Half Hour, cartoonist/author of Grimmer Tales, The New Yorker), Matt Ruby (MTV; sharp co-host of Hot Soup and We're All Friends Here, award-winning blog Sandpaper Suit), Bill Stiteler (co-host of School Drools), Harris Mayersohn, and Liz Barrett performing stand-up at UCB East hosted by Sean Crespo, Dan Wilbur, and Katina Corrao: Lasers in the Jungle

7:30 pm ($6): All-gal stand-up, with 3 booked comics—who tonight are Caitlin Peluffo, Candyce Musinski, and Gloria “Shantae Butler—and 4-minute open mic spots for 13 additional female comics on a first come, first serve basis at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Andrea Shapiro & Caitlin McKee: Saw Her Stand Up There

7:30 pm ($5): Sharp duo improvisors Kelly Buttermore & Justin Peters make up one-act plays based on audience suggestions at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): From Justin to Kelly

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): Dynamite musical improvisors including Jeff Hiller, Aaron Jackson, Ashley Ward, and/or Lauren Adams make up stories with songs at the UCB Chelsea theatre: Rumpleteaser: Musical Improv

[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm ($20): Amy Marcs performs a one-woman show about her experiences with breast cancer at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Nice T!Ts

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm-Midnight ($10 for the entire evening): Four veteran house improv groups, themed improv show The Costume (for this Halloween month, improvisors have fun with fantasy costumes), and improv competition Inspirado, all for just $10 at The Magnet theatre: The Magnet's Thursday Night Out

8:00 pm ($7): Stand-ups try to solve the world's problems, with tonight's sages Josh Gondelman, Adrienne Iapalucci, Drew Michael, Josiah Madigan, and Brock Mahan performing at Brooklyn's Union Hall hosted by Kevin McCaffrey: Serious Matters

[FREE] 8:00 pm: NYC stand-ups perform at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) hosted by Gideon Hambright and/or Patrick Hastie: Jackknife Comedy

8:30 pm ($5): Adam Hamway performs his impression of Jimmy Fallon hosting The Tonight Show,with fellow impressionists playing celebrity guests, at The PIT downstairs lounge: Fallon Tonight

9:00 pm ($5): Matt Goldich (staff writer for Seth Meyers; Comedy Central, VH1), Adam Lowitt (correspondent for The Daily Show), Charlie Pickering (ABC's The Weekly), Selena Coppock (author of book The New Rules for Blondes), Saurin Choksi (Fuse TV's White Guy Talk Show), Michelle Biloon (Craig Ferguson), and Zack Stovall performing stand-up at UCB East typically hosted by Ashley Brooke Roberts & Jim Tews: Fresh Out

9:00 pm ($10): "In the magical town of Sparkleberry, everyone’s an artist, writer, and creative spirit. Citizens of Sparkleberry are kind, compassionate creatures, with hearts of gold, but they’re also total idiots. But that hasn't stopped them from writing and performing their hearts out. Join me and my theater troupe as we show you select scenes from some of their greatest works" at Brooklyn's The Annoyance Theatre (367 Bedford Avenue; take J/M/Z to Marcy Avenue or L to Lorimer Street): Snippets From Sparkleberry

[FREE] 9:00 pm: JC Coccoli (Last Comic Standing, Key & Peele, MTV, VH1, WB), Davey Melch, Liz Magee, and Jenny Rubin performing stand-up at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Liz Simons & Jenn Wehrung: Laugh It Up, Astoria

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): The razor-sharp writers of Late Night with Seth Meyers gather on the UCB Chelsea stage to perform an all-improvised show at Seth Meyers Writers: Crate Night With Set Fires

9:30 pm ($5): A rock opera about an ornithologist who falls in love with a bird at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Me and My Birdie!

[FREE] 10:00 pm: NYC stand-ups (not announced) perform 15-minute opening sets and then a 30-minute headlining set at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) hosted by Jenn Welch & Tom Lisi: The Half-Hour Hour

[FREE] 10:30 pm: "A curated hour of eclectic comedic material written in a week with no rehearsals" at Brooklyn's The Annoyance Theatre (367 Bedford Avenue; take J/M/Z to Marcy Avenue or L to Lorimer Street): The Holy Fuck Comedy Hour

[TOP PICK] 11:00 pm ($5): Last week's champion improv group Area 52 (winning against The Union by 112-41) competes with musical improv group Rumpleteaser for your laughs and votes at UCB Chelsea's raucous Cage Match

[FREE] 10:30 pm: NYC stand-ups performing at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) produced & hosted by Chris Gersbeck, Lauren Hope Krass, and/or Peter Bandyk: Casual Sets

11:00 pm ($5): A variety show that encourages comics to perform whatever they're most passionate about at the UCB East theatre hosted by Nicole Pasquale: WOKE AF: A Mind-Opening Variety Show

Thursday Open Mics & Jams

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

5:45 pm-8:00 pm ($5 plus 1 drink min., with drinks as low as $2): Weekly walk-in stand-up open mic with two rounds, the first providing 4-5 minutes per set and the second 2-3 minutes per set, at The Grisly Pear (107 MacDougal Street) hosted by Tuval Mor: Kickin It Open Mic Thursday

[FREE] 6:00 pm: Stand-up open mic in which 15 walk-ins whose names are drawn from a bucket get to tell jokes on stage for 4 minutes each at UCB East hosted Brandon Scott Wolf & Paul Oddo: Thursday Night Open Mic

[FREE] 6:00 pm: Open-mic stand-up with comics' names drawn from a bucket and each chosen receiving 2 minutes—and if that goes well, maybe a hug (but not actual puppies)—at The Creek's downstairs lounge in Queens' Long Island City hosted by Ross Parsons & Trey Galyon: Free Puppies

[FREE] 6:00 pm: Open mic stand-up with 4 minutes per comic (sign-up starts at 5:30 pm) at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Jake Vevera & Amy Liszka: The QED Thursday Mic

[ALMOST FREE] 6:00 pm ($1): A weekly improv jam for which the number of participants on stage is determined by a roll of the dice at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street) hosted by Jon Monje, Glorillis Tavarez, Trumane Alston, and Julien Darmon: Chance Encounters Jam

6:30 pm ($3): If you're a gal who'd like to try stand-up but are wary of being vulnerable in a tough male-dominated room, this show may be the perfect opportunity for you—an all-female open mic, with the first 15 comics to sign up (starting at 5:50 pm) getting 3 minutes each on stage at The PIT downstairs lounge: Ladies Night Open Mic

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 7:00 pm: Open mic storytelling show, with each yarn-spinner whose name is picked from a basket receiving 5 minutes on stage, at the Astoria Bookshop (31-29 31st Street) hosted by David Lawson (The Flyer Guy at Solocom 2015): The Astoria Bookshop Storytelling Show

[FREE] 7:00 pm: A weekly improv jam hosted by group Salt at Brooklyn's The Annoyance Theatre (367 Bedford Avenue; take J/M/Z to Marcy Avenue or L to Lorimer Street): The Blender

[FREE] 7:00 pm: In this free Magnet show, audience members (signing in at 6:00) can join in with a veteran improv group to make up scenes on the spot: Magnet Mixer Thursday

[FREE] 7:00 pm: Walk-in open mic (with names selected from a bucket) to do anything you want for 5 minutes—"chat, rant, plug, tell a story, be a character, play a game, review a new religion"—for a podcast recorded at The Creek downstairs lounge in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) hosted by Mike Guild & Mike Mercadal: The Open Mic Podcast

[ALMOST FREE] 10:30 pm ($1): A chance for you to get on stage and improvise with PIT faculty at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Thursday After Class Jam

[FREE] 11:00 pm: An open-mic stand-up show that's first come, first serve, with each comic getting 3 minutes on stage at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) hosted by Matt Anderson: Barf Up the Jokes

NYC Comedy Picks for Friday 10/7/16

Set your TV recording device for NYC stand-ups tonight on Comedy Central—Lewis Black debuts an hour-long special at 10:00 pm, and Jacqueline Novak and Mike Recine premiere half-hour specials from midnight to 1:00 am

Dave Hill (one of the most original and hilariously sharp alternative comics in the country; host of WFMU's The Goddamn Dave Hill Show; HBO, Comedy Central, NPR; books Tasteful Nudes and Dave Hill Doesn't Live Here Anymore, comedy album Let Me Turn You On) hosts Joe Pera (hilarious and genius deadpan stand-up; killer set on Seth Meyers; Comedy Central, Adult Swim; for a very special one-minute set at Carolines, please click here; for Joe's latest Kaufman awards submissions, please click here and here; co-host of the Dan + Joe + Charles Show), Julio Torres (inventive experimental stand-up/sketch comic; Saturday Night Live, Billy on the Street), and Ana Fabrega (Comedy Central, IFC, The Jim Gaffigan Show, The Chris Gethard Show, host of Over the Eight), all performing stand-up and/or other silliness at Dave Hill's Super Horny Night of Comedy (8:00 pm; $10; Brooklyn's Union Hall at 702 Union Street—take R subway to Union Street)

More recommendations for the best in New York City comedy tonight
(in chronological order, with top picks noted and shows over $10 marked with $) include:

[TOP PICK] [$] 7:00 pm, 7:30 pm, 8:00 pm, 8:45 pm, 9:30 pm, 10:00 pm. 10:30 pm, 11:30 pm, and 12:15 am ($20-$24 per show, plus 2-item food/drink min.): Some of the finest stand-ups in the country spread among four shows at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane), the 7:30, 9:30, and 11:30 shows at Village Underground (130 West 3rd Street, off Sixth Avenue), and the 8:00 pm & 10:00 pm shows at The Fat Black Pussycat Lounge (130 West 3rd Street): Comedy Cellar Friday

7:00 pm ($10): A comedic play with bite about the Hollywood experience for minorities, in which "four black actors in Room 4 have just realized they’re stuck in a time loop, auditioning for the same role of 'Drug Dealer #2' over and over. What once felt like a messed-up metaphor has become a literal existential nightmare. Get them out of there" at The PIT upstairs theatre written by Marina & Nicco, and with an eight-man cast...one of whom plays a literal Magical Negro: Room 4

7:00 pm ($10): A play about co-written & performed by Elana Fishbein & Elena Skopetosunique, and co-written & directed by Peter McNerney, about a family’s reluctant reunion at the Magnet theatre: Sisters Three

[TOP PICK] 7:30 pm ($10): At the UCB Chelsea theatre, Chrissy Shackelford performs a (mostly) one-woman show as Diane Shangri-La, "legendary film star of the 60s and 70s who the world's most famous sex symbol until Hollywood kicked her to the curb for turning the ancient age of 35. Now she's back with original characters and impressions to prove that her career is Not Dry Yet...

...and in the second half of this ddouble-bill, a sketch show based on the experiences of comedy couple John Murray & Silvija Ozols as Silvija tried to get pregnant: Infertile

7:30 pm ($10): Improv group Bucky makes up one long scene in the same location (a winning form that's helped such teams as Death by Roo Roo win a whole lot of Cage Match victories)—and, when SNL is on break, sometimes includes star Sasheer Zamata (whenever that happens, consider this a TOP PICK)—at the UCB East theatre: Bucky: Thank F#@% It's Friday!

7:30 pm ($10): Two improv groups each make up a musical on the spot at The PIT downstairs lounge: [title of team] and Royals

7:30 pm ($5): Six New York comics telling stories of where they came from (one from Ireland) and the journey that led them to NYC performing at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) produced by Katie Boyle and guest-hosted by Tori Piskin: Transplants

[MEGA-TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm ($15): A top-notch theatrical troupe that's equally fine at compelling acting and split-second comedy uses actual material on the Web, performed verbatim, to craft laugh-out-loud scenes spearheaded by superb creators/performers Jen Jamula & Allison Goldberg: at The PIT upstairs theatre: Blogologues

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($10): A sketch parody of a live audience shooting of a Hollywood TV sitcom pilot written by and co-starring Steve Clark, Julian Hernandez, and Johnny Efstathiades at Brooklyn's The Annoyance Theatre (367 Bedford Avenue; take J/M/Z to Marcy Avenue or L to Lorimer Street): The Cockapoopees

8:00 pm ($5): NYC stand-ups and musicians drink and perform at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) hosted by Justin Peele: Party & Bullshit

[TOP PICK] 8:30 pm ($10): Before this Magnet show, audience members may anonymously submit written confessions, secrets, rants, advice and opinions which will be used onstage by the improvisors—who include such talents as Sebastian Conelli (2014 Cage Match Champion The Enemy): The Friday Night Sh*w

[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($10): Some of the finest improv in the country from brilliant comics Connor Ratliff, Silvija Ozols, Shannon O'Neill, Don Fanelli, Alexandra Dickson, and/or Michael Delaney forming a seamless and hilarious group mind at UCB Chelsea—the all-star members of The Stepfathers

[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($10): Cipha Sounds (Hot 97, Chappelle's Show) thought it would be cool if a hip-hop star told tales and then improvisors made up scenes based on them. This monthly show is the result, with a "secret" music celebrity "mesmerizing the crowd with amazing stories and linguistic darts to spark the creativity of some of the best improvisers in NYC," the latter being Anthony Atamanuik, Natasha Rothwell, Brandon Gardner, Lydia Hensler, Christian Capozzoli, and/or Shaun Diston at the UCB East theatre: Take It Personal: The Hip-Hip Improv Show

9:00 pm ($10): Five veteran improvisors make stuff up at The PIT downstairs lounge as troupe Lead McEnroe

9:00 pm ($10): Sketch comedy at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Boogie Manja

[TOP PICK] [$] 9:30 pm ($15): Hip-hop improv group North Coast—which includes Evan Kaufman (genius musical improvisor of Your Love Our Musical; VH1)—attempts to create a Hamilton on the spot by making up a musical based on an audience suggestion of a famous historical figure at The PIT upstairs theatre (123 East 24th Street): Anybody: An Improvised Historical Hip-Hopera

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($8): "A love letter to beloved shows such as Pee Wee’s Playhouse and Lamb Chop’s Play-Along, comedians Joe Rumrill and Mary Houlihan invite you to a cavalcade of original costumed characters, animations, and sketches from both real humans and puppet humans" at Brooklyn's The Annoyance Theatre (367 Bedford Avenue; take J/M/Z to Marcy Avenue or L to Lorimer Street): Cartoon Monsoon

[TOP PICK] 10:00 pm ($10): Musical improv group Premiere—which features the best improv piano player in the biz, Frank Spitznagel—springboards off an audience suggestion to create a complete story with song and dance at The Magnet theatre: Premiere: The Improvised Musical

10:00 pm ($5): "Food sketches, street food interviews, and live cooking" at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue): Late Night Snack

[TOP PICK] 10:30 pm ($10): Superb improvisors James Dwyer, Craig Rowin, Connor O'Malley, Matt Fisher, Sue Galloway, Brian Faas, Matt Moses, and Shaun Diston make up scenes about an audience member's legal dispute at the UCB Chelsea theatre: The Law Firm: Law & Disorder

10:30 pm ($10): Alice Wetterlund (Silicon Valley), Emmy Blotnick (worked as staff writer for Comedy Central's @midnight and Not Safe with Nikki Glaser; MTV's Nikki and Sara Live, VH1's Best Week Ever), Matt Bachus, and sketch group We Did It! performing stand-up, storytelling, sketch, or improv at UCB East hosted by Brandon Scott Jones, Justin Tyler, and/or Alden Ford: Gentrify

10:30 pm ($5): A rotating pool of improvisors perform in groups of five at Brooklyn's The Annoyance Theatre (367 Bedford Avenue; take J/M/Z to Marcy Avenue or L to Lorimer Street): Singles Motel

10:30 pm ($5): Anders Fors & Kevin Scott perform duo improv at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): AKA Anders and Kevin Attack

[$] 11:00 pm ($18): "When a washed-up reality TV producer is fresh out of ideas on how to get back in the game, he decides to reunite the horrible reality TV family that originally brought him fame and discover the secret that split them apart years ago. He decides to get them to confess the only way he knows how: under duress. After reuniting the family for what they think is a one-night special, the producer stages an attack on Beverly Hills by ISIS" at The PIT upstairs theatre (123 East 24th Street): Blatantly Blaine: A New "Family" Musical

11:30 pm ($7): Veteran house improv group Hello Laser makes up scenes, accompanied by music, "to summon ancient horrors and plot the next 100 years of human history" at the Magnet theatre: Hello Laser

[TOP PICK] Midnight ($5): "Join filmmaker George Lucas (Radioland Murders) as he embarks upon an exciting new career as a comedian and talk show host! He'll be joined by his hilarious talk show sidekick, Jar-Jar Binks, as they revolutionize the talk show format the same way Lucas once revolutionized cinema," with guests TBD at the UCB East theatre hosted by brilliant improvisor Connor Ratliff (The Stepfathers) & Shaun Diston: The George Lucas Talk Show

[$] Midnight ($30 at the door or $22.09 in advance online—please arrive early to nab a seat): NYC comics perform stand-up in the nude (audience members can choose to be clothed or naked) at Queens LIC's The Creek upstairs theatre: The Naked Show

Friday Open Mics & Jams

[FREE] 5:00 pm: Walk-in open mic (signup at 4:30 pm), with 5 minutes per comic, storyteller, poet, or singer, at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Sydney Beveridge & Davey Melch: Queens Open Mic Fridays

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

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

[ALMOST FREE] 6:00 pm ($1): Walk-in open mic that allows everyone to get on stage at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): $1 Mic

[FREE] 6:00 pm: An open-mic show on a lottery system (sign-ups happen at 5:45-6:00 pm) at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' Long Island City hosted by Shalewa Sharpe & Courtney Fearrington: Thug Passion

[ALMOST FREE] 6:30 pm ($1): PIT improv veterans mix with improv novices on-stage at the downstairs lounge for Happy Hour

[FREE] 7:00 pm: Show up at 6:45 pm to place your name in a dog bowl for the chance to get called up on stage and jam with veteran improvisors at Brooklyn's The Annoyance Theatre (367 Bedford Avenue; take J/M/Z to Marcy Avenue or L to Lorimer Street): Dog Fight

[FREE] 8:00 pm: An open-mic show that's first come, first serve (sign-up starts at 7:30 pm), with each comic getting 5 minutes on stage at The Creek downstairs lounge in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) hosted by Seena Jon: Mic and Cheese

NYC Comedy Picks for Saturday 10/8/16

Long form improv performed by 10 women comics (including Magnet Artistic Director Megan Gray) about the behavior of a theatrical troupe, both on-stage and off-stage, revolving around a different show biz theme each week—which tonight is an all-female version of The Marx Brothers: The Cast: The Marx Sisters Edition (10:30 pm, $10, The Magnet at 254 West 29th Street)

More recommendations for the best in New York City comedy tonight

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

[FREE] 6:00 pm: Emily Winter, Patrick Hastie, Jared Dryden, and Mike Mercadal each perform a different 10-minute stand-up every Saturday in February at The Creek's upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) hosted by Grant Lindahl: The 8

6:00 pm ($5): Four Indie improv troupes performing at The Magnet theatre: The Rundown

[TOP PICK] [$] 7:00 pm, 7:15 pm, 8:00 pm, 8:45 pm, 9:15 pm, 10:00 pm, 10:30 pm, 11:15 pm, and 12:15 am ($20-$24 per show, plus 2-item food/drink min.): Some of the finest stand-ups in the country spread among four shows at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane), the 7:30, 9:30, and 11:30 shows at Village Underground (130 West 3rd Street, off Sixth Avenue), and the 8:00 pm & 10:00 pm shows at The Fat Black Pussycat Lounge (130 West 3rd Street): Comedy Cellar Saturday

[TOP PICK] 7:00 pm ($10): Improv group Big Black Car 2, plus improv group The Quitters, make up scenes at The PIT upstairs theatre: BBC2 and The Quitters

7:00 pm ($10): "On every improv team there is the glue, the person who just tries to hold shit together while everyone descends into madness around them. Longtime UCB performer Silvija Ozols gathers some of her favorite gluey types to perform a fully improvised show. Will they stick to each other? Or will they end up huffing themselves into oblivion? Has this analogy been taken too far or is there room for one last pun? GLUE be the judge!" at the UCB East theatre: Gluebag

7:00 pm ($5): Sketch group PEP shares clips from fake shows that never actually at Queens LIC's The Creek upstairs theatre: Clip Show: A Sketch Show

7:00 pm ($5): Improv group Dim Wit makes up scenes for an hour at Brooklyn's The Annoyance Theatre (367 Bedford Avenue; take J/M/Z to Marcy Avenue or L to Lorimer Street): Dim Wit

[TOP PICK] 7:30 pm ($10): "Created in 1995 at the iO Theater in Chicago, The Armando Diaz Experience is the longest running improv show ever. A guest monologist—who tonight is Chris Duffy—takes a suggestion from the audience and shares true personal tales. These stories are then brought to life by a rotating cast of improv all-stars—and occasionally Armando himself" at The Magnet theatre: The Armando Diaz Experience

[TOP PICK] 7:30 pm ($10): Improv powerhouses Charlie Todd, Jeff Hiller, Jim Santangeli, Natasha Rothwell, Brandon Gardner, Chelsea Clarke, Kevin Hines, Erik Tanouye, and John Timothy at UCB Chelsea interview an audience member about where he or she grew up and then "turn that town's tourist attractions, landmarks, hangouts, local celebrities, urban legends, and more into a hilarious show made up on the spot:" The Curfew: Not From Around Here

7:30 pm ($7): Political activists and pundits mix with comics at this political comedy show that makes fun of the news at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Electoral Dysfunction

7:30 pm ($5): Panels, sketches, and more revolving around subjects of interest to nerds at The PIT downstairs lounge: The Great Nerd Debate

7:30 pm ($8): Female and/or LGBTQ stand-ups Jenn Welch, Sarah Kennedy, Arti Gollapudi, Laura Michelle, Joanna Briley, Samantha Ruddy, and Alex Song performing at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) guest-hosted by Kara Buller: The Revolution

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($10): Improv groups Gypsy Danger (which includes brilliant comics Katie Hartman and Evan Kaufman, and which will make up a feature film on the spot) and The Baldwins (which includes brilliant comics Micah Sherman and Sarah Nowak) make stuff up at The PIT upstairs theatre: Gypsy Danger: The Improvised Movie and The Baldwins

8:00 pm ($10): A one-man show by Dom Manzolillo performing a varitey of characters at Brooklyn's The Annoyance Theatre (367 Bedford Avenue; take J/M/Z to Marcy Avenue or L to Lorimer Street): My Name is Dom Hanks

8:00 pm ($5): NYC stand-ups Julia Johns, Menuhin Hart, Sam Rubinoff, and Chris Scopo performing at Queens LIC's The Creek upstairs theatre hosted by Peggy O'Leary & Lucas Connolly: Hard, Lonely, and Vicious

[TOP PICK] 8:30 pm ($10): Improv group Airwolf—with big talents Molly Lloyd, Tim Martin, Achilles Stamatelaky, Eddie Dunn, Ben Rameaka, and Adam Fruccie—make up scenes about terrible audience experiences related to a home at UCB East: Airwolf: Let's Go Back to Your Place

[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($10): A freestyle rapping long-form improv group takes the stage for nearly an hour at The PIT downstairs lounge: North Coast

[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($10): An improvised apocalypse from sharp comics John Murray, Sean Casey, Jackie Jennings, Glenn Boozan, Joanna Bradley, Chad Carter, and Caroline Cotter at the UCB Chelsea theatre: Goat

[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($10): Sharp improvisors Peter McNerney & Rick Andrews make up scenes at The Magnet as comedy duo Trike

[FREE] 9:00 pm: Nick Vatterot, Rachel Lenihan, KC Arora, Jono Zalay, Royce Wynn, and Matt Levy performing stand-up at Brooklyn's Art Cafe & Bar (884-886 Pacific Street) hosted by Ben Totushek & Koshin Egal: The Human Citizen Comedy Show

9:30 pm ($5): Long-form improv with a playful title directed by Conner O'Malley at Brooklyn's The Annoyance Theatre (367 Bedford Avenue; take J/M/Z to Marcy Avenue or L to Lorimer Street): Michael Jordan Steakhouse

9:30 pm ($6): NYC stand-ups performing stand-up at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) guest-hosted by J. Fox Jones: End of the Line Comedy

[TOP PICK] 10:00 pm ($10): A powerhouse group of improvisors—Zhubin Parang (writer for The Daily Show), Michael Kayne (Baby Wants Candy, Diamond Lion), Langan Kingsley (rising star; sketch group Beige, one-woman show The Dicewoman Cometh), Aaron Jackson (Fuck That Shit, Newsadoozies), Natasha Vaynblat (one-woman show United Federation of Teachers), and Nate Dern (News Editor for Funny or Die)—springboard scenes off interviewing an audience member about his or her love life at the UCB East theatre: What I Did For Love

[TOP PICK] 10:00 pm ($5): "Starting in 1982, the city of Atlanta threw an annual party called Freaknik which essentially became the largest black spring break party in the country. The party became so big and wild that the city shut it down for good in 1996. But comedians Andy Sandford and Noah Gardenswartz are bringing Freaknik back...to Long Island City. 'Comedy Freaknik' will be a lot like the original Freaknik, except it’s going to happen once a month, and it will be a comedy show hosted by three white guys. That’s basically the only difference" at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' Long Island City: Freaknik

[TOP PICK] 10:30 pm ($10): At UCB Chelsea, improv group Grandma's Ashes—which includes stellar talents Ryan Karels, Morgan Grace Jarrett, Brandon Scott Jones, and more—takes your written secrets and turns them into very funny improv scenes: Grandma's Ashes: We Won't Tell

[TOP PICK] 10:30 pm ($10): Using real horror films purchased in local gas stations and bodegas, the hosts select specific clips to play for 30 seconds, pause, and then ask the improvisers to finish the scene. Will anyone survive at The PIT downstairs lounge? Attend at your own peril, with hosts J. W. Crump: Gas Station Horror

10:30 pm ($5): "A monthly show produced by Anthony Oberbeck; every show is new, every show is beautiful" at Brooklyn's The Annoyance Theatre (367 Bedford Avenue; take J/M/Z to Marcy Avenue or L to Lorimer Street): Beautiful Horses

10:30 pm ($5): Seven 3-person teams compete in this game show at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Top Dog Pantheon

[FREE] 11:00 pm: Stand-ups performing at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) produced by Fredric Goldstein: Last Stop Laughs

11:30 ($5): "Matt Radlow & Betsy Kenney are not musicians, and neither are their friends. But that won't keep them from delivering one hour of non-stop music-themed comedy directly to your brains" at the UCB East theatre: Matt and Betsy Do Music

Midnight ($5): A sketch show by Monique Moses playing "French Canadian adult film star Boobz LeRue, a brassy national treasure chest who rose to stardom by being the only sexy film lady to remain fully clothed during her entire pornographic career" at the UCB Chelsea theatre: You Can Live With Me

[TOP PICK] [FREE] Midnight: Comics perform stand-up sets and then go on dates with each other as part of the live show at Queens LIC's The Creek upstairs theatre hosted by Rob Harper & Rachel Coleman: We're All Getting Laid

[FREE] Midnight: Comics compete in freestyle rap battles and rap games at The Creek downstairs lounge in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) hosted by Noah Savage and DJ’d by Will Winner: So You Think You Can Rap

Saturday open mics & Jams

3:30 pm ($5): Experienced hip-hop improvisers perform scenes with "anyone willing to stretch that hip-hop improv muscle; it's a fun supportive environment where scenes turn into a rap song, beatbox, freestyle, or rap battle" at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Raymond Morency & Richie Alfson: Off Top!: A Hip Hop Mixer

4:00 pm ($5; your ticket provides $3 off a drink at nearby Pioneers Bar): Walk-in lottery style open mic (sign-up starting at 2:45 pm) at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Swing Riders Open Mic

[FREE] 4:00 pm: An unusually early weekly open mic stand-up show, with names drawn out of a bucket, at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) hosted by Rachel Coleman: Let's Be Friends

[FREE] 5:00 pm-7:00 pm: Walk-in comedy open mic (lottery system, with sign-up starting at 4:30 pm) providing each selected comic 4 minutes on stage at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Chris Gersbeck & Veronica Garza: Murray Povich Mic

[FREE] 6:00 pm: Put your name in a bucket for this open mic for stand-up, sketch, music, or anything else you want to work out on stage at Brooklyn's The Annoyance Theatre (367 Bedford Avenue; take J/M/Z to Marcy Avenue or L to Lorimer Street) hosted by Josh Bates & Brian Pisano: Make Out Party: An Open Mic

[FREE] 7:00 pm: Walk-in open mic, with names drawn from a bucket (sign-up starts at 6:50 pm), and a designated beer drinker on stage who might chime in at any moment to riff with you during your set, at Queens LIC's The Creek downstairs lounge hosted by Amy Shanker, Brett Hiker, and Cameron Ford: Power Hour Open Mic

[FREE] 9:00 pm: Walk-in open mic for character bits, stand-up, etc. at Queens LIC's The Creek downstairs lounge hosted by Elise Edwards: Discount Disco

NYC Comedy Picks for Sunday 10/9/16

You're probably going to watch the debate tonight, since it's likely Trump's last chance to save his campaign from going down in Hellish flames, but you don't have to stay home. You can see it screened with an audience at Union Hall (8:00 pm, Free!, Brooklyn's Union Hall at 702 Union Street; take R subway to Union Street); or see it screened with commentary from such wonderful comics as Sean Patton at The Stand (9:00 pm, $15, The Stand at 239 Third Avenue off 20th Street); or you can go for a live reenactment with Trump & Hillary impersonators at The PIT (8:30 pm, $5, The PIT Upstairs Theatre at 123 East 24th Street)

More recommendations for the best in New York City comedy tonight
(in chronological order, with top picks noted and shows over $10 marked with $) include:

[TOP PICK] 4:30 pm: All-gal musical Improv that creates new episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation on the spot at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Redshirts: A Star Trek Musical Celebration

5:30 pm ($5): Improvisors who cut across all regions and schools come together for one evening at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Supernova

[TOP PICK] 6:00 pm ($5): There's nothing more unpredictable on a stage than an animal. In this show, pet owners perform improv along with their real-life pets at The PIT upstairs theatre (123 East 24th Street): Pet Prov

6:30 pm ($5): Three NYC improv groups that are independent (i.e., not a house team of any particular improv school/theatre) compete for audience member laughs and votes at UCB East hosted by superb improvisors Amey Goerlich & Ryan Karels (half of revered improv group Krompf): Indie Cage Match

[TOP PICK] [$] 7:00 pm, 7:15 pm, 8:00 pm, 8:45 pm, 9:15 pm, 10:00 pm, 10:30 pm, 11:15 pm, and 12:15 pm ($14 per show, plus 2-item food/drink min.): Some of the finest stand-ups in the country spread among nine shows, with four shows at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane); the 7:15 pm, 9:15 pm, and 11:15 pm shows at Village Underground (130 West 3rd Street, off Sixth Avenue); and the 8:00 pm & 10:00 pm shows at The Fat Black Pussycat Lounge (130 West 3rd Street): Comedy Cellar Sunday

7:00 pm ($5): Three scripted shows for the price of one at Brooklyn's The Annoyance Theatre (367 Bedford Avenue; take J/M/Z to Marcy Avenue or L to Lorimer Street): Triple Feature

[FREE] 7:00 pm: Groups are provided with the titles of improv forms that don't actually exist and have 24 hours to create that form so they can perform it tonight at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue): Pluto Presents Fake Forms

[TOP PICK] 7:30 pm ($10) and 9:30 pm [FREE]: UCB Chelsea's signature improv comedy extravaganza, which typically includes superstars in the improv world such as Shannon O'Neill and Anthony Atamanuik, and sometimes network TV & movie stars such as Amy Poehler and Horatio Sanz: ASSSSCAT 3000

[TOP PICK] 7:30 pm ($7): One of the greatest SF series of all time was Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Tonight improvisors make up a new episode on the spot, but without being limited to any particular series by using their own characters and storylines at The Magnet theatre: Space Station Delta

7:30 pm ($5): Comics Kirsten O'Brien, Heather Craig, Libby Zambrano, Katie Hutch, Alyson Crips, Louie Pearlman, and Geraldine Dulex find new takes on popular songs via "staged readings, dramatic recitations, updated lyrics, mimed interpretations, covers of classics...the sky's the limit" at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street) hosted by Matt Zambrano (Fly You Fools!, The Story Pirates): Lyric Nouveau

7:30 pm ($5): Dana Shulman and friends are improv group Student Driver, which hosts two indie improv troupes making up scenes and then performs itself, all at The PIT downstairs lounge: Student Driver Indie Road

8:00 pm ($5): Phil Hanley (Seth Meyers, Comedy Central Half Hour, Craig Ferguson, former host of Chemistry), , Leah Bonnema (VH1, IFC's Comedy Drop, WeTV's Cinematherapy, Logo, Opie & Anthony’s Virus Channel), Khalid Rahman, Derek Humphrey, Alyssa Wolff, and Vincent Caldera performing stand-up at UCB East guest-hosted by Joe Zimmerman: If You Build It

8:30 pm ($5): A group of 18 improvisors is divided into two 9-person teams—who then fiercely compete for your laughs, with prizes awarded at the end. Come judge them at Brooklyn's The Annoyance Theatre (367 Bedford Avenue; take J/M/Z to Marcy Avenue or L to Lorimer Street): The Annoyance Presents Improv: Goons

8:30 pm ($5): Improv group Trophy Wives makes up scenes at The PIT downstairs lounge: Trophy Wives: Show & Tell

[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($10): Duo improv from Louis Kornfeld & Rick Andrews at The Magnet theatre: Kornfeld & Andrews

9:00 pm ($7): Typically solid stand-ups perform at Brooklyn's Knitting Factory (361 Metropolitan Avenue) hosted by Will Miles, Clark Jones, and/or Kenny DeForest: Comedy Night at the Knit

[FREE] 9:00 pm: Group Medusa turns a calamity selected by the an audience member into an improvised documentary live on stage at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue): Medusa Presents Improv Against Humanity

[ALMOST FREE] 10:30 pm ($1): This improv show is based on a Mullaney Chain (pioneered by Kevin Mullaney) in which the host invites a guest to improvise with him or her, then the guest independently invites a third person, who then invites a fourth person, and so on, creating a one-time-only lineup that will be a surprise to everyone involved at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street) hosted by Kurt Guenther: The Telephone Show

Sunday Open Mics & Open Stages

[FREE] 4:00 pm: An unusually early walk-in open-mic stand-up show (put your name in the bucket, drawings every half hour), providing 4 minutes per comic at The Creek downstairs lounge in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue): Intestinal Fortitude

[FREE] 5:00 pm: Walk-in stand-up lottery style open mic that provides 4 minutes per comic at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Andrea Shapiro & Chris Gersbeck: Bunk Bed Time Open Mic

5:15ish pm (no cover, 1 drink min.): Weekly open mic stand-up, with comics selected from names tossed into a bucket starting at 4:55 pm, at Brooklyn's Legion Bar (790 Metropolitan Avenue) hosted by Aaron Glaser, Irene Hartmann, and/or Carlos Delgado: Sunday Open Mic

[ALMOST FREE] 5:30 pm ($1): Sign up at 4:30 pm to do improv with experienced PIT performers at The PIT downstairs lounge hosted by Sasha Capelli, Eitan Levine, and Shaina Stigler: 10K Jam Jam

9:30 pm ($3): Open-mic comedy, with 3-5 minutes per walk-in performer who signs up (first come, first serve) at The PIT downstairs lounge, hosted by Will Neville: Amateur Night at the Gemini

[FREE] 10:00 pm: An open-mic stand-up show (sign up is at 9:45 pm) providing 5 minutes for each comic whose name is pulled from the bucket at The Creek downstairs lounge in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) hosted by Ian Kitchen: The Grandstand

[FREE] 10:00 pm: The only open-stage show for entire groups of improvisors and sketch comics, running weekly at UCB East hosted by Austin Rodrigues: Bring Your Own Team: Improv/Sketch Team Jam

NYC Comedy Picks for Tonight

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