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 September 2019 included the following:
Sunday 9/1: 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) and Seth Herzog (long-time staff comic for Jimmy Fallon; 30 Rock, @midnight, CBS, VH1; host of Sweet) try out new jokes via deliciously long sets at this popular weekly safe space for the stand-up creation process hosted by Nat Towsen (Esquire, VICE, College Humor, host of Downtown Variety): New Material Night (8:00 pm, $10 in advance online or $12 at the door, The PIT Underground at 123 East 24th Street)
Monday 9/2: Gastor Almonte (Comedy Central’s This Is Not Happening, host of Stoops2Stages, co-host of I'm Dead Comedy, comedy album Immigrant Made), Eric Cunningham (Senior Writer at Más Mejor, Broadway Video's comedy studio for Latino voices; creator of Night Late, and host of both The Future is WOW podcast and UCB's Late Night Packet Jam), Kambri Crews (author of Burn Down the Ground; The Moth; co-owner of Astoria's Q.E.D.), Dr. Ali Mattu (cognitive behavioral therapist; host of YouTube's The Psych Show), and Emma Young (creator of Science Distilled) tell tales on this month's theme of role models hosted by Erin Barker & Gastor Almonte: The Story Collider: Role Models (8:00 pm, $12, LES' Caveat at 21-A Clinton Street—take F/J/M/Z subway to Delancey Street/Essex Street)
Tuesday 9/3 (also 9/4): Broadway, TV, and film star, and one of the most beloved stand-ups in the biz, Colin Quinn (Trainwreck, national comedy treasure) tries out new material for his next 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 9/3: Kendra Pierre-Louis (climate reporter for The New York Times), 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), Asher Perlman (writer for Stephen Colbert), Taylor Ortega (HBO's Succession, Shego in Disney Channel's live-action Kim Possible, TruTV), Sebastian Conelli (ace improvisor; member of The Magnet's The Friday Night Sh*w and previously UCB's The Law Firm), Maria Wojciechowski (Lead Editor of Comedywire; half of musical duo Abbaria), and Milly Tamarez discuss climate change with hosts Rollie Williams (who pretends to be Al Gore) and Mark Vigeant (who pretends to be his trusty sidekick Sandy the Crab): An Inconvenient Talk Show (7:00 pm, $12, LES' Caveat at 21-A Clinton Street; take F/J/M/Z subway to Delancey Street/Essex Street)
Tuesday 9/3: Great lineup of 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), 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), 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), Joe DeRosa (razor-sharp stand-up; HBO's Crashing; Comedy Central Presents and Comedy Central Half Hour specials, HBO’s Bored to Death and Down and Dirty, FX's Louie, AMC's Better Call Saul, E!'s Chelsea Lately, stand-up album The Depression Auction), Angelo Lozada (former warm-up comic for The Daily Show; Showtime at the Apollo, BET), and movie/TV star Janeane Garofalo: Stars at the Stand (8:00 pm, $15 cover and no min., The Stand at 116 East 16th Street)
Tuesday 9/3: 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 9/3: Marina Franklin (staff writer for HBO's Divorce; Trainwreck, Crashing, Stephen Colbert, Jay Leno, @midnight, The Jim Gaffigan Show, The Nightly Show, Last Comic Standing, Chappelle's Show, stand-up special Single Black Female) performs a long set at an intimate Comedy Cellar venue: Marina Franklin (8:30 pm, $10 plus 2-item food/drink min., West Village's The Fat Black Pussycat Lounge at 130 West 3rd Street)
Tuesday 9/3: There are scores of open mics in NYC, but this is the only one I know of devoted to sex jokes. If you're either looking to try out your raunchier material or simply want to experience something unusual, consider this monthly event hosted by Jennifer Dawn Harmon: Sugar & Spice: An Erotica Open Mic Nite (9:00 pm, $5, Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell at 27-16 23rd Avenue)
Tuesday 9/3: 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 TBA 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 9/4: Fascinating stories about the NYC music scene from Amy Rigby (song "The President Can't Read" was #1 in Rolling Stone's Real Life Top 10 in March 2019; album The Old Guys was in top 100 of 2018 by Pazz & Jop US music critics poll; author of book Girl to City: A Memoir), Andy Schwartz (former Publisher & Editor-in-Chief of New York Rocker magazine; former Director of Editorial Services for Epic Records; consultant to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame), and sisters Tish & Snooky Bellomo (in original Blondie band line-up; creators of seminal alternative beauty brand Manic Panic), plus live music from band Storytown, hosted by the band's leader Guy Story: Stories From Storytown (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 9/4: Broadway, TV, and film star, and one of the most beloved stand-ups in the biz, Colin Quinn (Trainwreck, national comedy treasure) tries out new material for his next 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 9/4: A guest comic, two audience members selected on the spot, and hosts Glen & Wade play a game of Dungeons & Dragons "as a multimedia epic, with music, visual guides, drinking games, and a stand-up comedy set that will be woven into the story:" Q.E.D&D (7:30 pm, $8, Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show &f Tell at 27-16 23rd Avenue)
Wednesday 9/4: Palestinian-American stand-up Mo Amer (Netflix special The Vagabond) performs a long set at an intimate Comedy Cellar venue: Mo Amer (8:30 pm, $10 plus 2-item food/drink min., West Village's The Fat Black Pussycat Lounge at 130 West 3rd Street)
Wednesday 9/4: Host Gabe Gonzalez (MTV News, Scruff) and Tessa Skara (above; HBO's Crashing, Pop Roulette) will choose two audience members with dating troubles, and then Steve Dean (dating industry consultant & relationship coach) will use data to transform their dating lives and help 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)
Thursday 9/5: In this monthly show from Mike Drucker (hilarious stand-up and staff writer for TBS' Full Frontal with Samantha Bee; previously a staff writer for NBC's Jimmy Fallon and Comedy Central's The President Show, and contributing writer for Saturday Night Live), comics read obituaries they wrote for themselves, "honoring the lives they had and making fun of the lives they could have had." Tonight's dying-as-we-speak guests are Selena Coppock (Amazon's Red Oaks, VH1, author of book The New Rules for Blondes, stand-up album Seen Better Days), Ian Fidance (host of Picture This!; regular on Sirius XM's You Up? with Nikki Glaser, Comedy Central Radio), Tom Thakkar (Conan O'Brien, Comedy Central Half Hour; co-host of podcast Stand by Your Band), Mike Recine (Conan O'Brien, Comedy Central Half Hour), Ismael Loutfi (Jimmy Kimmel; staff writer for Netflix's Patriot Act), and Lizzie Martinez: My Obituary Show (7:30 pm, $10, Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell at 27-16 23rd Avenue)
Thursday 9/5: Movie & TV star Janeane Garofalo hosts stand-ups David Cross (comedy legend; Mr. Show, Arrested Development, Modern Family), Martin Urbano (Jimmy Kimmel), Shalewa Sharpe (Comedy Central's The New Negroes; HBO's 2 Dope Queens; comedy album So You Just Out Here?), Caitlin Peluffo, and Ethan Simmons-Patterson: Janeane Garofalo Has Guests (8:00 pm, $10, Brooklyn's Littlefield at 635 Sackett Street; take R subway to Union Street)
Thursday 9/5: Jessica Kirson (Comedy Central's This Week at the Comedy Cellar, The Tonight Show, The View, Last Comic Standing, Celebrity Apprentice, HBO, Showtime, Bravo, VH1) performs a deliciously long set, and also hosts other talented comics, at an intimate Comedy Cellar venue: Jessica Kirson and Friends (10:30 pm, $10 plus 2-item food/drink min., West Village's The Fat Black Pussycat Lounge at 130 West 3rd Street)
Friday 9/6: One of my all-time fave comics, the brilliant Anthony Jeselnik, debuts his conversation & sparring show with friends about comedy tonight at 11:00 on Comedy Central, with his first guest Nick Kroll: Good Talk With Anthony Jeselnik
Friday 9/6: 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), 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), Dan St. Germain (Jimmy Fallon, Conan O'Brien, John Oliver, Comedy Central Half Hour, Crashing, @midnight, This is Not Happening, The Electric Company, MTV, VH1; former staff writer for CBS' Superior Donuts, Netflix's The Break with Michelle Wolf, and TruTV's Ten Things; album No Real Winners Here), and Josh Fadem (NBC's 30 Rock, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Adult Swim's Eagleheart) perform for this seminal stand-up show now monthly in Brooklyn hosted by Shalewa Sharpe (Comedy Central's The New Negroes; HBO's 2 Dope Queens; comedy album So You Just Out Here?): Whiplash (7:30 pm, $10, Brooklyn's Union Hall at 702 Union Street; take R subway to Union Street)
Friday 9/6: Stars Meredith Vieira (top left; original moderator of ABC's The View and former co-host of NBC's Today), Lauren Ashley Smith (top right; writer/performer for HBO's A Black Lady Sketch Show), Andre Royo (TV series Empire and Interrogation, films Super and Red Tails), and Ron Pogue (visual effects for Avatar, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Logan, Dark Phoenix) are the guests of brilliant improvisor & character comic Connor Ratliff (bottom right; Netflix's Orange is the New Black, Amazon's The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Stephen Colbert, John Oliver, Comedy Central, TBS, TruTV), who transforms into "filmmaker George Lucas (Radioland Murders) as he embarks upon an exciting new career as a comedian and talk show host!" He's joined by talk show sidekick Griffin Newman (bottom left; brilliant character/improv comic; Arthur on Amazon's The Tick, Jared Kushner on Showtime's Our Cartoon President, HBO, CBS, MTV, TBS; feature films Draft Day, Fort Tilden, Night Moves) "as they revolutionize the talk show format the same way Lucas once revolutionized cinema:" The George Lucas Talk Show (7:30 pm, $14, UCB Hell's Kitchen at 555 West 42nd Street)
Friday 9/6: Comics Donovan Andrew, Rami Ghanem, Xavier Pearson, Samantha Zhang, Esther Luz, Amanda Figueiredo, and Jesus Rodriguez add to the canon of a classic genius anime series by making up new stories on the spot: Improvised Dragon Ball Z (7:30 pm, $12, The PIT Underground at 123 East 24th Street)
Friday 9/6: The charming Ruby Karp (above) hosts Anthony Atamanuik (star of Comedy Central's The President Show; Trump vs. Bernie, 30 Rock, Conan O'Brien), Abbi Crutchfield (Broad City, MTV, VH1, TBS, TruTV, Witstream), Mary Beth Barone (Comedy Central's Up Next), Kristen Buckels (TBS' Search Party), and Anya Volz performing stand-up: We Hope You Have Fun (10:00 pm, $14, UCB East at 153 East 3rd Street)
Friday 9/6: Host Chris Gersbeck screens a "cheesy" porn movie and riffs on it MST3K-style along with comics Laura Merli (above; McSweeney's, Reductress; half of sketch duo Soul Crush Comedy; host of How to be Less Awkward podcast), Brian McGuinness (Inside Amy Schumer, co-host of Retro Bits, Playable Characters podcast), and Jenn Wehrung (this show's producer): Soft Core! (11:30 pm, $10, Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell at 27-16 23rd Avenue)
Saturday 9/7: If you enjoyed Andy Kaufman's parody of club singers as character Tony Clifton, you may also get a kick out of Australian-American Gregg Turkington's unsettling parody of stand-up comics as character Neil Hamburger. To get a feel for what Neil does (which is definitely not for every taste), please click here. If you might enjoy awkward dark meta-satire about comedy itself, tonight offers a rare NYC performance from Neil, with opener "Major Entertainer:" Neil Hamburger (7:30 pm, $20, Brooklyn's The Bell House at 149 7th Street; take R subway to 9th Street or F/G to Fourth Avenue)
Saturday 9/7: David Carl (hilarious, charismatic rising star; HBO's Divorce, USA's Mr. Robot, NBC's The Enemy Within, CBS' Blue Bloods; Marvel Podcast Wolverine: Lost Trail; stage hits Point Break Live, Gary Busey's One Man Hamlet, Trump/Lear) deviates from his success working with great narrative tales by doing an hour focused on voice impersonations. If you're seeking something different, or simply curious whether David manages to make this risky move pay off, the show debuts tonight and then runs every Saturday at 6:00 pm: 200 Impressions in 60 Minutes (6:00 pm; $10 using code IMPRESSIONS at the door or online [otherwise $20]; Improv Asylum at 307 West 26th Street)
Saturday 9/7: In this unique show, animators spontaneously bring the jokes of stand-ups Rosebud Baker, Tom Thakkar, TIff Sevenson, and more 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 Ian Fidance: Picture This! (7:30 pm, $10, Brooklyn's Union Hall at 702 Union Street; take R subway to Union Street)
Saturday 9/7: Every Saturday night, a highly talented freestyle rapping long form improv group takes the stage for an hour: North Coast (9:00 pm, $12, The PIT Underground at 123 East 24th Street)
Saturday 9/7: DeAnne Smith (HBO's Funny as Hell, CBS' Craig Ferguson, NBC's Last Comic Standing; performing solo show Friday 9/13 at Union Hall), Nore Davis (HBO's Last Week Tonight, Conan O'Brien, Comedy Central's Inside Amy Schumer and Russell Simmons Presents The Ruckus, Showtime's Boardwalk Empire, MTV; album You Guys Are Dope), Catherine Cohen (Hulu's Difficult People; The New Yorker; co-host of Cumming, co-host of It's a Guy Thing), and more 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)
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Saturday 9/7: A top musical improv troupe that has wowed audiences around the world with its skill at making up an hour-long musical moment by moment. The plot and characters, the musical accompaniment, even the song lyrics and "choreography" are invented on the spot, with no pre-planned structure, by such ace talents as Becky Drysdale, Zack Willis, Katy Barry, Caroline Martin, Amber Ruffin, Tim Sniffen, and Jeff Hiller, plus stellar improv musicians Dan Reitz (keyboards) & Sarah Mullins (drums/percussion). Come see why this show won a FringeNYC Award for Outstanding Unique Theatrical Event: Baby Wants Candy (10:30 pm, $14, UCB Hell's Kitchen at 555 West 42nd Street)
Sunday 9/8: Stellar stand-ups 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), 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; co-author of #1 bestselling Punderdome: A Card Game for Pun Lovers), 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), Sam Jay (writer for Saturday Night Live; performed on Jimmy Kimmel, Comedy Central Stand-Up Presents, Take My Wife), and Saurin Choksi (host of Fuse's White Guy Talk Show) perform for host Mike Lebovitz (HBO's The Deuce, Comedy Central, Last Comic Standing): Comedians You Should Know: Aparna Nancherla, Jo Firestone, Sean Patton, Sam Jay, and More (7:00 pm, $10, Brooklyn's Littlefield at 635 Sackett Street; take R subway to Union Street)
Sunday 9/8: Todd Barry (Netflix special Spicy Honey, star of delightful documentary The Crowd Work Tour; David Letterman, Conan O'Brien, Comedy Central Presents, FX's Louie, HBO's Flight of the Conchords and Bored to Death, Adult Swim, co-star of feature film The Wrestler) crafts tight, highly polished jokes. To aid that creation process, he'll develop material for an hour or two guided by your laughs tonight and next Sunday: Todd Barry (7:00 pm, $10, The Creek and the Cave upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC at 10-93 Jackson Avenue)
Sunday 9/8: Do you know about the make-up-a-musical-on-the-spot podcast Off Book? Jessica McKenna and Zach Reino are brilliant at wordplay, high concepts, storytelling, comedy, music, picking up cues from their superb improv musicians (typically Scott Passarella & friends in LA or Dan Reitz & friends in NYC), and every other aspect of musical improv, Just as impressive, even though they have a different comic join in each episode—ranging from Paul F. Tompkins to Paul Scheer to Jamie Denbo—their teamwork is so seamless that every guest comes off as an old-time partner who regularly mind-melds with them. Tonight is a rare opportunity to see this LA-based show recorded live on stage in Brooklyn: Off Book: The Improvised Musical Podcast (8:00 pm, $20, Brooklyn's The Bell House at 149 7th Street; take R subway to 9th Street or F/G to Fourth Avenue)
Sunday 9/8: Movie/TV star and NYC comedy pioneer Janeane Garofalo, Aasif Mandvi (HBO's The Brink, Netflix's A Series of Unfortunate Events, numerous films; former correspondent for The Daily Show; author of No Man's Land), and more 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 9/8: Comics perform faux tarot reading for volunteer audience members (maybe you)—and so does Sami Main, who is a genuine practitioner and author of How to Deal: Tarot for Everyday Life, all hosted by Main and Brittany Brave: Improvised Tarot Readings (8:30 pm, $8, Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell at 27-16 23rd Avenue)
Monday 9/9: This superb weekly stand-up show's hosts 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) welcome guests David Cross (comedy legend; Mr. Show, Arrested Development, Modern Family), Anna Drezen (superb stand-up who blends jokes with characters, movement, and sketch; writer for Saturday Night Live; co-author of How May We Hate You and How to Win at Feminism), DeAnne Smith (HBO's Funny as Hell, CBS' Craig Ferguson, NBC's Last Comic Standing; performing solo show Friday 9/13 at Union Hall), Brian Parise (staff writer and Emmy award winner for HBO's phenom Last Week Tonight with John Oliver), Lawrence DeLoach (host of Sup? podcast), and Mandal (co-host of Clown School podcast), 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)
Monday 9/9: Mark Normand, Ari Shaffir, Tim Dillon, Shane Gillis, and more try out material at this free weekly stand-up 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! [no min., but feel welcome to buy food or drink to support this policy], The Stand at 116 East 16th Street)
Monday 9/9: Stellar stand-up 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 Hang Out With Me) hosts comics TBA: Myq Kaplan and Friends (8:30 pm, $6, Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell at 27-16 23rd Avenue)
Monday 9/9: Comics share their observations, fears, dreams, and insanities growing up by reading from their childhood diaries hosted by Maggie Lalley: Dear Diary: Comics Read Their Weird Childhood Journals (9:30 pm, $8, Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell at 27-16 23rd Avenue)
Monday 9/9: 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)
Tuesday 9/10: Joe Mande (Conan O'Brien, Seth Meyers, Comedy Central Half Hour, Ben on Modern Family; former writer for Parks & Recreation, Kroll Show, The Good Place, Master of None; author of book Look at This F*cking Hipster, comedy album Bitchface; Netflix's Joe Mande's Award-Winning Comedy Special) makes a now-rare NYC performance, with openers Clare O'Kane (Amazon's Budding Prospects, Viceland's Flophouse, webseries Semi-Famous; former writer for SpongeBob SquarePants; stand-up album Let It Be) and Dave Ross (stand-up album The Only Man Who Has Ever Had Sex): Joe Mande: King of Content Tour (7:30 pm, $16, Brooklyn's The Bell House at 149 7th Street; take R subway to 9th Street or F/G to Fourth Avenue)
Tuesday 9/10: Great 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), 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), Ari Shaffir (Conan O'Brien, former host of Comedy Central's This Is Not Happening, HBO's Down and Dirty, National Lampoon, Comedy Central special Passive Aggressive, Netflix specials Double Negative), and more: $5 Funnies (10:00 pm, $5 cover and no min., The Stand Upstairs at 116 East 16th Street)
Tuesday 9/10: 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 9/10 (also 9/11): Broadway, TV, and film star, and one of the most beloved stand-ups in the biz, Colin Quinn (Trainwreck, national comedy treasure) tries out new material for his next solo show at this intimate Comedy Cellar venue: 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 9/10: 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)
Tuesday 9/10: 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 9/10: A stage version of the online game Quiplash, in which contestants—including comics TBA—must come up with witty, silly, or otherwise entertaining responses to prompts provided by hosts Sarah Kennedy & Tristan Miller: Quip It Good! (9:00 pm, $8, Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell at 27-16 23rd Avenue)
Wednesday 9/11: Experts and comics have a frank and taboo-free discussion of drugs, this month focused on iconic annual concert Burning Man, hosted by Sarah Rose Siskind (comedy writer for NatGeo's StarTalk with Neil deGrasse Tyson): Drug Test: Burning Man (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 9/11: Broadway, TV, and film star, and one of the most beloved stand-ups in the biz, Colin Quinn (Trainwreck, national comedy treasure) tries out new material for his next solo show at this intimate Comedy Cellar venue: 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 9/11: 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), Ari Shaffir (Conan O'Brien, former host of Comedy Central's This Is Not Happening, HBO's Down and Dirty, National Lampoon, Comedy Central special Passive Aggressive, Netflix specials Double Negative), Sam Jay (writer for Saturday Night Live; performed on Jimmy Kimmel, Comedy Central Stand-Up Presents, Take My Wife), Monroe Martin (David Letterman, Jimmy Fallon, finalist on Last Comic Standing, Netflix's Master of None), Tim Dillon (Comedy Central, Netflix, Last Comic Standing; podcast Tim Dillon is Going to Hell), and Josh Wesson (Comedy Central, MTV2, FX): Stars at the Stand (8:00 pm, $15 cover and no min., The Stand at 116 East 16th Street)
Wednesday 9/11: 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 9/11: 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 at an intimate Comedy Cellar venue: Seaton Smith (10:30 pm, $10 plus 2-item food/drink min., West Village's The Fat Black Pussycat Lounge at 130 West 3rd Street)
Thursday 9/12: 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 9/12: Come join a comedy-loving group to see the first Democratic Presidential debate in which Joe Biden and Elizabeth Warren are finally on the same stage, with host Christian Finnegan (MSNBC, A&E, TBS, Netflix, The Today Show) and other comics TBA providing commentary on the fly MST3K-style: Democratic Debate Watch Party: ABC Edition (7:30 pm, $10, Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell at 27-16 23rd Avenue)
Thursday 9/12: The hosts of "gothic socialist comedy" podcast Pod Damn America—Alex Ptak, Jake Flores, and Anders Lee—host a live streaming of ABC's Third Presidential Democratic Debate, with snarky comedic commentary throughout: Pod Damn America Does the Dem Debate (7:00 pm doors, 7:30 pm pre-show, 8:00 pm show; $17.74 in advance online or $15 at the door; Secret Loft at 137 W 14th Street, Buzzer 2nd Floor)
Thursday 9/12: Open mic storytelling show, with each yarn-spinner whose name is picked from a basket receiving 5 minutes on stage to share something that happened in his or her life (and that's interesting enough to make the audience feel okay about missing tonight's debate), hosted by David Lawson (fresh, sharp, edgy storyteller; The Flyer Guy): The Astoria Bookshop Storytelling Show (7:00 pm, Free!, Astoria Bookshop at 31-29 31st Street)
Thursday 9/12: A sketch group consisting of talented comics Sarah Nowak, Meghan O'Malley, Josh Krebs, Jen Bloodsworth, and Jonathan Desley enters its 7th year of making you laugh: National Scandal (7:30 pm, $12, The PIT Underground at 123 East 24th Street)
Thursday 9/12: 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 9/12: A live version of the popular podcast Tinder Tales that provides stories of Tinder dates, dating advice, and fun games, with guests Kate Willett (Comedy Central's The Jim Jeffries Show and This Is Not Happening; VICE's Flophouse, Netflix's Comedy Lineup; comedy album Glass Gutter), Jourdain Fisher (Jimmy Fallon), Lizzy Cassidy, and Isabel Hagen hosted by David Piccolomini: Tinder Tales Live (9:30 pm; $11.70 in advance online or $15 at the door; LES' Caveat at 21-A Clinton Street; take F/J/M/Z subway to Delancey Street/Essex Street)
Thursday 9/12: Superb alt comic Dave Hill records his next comedy album, with Clare O'Kane as opener: Dave Hill's Live Comedy Album Recording (7:30 pm & 10:00 pm, $12, Brooklyn's Union Hall at 702 Union Street; take R subway to Union Street. PLEASE NOTE: Both the early and late shows have SOLD OUT.)
Friday 9/13: The highlight of Good Talk's first episode was host Anthony Jeselnik asking guest Nick Kroll how he felt about Internet comments. Nick replied, "Maya Angelou said that if you don't pick up the compliments, then you don't have to pick up the criticism either. And I've tried my best to live by that ethos." Without missing a beat, Anthony responded, "But doesn't Maya Angelou deserve all the shit she gets?" Tonight's Episode #2 features the extraordinarily wonderful Kristen Schaal, who gives as good as she gets on this conversation & sparring TV show about comedy 11:00 pm on Comedy Central: Good Talk With Anthony Jeselnik
Friday 9/13: Max Wittert, who is both an illustrator for The New Yorker and a stand-up, performs alongside his drawings for a visually driven night of comedy, with overqualified openers 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; co-author of #1 bestselling Punderdome: A Card Game for Pun Lovers) and Lauren White (NBC's Parks and Recreation, Netflix's House of Cards, film Better Living Through Chemistry, sketch series Little Bits): Max Wittert: Portrait of the Artist Seated with Grapes (7:30 pm, $10, Brooklyn's Union Hall at 702 Union Street; take R subway to Union Street)
Friday 9/13: A show celebrating the app that redefined online dating, with the lovely and quick-witted Lane Moore (above left; 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 David Cross (comedy legend; Mr. Show, Arrested Development, Modern Family) and Mike Drucker (hilarious stand-up and staff writer for TBS' Full Frontal with Samantha Bee; previously staff writer for Comedy Central's The President Show and nearly 400 episodes of NBC's Jimmy Fallon, and contributing writer for Saturday Night Live): Tinder Live (8:30 pm, $18 at the door or $22.76 in advance online; Brooklyn's Littlefield at 635 Sackett Street; take R subway to Union Street)
Friday 9/13: Joe DeRosa is a razor-sharp and multitalented comic who's written for HBO's Crashing and Netflix’s Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp, and performed on Comedy Central Presents and Comedy Central Half Hour specials, HBO’s Bored to Death and Down and Dirty, FX's Louie, AMC's Better Call Saul, and E!'s Chelsea Lately. Joe's also hosted or co-hosted numerous podcasts, including Down with Joe DeRosa, We'll See You in Hell, Emotional Hangs, and Uninformed. Joe's stand-up albums include The Depression Auction, You Let Me Down, and You Will Die. Joe's additionally released several music parody albums, including Twointheoneinthe, Old Wolf Thoughts, and Deformed Disco. And Joe is co-author of the book Cheat: A Man Guide's to Infidelity with Bill Burr and Robert Kelly. Tonight you can enjoy Joe performing a deliciously long stand-up set in an intimate space: An Hour with Joe DeRosa (9:00 pm, $20 cover and no min., The Stand Upstairs at 116 East 16th Street)
Friday 9/13: Highly talented hip-hop improv group North Coast attempts to create a Hamilton on the spot by making up a musical based on an audience suggestion of a famous historical figure: Anybody: An Improvised Historical Hip-Hopera (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)
Friday 9/13: Delightful multitalented Canadian-American comic DeAnne Smith (Netflix stand-up special Gentleman Elf; HBO's Funny as Hell, CBS' Craig Ferguson, NBC's Last Comic Standing) performs for one night only in Brooklyn. To get a feel for this gentle, witty talent, please visit here and here. Come for something different, with opener Jess Salomon (former UN war crimes lawyer turned comic; Jimmy Fallon, CBS, Sirius XM, co-host of Sandwich; stand-up album All the Best Choices): DeAnne Smith (10:00 pm, $12, Brooklyn's Union Hall at 702 Union Street; take R subway to Union Street)
Saturday 9/14: Eight performers from the Ten Bones Theatre Company attempt to recreate the Wachowski siblings' 1999 seminal masterpiece The Matrix, with each comic using only what he or she can remember from seeing the movie just once. To add to the fun are a few rules: "Performers must incorporate lines written by the audience; performers must incorporate any sound effect played by the tech booth; one lucky audience member will be given a bell that they can ring three times—once rung, the actors must create a scene that has no business being in The Matrix but makes perfect sense given where they are in the story:" The Matrix...Entirely From Memory (8:00 pm, $12 online or $15 at the door, The PIT Mainstage (Striker) at 123 East 24th Street)
Saturday 9/14: Groundbreaking and acclaimed improvisors Matt Higgins, Jay Rhoderick, and Kevin Scott, plus a guest improvisor, make up scenes with a theatrical sensibility: Centralia (8:00 pm, $12, The PIT Loft at 154 West 29th Street)
Saturday 9/14: Tonight is a rare opportunity to enjoy Dulcé Sloan (powerhouse comic and correspondent for The Daily Show; Conan O'Brien, @midnight) perform a deliciously long stand-up set in an intimate space: An Hour with Dulcé Sloan (9:00 pm, $20 cover and no min., The Stand Upstairs at 116 East 16th Street)
Saturday 9/14: Every Saturday night, a highly talented freestyle rapping long form improv group takes the stage for an hour: North Coast (9:00 pm, $12, The PIT Underground at 123 East 24th Street)
Sunday 9/15: Two of the sharpest, funniest, and nicest comics in the world join on stage tonight to celebrate the release of Josh's first book Nice Try: Stories of Best Intentions and Mixed Results: new author Josh Gondelman (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) and interviewer Aparna Nancherla (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). Join in the joy, and maybe get your book signed to boot: Josh Gondelman in Conversation with Aparna Nancherla (7:00 pm, $35 at the door or $40 online, 92nd Street Y's Warburg Lounge at 1395 Lexington Avenue, between 91st and 92nd Streets)
Sunday 9/15: This fundraiser for Team Brownsville, which provides food and supplies to migrants and asylum seekers stuck in tents on the Mexican side of the border, features stand-ups and storytellers Dulcé Sloan, Gastor Almonte, Livia Scott, Daniel Simonsen, Suni Reyes, LeClerc Andre, Katy Berry, Ana Breton, Carolyn Castiglia, Sarah Hartshorne, Darlene Rae Heller, and Cassidy Routh: Stand Up For Migrants (7:00 pm, $20, LES' Caveat at 21-A Clinton Street; take F/J/M/Z subway to Delancey Street/Essex Street)
Sunday 9/15: Todd Barry (Netflix special Spicy Honey, star of delightful documentary The Crowd Work Tour; David Letterman, Conan O'Brien, Comedy Central Presents, FX's Louie, HBO's Flight of the Conchords and Bored to Death, Adult Swim, co-star of feature film The Wrestler), who crafts tight, highly polished jokes, develops material for an hour or two guided by your laughs: Todd Barry (7:00 pm, $10, The Creek and the Cave upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC at 10-93 Jackson Avenue)
Sunday 9/15: Ronny Chieng (above; correspondent for The Daily Show), Ismael Loutfi (Jimmy Kimmel; staff writer for Netflix's Patriot Act), and Jess Salomon (former UN war crimes lawyer turned comic; Jimmy Fallon, CBS, Sirius XM, co-host of Sandwich; stand-up album All the Best Choices) 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 9/15: Great lineup of 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), 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; co-author of #1 bestselling Punderdome: A Card Game for Pun Lovers), Seaton Smith (rising star stand-up; HBO's Girls, FOX's Mulaney, Chris Rock's film Top Five, Conan O'Brien, Seth Meyers, Inside Amy Schumer, The Nightly Show), Saurin Choksi (host of Fuse's White Guy Talk Show), Alyssa Wolf, and Allison O'Connor performing for host Alison Leiby (writer for The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, former writer for Comedy Central's The Opposition and The President Show; VICE, Triumph The Insult Comic Dog; host of It's a Long Story): If You Build It (9:30 pm, $9, SubCulture at 45 Bleecker Street, right next to the #6 subway's Bleecker Street stop)
Monday 9/16: A discussion of the state of comedy with Hari Kondabolu (above middle; 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), Marina Franklin (above left; staff writer for HBO's Divorce; HBO's Crashing, Stephen Colbert, Jay Leno, @midnight, Chappelle's Show; film Trainwreck; stand-up special Single Black Female), Khalid Rahmaan (Conan O'Brien; host of Electric Laughs), and host Mike Pesca (above right; host of Slate’s daily podcast The Gist): Slate Presents: The Gist Comedy Special Live (7:00 pm, $20, Brooklyn's The Bell House at 149 7th Street; take R subway to 9th Street or F/G to Fourth Avenue)
Monday 9/16: Five skilled punsters will show off their wordplay expertise by "punching up your evening with word games, anagrams, etymological deep-dives, and more:" The PUN-ch Up (7:00 pm, $12, LES' Caveat at 21-A Clinton Street; take F/J/M/Z subway to Delancey Street/Essex Street)
Monday 9/16: This superb weekly stand-up show's hosts 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) welcome guests Roy Wood Jr. (correspondent for Comedy Central's The Daily Show and host of This is Not Happening), Ronny Chieng (correspondent for The Daily Show), Dave Ross (CBS' James Corden; Comedy Central's Drunk History, This is Not Happening, Corporate; stand-up album The Only Man Who Has Ever Had Sex), and more, 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)
Monday 9/16: 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 9/16: 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), Joyelle Johnson (Seth Meyers, HBO's Crashing, TruTV; former writer for Broad City), Aida Rodriguez (co-star of FOX's Barbershop'd; Last Comic Standing finalist), Mike Recine (Conan O'Brien, Comedy Central Half Hour), and more try out material at this free weekly stand-up 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 9/17: After speaking to a record-breaking crowd of over 20,000 yesterday in the West Village's Washington Square Park, potential future US President Elizabeth Warren sticks around New York tonight to be interviewed by not only one of our most essential serious journalists but one of the finest political comics of all time, 9:00 pm and midnight on MSNBC: The Rachel Maddow Show
Tuesday 9/17: 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) celebrates the release of his first book, Nice Try: Stories of Best Intentions and Mixed Results, along with stellar stand-ups Gary Gulman, Emmy Blotnick, Karen Chee, and The Lucas Brothers: Josh Gondelman: Nice Try Book Release Show (7:30 pm, $23, Brooklyn's The Bell House at 149 7th Street; take R subway to 9th Street or F/G to Fourth Avenue)
Tuesday 9/17: 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 9/17: Celebrating this long-running stand-up and improv/sketch/music show's 15th Anniversary are 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), 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), Michelle Collins (host of TLC's 90 Day Live and Sirius XM's The Michelle Collins Show; former co-host of ABC's The View and Bachelor in Paradise: After Paradise), Julian Velard (singer/songwriter; pianist for NPR's Ask Me Another; albums include Fancy Words For Failure), and more, all hosted by Seth Herzog (long-time staff comic for Jimmy Fallon; 30 Rock, @midnight, CBS, VH1): Sweet 15 (9:00 pm, $13 at the door or $14.30 in advance online, Chelsea Music Hall at 407 West 15th Street)
Wednesday 9/18: Emily Flake (brilliant writer/cartoonist; The New Yorker, The New York Times) & 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 draws them, with tonight's guests David Heatley (cartoonist for The New Yorker, The New York Times, McSweeney's), Jeremy Nguyen (cartoonist for The New Yorker), Abbi Crutchfield (Broad City, MTV, VH1, TBS, TruTV, Witstream), and Vicky Kuperman (Russian-American comic; author of How to Spy on Your Neighbor): 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 9/18: Brilliant comics and stellar improvisors Scott Adsit (HBO's Veep, NBC's 30 Rock; voice of robot Baymax in Disney's Big Hero 6; co-writer/director/producer & cast member of Adult Swim's awesome & Emmy-winning Moral Orel) and Tami Sagher (co-star of Mike Birbiglia film Don't Think Twice; superb TV writer for HBO's Girls, Comedy Central's Broad City and Inside Amy Schumer, NBC's 30 Rock, CBS' How I Met Your Mother; Netflix's Orange is the New Black; writer and producer for Mad TV 2001-2006) will make up incredibly clever and funny scenes on the spot: Adsit & Sagher (9:00 pm, $9, UCB Hell's Kitchen at 555 West 42nd Street)
Wednesday 9/18: 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 (9:00 pm, $5, Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell at 27-16 23rd Avenue)
Thursday 9/19: Host Molly Gaebe invites female storytellers, comics, and historians to share the stories 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 Wild West tackled by guests TBA: Nevertheless She Existed: Women of the Wild West (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 9/19: 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 one of those two groups, Leather Father—Jason Gore, Cameron McCall, Alex Otis, Xavier Padin, Nathan Pearson, Elena Skopetos, Graham Techler, and Nichole Yannetty—perform original characters or impersonations directed & hosted by Michael Hartney, Eric Feurer, and/or Sarah Parsons: Characters Welcome: Leather Father (7:30 pm, $7, UCB Hell's Kitchen at 555 West 42nd Street)
Thursday 9/19: Six comedic actors, including Gianmarco Soresi (ABC's Deception; FringeNYC play <50%), perform sketch in this acclaimed group: Uncle Function (8:00 pm, $12 online or $15 at the door, The PIT Mainstage (Striker) at 123 East 24th Street)
Thursday 9/19: Eight performers from the Ten Bones Theatre Company attempt to recreate Amy Heckerling's 1995 movie Clueless, with each comic using only what he or she can remember from seeing the film just once the previous week. To add to the fun are a few rules: "Performers must incorporate lines written by the audience; performers must incorporate any sound effect played by the tech booth; one lucky audience member will be given a bell that they can ring three times—once rung, the actors must create a scene that has no business being in Clueless but makes perfect sense given where they are in the story:" Clueless...Entirely From Memory (8:00 pm, $12, Brooklyn's Littlefield at 635 Sackett Street; take R subway to Union Street)
Thursday 9/19: The UK's renowned Cambridge University is notable for its great scholarly achievements...but also for a comedy troupe named The Footlights that helped launch the careers of John Cleese (Monty Python), Hugh Laurie (House), Emma Thompson (Love Actually), Sacha Baron Cohen (Da Ali G Show), and more. The 2019 edition of this group performs tonight in NYC as part of a world tour: The Cambridge Footlights: Look Alive (9:00 pm, $9, UCB Hell's Kitchen at 555 West 42nd Street)
Thursday 9/19: The Reformed Whores (raunchy folk-pop comedic singing duo Marie Cecile Anderson & Katy Frame; CBS, IFC; have opened for Weird Al Yankovic, Alice Cooper, and Lynyrd Skynyrd; albums Ladies Don't Spit and Don't Beat Around the Bush; podcast Difficult Women) perform for an entire hour in LES. Come enjoy these witty musicians blow the roof off at this one-night-only event: The Reformed Whores (9:30 pm, $12, LES' Caveat at 21-A Clinton Street—take F/J/M/Z subway to Delancey Street/Essex Street)
Friday 9/20: "Are you scared most of the time? Do you list fear as an emergency contact on general paperwork and the occasional PDF? Then maybe you need a little bit more prep time for what most Americans think of as 'fun,' 'a hoot,' and 'enjoy.' That’s why this show explores the spooky, the chilling, the horrific, the terrifying, for those of us who need more of a buffer around frights and some softening around the edges for even the suggestion of the macabre. The night (eee!) will include probably ghosts, definitely creeps (unavoidable on Earth), ghouls (who isn't these days), unexplainable lighting occurrences (blame the tech booth), and your hosts:" Aparna Nancherla (one of the very finest stand-ups in the country; co-star of Super Bowl 2019 commercial, Comedy Central's Corporate, and HBO's Crashing; also performed on HBO's 2 Dope Queens, Netflix's Master of None and The Standups, TBS' Conan O'Brien, and Comedy Central's @Midnight and Half Hour; former writer for Seth Meyers; comedy album Just Putting It Out There) and 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; co-author of #1 bestselling Punderdome: A Card Game for Pun Lovers): Jo & Aparna Present: 41 Days Till Halloween! (8:00 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.)
Friday 9/20: Improv group Skip Intro, which normally makes up TV shows on the spot, tonight makes up Sunday's Emmy Awards with a pre-show discussion of the nominees, a red carpet, ceremony parodies, and more: Skip Intro's Faux Emmy Awards Show (7:00 pm, $12, The PIT Loft at 154 West 29th Street)
Friday 9/20: Yedoye Travis (above; Stephen Colbert, Comedy Central, Netflix's Russian Doll, TBS' Search Party) and friends record his podcast Dark Tank, during which white guests TBA pitch solutions for pressing minority issues to a panel of people of color also TBA: Dark Tank Live (7:00 pm; $11.70 in advance online or $15 at the door; LES' Caveat at 21-A Clinton Street; take F/J/M/Z subway to Delancey Street/Essex Street)
Friday 9/20: Sketch comics Reuben Wolf, Theresa Basile, and Rich Inman reveal Mother Goose's first drafts of her now-classic children's stories: First Draft Fairy Tales (7:30 pm, $12, The PIT Underground at 123 East 24th Street)
Friday 9/20: Storytelling, sketches, and more about sex, including "practical takeaways for the audience," from comics Erik Bergstrom (Comedy Central Half Hour, MTV, VH1, Fuse; cartoonist/author of Grimmer Tales, The New Yorker), Keisha Zollar (HBO's Divorce, Orange Is the New Black, MTV; writer for The Opposition with Jordan Klepper; ace improv trio Doppelganger, sketch group Astronomy Club), Jay Malsky (highly talented, super-charged improvisor & character comic; host of This Live Show, co-host of DED Talks; UCB sketch group Pretty Boys; PIT improv group Peaches Galore; FringeNYC solo show Elaine Stritch: Still Here; Solocom & UCB solo show Jay Malsky Slept With My Boyfriend), and Calvin Cato (Oxygen's My Crazy Love, host of Ed Sullivan on Acid, co-host of podcast Playable Characters) hosted by Dani Faith Leonard: Adult Sex Ed (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 9/20: Surreal sketch group Terrorbird—Sam Fox-Hartin, Zachary Gibson, Kevin Palermo, Spencer Sapienza, Emi Upsome Schaufeld, and Leanne Troutman—performs oddball scenes designed to unsettle and delight you: Terrorbird (9:30 pm, $12, The PIT Loft at 154 West 29th Street)
Friday 9/20: Storytellers TBA share cringe-worthy experiences from their pasts hosted by Brendan Busee & Ron Raganella: Shame!: The Not-So-Honorable Comedy Show (9:30 pm, $8, Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell at 27-16 23rd Avenue)
Friday 9/20: The Punisher is arguably the best of Marvel's various compelling superhero TV series on Netflix; but it took a number of tries to achieve the current excellent mass media version of the character. The very first attempt was a 1989 movie titled The Punisher starring Dolph Lungren. It failed to be faithful to Marvel's comic book and ended up earning a paltry 28% on Rotten Tomatoes. Tonight it'll be screened and mercilessly skewered by comics Frank Conniff (TV's Frank on Mystery Science Theater 3000; Cinematic Titanic), Jacob Willams (Stephen Colbert, Adam Devine's House Party, America's Got Talent), Kat Burdick (Moth Grandslam champion; webseries KCK; host of Let's Say You're Right and co-host of Nightmares), and Will Watkins (Zeros on Heroes podcast). Their cruelty will be contrasted by exceptionally kind host Chris Gersbeck (co-host of Soft Core!—essentially a porn version of this show—and producer of many other shows): Movies R Dumb: 1989's The Punisher (11:00 pm, $10, Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell at 27-16 23rd Avenue)
Saturday 9/21: Carly Ann Filbin (luminous & delightful sketch comic/comedic actress/writer; on-camera correspondent for Cosmopolitan.com; host of Let Me Break You Up: An Anti-Dating Game Show) explains this comedic game show as follows: "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 [if you don't mind a charge for "EB YOUNG HOT SLUTS" appearing on your bank statement]; Brooklyn's C'mon Everybody at 325 Franklin Avenue—take the G subway to Classon Avenue)
Saturday 9/21: World-class singing improvisors Rebecca Vigil & Evan Kaufman interview an audience couple about their love life and then turn it into a musical—with breathtaking skill (see my review of their award-winning FringeNYC 2015 shows here). I highly recommend the phenomenal Your Love, Our Musical (7:00 pm; $22.32 for a seat, or $17 for standing room, in advance online for this show that usually sells out; LES' Caveat at 21-A Clinton Street—take F/J/M/Z subway to Delancey Street/Essex Street)
Saturday 9/21: Ziwe Fumudoh (writer for Showtime's Desus & Mero, and previously for The Rundown with Robin Thede; host of hilarious webseries Baited with Ziwe) invites comics Ana Fabrega, Lorelei Ramirez, Amy Zimmer, In Beautiful Souls, Rachel La Loca, and Ike Ufomadu to perform pop songs, preceded by comedic presentations: Pop Show (7:30 pm, $10, Brooklyn's Union Hall at 702 Union Street; take R subway to Union Street)
Saturday 9/21: Every Saturday night, a highly talented freestyle rapping long form improv group takes the stage for an hour: North Coast (9:00 pm, $12, The PIT Underground at 123 East 24th Street)
Sunday 9/22: Enjoy the Emmy Awards with a like-minded comedy audience, featuring comedic performances during the commercials, drinking games, and prizes: Emmy Watch Party (7:00 pm; $17 in advance online or $18 at the door; LES' Caveat at 21-A Clinton Street—take F/J/M/Z subway to Delancey Street/Essex Street)
Sunday 9/22: 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 try out new jokes via deliciously long sets at this popular weekly safe space for the stand-up creation process hosted by Nat Towsen (Esquire, VICE, College Humor, host of Downtown Variety): New Material Night (8:00 pm, $10 in advance online or $12 at the door, The PIT Underground at 123 East 24th Street)
Monday 9/23: The adorable Laura Merli (above right; Reductress, McSweeney’s, YouTube, host of How to be Less Awkward) and Marissa Stuart (above left; trend forecaster; member of all-gal hip-hop improv troupe DMXX) perform duo sketch comedy designed to provide you with "feel-good dread" (for a video sample, please click here): Soul Crush Comedy (8:00 pm, $10, The PIT Underground at 123 East 24th Street)
Monday 9/23: This superb weekly stand-up show's hosts 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) welcome guests Lou Sanders (above; UK-based comic briefly visiting us), Chloe Hilliard (The Nightly Show, Last Comic Standing, MTV, TruTV), Dina Hashem (Conan O'Brien, Comedy Central's Roast Battle), Devon Walker, and John Hastings, 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)
Monday 9/23: 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 9/23: T.J. Miller (above), Dan Soder, Joe List, and more try out material at this free weekly show hosted by Aaron Berg (TV series 24 Hour Rental, documentary A Universal Language) and/or Kerryn Feehan (Comedy Central, TruTV, Spike TV): Frantic Mondays (10:00 pm, Free!, The Stand at 116 East 16th Street)
Tuesday 9/24: Brian Agler, Luke Burns, and James Folta—each of whom has written for both The New Yorker and McSweeney's—perform readings of their short humor pieces, and also host additional short readings from River Clegg (writer for Stephen Colbert, The Onion, The New Yorker, McSweeney’s), Claire Friedman (writer for Showtime's Desus & Mero, Saturday Night Live, The New Yorker, McSweeney’s), and Sarah Pappalardo (co-founder of Reductress). Arrive at 6:30 pm to hang out with these writers pre-show: An Evening of Humorous Readings (7:00 pm; $10; LES' Caveat at 21-A Clinton Street—take F/J/M/Z subway to Delancey Street/Essex Street)
Tuesday 9/24 (also 9/25): 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 9/24: 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 9/24: 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 TBA 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 9/25: 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 9/25: Stand-ups and/or storytellers—including beloved PIT comic Ronny Pascale—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 9/25: Jessica Kirson (Comedy Central's This Week at the Comedy Cellar, The Tonight Show, The View, Last Comic Standing, Celebrity Apprentice, HBO, Showtime, Bravo, VH1) and 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) each perform a deliciously long stand-up set at an intimate Comedy Cellar venue: Jessica Kirson and Chris Distefano (10:30 pm, $10 plus 2-item food/drink min., West Village's The Fat Black Pussycat Lounge at 130 West 3rd Street)
Wednesday 9/25: Star T.J. Miller (Underwater, Deadpool, Deadpool 2, Silicon Valley), 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?), Kat Timpf (received death threats for being mean to Star Wars), and more perform stand-up in an intimate club space: $5 Funnies (10:30 pm, $5 cover and no min., The Stand Upstairs at 116 East 16th Street)
Thursday 9/26: Jessica Kirson (Comedy Central's This Week at the Comedy Cellar, The Tonight Show, The View, Last Comic Standing, Celebrity Apprentice, HBO, Showtime, Bravo, VH1) performs a delightfully long set, and also hosts other talented comics, at an intimate Comedy Cellar venue: Jessica Kirson and Friends (7:00 pm, $10 plus 2-item food/drink min., West Village's The Fat Black Pussycat Lounge at 130 West 3rd Street)
Thursday 9/26: The burning issue of "Which decade was better, the 1980s or the 2000s?" is debated by comics (starting from top left) Gabe Pacheco (Eat Pray Judge), Isabel Hagen (stand-up and classic violinist), Dave Hill (author of new book Parking the Moose), Jes Tom (Reductress), Mehran Khaghani (Iranian-British stand-up; HBO's High Maintenance), and Adam Wade (record-breaking 20-time Moth StorySlam Champion). For a sample of what goes on at this show, check out Michael Showalter making a case for cats vs. dogs here and Kristen Schaal making a case for old people vs. babies here. If you're amused, you can experience this concoction live tonight hosted by the lovable Matthew Love: Uptown Showdown: The Eighties vs. The Aughts (7:30 pm, $16, Symphony Space at 2537 Broadway, off 95th Street)
Thursday 9/26: London-based comic Lou Sanders—who describes herself as "the face that launched a thousand dicks" (for a sample, please click here)—visits NYC to perform two solo shows back to back. First Lou talks about relationships, perversion, and mental health in Say Hello To Your New Step Mommy (8:00 pm). And then Lou performs a show about alcohol, sex, and shame that won a 2018 Edinburgh Fringe Festival award: Shame Pig (10:00 pm). Tickets are just $10 per show at Brooklyn's Union Hall (702 Union Street; take R subway to Union Street)
Thursday 9/26: 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 the versatile West-East and Manhattan-Queens 7 subway, and this month's guest Colin Wright (Senior Advocacy Associate at TransitCenter, a national foundation working to improve public transit in the US), 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 9/26: 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 one of those two groups, Velvet Mommy—Jon Bander, Kami Dimitrova, Desi Domo, Johnny Drago, Woody Fu, Chrissie Gruebel, Adrienne Ianniciello, and Corin Wells—performs original characters or impersonations directed & hosted by Michael Hartney, Eric Feurer, and/or Sarah Parsons: Characters Welcome: Velvet Mommy (7:30 pm, $7, UCB Hell's Kitchen at 555 West 42nd Street)
Friday 9/27: It's not funny, but it's shifted our reality. If you haven't had a chance, you can read this game-changer, annotated for free, here (thanks to CNN), or you can listen to a free audio version here ( thanks to Penguin Random House Audio).
Friday 9/27: My favorite moment so far in Anthony Jeselnik's way fun Good Talk series about comedy was when the wonderful Kristen Schaal abruptly turned the tables and said to Anthony, "I have a question for you. When you write your comedy jokes, they're sooo good. Do you think of the twist before you write it? Or do you think of the premise first, and then just, like, scramble your brain for the twist?" Briefly becoming uncharacteristically serious, Anthony replied, "The latter. I think of the premise, and I think of how many different ways it can go, and then what's the meanest and most unexpected, yet still makes sense, way." As a huge fan of Anthony, I found that fascinating; but it's also a great craft tip for any kind of writing. Tonight Anthony makes cruel fun of Kumail Nanjiani (who reveals, among other things, how he owes his stand-up career to Hugh Grant) 11:00 pm on Comedy Central: Good Talk With Anthony Jeselnik
Friday 9/27: Because there isn't enough strife pitting the living against each other, comics Dave Bluvband (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Broad City), Marcia Belsky (Handmaid's Tale: The Musical), Chris Calogero (Funny or Die), and Ariel Elias (Roast Battle) roast long-past historical figures and events, ranging from Rasputin to The Beat Generation to The 1968 Democratic Convention: The Roast of History (7:00 pm, $12, LES' Caveat at 21-A Clinton Street; take F/J/M/Z subway to Delancey Street/Essex Street)
Friday 9/27: A unique game show in which an oddball Internet video is screened, and then over a dozen contestants have three minutes to prepare a dance routine inspired by what everyone just experienced. It'll all be judged by typically cool comics TBA: Dancify That! (8:00 pm, $15, The PIT Mainstage at 123 East 24th Street)
Friday 9/27: "Eliot Glazer, a classically trained vocalist-turned-comedian, takes some of pop music's most infamous songs and turns them into highbrow, sweeping ballads. Like a twisted version of MTV Unplugged, Austin City Limits, or VH1 Storytellers, it's an intimate night of bad music made good," with guests Franchesca Ramsey (MTV, MSNBC; author of book Well, That Escalated Quickly: Memoirs and Mistakes of an Accidental Activist) and Joyelle Johnson (Seth Meyers, HBO's Crashing, TruTV; former writer for Broad City): Haunting Renditions (8:00 pm, $15, Brooklyn's Littlefield at 635 Sackett Street; take R subway to Union Street)
Saturday 9/27: A therapist this show's hosts found via Craigslist will sit on stage and take notes on the stand-up sets of Martin Urbano, Megan Stalter, and Brian Park. The therapist will then offer his or her services to the comics based on what they said. This psychological healing is hosted by Harris Mayersohn (recurring character Stoney Von Dankington on Stephen Colbert; Conan O'Brien, Comedy Bang Bang) & Hanna Dickinson (writer for Comedy Central; former writer for TruTV's Comedy Knockout): And That's Our Time (9:30 pm, $10, Brooklyn Comedy Collective/The Brick at 579 Metropolitan Avenue; take the L subway to Lorimer Street)
Saturday 9/28: Lauren Maul (host of Bitchcraft) hosts this live-on-stage version of her podcast show for Wiccans, featuring "light-hearted talk, magical comedians, musicians, and practicing witches of NYC." Tonight's theme is Community, featuring Liz Pressman (journalist and psychic medium), Majade Bey (maker of magical amulets & talismans), Alexis J. Alvarez (intuitive energy worker & spiritual advisor), and Leah Coloff (cellist/singer/composer): Gathering the Coven: A Talk Show for Witches (7:00 pm, $10, The PIT Underground at 123 East 24th Street)
Saturday 9/28: Seven comics who were born outside NYC, with homes ranging from Texas to Canada to Lebanon, perform stand-up that might include material about where they came from and the journey that led them to NYC, featuring Nataly Aukar (Lebanon; opens for Nimesh Patel), Martin Urbano (Texas; Jimmy Kimmel, Comedy Central), John Hastings (Canada; Comedy Central), Stephanie Phillips (Texas), Reggie Conquest (Philadelphia), Brett Hiker (Colorado), and Amy Cardinale, all hosted by the charming Katie Boyle (above, from Ireland): Transplants (7:30 pm, $10, Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell at 27-16 23rd Avenue)
Saturday 9/28: Mike Drucker (hilarious stand-up and staff writer for TBS' Full Frontal with Samantha Bee; previously staff writer for Comedy Central's The President Show and nearly 400 episodes of NBC's Jimmy Fallon, and contributing writer for Saturday Night Live), Carmen Lynch (America's Got Talent, David Letterman, Conan O'Brien, Stephen Colbert, Inside Amy Schumer, This Week at the Comedy Cellar, @midnight, Last Comic Standing finalist; Sirius XM 2017 comedy album of the year Dance Like You Don't Need the Money), and more perform stand-up at the only comedy club in Brooklyn: Mike Drucker, Carmen Lynch, and More at Eastville (8:00 pm; normally $21 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)
Saturday 9/28: Superb storyteller David Lawson (The Flyer Guy, No Oddjob, The Prequels) hosts fellow Queens-dwelling comics Sandi Marx, Tracey Starin, Christopher Moncayo-Torres, and Melissa Gordon telling tales about the borough: Queens Storytellers (8:00 pm; Free!, but reserve tickets here; The Cabaret at Queens Theatre (above) at 14 United Nations Avenue South in Flushing Meadows Corona Park, directly under the towers of the New York State Pavilion)
Saturday 9/28: Every Saturday night, a highly talented freestyle rapping long form improv group takes the stage for an hour: North Coast (9:00 pm, $12, The PIT Underground at 123 East 24th Street)
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Saturday 9/28: A top musical improv troupe that has wowed audiences around the world with its skill at making up an hour-long musical moment by moment. The plot and characters, the musical accompaniment, even the song lyrics and "choreography" are invented on the spot, with no pre-planned structure, by such ace talents as Becky Drysdale, Zack Willis, Katy Barry, Caroline Martin, Amber Ruffin, Tim Sniffen, and Jeff Hiller, plus stellar improv musicians Dan Reitz (keyboards) & Sarah Mullins (drums/percussion). Come see why this show won a FringeNYC Award for Outstanding Unique Theatrical Event: Baby Wants Candy (10:30 pm, $14, UCB Hell's Kitchen at 555 West 42nd Street)
Monday 9/30: Stand-ups and/or storytellers TBA "share what scares the sh*t out of them" hosted by Tracy Soren: My Nightmare (8:30 pm, $6, Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell at 27-16 23rd Avenue)
Sunday 9/29: 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) celebrates the release of his first book, Nice Try: Stories of Best Intentions and Mixed Results, along with stand-ups TBA: Josh Gondelman & Friends: Nice Try Book Release Show (7:30 pm, $8 for show alone or $20 for show/book combo, Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell at 27-16 23rd Avenue.)
Sunday 9/29: Stellar comics 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), Julio Torres (marvelously nuanced, outside-the-box stand-up; creator and star of HBO's Los Espookys; staff writer for Saturday Night Live; Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers, Billy on the Street, HBO's High Maintenance, Louis C.K.’s Horace and Pete), Karen Chee (staff writer for Seth Meyers; The New Yorker, McSweeney's), Maeve Higgins (David Letterman, Last Comic Standing, co-host of NatGeo's StarTalk, host of Maeve in America, co-host of Butterboy), and Cole Escola (At Home with Amy Sedaris, Difficult People) perform at this benefit for Minority Humanitarian Foundation, which provides on-the-ground relief efforts in San Diego and Tijuana: Forever Friends: Comedy Fundraiser for Migrants at the Southern Border (8:00 pm; $25, Brooklyn's The Bell House at 149 7th Street; take R subway to 9th Street or F/G to Fourth Avenue)
Sunday 9/29: Gary Gulman (razor-sharp wordsmith who's one of the best stand-ups in the country; HBO special The Great Depresh premieres this Saturday October 5th; David Letterman, Conan O'Brien, Seth Meyers, Jimmy Kimmel, Jay Leno; finalist on Last Comic Standing; previous comedy specials include Boyish Man, In This Economy, and It's About Time), 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), Simone Norman (Comedy Central; stand-up, improvisor, and sketch actress self-described as "this emoji (bewildered face) but hot"), and Napoleon Emill (winner of the 2018 Carolines Comedy Madness stand-up competition) try out new jokes and play around with the audience at this popular weekly safe space for stand-ups hosted by Nat Towsen (Esquire, VICE, College Humor, host of Downtown Variety): New Material Night (8:00 pm, $10 in advance online or $12 at the door, The PIT Underground at 123 East 24th Street)
Sunday 9/29: 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), Simone Norman (Comedy Central; stand-up, improvisor, and sketch actress self-described as "this emoji (bewildered face) but hot"), and Napoleon Emill (winner of the 2018 Carolines Comedy Madness stand-up competition) try out new jokes and play around with the audience at this popular weekly safe space for stand-ups hosted by Nat Towsen (Esquire, VICE, College Humor, host of Downtown Variety): New Material Night (8:00 pm, $10 in advance online or $12 at the door, The PIT Underground at 123 East 24th Street; Please Note: Gary Gulman had to reschedule at the last minute, but Judah has graciously stepped in.)
Sunday 9/29: Josh Sharp (above right; 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), John Hastings (above left; Comedy Central, BBC, CBC; for a sample of this UK comic visiting NYC, please click here), Tomas Delgado (Comedy Central), Anya Volz, Peet Guercio, and Xazmin Garza perform stand-up for host Alison Leiby (writer for The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, former writer for Comedy Central's The Opposition and The President Show; VICE, Triumph The Insult Comic Dog; host of It's a Long Story): If You Build It (9:30 pm, $9, SubCulture at 45 Bleecker Street, right next to the #6 subway's Bleecker Street stop)
Monday 9/30: Some of the most brilliant improvisors alive—Tami Sagher (bottom row left), Brian Stack (bottom row right), Peter Grosz, and Michael Delaney—stumble into theatre scenes of plays they've never experienced and make up reactions & dialogue on the spot while superb Broadway, TV, and/or film stars—Sunita Deshpande (top row left), Julie Sharbutt (top row right), Opal Alladin, and more—commit to staying in character and on book. The result is amazingly fun, hosted by actor/director Stephen Ruddy: Gravid Water (7:30 pm, $9, UCB Hell's Kitchen at 555 West 42nd Street)
Monday 9/30: Chris Gethard's credits include the HBO 90-minute solo special Career Suicide; starring in of TruTV's & Fusion's The Chris Gethard Show; co-staring in Mike Birbiglia's movie Don't Think Twice, hosting the Webby-winning podcast Beautiful Stories From Anonymous People, and performing on The Office, Comedy Central, IFC, etc. Geth is also the author of the books A Bad Idea I'm About to Do, Weird New York, and Lose Well, and the CD/vinyl/audio Gethard: My Comedy Album. If you missed out on Geth's shows this month in Brooklyn because they quickly sold out, this is a chance to catch him in his native land of New Jersey: Chris Gethard in Asbury Park (8:30 pm, $10, New Jersey's Asbury Park Brewery at 810 Sewall Avenue); take North Jersey Coast Line train to Asbury Park Station)
Monday 9/30: 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 9/30: Powerhouse comics 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?), and more try out material at this free weekly stand-up 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!, but reserve tickets here (because this show will probably sell out); no min., but please feel encouraged to order something if you're thirsty or hungry to support this policy; The Stand at 116 East 16th Street)
Copyright © 2019 Hy Bender
Email: hy@hyreviews.com
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