NYC Comedy Picks for Week of September 29, 2014

NYC Comedy Picks for Monday 9/29/14

TV Alert: : Michael Che is on Seth Meyers;
Jim Gaffigan is on Craig Ferguson;
Sara Schaefer is on Carson Daly;
Al Madrigal is on Conan O'Brien;
Martin Short is on Ellen DeGeneres;
Doug Benson, Hari Kondabolu, and
Kyle Kinane are on @midnight

Genius improvisor Scott Adsit performs at UCB Chelsea at 7:00 in Adsit & Sagher and at 8:00 in Gravid Water;
next-to-last chance to catch rising star actress Kristin Parker and stand-up Gianmarco Soresi in <50%

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): Genius improvisor Scott Adsit (cast member of 30 Rock, and co-writer/director/producer & cast member of Adult Swim's awesome & Emmy-winning Moral Orel) teams up with Tami Sagher (superb staff writer for Broad City; former writer for 30 Rock; writer and producer for Mad TV 2001-2006) to perform duo improv at the UCB Chelsea theatre: Adsit & Sagher

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

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

[TOP PICK] [$] 7:45 pm, 9:30 pm, and 11:30 pm ($12 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Tonight's comics include Colin Quinn, Kevin Brennan, and Marina Franklin at the 7:45 show; Todd Barry, Mark Normand, Nick Griffin, Carmen Lynch, Kevin Brennan, and Wil Sylvince (hosting) at the 9:30 show; and Dave Attell, Big Jay Oakerson, Sam Morril, and Joe LIst (hosting) at the 11:30 show, all performing stand-up at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane): Comedy Cellar Monday

[MEGA-TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5; sold out of seats, but you can probably get in if you arrive early and don't mind standing): Top improvisors—including Scott Adsit, Michael Patrick O'Brien, and Jon Glaser—and Broadway & TV stars crash improv into classic theatre scenes at UCB Chelsea for actor/director Stephen Ruddy's Gravid Water

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): Michelle Wolf (staff writer for and performer on Seth Meyers; MTV's Girl Code, IFC), John Trowbridge, Filip Jeremic, Nathan Min, Julia Ogilvie, Zack Phillips, and more performing sketch character bits at UCB East hosted by Justin Tyler and Michael Hartney: Characters Welcome

8:00 pm ($8 at the door or $9.47 online): Matt Koff (writer for The Daily Show), Claudia Cogan (Last Comic Standing, MTV, Logo, here! TV), Will Miles, Chris Lamberth, and more performing stand-up at Brooklyn's Littlefield (622 Degraw Street) hosted by Wyatt Cenac (former star correspondent for The Daily Show; albums Wyatt Cenac: Comedy Person and upcoming Wyatt Cenac: Brooklyn): Night Train

8:00 pm ($10): Sketch comedy from an upbeat group at The PIT upstairs theatre: Totally, Yes

[FREE] 8:00 pm: Stand-up auditions for a mysterious "industry" (might be Last Comic Standing) at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' Long Island City: Industry Showcase

8:30 pm ($7): Improvisors blur the line between fact and fiction, using true stories from their own lives to lead into a world of pretend and back again at The Magnet theatre: Story Story

[FREE] 9:00 pm: Josh Gondelman (HBO's Last Week Tonight), Mark DeMayo (retired NYC cop with great stories; MTV's Guy Code), Leah Bonnema (VH1, WeTV's Cinematherapy, Logo, Opie & Anthony’s Virus Channel), Greg Barris (host of Heart of Darkness), Kenny DeForrest, and Tim Dillon performing stand-up at Brooklyn's Freddy's Backroom (627 5th Avenue) for this free biweekly show hosted by Brooke Van Poppelen (brilliant writer, stand-up, and storyteller; writer and/or producer for MTV's Guy Code, Girl Code, Failosophy, and Nikki & Sara Show; trutV, TLC) and Giulia Rozzi (Jimmy Kimmel, MTV, VH1, Playgirl Magazine, co-host of Stripped Stories): Dive Comedy

[TOP PICK] [$] [DISCOUNTED] 9:30 pm ($12.75 online with discount code FES14): This unusual FringeNYC play is actually a drama, but is so twisty at blending autobiography with wish-fulfillment fantasy that some reviewers have been fooled into describing it as a romantic comedy with a happy ending. The truth is this is a show with lots of humor—it's written and co-stars an NYC stand-up, Gianmarco Soresi—but is ultimately about matters of the head and heart that are poignant and quite moving. Soresi is dynamic and skilled at landing laughs. But the bigger discovery of this production is the luminous Kristin Parker, who delivers a transcendent performance as his girlfriend rich in nuance, making every moment of love, compassion, faith, and pain believable. Parker's performance is among the very finest I've seen at this year's fest (out of over 60 shows and hundreds of actors). If you're a casting director, check out this rising star, whose website is KristinParker.com. And if you're a comic, consider seeing this example of how to build a stand-up routine into a multi-layered story that ultimately hits all emotional buttons with surprising success. Huge kudos also go to director Max Freedman, both for his inventive staging, and his creating an environment that simultaneously lets Soresi go for comedy while Parker mines hearts. There are just two encore performances left—tonight, and Saturday 10/4 at 5:00 pm—at the West Village's Soho Playhouse (15 Vandam Street): <50%

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): Two UCB Chelsea house sketch groups try out new material: Ripley (which includes brilliant comedic writer Marguerite Spellman) and Absolutely (which includes stellar comic Bridey Elliot): Maude Night: Ripley and Absolutely

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

[FREE] 10:00 pm: Cipha Sounds (Chappelle's Show, MTV, Hot 97), Monroe Martin (finalist on this season's Last Comic Standing), Joe List (HBO, Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central), Sabrina Jalees (delightful dynamo stand-up; Comedy Central's Adam Devine's House Party, Last Comic Standing, VH1's Best Week Ever, MTV’s Failosophy), Aaron Berg (TV series 24 Hour Rental, documentary A Universal Language), and Alingon Mitra performing stand-up for this free weekly show at The Stand Comedy Club (239 Third Avenue & 20th Street) typically hosted by Aaron Berg (TV series 24 Hour Rental, documentary A Universal Language): Frantic Mondays

10:00 pm ($7): Improv is dominated by guys, so this is a rare treat—a dozen female improvisors "for an evening of comedy that will delight men, women, babies, and kittens," hosted by Megan Gray at The Magnet theatre: We Might Just Kiss

[FREE] 10:00 pm: NYC stand-ups share their process by trying out the freshest ideas from their notebooks at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' Long Island City: Notebook Night

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

Monday Open Mics & Jams

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Best NYC Stand-Up Comedy Clubs

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

NYC Comedy Picks for Tuesday 9/30/14

TV Alert: John Oliver is on David Letterman;
Bill Burr is on Conan O'Brien;
Don Rickles in on Craig Ferguson;
Nathan Lane, Weird Al Yankovic, and
Garry Marshall are on Seth Meyers;
Mike Lawrence and Adam Newman are on @midnight;
Martin Short is on Jimmy Kimmel;
Jeffrey Tambor is on The Colbert Report;
Annie Lederman is on Carson Daly

Comedy legend Chris Elliott is interviewed at Inside Joke;
Dustin Diamond ("Screech" on Saved by the Bell) is interviewed at Running Late With Scott Rogowsky;
Dave Attell tapes his Comedy Central late night show at 8:00 pm & 10:30 pm at the Village Underground

Recommendations for the best in New York City comedy tonight

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

[TOP PICK] 7:00 pm-11:00 pm ($7 for the whole evening): In this 4-hour extravaganza, seven of The Magnet's improv groups make up musicals based on audience suggestion, creating epic stories on the spot using song and dance: Magnet Musical Megawatt

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

7:00 pm ($10): A comedic play about the effects that the moon has on us at The PIT downstairs lounge: Harvest Moon

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

[TOP PICK] [$] 7:45 pm, 9:30 pm, and 11:15 pm ($12 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Tonight's stand-ups include Colin Quinn, Nick DiPaolo, and Dov Davidoff at the 7:45 show; Nick DiPaolo, Nick Griffin, Greer Barnes, Lenny Marcus, Seaton Smith, and Mike Yard (hosting) at the 9:30 show; and Dave Attell, Mark Normand, Sam Morril, and Wil Sylvince (hosting) at the 11:15 show, with all shows at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane): Comedy Cellar Tuesday

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5; SOLD OUT, but you might be able to get in for standing room if you show up early on the standby line): Comedy legend Chris Elliott is interviewed by Carl Arnheiter at the UCB East theatre: Inside Joke: An Interview with Chris Elliott

[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm ($12 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Dave Attell's Comedy Central show Comedy Underground is getting taped tonight at 8:00 & 10:30, with this episode featuring Paul Mecurio, Brooke Van Poppelen, Joe List, and Dan Naturman performing stand-up at the Village Underground (130 West 3rd Street, off Sixth Avenue): Dave Attell's Comedy Underground

[TOP PICK] 8:00ish pm ($8 at the door or $9.57 online): Dustin Diamond ("Screech" on Saved by the Bell), plus the cast of Saved by the Bell parody Bayside the Musical, being interviewed and/or performing at Brooklyn's Littlefield (622 Degraw Street) hosted by Scott R.: Running Late With Scott Rogowsky

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($10 at the door or $11.59 online): Storytellers Adam Wade (two-time Moth GrandSlam Champion and 18-time StorySlam Champion), Tim Manley (author of Fairytales for Twenty-Somethings), Amanda Melson (Last Comic Standing), Elisa Albert (author of The Book of Dahlia), and Alex Edelman (Edinburgh Fringe Festival) telling true tales about My Summer Vacation at Brooklyn's Union Hall hosted by Blaise Allysen Kearsley: How I Learned On My Summer Vacation

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5; no min.): TV & movie star Janeane Garofalo, Kurt Metzger (staff writer for Inside Amy Schumer; Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central special White Precious, Comedy Central Presents, Ugly Americans), Jim David, Graham Kay, and more performing stand-up at The Stand Comedy Club (239 Third Avenue & 20th Street): Janeane Garofalo, Kurt Metzger, and More

[FREE, plus FREE PIZZA while the slices last] 8:00 pm: Matt Wayne, Aaron Glaser, Dan Goodman, Alison Leiby, and Christi Chiello performing stand-up at Bunga's Den (137 West 14th Street, between Sixth & Seventh Avenues) hosted by Lukas Kaiser & John Szeluga: Amazingtown

8:00 pm ($10): Staged readings of two spec TV pilots written by Joe Schiappa and Lucas Hazlett at The PIT downstairs lounge: Pilot Presentation with Joe and Lucas

[FREE] 8:00 pm: Morgan Miller, Sue Smith, Margaret Dodge, Bryan Cook, Andy Farnsworth, Aaron Kominos-Smith, Nick Mullen, Anthony O'Connell, and Sam Grittner performing stand-up for this free weekly show at People's Republic of Brooklyn (247 Smith Street) hosted by Tim Ellis & Mo Fathelbab: Manifesto

[FREE] 8:00 pm: A mix of stand-up and trivia game show at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' Long Island City hosted by Marvin Lattimore: A Night of Thrill-Via

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

[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($7): Myq Kaplan (one of the quickest minds in comedy, and rapidly rising star; finalist on Last Comic Standing; David Letterman, Conan O'Brien, Jay Leno, Comedy Central Presents, comedy CDs Small, Dork, and Handsome. Vegan Mind Meld, and Meat Robot), Jeffrey Joseph (Jay Leno, HBO, FOX's In Living Color, Comedy Central), Yannis Pappas (Comedy Central Half Hour, VH1), and more performing stand-up at The Slipper Room (167 Orchard Street) hosted by Seth Herzog (Jimmy Fallon long-time staff comic, Comedy Central, VH1, host of Nat Geo's Science of Stupid): Sweet

[FREE] 9:00 pm: Jo Firestone (dynamic rising star; host of Punderdome 3000 and The Incredible Game Show Showcase), Tony Zaret (co-host of School Drools), Robbie Collier, and more performing at this free weekly show at Brooklyn's The Alligator Lounge (600 Metropolitan Avenue) hosted by Robert Dean, Sachi Ezura, and/or Steve O'Brien: Comedy at Alligator Lounge

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

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): Writers and producers of The Daily Show perform stand-up at the UCB East theatre: The Daily Show Writers Stand-Up Show: An Evening of Political-ish Comedy

[TOP PICK] [$] 9:30 pm ($12): Powerhouse improv singer Rebecca Vigil and her improv partner Evan Kaufman interview an audience couple about their love life and then turn it into a musical at The PIT upstairs theatre: Your Love, Our Musical

[TOP PICK] 10:00 pm ($5; no min.): Kurt Metzger (staff writer for Inside Amy Schumer; Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central special White Precious, Comedy Central Presents, Ugly Americans), Pete Davidson (newest cast member of Saturday Night Live; MTV's Guy Code), Christian Finnegan (Conan O'Brien, co-star of TBS' Are We There Yet?; three Comedy Central specials; MSNBC, VH1's Best Week Ever, Chappelle's Show, The Today Show), Cipha Sounds (Chappelle's Show, MTV, Hot 97), Yannis Pappas (Comedy Central Half Hour, VH1), and Danny Palmer performing stand-up at The Stand Comedy Club (239 Third Avenue & 20th Street): Kurt Metzger, Pete Davidson, Christian Finnegan, Cipha Sounds, and More

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

[FREE] 10:00 pm: Amber Nelson (fearless, innovative rising star; Comedy Central; sketch troupes Murderfist and The Prom), Emmy Blotnick (blogger for Jimmy Fallon, MTV's Nikki and Sara Live, VH1's Best Week Ever), Bill Stiteler, Matt Porter, and Pat Byrne performing stand-up for this free weekly show at Brooklyn's Over the Eight (594 Union Ave) hosted by Bret Davis (playing a new character at every show): The Tuesday Special

10:00 pm ($10): Tracy Mull performs the uniquely difficult art of solo improv—and then performs it again in a competition against herself—at The PIT downstairs lounge: Tracy vs. Tracy: Competitive Solo Improv

[TOP PICK] [$] 10:30 pm ($12 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Dave Attell's Comedy Central show Comedy Underground is getting taped tonight at 8:00 & 10:30, with this episode featuring Nick Griffin, Bonnie McFarlane, Kevin Brennan, and Louis Katz performing stand-up at the Village Underground (130 West 3rd Street, off Sixth Avenue): Dave Attell's Comedy Underground

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

11:00 pm ($5): A house sketch troupe performs at The PIT upstairs theatre: National Scandal

Tuesday Open Mics & Jams

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Best NYC Stand-Up Comedy Clubs

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

NYC Comedy Picks for Wednesday 10/1/14

TV Alert: John Mulaney is on Jimmy Fallon;
Patton Oswalt is on Craig Ferguson;
Tim Allen is on Jimmy Kimmel;
Lena Dunham is on The Daily Show;
Wanda Sykes is on Ellen DeGeneres;
Nick Offerman, Jerrod Carmichael,
and Pete Correale are on Conan O'Brien;
Tom Lennon, Cameron Esposito, and
Daniel Sloss are on @midnight;
another genius episode of South Park at 10:00 pm on CC

A very over-the-top tribute to a Yankees hero from Brandon Scott Jones & Sean Hart: Goodbye to Derek Jeter;
genius comics John Lutz & Scott Adsit form one of the greatest improv duos ever as John & Scott

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-midnight: Six free hours of improvisation at The PIT upstairs theatre: Super Free Wednesday

[TOP PICK] 7:00 pm ($5): Mike Birbiglia's Dream is both a reference to Mike's hit play & film Sleepwalk With Me, and to the group of improvisors he's gathered being a "dream team" for making up scenes springboarding off his stories. Tonight at UCB Chelsea Mike spins tales for brilliant improvisors Chris Gethard, Tami Sagher, and more: Mike Birbiglia's Dream

7:00 pm to 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

7:30 pm ($5): Expanding the UCB longform improv showcased on Harold Night is this weekly show at UCB East which tonight features house groups Big Revival, Buchanan, and Astronomy Club: Lloyd Night

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): An over-the-top character show in which "Yankees (YES) Network announcer Michael Kay and Con Edison worker & fair weather Yankees fan Uncle Eddie host a night of tributes, gifts, and reflections on the greatest and classiest Yankee of all time, Derek Jeter, from the parking lot of Yankee Stadium. Expected guests include billionaire Donald Trump, disgraced Yankee Alex Rodriguez, deceased punk rocker DeeDee Ramone, America's Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, and WFAN'S Mike Francesa," spearheaded by hilarious sketch/improv comics Brandon Scott Jones and Sean Hart at the UCB Chelsea theatre: YES Network Presents RE2PECT: A Goodbye to Derek Jeter—A Salute to Class—The Loss of a Captain

[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm, 9:45 pm, and 11:30 pm ($14, plus 2-item food/drink min.): Tonight's comics include Nick DiPaolo, Artie Lang, Judy Gold, and Mike Yard (hosting) at the 8:00 show; Nick DiPaolo, Greer Barnes, Lenny Marcus, Dov Davidoff, and Marina Franklin (hosting) at the 9:45 show; and an especially strong lineup of Todd Barry, Dave Attell, Mark Normand, Big Jay Oakerson, and Dan Soder (hosting) at the 11:30 show, with all shows at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane): Comedy Cellar Wednesday

[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm ($40; no min.): A fundraiser to combat domestic violence featuring Janeane Garofalo, Ted Alexandro, Dan Soder, Michelle Buteau, Jena Kingsley, and more performing stand-up at The Stand Comedy Club (239 Third Avenue & 20th Street): Stand Up to Domestic Violence: A Fundraiser for the Purple Purse Challenge

8:00 pm ($10): Solo character comedy, sketch, and/or music from a variety of comics, with Jenn Dodd hosting this parody of a talent contest at The PIT downstairs lounge: Buttski & Glasscock's New Talent Blowout

[FREE] 8:00 pm: Cory Kahaney (David Letterman, Bill Maher, Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central Presents, The View), Sam Morril (Comedy Central), Joe Newman, Jabari Baraka Davis, Brooke Arnold, Jes Tom, and Meghan Hanley performing stand-up at the Producer's Club (358 West 44th Street) produced by Henry Cruz & Keith Fuerstenberg and hosted by Katherine Williams: Train Wreck Stand-Up

[FREE] 8:00 pm: Jason Saenz (Comedy Central, sketch group Onassis, co-host of Late Night Trash), Brandon Scott Wolf, Missy Baker, Drew Michael, Sheba Mason, amd Krystyna Hutchinson performing stand-up, plus improv from groups Jew Noir and The Unbelievers, at the Revision Lounge (219 Avenue B, between 13th & 14th Streets) hosted by Gary Levitt & Matt Schwartzer: I Don't Get It Stand-Up

[FREE] 8:00 pm: Stand-up teams from all over the country compete for laughs at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' Long Island City hosted by Benel Germosen: Border Wars

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 9:00 pm: Wil Sylvince (Comedy Central, BET's Comic View), Christian Finnegan (Conan O'Brien, co-star of TBS' Are We There Yet?; three Comedy Central specials; MSNBC, VH1's Best Week Ever, Chappelle's Show, The Today Show), Selena Coppock (author of book The New Rules for Blondes, host of Connotation), Yannis Pappas (Comedy Central Half Hour, VH1), Alex Carabano (BET), Julia Johns (webseries Girls Are Roommates), and Gilbert Lawand performing at 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?

[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, along with hosts Betsy Stover and Ari Voukydis: Hot for Teacher: The UCB Faculty Show

[MEGA-TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): Scott Adsit (cast member of 30 Rock, and co-writer/director/producer & cast member of Adult Swim's awesome & Emmy-winning Moral Orel) teams up with fellow 30 Rock actor John Lutz (who previously spent six years as a staff writer for Saturday Night Live, and currently writes for Seth Meyers) to form a breathtakingly super-smart and hilarious star improv duo that's become one of the very best attractions at UCB Chelsea and should not be missed: John & Scott

9:30 pm ($10): Bridey Elliott (razor-sharp rising star; David Letterman, Conan O'Brien, Witstream, Fambly), Sean Donnelly (David Letterman, Last Comic Standing, MTV), Nate Fernald (Team Submarine), and David Agyekum performing stand-up at The PIT downstairs lounge hosted by Griffin Newman and/or Andrew Tavin: The Awooga Comedy Hour

[TOP PICK] 10:00 pm ($10; no min.): Hosts Jessica Delfino (CDs Dirty Folk Rock and I Wanna Be Famous; popular animated short film I Wanna Be Famous; to get a feel for Jessica's range and talent, please click here) & Sam Haft welcome comedic musical, sketch, and/or stand-up guests at The Stand Comedy Club (239 Third Avenue & 20th Street): Jessica Delfino's Comedy & Music Extravaganza The Lemonade Stand

[FREE] 10:00 pm: NYC stand-ups do sets "and then have a discussion about what’s going on in the world and the mysteries of life" at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' Long Island City, hosted by Chris Laker: The 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

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: 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' Long Island City hosted by Kaity Neagle & Irene Hartmann: Ragtag Team Open Mic Stand-Up

[FREE] 6:00 pm: Open mic stand-up for 15 comics performing for 5 minutes each at Queens LIC's Laughing Devil Comedy Club (4738 Vernon Blvd.)—with drinks at half price: Happy Hour 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: Sign up at 5:45 pm for the opportunity to make up scenes at The Magnet with veteran improvisors: Magnet Improv Mixer

6:30 pm (no cover, 1-drink min. for comics): Walk-in open mic providing 7 minutes per stand-up at the Phoenix Bar (447 East 13th Street) hosted by Lisa Harmon: Lisa's Clubhouse

10:15 pm ($5): Randomly selected UCBT students perform with UCBT improv veterans at the UCB East theatre: The Lottery

[FREE] 11:00 pm: Open mic stand-up running until 1:00 am, with time divided evenly between performers (up to five minutes), at The Creek downstairs lounge in Queens' Long Island City with host Rob Stern: Bucket 'O Buckets

11:00 pm ($3): Open mic stand-up show, with its 90 minutes split evenly among the comics who throw their names into a bucket, at The PIT downstairs lounge hosted by Eagle Witt: Amateur Night At The Mercury

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

[FREE] 11:15 pm: Your opportunity to perform on the stage of UCB East with improv veterans, hosted by UCBT Harold Night house group Bucky and DJ Cipha Sounds: The Improv Jam

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

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

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

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

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

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

Best NYC Stand-Up Comedy Clubs

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

NYC Comedy Picks for Thursday 10/2/14

TV Alert: Sarah Silverman and John Mulaney are on Seth Meyers:
Martin Short is on Conan O'Brien;
Tim Minchin, Emily Heller, and Rhys Darby are on @midnight

Wyatt Cenac performs at UCB East's Lasers in the Jungle and The Stand;
Judah Friedlander headlines through Saturday at Carolines

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): Wyatt Cenac (former star correspondent for The Daily Show; Adult Swim; albums Wyatt Cenac: Comedy Person and upcoming Wyatt Cenac: Brooklyn; host of Night Train), Mark Normand (hilarious red-hot rising star; Conan O'Brien, Comedy Central Half Hour, Inside Amy Schumer, Last Comic Standing, VH1's Best Week Ever; co-host of Hot Soup and We're All Friends Here), Kara Klenk (writer for VH1's Girl Code and Guy Code; Comedy Central, Spike, Nickelodeon; host of If You Bring It), Brian Frange (Frange & Stern, The Unbelievable Podcast), and Tyson Karrasch performing stand-up at UCB East hosted by Sean Crespo, Dan Wilbur, and/or Katina Corrao: Lasers in the Jungle

[$] 7:00 pm ($12): Jamie Graham & Amy Larimer blend improv and dance to create theatrical physical comedy and grace on the spot at The PIT upstairs theatre: The Raving Jaynes

7:30 pm ($10): "Through audience suggestions of Chapter Title and The First Line of the Chapter, the audience decides what the next chapter will be for the story that the players will create. Will there be glory? Will one of them find their missing cat? Or is death in their future? Come find out as you choose your own adventure" at The PIT downstairs lounge: Writer’s Block: An Adventure You Choose

[TOP PICK] [$] 7:30 pm ($32.75 & 2-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 How to Beat Up Anybody) headlining through Saturday at the Carolines Comedy Club: Judah Friedlander

[TOP PICK] [$] 7:45, 8:00, 9:30 pm, and 11:30 pm ($14 per show, plus 2-item food/drink min.): Tonight's comics include Colin Quinn, Lynne Koplitz, and Marina Franklin (hosting) at the 7:45 show; Colin Quinn, Lynne Koplitz, Judy Gold, and Dov Davidoff at the 8:00 show; Gary Gulman, Greer Barnes, Lenny Marcus, Judy Gold, Dov Davidoff, and Zainab Johnson (hosting) at the 9:30 show; and Kurt Metzger, Mark Normand, Dan Soder, and Joe List (hosting) at the 11:30 show, with three of the shows at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane) and the 8:00 pm show at Village Underground (130 West 3rd Street, off Sixth Avenue): Comedy Cellar Thursday

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): "In 2010, Kristen Bartlett's and Jason Gore's dads died within months of each other. Kristen and Jason formed a grief-fighting force that is often tough, but occasionally falls apart when Big Fish is on HBO. This is a sketch show about what it's like to lose a parent and realize that you are going to die too, and there's nothing you can do about it. (But it's funny, we swear.)" at the UCB Chelsea theatre: The Dead Dads Club...

...and in the other half of this double-bill, sketch comedy from Matt Porter & Charlie Hankin as duo Good Cop Great Cop

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($15; no min.): TV & movie star Janeane Garofalo, Wyatt Cenac (former star correspondent for The Daily Show; Adult Swim; albums Wyatt Cenac: Comedy Person and upcoming Wyatt Cenac: Brooklyn; host of Night Train), Gary Gulman (David Letterman, Jay Leno, Last Comic Standing, Tourgasm, Comedy Central hour-long special), Adrienne Iapalucci (David Letterman, Last Comic Standing, VH1), and Yannis Pappas (Comedy Central Half Hour, VH1) performing stand-up at The Stand Comedy Club (239 Third Avenue & 20th Street): Janeane Garofalo, Wyatt Cenac, Gary Gulman, Adrienne Iapalucci, and More

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): Gary Gulman (David Letterman, Jay Leno, Last Comic Standing, Tourgasm, Comedy Central hour-long special), Aparna Nancherla (delightfully wry, lightning-quick, and razor-sharp rising star; Conan O'Brien, Last Comic Standing, @midnight, former writer/performer for FX's Totally Biased), Rob Cantrell (Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central, HBO, VHI, FX's Totally Biased, documentary Metaphysical Graffiti, High Times), Adam Lowitt (The Daily Show), and Linas Phillips performing at this show for stand-up plus sketch at Brooklyn's Splitty (415 Myrtle Avenue) hosted by Larry Murphy (brilliant voiceover actor for FOX's Bob's Burgers, Comedy Central's Ugly Americans, Adult Swim's Assy McGee and Home Movies, and numerous other shows) and/or Greg Johnson (Sirius XM): Myrtle Comedy

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm-Midnight ($10 for the entire evening): The Magnet house improv groups Hello Laser and The Boss performing improv for an hour, followed at 9:00 pm by The Senses (improv focused on the stimulation and deprivation of taste, touch, smell, sight, and sound), at 10:00 pm by veteran improvisors making up scenes based on improvised monologues from storyteller Courtney Wielgus at The Armando Diaz Experience, and finally at 11:00 by improv competition Inspirado (like UCBT's Cage Match, but with a game-like challenge component): The Magnet's Night Out

8:00 pm ($10): Jet Eveleth & Holly Laurent perform sketch and improv at The PIT upstairs theatre: Jet and Holly

[FREE] 8:00 pm: Amber Nelson (fearless, innovative rising star; Comedy Central; sketch troupes Murderfist and The Prom), Jack Wilkinson, Jabari Baraka Davis, and Lance Weiss performing stand-up at Poco Restaurant & Bar (33 Avenue B at 3rd Street) produced by Jawann Carmona, Sooyah Jun, Cassidy Kirch, and Zardon Richardson: FTH Comedy

[FREE] 8:00 pm: NYC stand-ups performing thoughtful stand-up at The Creek's downstairs lounge in Queens' Long Island City hosted by Leah Bonnema & Tim Warner: Modern Day Philosophers

[FREE] 8:00 pm: Long-form improv from troupe CSO at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' Long Island City: Casual Sex Offenders

8:30 pm ($5): NYC stand-ups (not announced) performing at UCB East hosted by Ashley Brooke Roberts and/or Jim Tews: Fresh Out

[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($10): Storyteller Lyssa Mandel invites guests to "expose their bleeding-heart adolescent artifacts (journal entries, poetry, original songs, and art), then welcomes them to laugh at and with their own flaws" at The PIT downstairs lounge: The Bitch Seat

[$] [DISCOUNTED] 9:00 pm (FREE TICKETS if you reserve in advance by calling (212) 260-2445 and mention HyReviews.com, but there's still a 2-drink min. per person): TV & movie star Janeane Garofalo, Sam Morril (Comedy Central), and more performing at the only comedy club in the East Village: Eastville Comedy Club

[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 ($12): An all-gal sketch troupe performs at The PIT upstairs theatre: Cockadoodle Don't

10:00 pm ($10): Jay Malsky plays tribute to Elaine Stritch in this musical one-person show at The PIT downstairs lounge: Elaine Stritch: Still Here

[FREE] 10:00 pm: "Mike Guild knows everything about movies and films. He will take you through the landscape of the cinema, along with comic guests to discuss everything going on the weird landscape that is Hollywood—plus everyone in the audience will win a unique prize" at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' Long Island City: Movie Night With Mike

[TOP PICK] 10:30 pm ($5): Mark Normand (hilarious red-hot rising star; Conan O'Brien, Comedy Central Half Hour, Inside Amy Schumer, Last Comic Standing, VH1's Best Week Ever; co-host of Hot Soup and We're All Friends Here), Rob Cantrell (Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central, HBO, VHI, FX's Totally Biased, documentary Metaphysical Graffiti, High Times), and Giulia Rozzi (Jimmy Kimmel, Chelsea Lately, writer for MTV's Girl Code, VH1, Playgirl Magazine, co-host of Dive Comedy and Stripped Stories) performing stand-up at this weekly show hosted by the brilliantly surreal and hilarious Joe Pera (for a very special one-minute set at Carolines, please click here), Charles Gould, and Dan Licata at the UCB East theatre: Dan + Joe + Charles' Show

[TOP PICK] [$] 11:00 pm ($20): Clanging refers to speaking with a focus on sound rather than meaning, such as compulsive rhyming or alliteration. Josh Radnor (How I Met Your Mother, Liberal Arts) and Dion Flynn (ongoing role as Barrack Obama on Jimmy Fallon) have been clanging together almost daily for more than 15 years, and tonight do so at The PIT upstairs theatre: Clanging with Josh & Dion

[TOP PICK] 11:00 pm ($5): Harold Night improv group The Enemy last week won by a hair against Women & Men with an audience vote of 70-67. Tonight it attempts to keep up its 5-win streak against improv troupe Rizzo, competing for your laughs and votes at UCB Chelsea in the raucous Cage Match

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

[FREE] 5:30 pm: Open-mic stand-up, with 3 minutes per comic (unless not many folks show up, in which case there'll be more time), with names drawn out of a bucket at UCB East in the bar area ("Hot Chicks Room") hosted by Sarah Tollemache and/or Paul Oddo: Thursday Night Open Mic Stand-Up

[TOP PICK] [ALMOST FREE] 6:00 pm ($1): Joe Galan hosts a clowning workshop & open stage: "Clowns have only one true directive: To play! This is part workshop, part playground where we will use exercises geared towards exploring new voices, bodies and games. Either show off a piece in progress or jump onstage blind and ready to follow your sense of fun. Whether you're interested in learning more about clown technique and physical comedy or just overcoming coulrophobia, this jam is a fun and safe environment to explore your onstage instincts" at The PIT upstairs theatre: No Make-Up: A Clown Jam

[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 upstairs theatre in Queens' Long Island City hosted by Ross Parsons & Trey Galyon: Free Puppies

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] 7:00 pm: Weekly open mic that provides 5 minutes for each audience member whose name is pulled out of a bucket to perform a true story, sketch, or characters at Brooklyn's Over the Eight (594 Union Ave) hosted by JiJi Lee: Split Personality Open Mic Storytelling & Sketch

7:00 pm ($2, which includes a free beer or water): Open mic stand-up providing a whopping 10 minutes per comic. Email PhoningItInMic@gmail.com with subject line Phoning Thursday to sign up; or take a chance at lottery sign-up live between 6:45 and 7:45 at Brit Pack Studios (153 Lafayette Street, 3rd Floor) hosted by Ian Fidance: Comics Phoning It In

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

9:30 pm (free for audience members, $5 or 1 drink min. for stand-ups wanting to perform): Open mic stand-up providing 7 minutes per comic (and a free recording of your set!), with order determined raffle-style. Sign up by emailing info@oldmanhustle.com or calling (212) 253-7747, or just walk in and supply your name, to perform at the Old Man Hustle Bar (39 Essex Street) hosted by Solomon Chehebar: Peep Show Comedy Open Mic

[FREE] 11:00 pm: An open-mic show that's first come, first serve, with each comic getting 3-5 minutes on stage at The Creek downstairs lounge in Queens' Long Island City hosted by Josh Alba: Mic and Cheese

[FREE] 11:00 pm: An open stage for indie improv groups—and if you're not in a group, that's also fine, you'll simply be added to one—at The PIT upstairs theatre hosted by Darcy Burke & Donna Lobello: New Team Lunacy

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Best NYC Stand-Up Comedy Clubs

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

NYC Comedy Picks for Friday 10/3/14

TV Alert: Simon Amstell is on David Letterman;
Dane Cook is on Jimmy Fallon;
Ana Gasteyer is on Seth Meyers (repeated from 9/22);
Jim Jefferies is on Carson Daly (repeated from 9/22)

Hilarious star stand-up Judah Friedlander continues killing at Carolines; and it's your last chance to catch
hilarious rising star David Carl—at just $9 per ticket via TDF—performing Gary Busey's One Man Hamlet

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, 8:00 pm, 8:45 pm, 10:30 pm, and 12:15 am ($20-$24 per show, plus 2-item food/drink min.): Tonight's comics include a strong lineup of Colin Quinn, Ted Alexandro, Nick DiPaolo, Lynne Koplitz, and Wil Sylvince (hosting) at the 7:00 show; Colin Quinn, Keith Alberstadt, Lynne Koplitz, and Dov Davidoff at the 8:00 show; Colin Quinn, Nick DiPaolo, Lynne Koplitz, and Seaton C. Smith (hosting) at the 8:45 show; and Nick DiPaolo, Dane Cook, Leslie Jones, and Marina Franklin (hosting) at the 10:30 show, with all shows at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane) except for the 8:00 pm show at Village Underground (130 West 3rd Street, off Sixth Avenue): Comedy Cellar Friday

[$] [DISCOUNTED] 7:00 pm & 9:00 pm & 11:00 pm (FREE TICKETS if you reserve in advance by calling (212) 260-2445 and mention HyReviews.com, but there's still a 2-drink min. per person): TV & movie star Janeane Garofalo (possibly 9:00 pm only), Sam Morril (Comedy Central), Mike Britt (Comedy Central), and more performing at the only comedy club in the East Village: Eastville Comedy Club

7:00 pm ($7): Lauren Olson (brilliant writer, actress, and improvisor; Nat Geo's Going Ape; member of sketch & improv groups Genus, Chet Watkins, and 20/400; powerhouse one-woman FringeNYC shows Our Condolences and 20/400) and Jana Schmieding spearhead a showcase for comedic characters, tonight featuring the brilliant David Carl, Christian Paluck (Conan O'Brien, 20/400), Rob Cuthill (Hulu original series Quick Draw), and more performing at The Magnet theatre: Jana & Lauren Presents

7:00 pm ($10): Musical improv from the group that hosts the weekly Pitch jam, tonight performing at The PIT upstairs theatre: [title of team]

[TOP PICK] [$] 7:30 pm ($32.75 & 2-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 How to Beat Up Anybody) headlining tonight and Saturday at the Carolines Comedy Club: Judah Friedlander

[TOP PICK] 7:30 pm ($10): Brian McCann (writer & performer for Conan O'Brien for 17 years) performs a one-man show at the UCB Chelsea theatre: Brian McCann's Leisure Hour

[TOP PICK] 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—at the UCB East theatre: Bucky: Here and Now

[TOP PICK] [DISCOUNTED] 8:00 pm ($10 online using discount code OCTOBER; no min.): Gary Gulman (David Letterman, Jay Leno, Last Comic Standing, Tourgasm, Comedy Central hour-long special), Dan Soder (smart, edgy rising star; Conan O'Brien, Comedy Central Half Hour, VH1; for set about being a hypochondriatic drug user, please click here), Rachel Feinstein (finalist on Last Comic Standing; Inside Amy Schumer, HBO, The Apprentice, opens for Sarah Silverman on tour), Monroe Martin (finalist on this season's Last Comic Standing), Yannis Pappas (Comedy Central Half Hour, VH1), and Graham Kay performing stand-up at The Stand Comedy Club (239 Third Avenue & 20th Street): Gary Gulman, Dan Soder, Rachel Feinstein, and More

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($10 at the door or $12.62 online): Dave Hill (one of the most original and hilariously sharp alternative comics in the country) hosts this monthly show, tonight featuring Sabrina Jalees (delightful dynamo stand-up; Comedy Central's Adam Devine's House Party, Last Comic Standing, VH1's Best Week Ever, MTV’s Failosophy), Carla Rhodes ("rock'n'roll ventriloquist;" for shout-out from David Letterman, please click here; for act with "Keith Richards," please click here), and singer/musicians Mike Doughty and Joseph Keckler, all performing at Brooklyn's Union Hall: Meet Me in the Bathroom and Tell Me All Your Secrets

8:00 pm ($10): Two PIT upstairs theatre improv groups making up a musical on the spot: Vern and Royals

[FREE] 8:00 pm: A stand-up show that also "parodies everything you love and hate about sports" with NYC stand-ups (not announced) performing at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' Long Island City hosted by Mike Cody, Joel Walkowski, and/or Sam Evans: Bush League

[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 Laura Grey (stellar old-time radio style theatrical podcast Horrorgasm, improv troupe Salmon Diane, sketch/improv duo Klepper & Grey): The Friday Night Sh*w

[MEGA-TOP PICK] [$] [DISCOUNTED] 9:00 pm ($9 via TDF or $18 at the door): Rising star comic David Carl transforms into Gary Busey to act out Shakespeare's greatest play using paper puppets, interactive video, lines from Hollywood action movies, an endearing childlike sense of wonder...and genuine comedic star power. This was my second favorite show at the recent FringeNYC 2014 (out of 68); and is actually one of the funniest shows in New York, on any stage. (For my full review, please click here.) If you didn't get a chance to catch GBOMH before, don't miss this final chance to experience it tonight at the Baruch Performing Arts Center (55 Lexington Avenue, between 24th & 25th Streets): Gary Busey's One Man Hamlet (as performed by David Carl)

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 9:00 pm: Joe Pera (hilarious and genius deadpan stand-up; Adult Swim; for a very special one-minute set at Carolines, please click here; for Joe's latest Kaufman awards submissions, please click here and here), Michelle Wolf (staff writer for and performer on Seth Meyers; MTV's Girl Code, IFC), The Reformed Whores (raunchy comedic singing duo Marie Cecile Anderson & Katy Frame; album Ladies Don't Spit; CBS’ The Doctors), and Tyler Fischer (America's Got Talent) performing stand-up, plus Charla Lauriston & Becky Chicoine performing improv, at Brit Pack Studios (153 Lafayette Street, 3rd Floor) hosted by Justin Perez: Justin's 1997 Basement Party

[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, Neil Casey, Natasha Rothwell, Brandon Gardner, Lydia Hensler, Christian Capozzoli, Abra Tabak, and/or Shaun Diston at the UCB East theatre: Take It Personal: The Hip-Hip Improv Show

[FREE] 9:00 pm: The only comedy show taking place in a chopped salad restaurant, tonight featuring performing stand-ups Michelle Wolf (staff writer for and performer on Seth Meyers; MTV's Girl Code, IFC), Matt Koff (writer for The Daily Show), Boris Khaykin, and Charles Gould, plus amazing musician Corn Mo, plus The US National Improv Team, all at the Chop't Creative Salad Company (18 East 23rd Street) hosted by Aaron Kheifets: Salad-Fueled Comedy

[FREE] 9:00 pm: Jared Logan (rising star; Comedy Central Half Hour, Last Comic Standing, CNN, TBS), Jeffrey Joseph (Jay Leno, HBO, FOX's In Living Color, Comedy Central), Leah Bonnema (VH1, WeTV's Cinematherapy, Logo, Opie & Anthony’s Virus Channel), Lance Weiss (NBC’s The Today Show, MTV, Bravo), and Janelle James performing stand-up at this free weekly show at Brooklyn's The Cobra Club (6 Wyckoff Avenue) hosted by Erik Bergstrom, Ben Kronberg, and/or John F. O'Donnell: Live From Outer Space

9:00 pm ($10): A short one-man show by Alan Fox, and then a one-act play in which three guys each explain how a fire started in their apartment using different film genres, at The PIT downstairs lounge: Quarter Life: It Might Get Awkward

9:30 pm ($10): Two PIT upstairs theatre improv groups making up a musical on the spot. Dagger includes Abby Holland (VH1's Best Night Ever, musical improv groups Aquarius and Veal), and Hello includes Lorraine Cink (especially lovely singing voice; host & writer of Marvel Comics' The Watcher): Dagger and Hello

[TOP PICK] [DISCOUNTED] 10:00 pm ($10 online using discount code OCTOBER; no min.): Gary Gulman (David Letterman, Jay Leno, Last Comic Standing, Tourgasm, Comedy Central hour-long special), Dan Soder (smart, edgy rising star; Conan O'Brien, Comedy Central Half Hour, VH1; for set about being a hypochondriatic drug user, please click here), Rachel Feinstein (finalist on Last Comic Standing; Inside Amy Schumer, HBO, The Apprentice, opens for Sarah Silverman on tour), Sherrod Small (writer/performer on TBS' Are We There Yet?, Comedy Central, VH1), Yannis Pappas (Comedy Central Half Hour, VH1), and Graham Kay performing stand-up at The Stand Comedy Club (239 Third Avenue & 20th Street): Gary Gulman, Dan Soder, Rachel Feinstein, and More

[TOP PICK] 10:00 pm ($10): Singing improvisors at The Magnet using an interview with an audience member to craft The Made-Up Musical

10:00 pm ($10): Musical sketch comedy from group Nancy at The PIT downstairs lounge: Nancy Presents Songs in the Key Of Life

[FREE] 10:00 pm: NYC stand-ups (not announced) performing at Queens LIC's The Creek upstairs theatre hosted by Neruda Williams...who will be celebrating the birthday of at least one of these comics with cake and beer: The Happy Happy Birthday Show

[TOP PICK] 10:30 pm ($10): Jordan Klepper (correspondent for The Daily Show), Jo Firestone (dynamic rising star; host of Punderdome 3000 and The Incredible Game Show Showcase), Zack Willis & Natasha Vaynblat, and more performing stand-up, sketch, storytelling, or improv at UCB East hosted by Brandon Scott Jones, D'Arcy Carden, Justin Tyler, Kelly Hudson, and/or Alden Ford: Gentrify

[TOP PICK] 10:30 pm ($10): Superb improvisors Craig Rowin, Matt Fisher, Sue Galloway, Dan Klein, Brian Faas, Matt Moses, and/or Conner O'Malley—who this year defeated The Stepfathers and thoroughly crushed another troupe at Cage Match before losing by a single vote—make up scenes about an audience member's legal dispute at the UCB Chelsea theatre: The Law Firm: Law & Disorder

[MEGA-TOP PICK] 11:00 pm ($10): I'm not sure he's in NYC tonight, but one of the finest improvisors alive, Joe Bill (Bassprov, iO, co-founder of the Annoyance Theatre) will either personally spearhead or lead in spirit a breathtakingly brilliant group of improvisors from Chicago and New York who will blow the roof off The PIT downstairs lounge with lightning-quick dark comedy unlike anything else in NYC. The other superb players typically are Doug Stoley (Conan O'Brien, The Scene), Amey Goerlich (Indie Cage Match, Krompf, The Scene), Jodi Lennon (Exit 57, Annoyance Theatre), Jed Resnik (Annoyance Theatre, UCB), Silvija Ozols (The Stepfathers), Betsy Stover (UCB), Ari Voukydis (VH1's Best Week Ever, UCB), Russ Armstrong (iO Chicago, The Magnet), Micah Sherman (Second City, co-host of The Scene, host of Fun), Rick Andrews (Magnet teacher/performer), and Michael Burton (Act One, The Magnet), all declaring Chica Go-Go

[$] 11:00 pm ($12): Stand-up Dov Davidoff (Comedy Central) and journalist/performer Eliza Bent are interviewed and/or perform at this late night talk show hosted by Jamie LeeLo at The PIT upstairs theatre: Brunch Night

11:30 pm ($7): Chris Dwane & Dmitry Shein perform duo improv at The Magnet theatre: Chris & Dmitry

[TOP PICK] [DISCOUNTED] Midnight ($7.50 online using discount code OCTOBER; no min.): Mike Lawrence (nerd persona but razor-sharp mind has made this stand-up a rapidly rising star; Conan O'Brien, Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central Half Hour, John Oliver's NY Stand-Up, comedy album Sadamantium), Dan Soder (smart, edgy rising star; Conan O'Brien, Comedy Central Half Hour, VH1; for set about being a hypochondriatic drug user, please click here), Amber Nelson (fearless, innovative rising star; Comedy Central; sketch troupes Murderfist and The Prom), Monroe Martin (finalist on this season's Last Comic Standing), Graham Kay, and more performing stand-up at The Stand Comedy Club (239 Third Avenue & 20th Street): Mike Lawrence, Dan Soder, Amber Nelson, Monroe Martin, and More

[TOP PICK] Midnight ($5): A raucous, hilarious laboratory for wacky ideas, in which comics Jo Firestone, Michael Wolf, Dan Glaser, and Cory Palmer create absurd game shows that they try out on the spot using audience members. "After we've attempted to create all the game shows, the audience votes on which idea gets to go straight to TV (not really)" at UCB Chelsea hosted by the fabulous Jo Firestone (also host of Punderdome 3000 and many, many other shows): The Incredible Game Show Showcase

[FREE] Midnight: "A psychedelic journey through space-time. The stand-ups on this show have seen the other side. They have surfed the waves of consciousness and mastered their superego to a near shamanic level. They are here to guide you on a quest of understanding and wonder. Also, they’re going to be tripping balls" at Queens LIC's The Creek upstairs theatre hosted by "the spirit animal of Evan Jones:" The Only One Tripping

[FREE] Midnight: Stand-up, music, and improv, plus an audience improv jam, at this free monthly variety show at UCB East produced by Poupak Sepehri and hosted by Keisha Zollar (Doppelganger), Anna Suzuki, and/or Emily Schorr Lesnick: The Soul Glo Project

Friday 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 (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

[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 with host Eli Sairs: The Orphanage

[ALMOST FREE] 6:00 pm ($1): PIT musical improv veterans mix with musical improv novices on-stage at the upstairs theatre for Pitch

[ALMOST FREE] 6:00 pm ($1): PIT improv veterans mix with improv novices on-stage at the downstairs lounge for Happy Hour

[FREE] 7:00 pm: Open-mic stand-up, with 3 minutes per comic (unless not many folks show up, in which case there'll be more time), with names drawn out of a bucket at UCB East in the bar area ("Hot Chicks Room") hosted by Sarah Tollemache and/or Paul Oddo: The Friday Night Hot Chicks Open Mic

[FREE] 8:00 pm: An open-mic show that's first come, first serve, with each comic getting 5 minutes on stage at The Creek downstairs lounge in Queens' Long Island City: Mic and Cheese

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

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

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

The PIT
(123 East 24th Street; 99-seat upstairs theatre, 40-seat downstairs theatre; shows free-$15)

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

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

Best NYC Stand-Up Comedy Clubs

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

NYC Comedy Picks for Saturday 10/4/14

TV Alert: Sarah Silverman hosts NBC's Saturday Night Live

TV & movie star T.J. Miller performs almost every kind of comedy imaginable at The Creek's free T.J. Miller Makes Mayhem;
brilliant stand-up star Judah Friedlander commits his own special kind of mayhem on his last night of headlining at Carolines...

...Richard Greene, co-author of Inside the Dream: The Walt Disney Story, will try to mislead you at The Liar Show:
and it's your last chance to catch rising star actress Kristin Parker and stand-up Gianmarco Soresi in <50%

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] [$] [DISCOUNTED] 5:00 pm ($12.75 online with discount code FES14): This unusual FringeNYC play is actually a drama, but is so twisty at blending autobiography with wish-fulfillment fantasy that some reviewers have been fooled into describing it as a romantic comedy with a happy ending. The truth is this is a show with lots of humor—it's written and co-stars an NYC stand-up, Gianmarco Soresi—but is ultimately about matters of the head and heart that are poignant and quite moving. Soresi is dynamic and skilled at landing laughs. But the bigger discovery of this production is the luminous Kristin Parker, who delivers a transcendent performance as his girlfriend rich in nuance, making every moment of love, compassion, faith, and pain believable. Parker's performance is among the very finest I've seen at this year's fest (out of over 60 shows and hundreds of actors). If you're a casting director, check out this rising star, whose website is KristinParker.com. And if you're a comic, consider seeing this example of how to build a stand-up routine into a multi-layered story that ultimately hits all emotional buttons with surprising success. Huge kudos also go to director Max Freedman, both for his inventive staging, and his creating an environment that simultaneously lets Soresi go for comedy while Parker mines hearts. This is the final Encore performance at the West Village's Soho Playhouse (15 Vandam Street): <50%

[TOP PICK] 6:00 pm ($5; no min.): Part of Comic Con Super Week, Mike Lawrence (nerd persona but razor-sharp mind has made this stand-up a rapidly rising star; Conan O'Brien, Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central Half Hour, John Oliver's NY Stand-Up, comedy album Sadamantium) hosts a comic book related stand-up show featuring such other top comics as Dan Soder (smart, edgy rising star; Conan O'Brien, Comedy Central Half Hour, VH1; for set about being a hypochondriatic drug user, please click here) and Jared Logan (rising star; Comedy Central Half Hour, Last Comic Standing, CNN, TBS) performing at The Stand Comedy Club (239 Third Avenue & 20th Street): Comic Book Stand-Up: Mike Lawrence, Dan Solder, Jared Logan, and More

[TOP PICK] [$] 6:00 pm ($10 cover plus $10 drink min.; reservations highly recommended by calling 212.989.9319): Four funny people tell amazing stories. Three of the tales are absolutely true...but one of them is a pack of lies. The audience then asks questions to try and identify the fibber—and everyone who does gets a free t-shirt! This evening's yarn-spinners are Richard Greene (co-author of Inside The Dream: The Walt Disney Story), Lisa Kirchner (author of Hello American Lady Creature), Adam Wade (two-time Moth GrandSlam Storytelling Champion (2006 & 2009) and record-breaking 18-time StorySlam Champion; The New York Times Magazine; host of hilarious monthly storytelling extravaganzas The Adam Wade Show and Whatever Happened to the Nerds?, and cast member of The Nights of Our Lives; for a sampling of Adam's award-winning tales, please click here), and Ed Gavagan (TED Talks, Moth Radio Hour). Come to the West Village's Cornelia Street Cafe (29 Cornelia Street) and let host Andy Christie (The New York Times, NPR, Moth GrandSlam champion, exceptionally nice guy) attempt to mislead you at The Liar Show

[TOP PICK] [$] 7:00 pm, 7:15 pm, 8:45 pm, 9:15 pm, 10:30 pm, 11:15 pm, 12:15 am, and 1:15 am ($20-$24 per show, plus 2-item food/drink min.): Tonight's stand-ups include Colin Quinn, Ted Alexandro, Zainab Johnson, and Seaton C. Smith at the 7:00 show; Colin Quinn, Lynne Koplitz, and Zainab Johnson at the 7:15 show; Colin Quinn, Greer Barnes, Lynne Koplitz, and Dov Davidoff at the 8:45 show; Colin Quinn, Dane Cook, Greer Barnes, Lynne Koplitz, and Dov Davidoff at the 9:15 show; and Dane Cook, Greer Barnes, Lynne Koplitz, and Zainab Johnson at the 10:30 show, with four of the shows at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane), and the 7:15, 9:15, 11:15, and 1:15 shows at Village Underground (130 West 3rd Street, off Sixth Avenue): Comedy Cellar Saturday

[$] [DISCOUNTED] 7:00 pm & 9:00 pm & 11:00 pm (FREE TICKETS if you reserve in advance by calling (212) 260-2445 and mention HyReviews.com, but there's still a 2-drink min. per person): TV & movie star Janeane Garofalo (possibly 9:00 pm only), Sam Morril (Comedy Central), Mike Britt (Comedy Central), and more performing at the only comedy club in the East Village: Eastville Comedy Club

7:00 pm ($10): Political activists and pundits mix with comics at this political comedy show that makes fun of the news at The PIT downstairs lounge: Electoral Dysfunction

[$] 7:00 pm ($12): A young all-guy troupe performs a mix of sketch and improv on the subject of middle school at The PIT upstairs theatre: Gentlemen Party: “Everyone Kisses!” A Middle School Odyssey

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 7:00 pm: TV & movie star T.J. Miller (red-hot comedic actor & hilarious sketch comic; David Letterman, co-star of HBO's Silicon Valley and former ABC sitcom Carpoolers; co-star of numerous movies including Transformers: Age of Extinction, How to Train Your Dragon 2, Cloverfield, and Get Him to the Greek; for video samples, please click here) performs stand-up, sketch, improv, clowning, and mime at The Creek's upstairs theatre in Queens' Long Island City: T.J. Miller Makes Mayhem

[TOP PICK] [$] 7:30 pm & 10:00 pm ($35 & 2-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 How to Beat Up Anybody) headlines one last night at the Carolines Comedy Club: Judah Friedlander

7:30 pm ($10): Improv powerhouses Charlie Todd, Jim Santangeli, Natasha Rothwell, and more 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 ($10): Sharp Magnet improvisors "perform organic freeform improvisation in two mind-blowing parts; the only rule is that there are no rules:" The Weave

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($10): Improv groups Big Black Car (which includes Chris Grace, Nate Starkey, and Ashley Ward) and The Baldwins (which includes Micah Sherman Brigid Boyle, and Sarah Nowak) make stuff up at The PIT upstairs theatre: Big Black Car and The Baldwins

[FREE] 8:00 pm: This show-and-tell event encourages you to "bring your weird family photos, demonstrate how many flips you can do in a row, reveal the tattoo your uncle gave you at last year's family retreat—share anything crazy, kooky, strange or insane; the best of the best will win prizes and bragging rights," plus stand-up from Jared Logan (rising star; Comedy Central Half Hour, Last Comic Standing, CNN, TBS), Emmy Blotnick (blogger for Jimmy Fallon, MTV's Nikki and Sara Live, VH1's Best Week Ever), Tony Zaret (co-host of School Drools), and Lukas Kaiser (Chappelle’s Show), all at Brooklyn's Over the Eight (594 Union Ave) produced by Lukas Kaiser and hosted by Lizzie Martinez: Showcasey Jones

[FREE] 8:00 pm: In this popular monthly show, NYC stand-ups "risk getting slapped by Satan himself. Actually, he hosts only bringer shows, but join Matt Wayne and Doug Smith as they step into the Big Man's shoes and put NYC's finest through comedy purgatory. Hula-hoops, celebrity impressions, unwanted audience participation, all incorporated into each performance! Will they triumph or will the nether world eat their souls? Come see for yourself in this monthly showcase"at Queens LIC's The Creek upstairs theatre hosted by Matt Wayne & Doug Smith: See You in Hell

8:00 pm ($10): A freestyle rapping long-form improv troupe takes the stage for nearly an hour at The PIT downstairs lounge: North Coast

[TOP PICK] 8:30 pm ($10): UCBT improv troupe Airwolf—which includes such talents as Molly Lloyd, Tim Martin, Achilles Stamatelaky, John Frusciante, and Emily Axford, and in 2012 crushed 15 improv groups in a row at Cage Match, entirely owns the UCB East stage tonight at Airwolf: Let's Go Back to Your Place

[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($10): One of the gutsiest and most hilarious troupes in comedy history—with honors including being Cage Match Champion for three years in a row, and winning the 2011 ECNY Award for Best Improv Group—UCB Chelsea's genius improvisors Death by Roo Roo

9:00 pm ($10): Magnet improvisors team up with poets at Kiss*Punch*Poem

9:30 pm ($10): Improv group Walter makes up a old-fashioned black & white silent movie on the spot, with live piano accompaniment, at The PIT upstairs theatre: Walter's Silent Movie

9:30 pm ($10): "A monthly show featuring long form improv of three diverse schools of thought and culminating in a cross-team closing" at The PIT downstairs lounge hosted by Sharif Ali and/or Kelly Ann Rockwell: World's Fair

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 10:00 pm: In this hilarious, organic monthly show, stand-ups perform anything except stand-up—e.g., sketch, storytelling, improv, songs, dance, puppetry, and things we can't even imagine—with tonight's small army of comics including Ashley Brooke Roberts, Josh Gondelman, Lukas Kaiser, Nate Fernald, and more performing at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' Long Island City guest-hosted by Eric Grundhauser & Nick Maritato: Underbelly

[TOP PICK] 10:00 pm ($10): Zhubin Parang (writer for The Daily Show), Langan Kingsley (rising star; sketch group Beige, one-woman show The Dicewoman Cometh), Michael Kayne (Baby Wants Candy, Diamond Lion), Aaron Jackson (Fuck That Shit, Newsadoozies), Tracey Wigfield (former writer for 30 Rock), Nate Dern (News Editor for Funny or Die), and more form an ace improv group at UCB East that won last year's prestigious Cage Match championship by springboarding scenes off interviewing an audience member about his or her love life: What I Did For Love

[$] 10:00 pm ($20): Ted Greenberg (Emmy-winning David Letterman writer) performing a fun, fast-paced theatrical comedy show—complete with audience interaction and audience rides home!—at The Complete Performer

[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): Sharp improvisors Peter McNerney & Nick Kanellis make up scenes at The Magnet as comedy trio Trike

[TOP PICK] 11:30 ($5): An enormously fun freestyle rap contest at UCB East with NYC comics (not announced) plus a volunteer from the audience!, hosted by superstar human beatbox Chris "Shockwave" Sullivan (The Daily Show, The Electric Company, Freestyle Love Supreme) and Victor Varnado (Conan O'Brien, Jimmy Kimmel, Comedy Central): Battlicious

[TOP PICK] Midnight ($5): TV & movie star Janeane Garofalo, Jared Logan (rising star; Comedy Central Half Hour, Last Comic Standing, CNN, TBS), Jon Rineman (Tonight Show), and more performing stand-up at UCB Chelsea hosted by Aaron Glaser: Midnight Stand-Up

[TOP PICK] Midnight ($10, which covers you and a companion; no min.): Part of Comic Con Super Week, Gary Gulman (David Letterman, Jay Leno, Last Comic Standing, Tourgasm, Comedy Central hour-long special) hosts a comic book related stand-up show featuring such other comics as Monroe Martin, Aaron Berg, and Yannis Pappas performing at The Stand Comedy Club (239 Third Avenue & 20th Street): Comic Book Stand-Up: Gary Gulman and Friends

[FREE] Midnight: An eclectic monthly talk show in which host Erik Bergstrom (cartoonist/author of Grimmer Tales, The New Yorker, blogger for Comedy Central) interviews a broad range of guests (sadly, not announced this time) at Queens LIC's The Creek upstairs theatre: Aftermirth

Saturday Open Mics and Jams

[FREE] 4:00 pm: An unusually early weekly open mic stand-up show ("starts late enough to sleep off that hangover but ends just in time to begin a new one"), with sign-up at 3:30 pm, at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' Long Island City hosted by Raj Sivaraman & Sam Evanshost: The Amateur Hour

[FREE] 5:30 pm: Walk-in open mic comedy show—stand-up, character, or funny story—providing 5 minutes per comic at The Fifth Estate Bar (506 5th Avenue, off 12th Street) hosted by Meghan O'Keefe: Open Mic-hael Douglas

5:30 pm ($5): Walk-in open mic, with sign-up at 5:15 pm and each stand-up performing for 5 minutes, at the Comedy Village Comedy Club (107 MacDougal Street): Comedy Village

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

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

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

The PIT
(123 East 24th Street; 99-seat upstairs theatre, 40-seat downstairs theatre; shows free-$15)

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

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

Best NYC Stand-Up Comedy Clubs

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

NYC Comedy Picks for Sunday 10/5/14

Mike Lawrence spearheads a comic book related stand-up show at The Stand;
a day-long celebration at The Creek is capped by mind-blowing musical dark comedy from The Cowmen

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] 3:00 pm-Midnight: The Creek's Cave Comedy Radio celebrates its fans all day with "a big ole sausage and brat cookout, and then a two-stage comedy show, with all your favorite CCR podcasts downstairs and CCR performers doing stand-up and sketch in the upstairs theater; and then at 10:00 pm musical group The Cowmen do a full set" at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' Long Island City: Creek Cave Radio Sausage Party, Mac & Cheese Cookoff, and All-Day Comedy

5:00 pm (no cover, 1 drink min.): NYC stand-ups (not announced) sit in the audience and "shout out funny questions, comments, or even noises to the host onstage and to each other whenever they feel like it," effectively becoming their own hecklers, at The Grisly Pear (107 MacDougal Street) hosted by Will Thilly: Noise Factory

7:00 pm ($10): Improv spinning off the mythic TV series The Golden Girls at The PIT upstairs theatre: Four Broads and Cheesecake: Golden Girls Improv

[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 Chris Gethard, and occasionally network TV & movie stars such as Amy Poehler and Horatio Sanz: ASSSSCAT 3000

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

[$] 7:30 pm ($20 & 2-drink min.) Adrienne Iapalucci (David Letterman, Last Comic Standing, VH1), Nimesh Patel (Comedy Central, co-host of Broken Comedy), Mike Vecchione (Jay Leno, Comedy Central Half Hour, Last Comic Standing, Howard Stern), and Graham Kay, plus hosts Sam Morril (Comedy Central) & Joe List (HBO, Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central), perform stand-up at the Carolines Comedy Club: The Sam and Joe Show

[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm ($12): Theatrical improvisors make up a complete play on the spot at The PIT upstairs theatre: The Improvised Play

[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm, 9:45 pm and 11:30 pm ($14 per show, plus 2-item food/drink min.): Tonight's stand-ups include Colin Quinn and Ryan Hamilton at the 8:00 show; great lineup of Judah Friedlander, Ryan Hamilton, Keith Alberstadt, Donald McEnery, Kevin Brennan, and Zainab Johnson (hosting) at the 9:45 show; and Kurt Metzger, Marina Franklin (hosting), Sam Morril, Zainab Johnson, Joe List, and Damien Lemon at the 11:30 show, with all shows at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane): Comedy Cellar Sunday

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($20; no min.): Part of Comic Con Super Week, Mike Lawrence (nerd persona but razor-sharp mind has made this stand-up a rapidly rising star; Conan O'Brien, Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central Half Hour, John Oliver's NY Stand-Up, comedy album Sadamantium) spearheads a comic book related stand-up show featuring such other top comics as TV & movie star Janeane Garofalo, Kurt Metzger (staff writer for Inside Amy Schumer; Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central special White Precious, Comedy Central Presents, Ugly Americans), Dan Soder (smart, edgy rising star; Conan O'Brien, Comedy Central Half Hour, VH1; for set about being a hypochondriatic drug user, please click here), Rachel Feinstein (finalist on Last Comic Standing; Inside Amy Schumer, HBO, The Apprentice, opens for Sarah Silverman on tour), Joe List (HBO, Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central), and Byron Bowers performing at The Stand Comedy Club (239 Third Avenue & 20th Street): Comic Book Stand-Up: Mike Lawrence, Kurt Metzger, Dan Solder, Janeane Garofalo, Rachel Feinstein, Joe List, and More

[TOP PICK] 8:00 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

8:00 pm ($5): Brooke Van Poppelen (co-host of TruTV's Hack My Life; writer and/or producer for a slew of MTV shows; also performed on HBO, Comedy Central, VH1; co-host of Dive Comedy), Matt Koff (writer for The Daily Show), Ashley Brooke Roberts (co-host of Fresh Out), Jacqueline Novak (Comedy Central, College Humor), Brian Frange, Ricky Gonzalez, and Mike Lebowitz performing stand-up at UCB East hosted by Kara Klenk (Comedy Central, Spike, Nickelodeon): If You Build It

8:00 pm ($5): Jessica Delfino (CDs Dirty Folk Rock and I Wanna Be Famous; popular animated short film I Wanna Be Famous; to get a feel for Jessica's range and talent, please click here), Brandon Scott Wolf (contributor to SNL's Weekend Update), Tom Cowell (Comedy Central), Ariel Elias, and sketch group Math, Science, and The Humanities, plus comedic counseling from Viviana Cortez, all performing at Brit Pack Studios (153 Lafayette Street, 3rd Floor) hosted by Ali Levin: Sunday Sessions

9:00 pm ($7): Eight improvisors jointly contribute to the creation of two-person scenes, and then work to refine and morph these scenes together over time at the Magnet theatre: The Blob

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): Superb improvisors Aparna Nancherla (delightfully wry, lightning-quick, and razor-sharp rising star; Conan O'Brien, Last Comic Standing, @midnight, former writer/performer for FX's Totally Biased), Ashley Ward (Big Black Car), Sarah Nowak (The Baldwins), Morgan Phillips (Diamond Lion), Gary Richardson (Annoyance Theatre), and Brett Wean (Wean Shay) make up theatrical scenes at The PIT upstairs theatre: People Improvising

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 10:00 pm: A jaw-dropping dark comedy group, which includes members of ace sketch troupe Murderfist, will terrify and delight you for an hour at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' Long Island City: The Cowmen

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 at 3:45), providing 3 minutes or more per comic at The Creek downstairs lounge in Queens' Long Island City hosted by James Ferrarella: Face-Plant Comedy Open Mic

[ALMOST FREE] 5:00 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

6:00 pm ($5): Open-mic stand-up that includes professional feedback on each comic's 5-minute set at Queens LIC's Laughing Devil Comedy Club (4738 Vernon Blvd.): Mic-Shop: Open Mic Workshop

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: Open-mic show for sketch and character bits running 3-5 minutes at The Magnet hosted by Sebastian Conelli. Everyone who signs up—at 9:45 pm at the box office—is likely to get onstage: Sketch in Progress

[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 upstairs theatre in Queens' Long Island City hosted by Christi Chiello: Lance Bass Space Mic

[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

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

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

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

The PIT
(123 East 24th Street; 99-seat upstairs theatre, 40-seat downstairs theatre; shows free-$15)

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

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

Best NYC Stand-Up Comedy Clubs

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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