For more, please visit HyReviews.com.
Tune into Comedy Central at 11:00 pm for a reprise of Amy Schumer’s
stellar stand-up special Mostly Sex Stuff (Amy’s show returns this week),
and then keep watching at midnight for Hannibal Buress’
new stand-up special Live From Chicago
Australian drag star Courtney Act sings and jokes tonight and tomorrow in Boys Like Me…
…and red-hot rising star stand-up Sean Patton performs at the 10:00 pm and midnight shows of The Stand
Tonight’s recommendations for the best in New York City comedy (in chronological order, with top picks noted and shows over $10 marked with $) include:
[TOP PICK] [$] 7:00 pm, 7:15 pm, 8:45 pm, 9:15 pm, 10:30 pm, and 12:15 am ($20-$24 per show, plus 2-item food/drink min.): Exceptionally great lineups of Colin Quinn, Darrell Hammond, Gary Gulman, Lenny Marcus, Lynne Koplitz, and Keith Robinson at the 7:00 show; Colin Quinn, Darrell Hammond, Mark Normand, Greer Barnes, and Lynne Koplitz at the 7:15 show; Colin Quinn, Judah Friedlander, Gary Gulman, Greer Barnes, Lynne Koplitz, and Keith Robinson at the 8:45 show; Colin Quinn, Mark Normand, Greer Barnes, and Lynne Koplitz at the 9:15 show; Ted Alexandro, Dave Attell, Ali Wong, Nick Griffin, Gregg Rogell, Lynne Koplitz, and Keith Robinson at the 10:30 show; and Dave Attell, Ali Wong, Greer Barnes, James Smith, and Big Jay Oakerson at the 12:15 show, with four of the shows at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane), and the 7:15 and 9:15 shows at Village Underground (130 West 3rd Street, off Sixth Avenue): Comedy Cellar Saturday
[TOP PICK] [$] [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, Judah Friedlander (one of the quickest minds in comedy; 30 Rock, Meet the Parents, Along Came Polly, author of How to Beat Up Anybody), Wil Sylvince (Comedy Central, BET’s Comic View), Dave Smith, and more performing stand-up at the only comedy club in the East Village: Eastville Comedy Club
[$] 7:00 pm & 9:30 pm ($22 plus $15 food/drink min.; I personally like both the burgers and lasagna): “Multi-talented Australian drag idol Courtney Act has opened for Lady Gaga, co-starred in Rent, sung a duet with Idina Menzel. and was a contestant in RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 6. Tonight she sings her favorite songs, and divulges the fascinating and funny dirty laundry list that is her sex life. There’s that angry text from a straight boy’s girlfriend, the twins in Montreal, and the US Marine, just to name a few of the titillating encounters she details in story and song. This tuneful, hysterical performance showcases Courtney’s sharp observations of living life on the gender divide” at the Laurie Beechman Theatre, inside the West Bank Cafe (407 West 42nd Street, off Ninth Avenue, downstairs): Courtney Act: Boys Like Me
7:00 pm ($10, or FREE with student ID from any comedy school): All-female character & sketch comedy, featuring Betsy Kenney, Andrea Ilene Shapiro, Melissa Gordon, Iliana Inocencio, and Madonna Marie Fugia performing at The PIT upstairs theatre hosted by Carly Ann Filbin: Lady Parts
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 ($20; no min.): Ted Alexandro (one of the very finest stand-ups in the country; David Letterman, Conan O’Brien, Jimmy Kimmel, two Comedy Central Presents half-hour specials; comedy album I Did It; frequently opens for Louis C.K.), Wyatt Cenac (former star correspondent for The Daily Show, Comedy Central hour-long special, Adult Swim, host of Night Train), Adrienne Iapalucci (David Letterman, Last Comic Standing, VH1), Big Jay Oakerson (Comedy Central Presents, Louie, HBO, Showtime, MTV, IFC), Mike Vecchione (Jay Leno, Last Comic Standing, Howard Stern), and more performing stand-at The Stand Comedy Club (239 Third Avenue & 20th Street): Ted Alexandro, Wyatt Cenac, Adrienne Iapalucci, Big Jay Oakerson, and More
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($10): Improv groups Big Black Car (which includes Chris Grace, Nate Starkey, and Ashley Ward) and The Baldwins (which includes Micah Sherman Brigid Boyle, and Sarah Nowak) make stuff up at The PIT upstairs theatre: BBC and The Baldwins
[FREE] 8:00 pm: Comic Chris Burns is moving to LA, so a bunch of stand-up friends—Joe Pera, Doug Smith, George Gordon, Jason Burke, Jared Freid, Greg Stone, Chris Burns, Shaun Murphy, and Shalewa Sharpe—gather to wish him well at The Creek’s upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City hosted by Matt Wayne: Chris Burns Goodbye Show
[$] 8:00 pm & 10:00 pm ($26 & 2-drink min.) A comic who’s performed on MAD TV for a decade, and has also acted on such shows as Showtime’s House of Lies and Seinfeld, and such films as Austin Powers and The Heat, headlining tonight and Sunday at the Gotham Comedy Club, with openers including the superb Michelle Buteau and Sam Morril: Michael McDonald
[FREE] 8:30 pm: NYC stand-ups (not announced) performing at The Irish Exit (978 Second Avenue, off 52nd Street, in the back room) hosted by Gary Vider (hilarious writer & deadpan stand-up; for sample jokes, please click here): Comedy at Irish Exit
[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 ($11.34 online or $15 at the door): A young all-guy improv troupe making stuff up at The PIT upstairs theatre: Gentlemen Party
[TOP PICK]10:00 pm ($10): UCBT Artistic Director Nate Dern, Zhubin Parang (writer for The Daily Show), Tracey Wigfield (writer for 30 Rock), Michael Kayne (Baby Wants Candy, Diamond Lion), Aaron Jackson (Newsadoozies), and more form an improv troupe at UCB East that won this 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
[TOP PICK] 10:00 pm ($20; no min.): Ted Alexandro (one of the very finest stand-ups in the country; David Letterman, Conan O’Brien, Jimmy Kimmel, two Comedy Central Presents half-hour specials; comedy album I Did It; frequently opens for Louis C.K.), Wyatt Cenac (former star correspondent for The Daily Show, Comedy Central hour-long special, Adult Swim, host of Night Train), Sean Patton (one of the finest stand-ups in the country; killer sets on Jimmy Fallon and Conan O’Brien, upcoming Comedy Central Half Hour, VH1, feature film Wifed Out; co-host of Comedy as a Second Language, frequent guest-host of Whiplash), Big Jay Oakerson (Comedy Central Presents, Louie, HBO, Showtime, MTV, IFC), Mike Vecchione (Jay Leno, Last Comic Standing, Howard Stern), and Graham Kay performing stand-at The Stand Comedy Club (239 Third Avenue & 20th Street): Ted Alexandro, Wyatt Cenac, Sean Patton, Big Jay Oakerson, and More
[TOP PICK] [FREE] 10:00 pm: Henry Zebrowski, Ben Kissel, and Marcus Parks of Cave Comedy Radio’s Last Podcast On The Left “explore the dark recesses of humanity, both real and imagined, via short films, clips from favorite features, and audio spookiness” at Queens LIC’s The Creek upstairs theatre: Last Podcast on the Left Live
[TOP PICK] [$] 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 West Village’s Soho Playhouse: 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 duo Trike
11:00 pm ($10): Stand-up from the delightful Katey Healy-Wurzburg and sketch from group Totally, Yes! at The PIT downstairs lounge hosted by improv group Stamos: Full House Variety Hour
[FREE] 11:30 pm: Stand-up from Nicole C. Lee, music from group Take Care Brush Your Hair, improv jams led by Sharon Spell, Knife Sandwich, Snatch Menagerie, and the Soul Glo team, and more at this free monthly variety show at UCB East hosted by Keisha Zollar (Doppelganger), Anna Suzuki, and/or Emily Schorr Lesnick: The Soul Glo Jam
[TOP PICK] Midnight ($5): Two fine sketch groups, Pop Roulette and Garlic Jackson, compete for audience laughs and votes at UCB Chelsea hosted by sketch troupe Sidecar: Backyard Brawl
[TOP PICK] Midnight ($20; no min.): Wyatt Cenac (former star correspondent for The Daily Show, Comedy Central hour-long special, Adult Swim, host of Night Train), Sean Patton (one of the finest stand-ups in the country; killer sets on Jimmy Fallon and Conan O’Brien, upcoming Comedy Central Half Hour, VH1, feature film Wifed Out; co-host of Comedy as a Second Language, frequent guest-host of Whiplash), Big Jay Oakerson (Comedy Central Presents, Louie, HBO, Showtime, MTV, IFC), Sheng Wang (Comedy Central Presents), Sean Donnelly (David Letterman, Comedy Central, MTV, TruTV), and Graham Kay performing stand-at The Stand Comedy Club (239 Third Avenue & 20th Street): Wyatt Cenac, Sean Patton, Big Jay Oakerson, and More
[FREE] Midnight: NYC comics & storytellers (not announced) share holiday-themed tales of love and/or horror at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City hosted by Brandon Wetherbee: You, Me, Them, Everybody Live
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”) at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City hosted by Jhoel Walkowski & Evan Davis: 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.)
From legendary NYC comedy site Brooklyn Vegan: If you want to know what is happening in NYC comedy on a particular day, you gotta get hip to this dude Hy Bender and his site Best New York Comedy. The site is updated daily and features a super exhaustive look at what is happening in the NYC comedy world that particular day. The site is updated religiously…It is your daily comedy itinerary and it scares me how on top of his shit this guy is.
