For more, please visit HyReviews.com.
Amber Nelson performs stand-up at Beauty Bar…
…and Justy Dodge performs stand-up at Comedy Night
Tonight’s recommendations for the best in New York City comedy (in chronological order, with top picks noted and shows over $10 marked with $) include:
[TOP PICK] [$] [DISCOUNTED] 3:00 pm ($25 [vs. $65] using discount code PENMAS): This isn’t pure comedy, but an enchanting hodgepodge of original tall tales fueled by laughs. The 2-hour play from the wonderful guys of PigPen blends shadow puppetry, songs, inventive staging, and more to create living dreams. For my review of PigPen’s two previous shows at FringeNYC, please click here and here. This newest work is their most ambitious, and that sometimes results in the story feeling too slow or padded; but it also yields a deeper emotional payoff. And even though not all the bits hit the mark, so many of them do that you’re likely to feel satisfied—and missing PigPen’s world after the show is over. The production is at The Gym at Judson (243 Thompson Street) in the West Village: The Old Man and the Moon
[FREE] 4:00 pm: An unusually early walk-in open-mic stand-up show at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City: Face-Plant Comedy Showcase
6:00 pm-9:00 pm ($7): An army of improvisors make stuff up for three hours at The Magnet to close out the year: The Last Magnet Shows of 2012
6:00 pm ($5): Open-mic stand-up that includes professional feedback on each comic’s 5-minute set at Queens LIC’s Laughing Devil Comedy Club (4738 Vernon Blvd.): Mic-Shop: Open Mic Workshop
[TOP PICK] [$] 7:00 pm ($14 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Todd Barry (David Letterman, Conan O’Brien, Comedy Central Presents, FX’s Louie, HBO’s Flight of the Conchords and Bored to Death, Adult Swim, feature films The Wrestler and Pete Smalls is Dead), Jermaine Fowler (FOX’s new In Living Color, MTV, Adult Swim’s The Eric Andre Show), Matt Simonds (David Letterman, Jay Leno), Louis Katz (Jimmy Fallon, HBO, Comedy Central Presents), and Modi (HBO’s The Sopranos, Comedy Central) performing at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane) hosted by Mike Yard (Comedy Central, Def Comedy Jam): Todd Barry, Jermaine Fowler, and More
[TOP PICK] 7:30 pm ($10) and 9:30 pm [FREE]: UCB Chelsea’s signature improv comedy extravaganza, which typically includes stars in the improv world, and sometimes even TV & movie stars such as Amy Poehler and Horatio Sanz: ASSSCAT 3000
[TOP PICK] [$] 7:30 pm ($42 plus 2-drink min.): The creator & star of Showtime’s Dave’s Old Porn and Comedy Central’s Insomniac, has also performed on HBO, David Letterman, Conan O’Brien, Jay Leno, The Daily Show, and his own Comedy Central Presents special, and is one of the most respected stand-ups in the biz, headlining one last night at the Carolines Comedy Club: Dave Attell
7:30 pm ($5): Improv troupes not affiliated with any comedy school compete at UCB East for audience laughs and votes—and the privilege to go on to perform at the primary Cage Match show at UCB Chelsea—in this show hosted by the delightful Amey Goerlich & R an Karels (Krompf): Indie Cage Match
[FREE] 7:30 pm: Sketch, improv, and more at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City from comedy troupe Froduce
[TOP PICK] [FREE] 8:00 pm: Jermaine Fowler (FOX’s new In Living Color, MTV, Adult Swim’s The Eric Andre Show), Andy Haynes (Conan O’Brien, Jimmy Fallon, Last Comic Standing), Mike Dobbins (unique stream-of-consciousness stand-up), and more performing at the Three of Cups lounge (83 First Avenue at 5th Street) hosted by RG Daniels: Sunday Night Stand-Up
8:00 pm ($8): PIT improvisors Nate Starkey & Chris Grace makes stuff up as Starkey & Grace
[TOP PICK] [$] 8:45 pm ($14 plus 2-item food/drink 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; frequently opens for Louis C.K.), Mark Normand (hilarious stand-up; Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central; co-host of Hot Soup and We’re All Friends Here), Matt Simonds (David Letterman, Jay Leno) Greer Barnes (David Letterman, Chappelle Show, For the Love of the Game), and Dan Soder (Comedy Central, VH1; for set about being a hypochondriatic drug user, please click here) performing stand-up at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane) hosted by Mike Yard (Comedy Central, Def Comedy Jam): Ted Alexandro, Mark Normand, Greer Barnes, and More
[FREE] 9:00 pm: Amber Nelson (fearless, innovative rising star; sketch troupe The Prom, co-host of The Dream Show and Mustache Party), Jane Borden (former Comedy Editor of Time Out New York, author of I Totally Meant to Do That), George Gordon, and Steven Forrest performing stand-up in the East Village’s Beauty Bar for this free weekly show hosted by Adam Sokol, Brad Austin, and/or Nate Fridson: Comedy at the Beauty Bar
[FREE] 9:00 pm: Justy Dodge (co-host of Too Much Information on comicalradio.com; “I was kind of a tomboy growing up. Like, I had Barbies, but only because my Ninja Turtles needed bitches;” for dark bio video, please click here), Andy Haynes (Conan O’Brien, Jimmy Fallon, Last Comic Standing), Nore Davis, Azhar Usman, and Mike Cannon performing stand-up at Brooklyn’s Knitting Factory (361 Metropolitan Avenue) guest-hosted tonight by Seaton Smith (Opie & Anthony Virus Tour): Comedy Night
9:00 pm ($5): A one-woman show from Kathryn Dunn promising to “take you on a journey that begins with the 1980′s classic “Ski Patrol” and lands in a padded room” at The PIT upstairs theatre: Crazy Fun with Kathryn Dunn
9:00 pm ($5): Improv veterans Brandon Gardner, Chelsea Clarke, and Phillip Jackson hosting & performing in a show at UCB East with guest improvisors: Improv Nerds
[ALMOST FREE] 9:30 pm ($1): Open-mic stand-up, with four minutes per comic, at The PIT downstairs lounge hosted by Molly Austin & Mike Brown: Vicious Cycle
10:00 pm ($8): Sketch comedy from Rich Templeton and friends at The PIT upstairs theatre: Templeton’s Toppers
10:00 pm ($5): 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
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.
