NYC Comedy Week Alert: Get two-for-one tickets
for select comedy shows through April 19th here
TV Alert: Grace Helbig and Jon Cryer are on James Corden;
Billy Crystal is on David Letterman;
Megan Neuringer, Adam Cayton-Holland,
and Kurt Braunohler are on @midnight
Comedy genius Chris Gethard and comedic actor Griffin Newman perform at Brooklyn’s Union Hall…
…and Tallie Medel, Eleanore Pienta, and Sunita Mani blend comedy & performance art at The PIT as Cocoon Central Dance Team
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:
[MEGA-TOP PICK] 7:00 pm ($10): Redefining our concept of dance is a three-gal troupe consisting of Eleanore Pienta (breathtaking rising star actress who delivered one of last year’s very best performances as star of indie feature film See You Next Tuesday), Tallie Medel (star of indie feature film The Unspeakable Act), and Sunita Mani (sketch/improv group Chester). For video samples, please click here; and if you like what you see, come experience this comedic artistic trio in April and May at The PIT upstairs theatre: Cocoon Central Dance Team
[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
[TOP PICK] 7:00 pm ($5): Superb comics Ronny Pascale, Jamie LeeLo, Mehdi Barakchian, and more make up scenes at The PIT downstairs lounge as improv group Kibbles and Bits: We’re A Happy Family
[TOP PICK] 7:30 pm ($7): In this Jo Firestone extravaganza, “Audience members are invited to put their name in a bucket if they personally identify as ‘miserable.’ Do-gooder comedians then get to pick a name out of the bucket and attempt to really make that audience member’s life better for 8-10 minutes. Limit 6 miserable people per show,” with tonight’s comics Anna Drezen, Charla Lauriston, Charles Gould, Mary Houlihan, Bowen Yang, and Simmons McDavid performing at Brooklyn’s Union Hall hosted by Jo: Your Fantastic Life
[TOP PICK] [$] 7:30 pm, 9:30 pm, and 11:15 pm ($12 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Tonight’s stand-ups include Todd Barry, Robert Kelly, Keith Robinson, and Marina Franklin (hosting) at the 7:30 show; Judah Friedlander, Joe Machi, Rich Vos, Jonathan Kite, and Dov Davidoff at the 9:30 show; and Dave Attell, Mark Normand, Joe List, Ricky Velez, Sam Morril, and Ryan Reiss (hosting) at the 11:15 show, with all three shows at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane): Comedy Cellar Tuesday
7:30 pm-9:15 pm ($5): Long form improv known as The Harold from UCB Chelsea house groups The Governess, Coworkers, and Mermaids at this first half of Harold Night
[TOP PICK] [FREE] 8:00 pm: Sasheer Zamata (instant star cast member of Saturday Night Live), Michelle Wolf (star stand-up who’s also staff writer for and performer on Seth Meyers; MTV’s Girl Code, IFC), Barry Rothbart (Conan O’Brien, Jay Leno, Comedy Central, MTV’s Punk’d, IFC’s Do Whatever), Ashley Brooke Roberts (co-host of Fresh Out, sketch group Absolutely), Jim Tews (Last Comic Standing, co-host of Fresh Out), Megan Gailey, and Yassir Lester performing at Cake Shop (152 Ludlow Street, between Rivington & Stanton) hosted by Jacqueline Novak & John Early: Cakeshop Comedy: Sasheer Zamata, Michelle Wolf, Barry Rothbart, Ashley Brooke Roberts, and More
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($10): Sketch troupe The Grape Dutches of York performs a show set in an amusement park “immersively, with 3D and 4D effects” at The PIT upstairs theatre: Enchantment Park
[TOP PICK] [DISCOUNTED] 8:00 pm ($5 online using discount code NORTHERN; no min.): Morgan Murphy (fresh, brilliant, and fearlessly dark; The Comedians of Comedy; staff writer for Jimmy Fallon and CBS’ Two Broke Girls; stellar comedy album Irish Goodbye), movie & TV star Janeane Garofalo, Damien Lemon (Comedy Central Half Hour, MTV’s Guy Code, Girl Code, Guy Court), Mike Vecchione (Jay Leno, Comedy Central Half Hour, Last Comic Standing, Howard Stern), and Costaki Economopoulos performing stand-up at The Stand Comedy Club (239 Third Avenue & 20th Street) hosted by Josh Carter & Ray DeVito: Northern Discomfort: Morgan Murphy, Janeane Garofalo, Damien Lemon, and More
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($10): “Comics improvise scenes based on audience suggestions, and are systematically eliminated by audience votes during the show until only one player remains,” with tonight’s participants Chris Roberti (Big Black Car), Langston Belton (G.U.S., Coyote), Meredith Hackman (Gypsy Danger), Geoff Grimwood (Second City, Fake Church), Devin Heater (G.U.S.), Rachel Rosenthal (North Coast), and Will Nunziata (Dystopia Gardens), plus improv piano from Mark Erenstoft (Avenue Q, 50 Shades! The Musical), all at Brooklyn’s Littlefield(622 Degraw Street) hosted by Jim Robinson (Second City): BeerProv
8:00 pm ($5): Making great use of UCB East’s previous incarnation as an indie movie theatre, tonight features screenings of select films running five minutes or less—most of them funny—crafted in the style of TV pilots. The shorts receiving the most audience votes get to continue with additional episodes, while the others are “canceled” at Channel 101
8:00 pm ($5): An improvised game show “teaming four short-form performers with two special guest contestants ready to ‘yes and’ anything to win” at The PIT upstairs theatre: ShortGameShow
[FREE] 8:00 pm: NYC stand-ups Boris Khaykin, Jeff Simmermon, Kerry Overfab Coddett, Ayanna Dookie, Lauren Hope Krass, Alison Klemp, and Dava Krause performing at Bunga’s Den (137 West 14th Street, between Sixth & Seventh Avenues) produced by Lukas Kaiser, Sue Smith, Tim Duffy, and John Szeluga: Amazingtown
[FREE] 8:00 pm: NYC stand-ups and musicians drink and perform at The Creek downstairs lounge in Queens’ Long Island City hosted by Justin Peele: Party & Bullshit
[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): Michelle Wolf (star stand-up who’s also staff writer for and performer on Seth Meyers; MTV’s Girl Code, IFC), Amir Gollan (former writer for Conan O’Brien), and more performing stand-up at The Slipper Room (167 Orchard Street) guest-hosted by NIck Stevens (host of AMC’s Action Park and Discovery’s Money on the Menu; VH1, ESPN): Sweet: Michelle Wolf, Amir Gollan, and More
9:00 pm ($5): Skilled improvisors David Rysdahl & Paul Gutkowski make up a play on the spot at The PIT downstairs lounge as improv duo True East
[FREE] 9:00 pm: NYC stand-ups (not announced) 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 Slamball, Some Kid, and 32K at this second half (continued from 7:30 pm) of Harold Night
[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($8): Comedy genius Chris Gethard (Broad City, Parks & Recreation, The Office, Conan O’BrienIFC; star of Fusion’s The Chris Gethard Show; author of A Bad Idea I’m About to Do and Weird New York, plus My Comedy Album) and Griffin Newman (HBO, MTV’s Nikki & Sara Live) do something unannounced that’s likely to be highly entertaining at Brooklyn’s Union Hall: Chris Gethard and Griffin Newman
9:30 pm ($5): Stand-ups present lectures about silly topics, with tonight’s participants Jared Logan (rising star;Comedy Central Half Hour, Last Comic Standing, CNN, TBS), Katina Corrao (HBO, Comedy Central’s Broad City, VH1, co-host of Lasers in the Jungle), Jim Tews (Last Comic Standing), and Tim Dillon (Last Comic Standing) performing at the UCB East theatre: Homeschooled—A Comedic Lecture Series
9:30 pm ($5): Raquel Powell & Nate Foster host three real-life couples performing two-prov at The PIT upstairs theatre: Couple’s Retreat
[FREE] 9:30 pm: 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), Ashley Brooke Roberts (co-host of Fresh Out, sketch group Absolutely), Nimesh Patel (Comedy Central, co-host of Broken Comedy), and Sam Evans performing stand-up at the Kings County Bar (286 Seigel Street; take the L to Morgan) hosted by Mike Lewis & Tom Hathaway: The Party
[FREE] 9:30 pm: Aparna Nancherla (one of the finest stand-ups in the country, with a delightfully wry style and lightning-quick mind; Conan O’Brien, Last Comic Standing, @midnight, Totally Biased, recently opened for Tig Notaro at Town Hall), Erin Jackson, Steven Forrest, Dan Shaki, and Tom Cowell performing stand-up at Brooklyn’sPine Box Rock Shop (12 Grattan Street) produced by Mike Cody and hosted by Ariel Elias: Night Owl Comedy
[TOP PICK] [DISCOUNTED] 10:00 pm ($7.50 online using discount code ComedyWeek; no min.): Morgan Murphy(fresh, brilliant, and fearlessly dark; The Comedians of Comedy; staff writer for Jimmy Fallon and CBS’ Two Broke Girls; stellar comedy album Irish Goodbye), 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), Barry Rothbart (Conan O’Brien, Jay Leno, Comedy Central, MTV’s Punk’d, IFC’s Do Whatever), Damien Lemon (Comedy Central Half Hour, MTV’s Guy Code, Girl Code, Guy Court), and Matteo Lane (Comedy Central) performing stand-up at The Stand Comedy Club (239 Third Avenue & 20th Street) hosted by Mike Cannon & Alexis Guerreros: The Illuminati Party: Morgan Murphy, Mark Normand, Barry Rothbart, Damien Lemon, 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 downstairs lounge in Queens’ Long Island City: Legion of Skanks
[FREE] 10:00 pm: NYC stand-ups performing at The Creek downstairs lounge in Queens’ Long Island City hosted by Jake Flores, Blake Midgette, and/or Seth Cockfield: Grumptown
10:00 pm ($5): “A computer beeps at random intervals, might be 2 seconds, might be 10 minutes. Every time it beeps, and only when it beeps, the performers jump into a new scene. What happens when nothing you can do can make the scene go longer nor end sooner? When only this instant is guaranteed?” at The PIT downstairs lounge:/Switch/
[FREE] 11:00 pm: A mix of superb and up-and-coming stand-ups (not announced) performing at this free weekly show at UCB East hosted by Phil Hanley: Chemistry
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 theStand 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 3-5 minutes to try out a character-based bit (e.g., for a solo show, sketch, or audition) at The PIT downstairs lounge, hosted byJamie Aderski: Personality Disorder Character Jam
[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] 6:00 pm: Weekly stand-up open mic with 5 minutes per performer; email prequelmic@gmail.com by Sunday to go into a lottery system for next Tuesday, or simply walk in tonight and place your name in a bucket for possible selection, at Brooklyn’s Over the Eight (594 Union Ave) hosted by Claudia Cogan, Katie Compa, and/or Garry Hannon: The Prequel Open Mic
[FREE] 6:30 pm: Weekly stand-up open mic, with walk-ins tossing names into a hat and set length determined by the number of comics who show up, at Bunga’s Den (137 West 14th Street, between Sixth & Seventh Avenues) hosted by Jimmy LeChase and/or Justin Perez: Townies Open Mic
[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
[FREE] 8:00 pm: Weekly open mic for any kind of act (with sign-up starting at 7:30) at Brooklyn’s Goodbye Blue Monday (1087 Broadway) hosted by Joe Crow Ryan: Goodbye Blue Monday
[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 PITdownstairs 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)
The Annoyance Theatre
(367 Bedford Ave. in Brooklyn; J/M/Z to Marcy or L to Lorimer; 50-seat theatre; shows free-$10)
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/The Standing Room
(4738 Vernon Blvd., by #7 train; Queens LIC club; free cover Fri-Sat with code LICVIP; 2-drink min.)
From legendary NYC comedy site Brooklyn Vegan: Thank God for Hy Bender’s religiously updated show bible BestNewYorkComedy.com. He is literally the only person in NYC providing daily summaries of what’s happening comedy-wise. It must be exhausting keeping that monster of a website alive…It is your daily comedy itinerary and it scares me how on top of his shit this guy is.
Please feel encouraged to reach out to tell me about comedy shows, hire me for book or screenplay work, or for any other reason by emailing me at hy@hyreviews.com.
