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Stand-ups Sean Donnelly…
…and Phil Hanley each practice 30-minute stand-up sets for their upcoming Comedy Central Half Hour specials
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:
[FREE] 6:00 pm to midnight: Six free hours of improvisation—which include group Jean Pool at 7:25 pm featuring the spectacular David Carl, Becky Krause, and Tracy Mull—at The PIT downstairs lounge: Super Free Monday
[TOP PICK] 7:00 pm ($5): World-class storyteller Adam Wade (two-time Moth GrandSlam Storytelling Champion (2006 & 2009) and record-breaking 20-time StorySlam Champion; The New York Times Magazine; host of monthly storytelling extravaganza The Adam Wade Show and cast member of The Nights of Our Lives; for a sampling of Adam’s award-winning tales, please click here) hosts a show at The Magnet that’s “like watching the characters ofThe Wonder Years and Freaks & Geeks all grown up and telling coming-of-age tales of love, lost, regret, and redemption,” with guest storytellers Tristan Thom, Kelly Tierney, and Anna Timmins DeGregory: Adam Wade’sWhatever Happened to the Nerds?
[FREE] 7:00 pm: Leah Bonnema (VH1, WeTV’s Cinematherapy, Logo, Opie & Anthony’s Virus Channel) tries out new material every night this week at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City: Week at the Creek: Leah Bonnema
[FREE] 7:00 pm: Phoebe Robinson (Seth Meyers, Last Comic Standing, Broad City, MTV’s Girl Code, Totally Biased, co-host of Blaria Live), Sean Donnelly (David Letterman, Comedy Central Half Hour, Last Comic Standing, MTV), Vladimir Caamano (NBC), Kareem Green (BET’s Comic View), and Robyn Schall performing stand-up for this monthly show at Brooklyn’s The Paper Box (17 Meadow Street) hosted & produced by sisters Kerry Overfab Coddett & Krystal Coddett: Brooklyn, Stand Up
[FREE] 7:00 pm: Sketch group OSFUG screens its sketch comedy TV pilot, accompanied by live performances, at Videology(308 Bedford Avenue): OSFUG Sketch Pilot Screening
[TOP PICK] [$] 7:30 pm, 9:30 pm, and 11:15 pm ($12 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Tonight’s stand-ups include Colin Quinn, Kurt Metzger, Ari Shaffir, Ryan Hamilton, Greer Barnes, Marina Franklin, Keith Alberstadt, Carmen Lynch, Big Jay Oakerson, Pete Davidson, Sam Morril, and Sean Donnelly, with all three shows at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane): Comedy Cellar Monday
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): Stand-ups Phil Hanley (Seth Meyers, Craig Ferguson, Comedy Central, host of Chemistry) and Sean Donnelly (David Letterman, Last Comic Standing, MTV) each perform 30-minute sets in preparation for the taping of their Comedy Central Half Hour specials at the UCB Chelsea theatre: Phil Hanley and Sean Donnelly
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($8 at the door or $9.79 online): Dan St. Germain (enormously likeable and rapidly rising star who has several TV shows in the works; Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central Half-Hour Special, The Electric Company, MTV, VH1), Mike Drucker (hilarious stand-up; Emmy-nominated staff writer for Jimmy Fallon; freelance writer forSNL, The Onion, McSweeney’s), Emily Heller (Conan O’Brien, Comedy Central, FX’s Totally Biased), Mary Radzinski, Rajan Desai, and Drennon Davis performing stand-up, plus DJ Donwill, at Brooklyn’s Littlefield (622 Degraw Street) hosted by the wonderful Wyatt Cenac (former star correspondent for The Daily Show; Adult Swim; albums Comedy Person and Brooklyn): Night Train: Dan St. Germain, Mike Drucker, Emily Heller, and More
[TOP PICK] 8:00 ($5; includes free comic books from Forbidden Planet): Sasheer Zamata (instant star cast member of Saturday Night Live), Michael Kupperman (The New Yorker, TV Funhouse), Ashley Bez (TV Land’s Younger), and Luxor (owner of Paracelso) performing and/or being interviewed at UCB East hosted by Nat Townsen: Downtown Variety Hour
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): Frank Conniff (TV’s Frank on Mystery Science Theater 3000) hosts as “Moodsy, the Clinically Depressed Owl showing weird/crappy old cartoons in between sets,” with tonight’s guests including Myka Fox and Tiana Miller at Astoria Queens’ QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue). Described by Patton Oswalt as “like a kid’s show done in Bosnia,” it’s Frank Conniff’s Cartoon Dump
8:00 pm ($8): Storytellers gather in hopes of being randomly selected to tell tales and compete for judging panel approval at Brooklyn’s The Bell House (149 7th Street) hosted by Peter Aguero (Conan O’Brien, Moth GrandSlam Champion, The BTK Band): The Moth StorySlam
8:00 pm (no cover, 1-item food or drink min.): NYC stand-ups Teresa & Doug Wyckoff, Joe Alfano, Jacob Williams, Rojo Perez, Sydnee Washington, and Casey James Salengo performing at The Village Lantern Downstairs Club (167 Bleecker Street) hosted by Khalid A. Rahmaan and/or LeClerc Andre: Unarmed and Dangerous Comedy
[FREE] 8:00 pm: Four improvisers form teams with comics they’ve never performed with before at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City: The Kaleidoscope
[TOP PICK] 8:30 pm ($7): A sketch show on the theme running with superb comics Tami Sagher, Rachel Hamilton, Melanie Hoopes, and Jean Villepique performing at The Magnet theatre: Bummers Presents Running
[MEGA-TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($8): Chris Gethard (comedy genius; Broad City, Conan O’Brien, The Office, IFC; 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) seamlessly blends stand-up and storytelling in a way that creates a deep, poignant, and hilarious experience. In this show Chris achieves a new maturity to his already stellar career with a beautifully honest look at his experiences with mental illness and suicide that reaches exceptional heights at Brooklyn’s Union Hall plus opening music from Mikey Erg: Chris Gethard: Career Suicide
[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): Two UCB Chelsea house sketch groups try out new material: the daring, out-of-the-box brilliant, and hysterical Legs for Days (stellar performers Livia Scott, Ann Carr, Dan Chamberlain, Sean Hart, Kristen Acimovic, and Joel Weidl, plus exceptionally superb writers) and Roanoke: Maude Night: Legs For Days andRoanoke
9:30 pm ($5): Improv veterans Brandon Gardner, Chelsea Clarke, Phil Jackson, and/or Steve Theiss hosting & performing in a show at UCB East with guest improvisors: Improv Nerds
[TOP PICK] [FREE] 10:00 pm: Dan St. Germain (enormously likeable and rapidly rising star who has several TV shows in the works; Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central Half-Hour Special, The Electric Company, MTV, VH1), Guy Branum (head writer/performer on G4’s X-Play; regular panelist on Chelsea Lately), Monroe Martin (finalist on this season’s Last Comic Standing), Gibran Saleem (sharp young stand-up; MTV), Frank Liotti, Jeff Lawrence, Kevin Ryan, Chris Scopo, Ry Doon, and Ry Doonand performing stand-up for this free weekly show at The Stand Comedy Club (239 Third Avenue & 20th Street) hosted by Aaron Berg (TV series 24 Hour Rental, documentary A Universal Language): Frantic Mondays: Dan St. Germain, Guy Branum, Monroe Martin, and More
10:15 pm ($7): Duo improv from teams The Clomp, New Lovers, The Toots, Dubbadee, Stellar Death, and hostMegaLou (Megan Gray & Louis Kornfeld) at The Magnet theatre: The Duo Show
[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 typically hosted by the wonderful Aparna Nancherla (one of the finest stand-ups in the country; Comedy Central’s Meltdown, Conan O’Brien, Last Comic Standing): 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 theStand 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
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: Open mic stand-up show that provides each performer whose name is pulled from a bucket 4 minutes on stage at The Creek upstairs lounge in Queens’ Long Island City hosted by Joseph Robert: PBR & Scrap Paper Open Mic Stand-Up
[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)
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.
