TV Alert: It’s a huge night on HBO. At 9:00 pm is the Season 5 finale of Game of Thrones. (The previous two episodes were among the most epic of the series, so Episode 10, “Mother’s Mercy,” is likely to be mind-boggling…) And on the comedy front, starting at 10:00 pm are the season finales of Silicon Valley and Veep, which have both been increasingly sharp and delightful this year; and then another new episode of John Oliver’s Last Week Tonight, which has consistently been one of the very finest and most significant comedies on TV. So go out tonight, but set your recording devices to HBO.
Ted Alexandro, Frank Conniff, Lizz Winstead, and more are slated to participate in The Creek’s Lady Parts Justice Carnival
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] 3:00 pm-8:00 pm ($5): Indulge in Mexican food and margarita snow cones while playing adult bingo, a “bust their balls” dart game, and more. And watch cool sideshow acts featuring Ted Alexandro, Frank Conniff, Ally Sheedy, Kathy Najimy, and host Lizz Winstead, all at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City: Lady Parts Justice Carnival
[FREE] 6:00 pm: Sketches and other scripted comedy in 5-minute and 15-minute slots at The Magnet theatre: The Generator
6:30 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 & Ryan Karels (Krompf): Indie Cage Match
7:00 pm ($5): Three scripted shows for the price of one at Brooklyn’s The Annoyance Theatre (367 Bedford Avenue; take J/M/Z to Marcy Avenue or L to Lorimer Street): Triple Feature
[TOP PICK] [$] 7:30 pm, 9:30 pm and 11:30 pm ($14 per show, plus 2-item food/drink min.): Tonight’s stand-ups include Gary Gulman, Ryan Hamilton, Greer Barnes, Jermaine Fowler, Keith Alberstadt, Jon Fisch, Liza Treyger, and Sam Morril, with all three shows at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane):Comedy Cellar Sunday
[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 Shannon O’Neill and Anthony Atamanuik, and sometimes network TV & movie stars such as Amy Poehler and Horatio Sanz: ASSSSCAT 3000
[TOP PICK] 7:30 pm ($7): A variety show hosted by Sebastian Conelli (improv member of 2014 Cage Match Champion The Enemy), with the wonderfully unique Jo Firestone (exceptionally inventive and irresistible rising star; The Chris Gethard Show, radio host of WFMU’s Dr. Gameshow, live-on-stage host of Punderdome 3000, The Unexpectashow,and The Incredible Game Show Showcase), duo sketch from Matt J Weir & Billy Bob Thompson, storytelling from Andrew Collin, and music from Evan Altshuler, all performing at The Magnet theatre: A Variety Show with Sebastian Conelli: Jo Firestone and More
[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm ($16.52 in advance online): Sexual storytellers Corinne Fisher (co-host of Guys We F****dpodcast), Sara Benincasa (NBC’s Today Show, The Joy Behar Show, CNN, MTV, author of Agorafabulous), Shalewa Sharpe, and more share personal tales at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City hosted by Lady Parts Justice: An Evening of Sexual Storytelling
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): Strong lineup of Ryan Hamilton (Conan O’Brien, Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central, Showtime), Alex Koll (Conan O’Brien, Comedy Central), Jacqueline Novak (smart, funny stand-up; Inside Amy Schumer, College Humor), Nick Vatterott (Conan O’Brien, Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central’s The Half Hour, MTV, Second City), Joyelle Johnson, James III, and Kate Willett performing stand-up at UCB East hosted by Kara Klenk (Comedy Central, Spike, Nickelodeon): If You Build It: Ryan Hamilton, Alex Koll, Jacqueline Novak, Nick Vatterott, and More
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): Superb improvisors Micah Sherman, Silvija Ozols, Sarah Nowak, Ashley Ward, and Brett Wean make up theatrical scenes at The PIT downstairs lounge for this weekly show produced by Sarah Nowak & Micah Sherman: People Improvising
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($15; no min.): Amanda Seales (VH1) performs a one-woman show about love, mixing characters, music, and audience participation at The Stand Comedy Club (239 Third Avenue & 20th Street): Amanda Seales: It’s Complicated
8:30 pm ($5): Improv from group Wilson (Conner O’Malley, Wes Haney, Adam Rubin and Sam Weiner), and then trio improv by Matt Barats and two friends, at Brooklyn’s The Annoyance Theatre (367 Bedford Avenue; take J/M/Z to Marcy Avenue or L to Lorimer Street): Wilson + Fiddlers Three
[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($10): Sharp improvisors Louis Kornfeld & Rick Andrews perform at The Magnet as comedy duoKornfeld & Andrews
9:00 pm ($7): Jacqueline Novak (smart, funny stand-up; Inside Amy Schumer, College Humor), Calise Hawkins (Jimmy Fallon, Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central, writer for Playboy.com), Paul Hooper, Sam Evans, Ramon Rivas, and Reggie Conquest performing stand-up at Brooklyn’s Knitting Factory (361 Metropolitan Avenue) hosted by Will Miles, Clark Jones, and/or Kenny DeForest: Comedy Night at the Knit: Jacqueline Novak, Calise Hawkins, and More
[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): Superb improvisors and guest improv groups join host Skycopter (which typically includes the incredible David Carl) to make up one-act plays on the spot at The PIT upstairs theatre: Act One
9:30 pm ($5): “We’re filming the season finale of the sexy, heartbreaking, high octane teen drama Teen High… LIVE! You know, Teen High? The most popular teen drama on TV? Everyone knows it. Well don’t worry if you haven’t, we’ll catch you up” at Brooklyn’s The Annoyance Theatre (367 Bedford Avenue; take J/M/Z to Marcy Avenue or L to Lorimer Street): Teen High
[TOP PICK] [$] 10:00 pm ($15): Gary Gulman (razor-sharp wordsmith who’s one of the best stand-ups in the country;David Letterman, Jay Leno, Last Comic Standing, Tourgasm, Comedy Central hour-log special), Pete Lee (Comedy Central Half Hour, Last Comic Standing), Damien Lemon (Comedy Central Half Hour, MTV’s Guy Code, Girl Code, Guy Court), Jordan Carlos (writer/correspondent for The Nightly Show; MTV’s Guy Code, Girl Code, Guy Court,HBO’s Girls, Comedy Central, VH1, Adult Swim), Aaron Berg (TV series 24 Hour Rental, documentary A Universal Language, host of Frantic Mondays), and Sarah Tollemache performing stand-up at The Stand Comedy Club (239 Third Avenue & 20th Street): Gary Gulman, Pete Lee, Damien Lemon, and More
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
[TOP PICK] [ALMOST FREE] 5:00 pm ($1): Comedy dynamo Tracy Mull loves short-form improv games with a passion, and so is the perfect host for this jam that lets audience members—including you—put their names in a bucket. Tracy will then repeatedly pull out a name and a game and facilitate improv magic at The PIT upstairs theatre:Sunday School Short-Form Jam
[ALMOST FREE] 5:00 pm ($1): Sign up at 4:30 pm to do improv with experienced PIT performers at The PITdownstairs lounge hosted by Sasha Capelli, Eitan Levine, and Shaina Stigler: 10K Jam Jam
5:30 pm (no cover, 1 drink min.): Weekly open mic stand-up, with comics selected from names tossed into a bucket starting at 4:55 pm, at Brooklyn’s Legion Bar (790 Metropolitan Avenue) hosted by Aaron Glaser, Irene Hartmann, and/or Carlos Delgado: Sunday Open Mic
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: The only open-stage show for entire groups of improvisors and sketch comics, running weekly atUCB East hosted by Austin Rodrigues: Bring Your Own Team: Improv/Sketch Team Jam
[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 downstairs lounge in Queens’ Long Island City hosted by Ian Kitchen:The Grandstand
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)
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.
