NYC Comedy Picks for Monday 8/1/11
Stand-ups Moshe Kasher and Ali Wong perform tonight at both Hot Tub Variety and Whiplash
Recommendations for the best in New York City comedy tonight
(in chronological order, with top picks noted and shows over $10 marked with $) include:
[FREE] 6:00 pm: An open mic stand-up show running about 90 minutes at The Creek in Queens' Long Island City with host Chris Gaynor: Open Mic Mondays
[FREE] 6:30 pm: Kevin Allison (legendary MTV sketch series The State, HBO, Comedy Central, VH1, host of award-winning storytelling show Risk!) hosts this free open mic show for storytellers, in which you can put your name in a hat for the chance to tell a five-minute true story...and if it's a good one, possibly be included in Kevin's popular podcasts on the Web: Risk! Storyslam
7:00 pm & 9:00 pm (no cover, 1-item min.): The perfect show for short attention spans—open mic stand-up with 4½ minutes per set and 25 comics crammed into 2½ hours—with an early show hosted by Sean Donnelly & Blaine Perry at 7:00 pm, and an entirely different group of stand-ups hosted by Dan Cartwright & Dave Greek at 9:00 pm—at the Luca Lounge (222 Avenue B off 14th Street) for John Morrison's Motel Luca
[TOP PICK] [FREE] 7:30 pm: Jason Good (Comedy Central, Howard Stern), Michael Che, Chris Lamberth, and Jeff Wesselschmidt performing stand-up at a free weekly show in the Manchester Pub tonight hosted by Phoebe Robinson: Case of the Mondays Comedy
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): Some of the finest improvisors in the country—Tara Copeland, Becky Drysdale, Jeff Hiller, Mike Still, and more—and tonight's guest improvisor Brian Faas (The Law Firm) making up a musical on the spot at Diamond Lion
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($6.50 online or $8 at the door): The hilarious Found Footage Festival (oddball videos not to be missed), Moshe Kasher (Comedy Central Presents, Chelsea Lately, IFC), Ali Wong (fearless, razor-sharp, hilarious comedy dynamo; MTV, Comedy Central), and Harry Terjanian celebrating this show's One-Year Anniversary at Brooklyn's Littlefield (622 Degraw Street) with sketches and more from a duo who between them won four 2011 ECNY Awards—including Best Variety Show and Best Hosts—Kristen Schaal and Kurt Braunohler—partying it up for this final show of the summer: Hot Tub Variety
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($10): My #1 pick for the 2007 FringeNYC Festival, this wonderful group of actresses/improvisors portray characters as if they were in a play, but improvise everything they say and do. The luminous performers include Katharine Heller, Brenna Palughi, Lynne Rosenberg, Lauren Seikaly, and Molly Knefel, each of whom is immensely appealing and quick-witted. Further, they have an intimate, lovely chemistry with each other; and they've all committed to baring their personal lives, thinly disguised via their characters (hence the title's Naked). As a result, this is one of the most honest & nuanced improvised shows you'll ever see. This show was previously a wonderful theatrical event that cost $18 and up. Don't miss this five-week Monday evening run, concluding August 15th, at the elegant Cherry Lane Theatre (38 Commerce Street, near the #1 subway's Christopher Street stop) that allows you to catch the gals for a mere $10: Naked in a Fishbowl
8:00 pm ($5): Stand-ups Morgan Venticinque (Jimmy Fallon), Dan Wilbur (College Humor), and Anthony Devito engage in "a battle that will test their speed, intelligence, and knowledge of pop culture, with the prize being to headline the show at the end of the game," hosted by Eitan Levine & Andrew Tavin: Brain Fart
[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): One of UCBT's finest in-house sketch comedy troupes Fambly (spearheaded by rising star Mamrie Hart, who's snared over 125,000 visits to date with her latest YouTube viral video), plus in-house troupe Neighbor Boy (which isn't in the same league, but features such appealing performers as Kate Hess and Tim Dunn), trying out new bits at Maude Night
[TOP PICK] [FREE] 9:30 pm: Delightful stand-ups Arden Myrin, Brooke Van Poppelen, Seth Herzog, and Micah Sherman, improvisor Will Hines, and sketch troupe Murderfist in a show "where improv and stand-up bleeds in and out of each other. One comedian starts with stand-up. Soon he or she is joined by a second comedian—and the two improvise scenes inspired by the first comic's stand-up. Eventually the first comic leaves and the second comedian performs stand-up. When that set is over, her or she's joined by the first comedian and a third comedian. The three improvise scenes inspired by the second comedian's set. Then comedians one and two exit, and the third comedian performs his/her set until being joined by comedians one, two and a new fourth comedian...and so on. The process continues till we run out of comedians stashed backstage." It's all the brainchild of Nick Vatterott, who hosts this bold & messy new format at The Creek in Queens' Long Island City upstairs theatre: Klusterphuk
[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): From the producers of The Scene, improvisors make up one-act plays on the spot at Act One
[FREE] 9:30 pm: NYC stand-ups Pat Dixon, Phoebe Robinson, Charlie Kasov, Nathan Rand, Paul Hooper, Laura Prangley, Josh Carter, and Zach McGovern performing at Pat O'Shea's free biweekly Brooklyn showcase at Freddy's Backroom (627 5th Avenue): Ed Sullivan on Acid
[TOP PICK] 10:00 pm ($5): World-class storyteller Adam Wade (two-time Moth GrandSlam Storytelling Champion (2006 & 2009) and record-breaking 17-time StorySlam Champion; The New York Times Magazine; host of The Adam Wade Show; for Adam's award-winning tale of being an NBC page on Conan O'Brien, please click here) hosts a show that's "like watching the characters of The Wonder Years and Freaks & Geeks all grown up and telling coming-of-age tales of love, lost, regret, and redemption:" Adam Wade's Whatever Happened to the Nerds?
[TOP PICK] [FREE] 11:00 pm: Moshe Kasher (Comedy Central Presents, Chelsea Lately, IFC), Ali Wong (fearless, razor-sharp, hilarious comedy dynamo; MTV, Comedy Central), Brent Weinbach, and Sean O'Connor, hosted by the wonderful Leo Allen (HBO, Saturday Night Live, Conan O'Brien, Comedy Central) at Whiplash
[FREE] 11:00 pm: If you're an audience member who loves stand-up, Monday at 11 should be Whiplash! night (see listing above). If you're a comic who couldn't get booked on UCBT's all-star show, though, you can opt to instead practice your skills at this stand-up open mic hosted by Michelle Wolf and the hilarious Erin Lennox (for a sample of Erin's dynamite Seriously Sports show, please click here): Fresh
NYC Comedy Picks for Tuesday 8/2/11
TV & movie stars Todd Barry and Justin Long perform at the final summer 2011 edition of Sweet
Recommendations for the best in New York City comedy tonight
(in chronological order, with top picks noted and shows over $10 marked with $) include:
[TOP PICK] 7:00 pm ($5): Improv genius Tara Copeland teams up with both veterans and students to perform musical improv at The Program
[FREE] 7:00 pm: Open mic for comedy of all types (with sign-up starting at 6:00) at Queens LIC's The Creek upstairs theatre hosted by Robert Dean: The Dean's List
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): Christian Finnegan (co-star of TBS' Are We There Yet?; three Comedy Central specials; MSNBC, VH1's Best Week Ever, Chappelle's Show, The Today Show), Lizz Winstead (co-creator of The Daily Show; former co-host of Air America), Todd Hanson (founding editor of The Onion), Brent Weinbach, Beth McGregor, and musical guest Sean Bones performing at the Lolita Bar at Liam McEneaney's Tell Your Friends
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): Comics creators joining super-hosts Alex Zalben, Justin Tyler, and Pete LePage in a lively & hilarious discussion about four-color pop culture, at The PIT's downstairs lounge: Comic Book Club
8:00 pm to Midnight ($5): Four full hours of improv for only five bucks—tonight featuring UCBT house troupes Standard Oil, Airwolf, Dance Break, Sandino, and Very Good Kiss, and at 11:00 pm advanced UCBT students acting weird—all at Harold Night
[TOP PICK] [FREE] 8:30 pm: Moshe Kasher (Comedy Central Presents, Chelsea Lately, IFC), Jon Gabrus (storyteller at The Nights of Our Lives, improvisor for Outlook of the Poet and The Law Firm, stand-up for College Humor), Lisa Delarios (Comedy Central, co-host of The Party Machine), and musical duo Eden and John's East River String Band performing at Brooklyn's Union Pool (484 Union Avenue) along with sketches from Moon regulars such as co-producer Jordan Clifford, the delightful Camille Harris, and hosts Nat Towsen & Bob Walles: The Moon Show
8:30 pm ($5): In this double-bill, each of two of The Magnet's singing improv troupes will make up a musical on the spot based on an audience suggestion: Rebound and BEEES!
[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($5): TV & movie stars Todd Barry (one of the finest stand-ups in the country; 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) and Justin Long (NBC's Ed, Galaxy Quest, Going the Distance, Live Free or Die Hard, the Mac in Apple Computer commercials), plus Brent Weinbach and more performing at Ella (9 Avenue A) hosted by Seth Herzog (Jimmy Fallon, 30 Rock, VH1) for the final summer 2011 edition of Sweet
9:30 pm ($5): NYC stand-ups Nick Vatterott, Orlando Baxter, Louis Katz, and Dan Pasternack performing at the PIT downstairs lounge hosted by Joe DeRosa (HBO’s Down and Dirty, Comedy Central Presents) and Jared Logan (Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central): Righteous Kill
9:30 pm ($5): Improvised episodes of the never-made third season of Twin Peaks at The PIT's upstairs theatre: In These Woods
[FREE] 9:30 pm: Stand-up, sketch, videos, and more at Queens LIC's The Creek upstairs theatre with Jeffrey Joseph and hosts Ron Krasnow & Joel Walkowski: The Short Bus
[FREE] 10:15 pm: In this free show, audience members can join in with veteran musical improv talents to make up stories in song on the spot: Musical Magnet Mixer
[FREE] 11:00 pm: A breathtaking 40 comics are given 2 minutes each in this rapid-fire open mic stand-up show hosted with wit and energy by Jay Welch: Bring It
NYC Comedy Picks for Wednesday 8/3/11
Cameron Diaz, blissfully unaware of her passing, and Mamrie Hart mourning said passing at tonight's Celebrity Funeral
Recommendations for the best in New York City comedy tonight
(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 at The PIT's Super Free Wednesday
8:00 pm, 9:00 pm, and 10:00 pm ($5): Magnet house troupes performing improv, followed by a free show at 11:30 pm: The Magnet's Megawatt
[TOP PICK] [FREE] 7:30 pm: Superb storytellers Ryan Paulson (Pentecostal Wisconsin, I'm Uncomfortable) and John Flynn (The Nights of Our Lives) joining hosts Robin Gelfenbien (VH1, Sirius Satellite Radio, FringeNYC) and Michelle Markowitz (Failing Our Twenties) for the debut of this monthly storytelling show at the KGB Bar (85 East 4th Street, off Second Avenue) that they hope will be deliciously good: Yum's the Word
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): The unsinkable Mamrie Hart (rising star who's snared over 130,000 visits to date with her latest YouTube viral video) hosts eulogies for an actress I happen to like enormously (Mamrie, in all of Hollywood you couldn't find someone genuinely icky...?), but hopefully this will be great fun regardless, with participants including Arden Myrin, Sue Galloway, Katie Schorr, Tim Martin, Eliot Glazer, and a small army of other comics for Celebrity Funeral: Cameron Diaz
8:00 pm ($5—which includes a free beer!): Christian Finnegan (co-star of TBS' Are We There Yet?; three Comedy Central specials; MSNBC, VH1's Best Week Ever, Chappelle's Show, The Today Show), Nate Bargatze (Comedy Central), Brent Weinbach, and Sean O'Connor performing stand-up at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' Long Island City hosted by Nick Turner: Monsters
[FREE] 8:00 pm: Sara Schaefer (inventive, luminous comic; Emmy-nominated staff writer for Jimmy Fallon; VH1's Best Week Ever; co-host of hit podcast You Had to Be There), Sarah Tollemoche (Last Comic Standing), Catie Lazarus, Cocoon Central Dance Team, and Zach & Zach performing in a Brooklyn bowling alley (no, seriously) called The Gutter (200 North 14th Street) hosted by Aaron Glaser & Lee Rubenstein: Get Loose
8:00 pm ($8 at the door, $6.84 online with discount code Supermango): Nick Prueher (Found Footage Festival), Nick Cobb, D.C. Benny, and David Cope performing at the Bowery Poetry Club with host Dan Allen: Sacapuntas!
[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): Mike Still (Death by Roo Roo, Diamond Lion) pulls out all the stops for a dynamic one-man show packed with comedic ideas revolving around a tyrant so evil that he machine-guns the audience (twice!), with direction by fellow Roo Roo star Neil Casey: Dictator For Life;
...and in the other half of this double-bill, Seth Kirschner (30 Rock, Lipstick Jungle) plays every character in a half-hour one-man TV episode parodying 90s sitcoms titled Sertainly Seth
[FREE] 10:00 pm: Short videos from NYC comics (lineup not announced) at The Creek downstairs lounge in Queens' Long Island City with host Nick Turner: Free Comedy
[TOP PICK] [FREE] 11:00 pm: Host Justin Purnell (The Colbert Report) providing as many as a dozen guests packed into 75 minutes performing stand-up, improv, sketch, and occasionally acts that defy categorization. The level of talent can vary wildly, but for some (like me), that's part of the laid-back fun; and this is often one of the most amazing comedy shows in town. Come support the experimentation, and periodic magical surprises, that this uniquely organic rollercoaster of a show makes possible—and don't forget to toss $1 in the bucket on your way out: School Night
[FREE] 11:00 pm: Open-mic stand-up running until 1:00 am, with time divided evenly between performers (up to five minutes), at The Creek downstairs lounge in Queens' Long Island City with host Rob Stern: Bucket 'O Buckets
NYC Comedy Picks for Thursday 8/4/11
The debut of a promising musical about monkey love: The Apes of Wrath
Recommendations for the best in New York City comedy tonight
(in chronological order, with top picks noted and shows over $10 marked with $) include:
[FREE] 6:00 pm: Open-mic stand-up with comics drawing names from a bucket, with each chosen one receiving three minutes at The Creek's upstairs theatre in Queens' Long Island City: Corby Haas
[TOP PICK] 6:30 pm ($5): An audition for a musical that's likely to nab a UCBT run based on the description alone: "The time is the near future. Apes supplant dogs and cats as household pets...and replace humans as waiters, landscapers, and even strippers. But during this tumultuous time, while apes secretly plan to overthrow their human oppressors, one universal constant remains—forbidden love:" The Apes of Wrath: A Musical Love Story
[FREE] 6:30 pm: In this free show, audience members (signing in at 6) can join in with veteran improv talents to make up scenes on the spot: Magnet Mixer
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): An hour of stand-up from a comic Jane Borden of TIme Out New York has described as "weird in the best way:" Brent Weinbach
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): "The iTunes Comedy chart topping podcast with over 1.5 million downloads brings its UK sold-out live show to the their home city of New York for the first time ever! Join Tim Daniels and Tom Reynolds as they look to vanquish Wikipedia as the go-to reference for knowledge about anything and everything. From North Korea to Nicolas Cage, no stone is left unturned in their humble quest to explain literally everything there is to know about anything in about an hour. Also, they'll tell some jokes and probably complain about things:" The Complete Guide to Everything
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): Mark Sam Rosenthal (scored major hit at FringeNYC 2008 with Blanche Survives Katrina in a FEMA Trailer Named Desire, and is back at this year's Fringe with "a pre-emptive autobiography"—please click here and here) and Eugene Ashton-Gonzalez (NY Confidential) performing at The PIT's basement lounge on the topic Heat with young hosts Michelle Markowitz & Bryan Rucker who say they're Failing Our Twenties
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($7): Some of the Magnet Theatre's finest improvisors make up theatrical plays on the spot: Playhouse
[$] 8:00 pm ($29 & 2-drink min.) A comic who's made a fortune from dysfunction headlining tonight through Sunday at the Carolines Comedy Club: Christopher Titus
[FREE] 9:00ish pm: Typically terrific NYC stand-ups performing on this weekly show at the Kabin Bar and Lounge hosted by Chesley Calloway and comedy genius Sean Patton: Comedy as a Second Language
9:30 pm ($8): The worlds of "magic, mind-reading, and mutilation" are explored by Matthew Holtzclaw and Prakash Puru: Strange Things
9:30 pm (no cover, 1-item min.): Sara Schaefer (inventive, luminous comic; Emmy-nominated staff writer for Jimmy Fallon; VH1's Best Week Ever; co-host of hit podcast You Had to Be There), Julia Segal, Will Ruele, and "some surprises" performing stand-up at Luca Lounge (222 Avenue B off 14th Street) for Sean Crespo's & Carol Hartsell's weekly comedy show Lasers in the Jungle
9:30 pm ($5): Improvisors (not announced) make up one-act plays on the spot at The PIT's basement lounger for The Scene
[$] 10:00 pm ($31.25 & 2-drink min.) A provocative comedy star who's written for Richard Pryor, Red Foxx, and Saturday Night Live, and performed on Chappelle's Show and David Letterman, headlining through Sunday at Carolines: Paul Mooney
[TOP PICK] 11:00 pm ($5): Spectacular musical improv troupe Diamond Lion (which includes comedy genius Tara Copeland) competing against improv troupe Macaroni Rascal for audience laughs and votes at the raucous Cage Match
11:00 pm ($5): NYC stand-ups (not announced) performing at The PIT for this comedy club-style (i.e., long set) weekly show hosted by Harrison Greenbaum: The Big One
11:00 pm ($5): Magnet improv troupes Brick and Honey compete for audience laughs and votes—yes, like UCBT's Cage Match, but with a game-like challenge component—at Inspirado
NYC Comedy Picks for Friday 8/5/11
I don't know how it happened either, but Jimmy Fallon is co-headlining with Bobby Slayton at Gotham Comedy
Recommendations for the best in New York City comedy tonight
(in chronological order, with top picks noted and shows over $10 marked with $) include:
[FREE] 6:00 pm: An open mic show on a lottery system (sign-ups start at 5:30 pm) at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' Long Island City with hosts Mike Recine and Annie Lederman: The Shinebox
7:00 pm ($5): Five women performing an improvised, and possibly tipsy, parody of The View at Focus
7:30 pm ($10): Remember how your father totally screwed you up? Imagine if you were brought up by Doug Moe: Doug Moe is a Bad Dad ; plus in the other half of this double-bill, the appealing Veronica Osorio makes her first attempt to fly solo by performing as five gals who win a chance to be The First Woman on the Moon
8:00 pm ($10): An improv troupe making up a musical on the spot after a friendly greeting: Hello
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5; includes copious homemade treats): A special all-storytelling edition, with Ophira Eisenberg, James Adomian, Jon Friedman, and Adam Newman performing at Karma Lounge (51 First Avenue, off 3rd Street) with hosts Aalap Patel, Matt Maragno, and the delightful Chelsea White (MTV, College Humor): It's Not That Serious
[FREE] 8:00 pm: NYC stand-ups Carmen Lynch, Sam Morril, Team Submarine, Brandon Wardell, and Joe Pera performing stand-up at O'Hanlon's (14th Street off 1st Avenue) hosted by Mark Normand: Hot Soup
8:00 pm ($10): An improv troupe making up a musical on the spot after a friendly greeting: Hello
[$] 8:00 pm ($29 & 2-drink min.) A comic who's made a fortune from dysfunction headlining tonight through Sunday at the Carolines Comedy Club: Christopher Titus
[FREE] 8:00 pm: An open mic show that's first come, first serve (sign-ups start at 7:30 pm), with each comic getting five minutes on stage at The Creek downstairs lounge in Queens' Long Island City: Mic and Cheese
[TOP PICK] [$] 8:30 pm ($25 & 2-drink min.): I can't imagine how this double-bill came to be, but two of the unlikeliest stand-ups to be on a stage together—Jimmy Fallon and Bobby Slayton—share the headlining tonight at the Gotham Comedy Club: Jimmy Fallon and "The Pitbull"
8:30 pm ($7): Veteran improvisors Megan Gray & Louis Kornfeld team up to perform as improv duo MegaLou
[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($10): Some of the finest improv in NYC from the comedy genius members of The Stepfathers
[FREE] 9:00 pm: Sean Patton (red-hot rising star; killer set on Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central, VH1; co-host of Comedy as a Second Language, frequent guest-host of Whiplash), Joe List (Comedy Central), Andy Haynes (Jimmy Fallon), Greg Johnson (IFC), Lou Fernandez, and Brandon Wardell performing at Brooklyn's Red Star Bar (37 Greenpoint Avenue) for hosts Nick Turner's & Jason Saenz's Too Cool for School
9:30 pm ($10): A screening of the first five episodes of Web series Sweet Misery, followed by improv from the cast...which includes such stellar talents as Ali Farahnakian, Matt Oberg, and Steve Soroka: Sweet Misery Premiere
[TOP PICK] 10:00 pm ($7): Sean Patton (red-hot rising star; killer set on Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central, VH1; co-host of Comedy as a Second Language, frequent guest-host of Whiplash), Ophira Eisenberg (brilliant storyteller with notable bangs; VH1, Showtime, host of TV pilot of The Liar Show), Carolyn Castiglia (Last Comic Standing, VH1), Nora Davis, and musical group Social Hero performing at The PIT's downstairs lounge with host Laura Pringley: Too Soon
[TOP PICK] 10:00 pm ($7): Singing improvisors, including such world-class performers as the breathtakingly talented Tara Copeland, using an interview with an audience member to craft The Made-Up Musical
[TOP PICK] 10:30 pm ($10): Comedy genius Thomas Middleditch (when he's not in LA), Nate Lang, Craig Rowin, Matt Fisher, Fran Gillespie Sue Galloway, and other superb improvisors make up scenes about an audience member's legal dispute at The Law Firm: Law & Disorder
[$] 10:30 pm ($27.25 & 2-drink min.) A comic who's performed a Comedy Central Presents special and is a cast member of Ugly Americans, and has also appeared on Last Comic Standing, Showtime, and VH1, headlining tonight and Saturday at the Carolines Comedy Club: Kurt Metzger
11:00 pm ($5): Micah Sherman celebrates his birthday by performing stand-up and having improvisors create scenes springboarding off his jokes at Micah's Birthday
[TOP PICK] 11:30 pm ($5): Before the show, audience members may anonymously submit written confessions, secrets, rants, advice and opinions which will be used onstage by the improvisors—who include such talents as Laura Grey (stellar old-time radio style theatrical podcast Horrorgasm, sketch/improv duo Klepper & Grey): The Friday Night Sh*w
Midnight ($5): "A super-positive lifestyle program for teenage girls hosted by two guys with a huge passion for glossy pop music, Lisa Frank school supplies, and all that the world presents as 'hip' to young women during the melodramatic years of adolescence. With help from their outstanding panel of experts, Dan Chamberlain & Jason Flowers rap about entertainment, fashion, boys, and more in an effort to bring empowerment and enlightenment to the teen girl inside all of us:" Cool Show 4 Teen Girlz
[$] 12:30 am ($31.25 & 2-drink min.) A provocative comedy star who's written for Richard Pryor, Red Foxx, and Saturday Night Live, and performed on Chappelle's Show and David Letterman, headlining through Sunday at Carolines: Paul Mooney
NYC Comedy Picks for Saturday 8/6/11
Andy Christie celebrates the Fifth Year Anniversary of The Liar Show; Jimmy Fallon performs one more night at Gotham
Recommendations for the best in New York City comedy tonight
(in chronological order, with top picks noted and shows over $10 marked with $) include:
[$] 5:00 pm ($16.50 & 2-drink min.) A nice guy who's been toiling as an NYC stand-up since 2001 gets a break today with this gig headlining at the Carolines Comedy Club: Mick DiFlo
[TOP PICK] [$] 6:00 pm ($15, which includes 1 drink; reservations highly recommended by calling 212.989.9319): Four funny people tell amazing stories. Three of the tales are absolutely true...but one of them is a pack of lies. The audience then asks questions to try and identify the fibber—and everyone who does gets a free t-shirt! This evening's yarn-spinners are Diana Spechler (author of Skinny), Peter Aguero (Conan O'Brien), Carter Edwards, and Andy Christie (The New York Times, NPR, Moth GrandSlam Champion, exceptionally nice guy). Come to the West Village's Cornelia Street Cafe (29 Cornelia Street) and let host Andy Christie attempt to mislead you at The Liar Show
[FREE] 7:00 pm: Comedic solo performances—storytelling, sketch, and whatever else isn't stand-up or improv—from Nick Vatterott, Amber Nelson, Matt Koff, Shalyah Evans, Kimberly Rossiter, and Austin Rye at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' Long Island City with hosts Bill Stiteler & Adam Schwartz: Wank
[TOP PICK] 7:30 pm ($10): Genius improvisors Anthony King, Joe Bill, Ed Herbstman, Becky Drysdale, Kay Cannon, Christina Gausas, and other stellar performers from 30 Rock, The Colbert Report, The Daily Show, and legendary Chicago improv institutions—all joyously declaring Let's Have a Ball
[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm ($25 & 2-drink min.): I can't imagine how this double-bill came to be, but two of the unlikeliest stand-ups to be on a stage together—Jimmy Fallon and Bobby Slayton—share the headlining tonight at the Gotham Comedy Club: Jimmy Fallon and "The Pitbull"
[TOP PICK] [FREE] 8:00 pm: Tim Dimond, Nore Davis, and Jeff Wesselschmidt at this "comedy chat show with boundary issues" that has stand-ups perform sets and then be interviewed about their personal lives at The Creek in Queens' Long Island City, hosted by Matt Ruby & Mark Normand (who says "all these guys were hand-picked because they're funny and have some serious problems; when you read this lineup you're gonna be like "oh yeah, that guy is a mess"): We're All Friends Here
[$] 8:00 pm & 10:30 pm ($32.75 & 2-drink min.) A comic who's made a fortune from dysfunction headlining tonight and Sunday at the Carolines Comedy Club: Christopher Titus
[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—genius improvisors Death by Roo Roo
9:00 pm ($7): "Strange, mysterious, beautiful, and disgusting, this show will dazzle you with sketch comedy... and magic!" from witchy duo Angela DeManti & Emily Shapiro: The Weird Sisters
[$] 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): Christian Finnegan (co-star of TBS' Are We There Yet?; three Comedy Central specials; MSNBC, VH1's Best Week Ever, Chappelle's Show, The Today Show) and more performing at the only comedy club in the East Village: Eastville Comedy Club's A-List
9:30 pm ($10): "A cabaret of darkly funny songs and topical sketch comedy about culture and politics," following sold out shows at Joe's Pub: Political Subversities
[TOP PICK] [$] 10:00 pm ($15): 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 Complete Performer
[TOP PICK] 10:30 pm ($10): An all-star improv troupe led by brilliant UCBT artistic director Anthony King interviews an audience member about where he or she grew up and then creates an entire show based on the mini-bio: The Curfew: Not From Around Here
10:30 pm ($7): Vibrant improv from Nick Kanellis & Peter McNerney as comedy duo Trike
[TOP PICK] Midnight ($5): James Adomian (talented impressionist; finalist on last summer's Last Comic Standing), Nick Vatterott (Jimmy Fallon), Jena Friedman (newest Writer for David Letterman), Anthony Atamanuik (30 Rock, Death by Roo Roo, Two-Man Movie), and musical guest Megan Kerper performing with host Andy Rocco at Underground Americana
[FREE] Midnight: A weekly chance for you to shine, as students and veteran improvisors share the stage to form "rare and wonderful one-night-only teams," with sign-up starting at 11:30 pm: Magnet Mixer
[$] 12:30 am ($31.25 & 2-drink min.) A provocative comedy star who's written for Richard Pryor, Red Foxx, and Saturday Night Live, and performed on Chappelle's Show and David Letterman, headlining through Sunday at Carolines: Paul Mooney
NYC Comedy Picks for Sunday 8/7/11
Tom Shillue and Ophira Eisenberg tell funny stories in Central Park this afternoon at Laughter in the Park
Recommendations for the best in New York City comedy today & tonight
(in chronological order, with top picks noted and shows over $10 marked with $) include:
[TOP PICK] [FREE] 2:00 pm: Stellar storytellers Tom Shillue (Conan O'Brien, The Daily Show, Comedy Central Presents, 2011 ECNY Award for Best Storyteller) and Ophira Eisenberg (brilliant storyteller with notable bangs; VH1, Showtime, host of TV pilot of The Liar Show), plus stand-ups Helen Hong (Logo's Setup Squad), Liz Miele (Comedy Central), and Nick Vatterott (Jimmy Fallon, MTV) performing for a free outdoor show at Mineral Springs in Central Park: Laughter in the Park
[FREE] 4:00 pm: An unusually early walk-in open mic stand-up show (for details, please click here) at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' Long Island City: Face-Plant Comedy Showcase
7:00 pm ($5): Comedy duo Leah Rudick & Katie Hartman, whose production at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival was proclaimed "biggest revelation" by the Guardian, performing a brand new sketch show: Skinny Bitch Jesus Meeting
[FREE] 7:00 pm: Sketch, improv, and more at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' Long Island City from comedy troupe Froduce
[TOP PICK] 7:30 pm ($10) and 9:30 pm [FREE]: UCBT's signature improv comedy extravaganza, which typically includes stars in the improv world, and sometimes even TV & movie stars such as Amy Poehler and Horatio Sanz: ASSSCAT 3000
[$] 8:00 pm ($29 & 2-drink min.) A comic who's made a fortune from dysfunction headlining tonight and Sunday at the Carolines Comedy Club: Christopher Titus
[FREE] 8:00 pm: Susan Prekel (Comedy Central), David Foster (HBO's Bad Boys of Comedy, MTV), James Parkinson, Jermaine Fowler, and Jaqi Furback performing at RG Daniels' free weekly show at the Three of Cups East Village lounge: Sunday Night Stand-Up
8:00 pm ($5): Veteran improvisors from Bakersfield, CA—Jeff Lepine (Artistic Director of The PIT), Lorraine Cink (Baby Wants Candy), Michael Lewis, Alex Marino, and Garrett Willingham —get together after five years of not performing together: The Bakersfield Reunion Show; and "Margo Brooke Pelmar & Lucia Brizzi fell in improv love in the early morning hours on a film set. Featured extras, they had been cast as the nameless Girls 1 & 2, but quickly realized they were meant for bigger, more histrionic things—such as this two-gal improv show starring them:" Featured GIrls
[FREE] 8:00 pm: NYC stand-ups (not announced) performing at The PIT's downstairs lounge for a free weekly show typically hosted by Chris Grace: Cold Soda Comedy
[TOP PICK] [FREE] 9:00 pm: Julian McCullough (fiercely funny rising star; Comedy Central Presents, MTV, VH1), Giulia Rozzi (Jimmy Kimmel, MTV, VH1, Playgirl Magazine, co-host of Dive comedy and Stripped Stories), Ryan Hamilton, Kevin Barnett, and Ramon Rivas performing at Brooklyn's Knitting Factory (361 Metropolitan Avenue) guest-hosted by Damien Lemon: Comedy Night
[FREE] 9:00 pm: NYC stand-ups Neil Charles, Phil Hanley, Taylor Clark, Grant Gordon, Alice Wetterlund, and Robert Dean performing at the East Village's Beauty Bar for Vince Averill's free weekly show Beauty Bar Comedy
9:30 pm ($5): Anecdotes about growing up "in the soon-to-be ex-Anthracite coal capital of the world" for this one-man show by Joe Dettmore: Stories from the Chronologically Gifted
[$] 10:00 pm ($31.25 & 2-drink min.) A provocative comedy star who's written for Richard Pryor, Red Foxx, and Saturday Night Live, and performed on Chappelle's Show and David Letterman, headlining through Sunday at Carolines: Paul Mooney
[FREE] 10:00 pm: Helen Hong (Logo’s Setup Squad), Ryan Shores, Daniel Horrigan, and Harriet Halloway performing stand-up at a free weekly gay-themed show at Therapy guest-hosted by show founder Adam Sank: Electro Shock Therapy Comedy Hour
[FREE] 10:00 pm: Open-mic stand-up, with 4 minutes per comic, at The PIT's downstairs lounge hosted by Rob Stern: Vicious Cycle
Copyright © 2011 Hy Bender
Email: hy@hyreviews.com
