NYC Comedy Picks for Monday 1/21/08
Tonight's recommendations for the best in NYC live comedy include
hilarious stand-ups, including Pete Holmes (Best Week Ever), Roger Hailes (Chappelle's Show),
Colin Jost (writer for SNL), and Gabe Liedman & Jenny Slate (Gabe & Jenny) at Totally J/K (8:15ish pm),
political sketches & other presidential primary season comedy, plus a serious interview with
respected journalist and author Nick Flynn, at Lizz Winstead's Shoot the Messenger (8:30 pm),
and wonderful star comics Kristen Schaal (HBO's Flight of the Conchords), Rob Riggle (The Daily Show),
Leo Allen (Saturday Night Live), and more at one of the funniest shows in NYC—
which just happens to be free—starring and hosted by Human Giant (11:00 pm).
Stand-up comedy hosted by Billy Reno (SNL's Weekend Update,
Carolines; for video samples, please click here and here).
Tonight's guests are
Jay Bois, Luke Cunningham, Ophira Eisenberg,
Logan Jacobsen, and Dan St. Germaine.
8:00 pm, Ochi's Lounge at Comix, 353 West 14th Street (between 8th & 9th Avenues);
no cover, 1 drink or food item minimum (on low-cost menu; e.g., draft beer for $4-$5)
Amy Beckerman, Gloria Bigelow, Jackie Monahan, and Leah Dubie
Free gay-themed stand-up comedy show featuring the gals above
as regulars/hosts, plus tonight's guests:
Greg Walloch, Danny Leary, Mara Herron, and Adam Sank.
8:00 pm at RubyFruit Bar & Grill, 531 Hudson Street (between West 10th & Charles); free
Normally hosted by quick-witted best buds Joe Mande and Noah Garfinkel.
Joe is currently in Kokomo, IN, however, so filling in for him is the
sly and foul-mouthed Gabe Liedman (of At Night with Gabe & Jenny).
Tonight's terrific guests include
Jenny Slate (adorable, hot, and equally foul-mouthed co-host
of At Night with Gabe & Jenny; for hilarious video, please click here),
Pete Holmes (brilliant, lightning-fast stand-up; VH1's Best Week Ever,
Comedy Central's Premium Blend and Motherload; writer for CollegeHumor.com;
cartoonist for mags ranging from The New Yorker to Cosmo Girl;
host of UCBT's monthly open-mic stand-up show Gutbucket),
Roger Hailes (exceptionally sharp, personable, funny stand-up; VH1, Chappelle's Show;
for sample videos, please click here and here), and
Colin Jost (writer for Saturday Night Live).
8:15ish pm at Rififi, 332 East 11th Street (between 1st & 2nd Avenues); tickets are $5
Nick Flynn and his memoir Another Bullshit Night in Suck CIty; and host Lizz Winstead
Lizz Winstead is co-creator and former head writer of the original The Daily Show; former Executive VP of Air America Radio; and a performer on such shows as Comedy Central Presents and HBO's Women of the Night. (She's also a character; e.g., for a memorable anti-apology after canceling her appearance on the live NYC show Drink at Work, please click here.)
Tonight's guest is Nick Flynn, journalist and author of Another Bullshit Night in Suck City, a memoir about his life in Boston working in a homeless shelter...and periodically encountering his drunk, homeless father. Flynn's other credits include The New Yorker, Paris Review, National Public Radio's This American Life, The New York Times Book Review, and "field poet" for the 2006 Oscar-nominated documentary feature Darwin's Nightmare.
To get a feel for STM, view a fun interview with cartoonist David Rees by clicking here.
To buy tickets online (each $10 plus $2.50 service charge), please click here.
8:30 pm at Ace of Clubs, 9 Great Jones Street (3rd St. between Lafayette and Broadway); $10
This theatre is downstairs from the Acme restaurant. Nearest subway stops are
Bleecker Street on the #6 and Broadway-Lafayette on the F/V/D/B.
Rob Riggle, Leo Allen, and Kristen Schaal...
...and Rob Huebel, Paul Scheer, and Aziz Ansari (a.k.a. Human Giant)
Aziz Ansari, Rob Huebel, and Paul Scheer, the wonderful stars
of MTV comedy hit Human Giant, will be showing off clips-in-progress
for their upcoming second season (slated to air in March).
There's no one better at working an audience than these guys;
and their first season was, in my opinion, one of the funniest shows in TV history.
(For details, please click here.)
Helping the guys throw a great party will be star comics, including
Kristen Schaal (lovely, brilliant, breathtakingly talented writer/actress/comic;
co-star of HBO's Flight of the Conchords; writer for MTV's Human Giant;
co-star of Web video series Penelope: Princess of Pets; co-host of NYC live Hot Tub Variety Show with Kurt Braunohler; winner of numerous comedy awards, including the prestigious 2nd Annual Andy Kaufman Award, and the 2007 ECNY Award for Best Female Stand-Up),
Rob Riggle (hilarious, organic, honest; correspondent for The Daily Show with Jon Stewart;
other credits include Saturday Night Live, The Office, Arrested Development), and
Leo Allen (writer for Saturday Night Live 2002-2005; Late Night with Conan O'Brien,
Comedy Central Presents, Ed, Sex and the City).
This is likely to be one of the flat-out funniest shows in NYC.
And it's free.
11:00 pm at UCBT, 307 West 26th Street (off 8th Avenue); free
NYC Comedy Picks for Tuesday 1/22/08
Tonight's recommendations for the best in NYC live comedy include
Jeff Kreisler, winner of the 2006 Bill Hicks Spirit Award and writer for Comedy Central's Indecision 2008,
performing a one-man show about the current political scene in Comedy Against Evil (7:00 pm),
Jess Wood (HBO), Clara Bijl (Comedy Central), Sara Benincasa (MTV), Abbi Crutchfield explaining
"How to Use a Mascara Wand as a Shiv," and other fine stand-ups at Carolyn Castiglia's Chicks & Giggles (8:00 pm),
writer/artist legend Jim Starlin, who more than anyone else put the cosmic into comic books,
visiting with cartoonist Scott Bateman and comedic rapper MC Chris at Comic Book Club (8:00 pm),
wonderful star stand-ups, including Todd Barry (HBO, Dave, Conan), Jessi Klein (Comedy Central, NBC, CNN),
Bobby Tisdale (Invite Them Up), and TJ Miller (ABC's Carpoolers) at the fabulous Seth Herzog's Sweet (9:00 pm),
and superb comics including Lizz Winstead (co-creator of the original The Daily Show)
and Becky Drysdale (star of Time Traveling Lesbian) at Her Majesty's Stand-Up (9:30 pm).
Jeff Kreisler's Comedy Against Evil
Jeff Kreisler is a winner of the 2006 Bill Hicks Spirit Award for Thought Provoking Comedy.
He writes for Comedy Central's Indecision 2008, is a nationally syndicated business
humor columnist & video maker for Funny Money, and is currently creating the humor book
Get Rich Cheating for Harper Collins. Tonight's show is a kick-off for a national tour.
7:00 pm at The Peoples Improv Theater, 154 West 29th Street (off 7th Avenue); tickets are $5
Jess Wood, Clara Bijl, and Carolyn Castiglia
Carolyn Castiglia hosts a lineup of talented female stand-up comics.
Tonight's scheduled guests are:
Jess Wood (smart, brassy, very funny stand-up; HBO's Def Jam Comedy;
for documentary about her, please click here),
Clara Bijl (semifinalist in Comedy Central's 2003 Laugh Riots; writer for French hit sitcom Le Petit Silvant Illustré; for stand-up video on replacing an ex with a dildo, please click here),
Sara Benincasa (MTV's Choose or Lose Campaign; host of Tub Talk with Sara B.
on Nerve.com; host of NYC weekly live comedy show Family Hour with Auntie Sara;
for video sample, please click here),
Abbi Crutchfield (as Dr. Eric Newberry, feminist motivational speaker who teaches class on self-defense via everyday items, e.g., "How to Use a Mascara Wand as a Shiv"),
Rachael Parenta (for audio clip of three hilariously shocking jokes, please click here),
Diana Saez (DC Comedy Festival; XM Radio; created/produced Washington DC's
first all-female comedy showcase; for stand-up videos, please click here and here), and
Diana Saez & Heather with a sock puppet extravaganza!
8:00 pm, Ochi's Lounge at Comix, 353 West 14th Street (between 8th & 9th Avenues);
no cover, 1 drink or food item minimum (on low-cost menu; e.g., draft beer for $4-$5)
Jim Starlin's "cosmic" series such as Warlock blew the minds of readers and opened new possibilities for comics
Hosted by Alex Zalben, Justin Tyler and Pete LePage,
who enjoy discussing comic books while getting laughs.
Tonight's industry guest is Jim Starlin, one of the most important writers/artists
in comics history; his dozens of titles includes Warlock, Captain Marvel, Silver Surfer,
The Infinity War, The Thanos Quest, Dreadstar, and Death of the New Gods). Also visiting are
Scott Bateman (cartoonist who produced an animated short a day for a year; Plum TV's Scott Bateman Presents Scott Bateman Presents; Salon.com weekly animated series),
and hilarious musician/rapper MC Chris.
8:00 pm at The Peoples Improv Theater, 154 West 29th Street (off 7th Avenue); tickets are $5
The Harold is longform improv, pioneered by Del Close.
Tonight, five improv troupes—
DeCoster, 1985, fwand, Bastian, and T.R.U.C.K.S.—
each give it a go for 30 minutes, with
short breaks in between, for a total of 3 hours.
Some of the groups are great; some are less so. And this show
is designed more for students of improv than the general public.
But if you're interested, and patient, a mere $5 will buy you
a full evening's education...and periodic solid laughs.
8:00-11:00 pm at UCBT, 307 West 26th Street (off 8th Avenue); tickets are $5
Todd Barry and Jessi Klein...
...and Bobby Tisdale, Seth Herzog, and TJ Miller
Hosted by the razor-sharp, dynamic, and hilarious Seth Herzog (VH1's Best Week Ever).
Tonight's wonderful all-star comics are
Todd Barry (wryly brilliant stand-up who's one of the very best in the biz;
Late Show with David Letterman, Late Night with Conan O'Brien,
Comedy Central Presents; HBO's Flight of the Conchords and Lucky Louie;
Comedy Central's Freak Show, Dr. Katz, and Shorties Watching Shorties;
Adult Swim's Space Ghost, Aqua Teen Hunger Force, and Tom Goes To The Mayor),
Jessi Klein (deliciously honest, brilliant, hilarious stand-up star; Rolling Stones' comedy "Hot List;"
Comedy Central's Premium Blend and Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn;
VH1's Best Week Ever; NBC's The Today Show; CNN; The Showbiz Show with David Spade;
voice of Lucy on Adult Swim's Lucy the Daughter of the Devil;
for a video stand-up sample about which celebrity would save
the most Jews, and on email etiquette, please click here and here),
Bobby Tisdale (comedy great who for five years has hosted the wonderful
NYC weekly live comedy show Invite Them Up; Comedy Central album;
film Junebug; HBO's Hysterical Blindness; new show on SuperDeluxe.com),
TJ Miller (co-star of ABC sitcom Carpoolers; actor in smash hit film Cloverfield;
ESPN Hollywood, PBS' The Standard Deviants; writer for Blerds.com and verybadporn.com;
performing stand-up this Thursday on Late Show with David Letterman),
and Sam Bisbee (star NYC singer/songwriter).
9:00 pm at The Slipper Room, 167 Orchard Street (corner of Stanton Street); tickets are $5
Becky Drysdale, Lizz Winstead, and Sean O'Connor
Hosted by Jon Bander, Dan Gregor, and Lucas Held.
Tonight's superb comics include
Lizz Winstead (co-creator and former head writer of the original The Daily Show; former Executive VP of Air America Radio; performer on such shows as Comedy Central Presents and HBO's Women of the Night; host of NYC weekly live comedy show Shoot the Messenger),
Becky Drysdale (charismatic, brave, razor-sharp improvisor/musician/actor; acclaimed one-woman show One Woman in Several Pieces; Web video series Time Traveling Lesbian;
co-stars in UCBT's great improv shows Happy Hour and Let's Have a Ball),
Sean O'Connor (VH1; New York Posts Top 20 Entertainers to Watch For in 2006; upcoming album Shmeat is Shmurder; for hilarious stand-up samples, please click here and here), and
Pangea 3000 (NYC-based sketch troupe consisting of Andrew Cleary, Sam Kemmis,
Dan Klein, Arthur Meyer, and Seth Reiss; The Onion, SF SketchFest).
9:30 pm at The Magnet Theatre, 254 West 29th Street (off 8th Avenue); tickets are $5
Stellar members of various UCBT improv teams are
mixed together to form new teams for just an evening.
Tonight's one-time-only troupes are:
Team 1: Jesse Falcon, Jon Gutierrez, Kevin Hines, Violet Krumbein,
John Murray, Adam Pally, Lennon Parham, and Achilles Stamatelaky.
Team 2: Kirk Damato, Sue Galloway, Chris Gethard, Hallie Haglund,
Sean Hart, Eric Scott, Nate Smith, and Will Storie.
Come take advantage of this chance to see wonderful improvisers
who normally don't work together try to instantly form a group mind.
11:00 pm at UCBT, 307 West 26th Street (off 8th Avenue); tickets are $5
NYC Comedy Picks for Wednesday 1/23/08
Tonight's recommendations for the best in NYC live comedy include
a free view of a sketch troupe constructing material via entertaining anecdotes
and improv, featuring superb talents such as Elna Baker and Pat Shay, at Red (6:00 pm),
brilliant & awesomely talented comics who enjoy complaining, including Demetri Martin, Larry Murphy,
Jon Glaser, Jon Benjamin, Patrick Borelli, and Matt Hall, at CBS/NYC Presents: The Grouch Club (8:00 pm),
typically stellar stand-up comics at Eugene Mirman's & Bobby Tisdale's Invite Them Up (9:00 pm),
sketch comedy about glam-rock messiahs and future dystopias from The Uncles and BLITZKRIEG! (9:30 pm),
and a laid-back free show where virtually anything can happen on a School Night (11:00).
Pat Shay and Elna Baker
Comedy troupe Red tells stories off the top of their heads, then improvises scenes
based on the tales; and also perform sketches from material they improvised the previous week.
It's a clever way of crafting a sketch show organically, week by week—and you can watch the whole process, at no charge. The group consists of Kevin Allison, Elna Baker, Chris Caniglia,
Scott Eckert, Sarah Lowe, Sarah Nowak, Pat Shay, Nate Starkey, Shelly Stover, and Kevin Townley.
6:00 pm at The Peoples Improv Theater, 154 West 29th Street (off 7th Avenue); free
Larry Murphy, Demetri Martin, Jon Benjamin, and Jon Glaser
CBS/NYC Presents: The Grouch Club
Some of the funniest & most brilliantly talented guys in New York
get on stage tonight to gripe about stuff. This all-star blow-out includes:
Demetri Martin (immensely popular stand-up star with his own segment, Trendspotting,
on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart [13 appearances]; Late Night with Conan O'Brien
[4 appearances]; Comedy Central Presents 30-minute
special; Comedy Central 2007 one-hour special Demetri
Martin. Person. [both specials now available
on DVD
Larry Murphy (brilliant voiceover actor who performs all the
key characters on Adult Swim's Assy McGee; other TV series include
Home Movies, O'Grady, Cheapseats, Computer Lab, Puppets N Such;
co-host of great NYC weekly comedy extravaganza The Greg Johnson & Larry Murphy Show;
for an animated VO reel, please click here).
Jon Glaser (long-time writer & sketch performer for Late Night with Conan O'Brien;
writer/performer for ESPN's Cheap Seats; frequent performer on Human Giant;
voiceover actor for such animated series as David Cross' Freak Show, and
Cartoon Network's Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Stroker & Hoop (as Stroker),
and, with Eugene Mirman, Lucy, the Daughter of the Devil (playing Jesus);
writer/star of Comedy Central's online show Tiny Hands; writer/filmmaker
partner with stellar VO actor/comic Jon Benjamin in Midnight Pajama Jam;
and—with Todd Barry, Jon Benjamin, James McNew, and Tom Shillue—
member of NYC comedic band A Matter of Trust);
Jon Benjamin (superb voiceover actor for FOX's Family Guy, Adult Swim's
Lucy the Daughter of the Devil, Home Movies, Assy McGee—which he
co-writes with Jon Glaser, and Comedy Central's Freak Show, Dr. Katz;
played talking can of vegetables hooked on autofellatio in film Wet Hot American Summer;
was thoroughly hilarious as Bruce Willis impersonator in classic Human Giant sketch),
Patrick Borelli (Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Comedy Central's Premium Blend,
ESPN's Cheap Seats, Video Power Hour), and
Matt Hall (frequent comedy partner of Patrick Borelli;
co-creater with Patrick of Video Power Hour).
8:00 pm at UCBT, 307 West 26th Street (off 8th Avenue); tickets are $5
John F. O'Donnell
Free open-mic stand-up comedy show in Queens' Long Island City
(just one stop from Manhattan on the #7 train).
Hosted by John F. O'Donnell (Comedy Central's Fresh Faces), a wild man
who will make you love him...and who genuinely loves comedy and fellow comics.
If you're looking for stage time, John makes this a very friendly place to perform.
Sign-up for the open mic is at 7:30.
8:15ish pm at The Creek and The Cave, 10-93 Jackson Avenue, Long Island City, Queens; free
From Manhattan, take the #7 subway to the Vernon Boulevard-Jackson Avenue stop (one stop after Grand Central);
exit on Jackson Avenue and walk one block north to 49th Avenue.
Hosted by comedy greats Eugene Mirman and Bobby Tisdale (above).
The lineup—which is usually stellar—tends to be posted late afternoon
on the day of the show. To check whether the Web page
has been updated yet, please click here.
9:00 pm at Rififi, 332 East 11th Street (between 1st & 2nd Avenues); tickets are $5
The Uncles and BLITZKRIEG!: A Sketch Show From the Future
Two sketch comedy shows for five bucks.
Sketch troupe The Uncles consists of Matt DiLoreto, Dave DiLoreto, and Joshua Sidis.
Tonight they promise to "contort, stretch, warp, and twist for your comic delight into rabidly violent monks, glam-rock messiahs, Socratic superstars from the way-back-when, and Bensonhurt-bred professors intent on teaching you the meaning of haste." They'll be aided by guest writer Colin P. Delaney and guest performer Lauren Shannon.
The other half of this double-bill is BLITZKRIEG!: A Sketch Show From the Future:
"The comedy equivalent of a fistfight between Stephen A Brief History of Pain Hawking
and Brian The Asswhoopin' of the Cosmos Greene. Step out of a wormhole and into a world of anatomical deformities, Mumblecore movies and three-tiered appetizers. When you are called from the future to defend the human race against destruction, will you be ready? Blitzkrieg! ensures you are."
Written & performed by Matt Cady, John Frusciante and Aaron Glaser; featuring Molly Lloyd.
Directed by Dominic Dierkes (Derrick).
9:30 pm at UCBT, 307 West 26th Street (off 8th Avenue); tickets are $5
Kurt Braunohler and Pat Shay
The Faculty and The Baldwins and Sid Viscous
Some of the PIT's instructors—who include such talents as Ali Farahnakian,
Kurt Braunohler, Ptolemy Slocum, Jen Nails, Pat Shay, Matt Donnelly, Kevin Scott,
and Rebekka Johnson—perform improv for around 30 minutes.
And opening for them will be house improv troupes The Baldwins and Sid Viscous.
9:30 pm at The Peoples Improv Theater, 154 West 29th Street (off 7th Avenue); free
Host Justin Purnell provides a mix of guests who perform stand-up, improv, music,
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.
Come support the experimentation, and periodic magical surprises,
that this free show makes possible.
11:00 pm at UCBT, 307 West 26th Street (off 8th Avenue); free
NYC Comedy Picks for Thursday 1/24/08
Tonight's recommendations for the best in NYC live comedy include
comedy from ace sketch/improv troupe Hot Sauce (7:00 pm),
razor-sharp comics Roger Hailes, Matt Goldich, and Ben Schwartz, and stellar storyteller Elna Baker,
at Jon Friedman's and Stuckey & Murray's wonderful comedy extravaganza Slightly Buzzed (8:30 pm),
two improv troupes, Fat Penguin and Tantrum, battling for audience votes at Cage Match (11:00 pm),
and two sketch/improv troupes, Sidecar and 3-D Beard, who've decided to team up
for twice the laughs in Speakeasy: Double-Action Hilarity (11:00 pm).
Sharp-witted & lightning-quick sketch/improv group Hot Sauce
is Gil Ozeri, Adam Pally and Ben Schwartz;
for some video samples of their work, please click here and here.
These 2006 Cage Match champions kick off tonight by trying out comedy sketches
and, most likely, tossing in some very funny improvisation.
7:00 pm at UCBT, 307 West 26th Street (off 8th Avenue); tickets are $5
Christina Casa & Sara Chase in Jen & Angie, and Lance Rubin & Ray Munoz in The Lance & Ray Show
Jen & Angie and The Lance & Ray Show
Jen & Angie imagines what would happen if Jennifer Aniston and Angelina Jolie
were stranded together on a desert island. It's a cute idea that's gotten the show some press.
But frankly, considering how fascinating and complex the real-life celebrities are,
this parody is disappointing—the script is way too shallow, all too often
making easy and obvious choices.
That said, there's pleasure to be had in the dopiness of Christina Casa's portrayal
of Jolie as a husky-voiced android who speaks in short declarative sentences,
never uses contractions, and always calls her rival by her full name
(e.g., "Have some condor, Jennifer Aniston. It is good for you, Jennifer Aniston.").
If Casa and her writing partner Laura Buchholz keep this character, but otherwise
rethink the show from scratch to make it deeper and wiser,
they might end up with something that goes beyond being an actress showcase.
Nonetheless, Casa's absurd version of Jolie provides memorably silly fun.
The show co-stars Sara Chase as Aniston, and is directed by Susanah Becket.
The other half of this double-bill is The Lance & Ray Show,
which is sketch in a stream-of-consciousness style
from promising comedy duo Lance Rubin & Ray Munoz.
8:00 pm at UCBT, 307 West 26th Street (off 8th Avenue); tickets are $5
Roger Hailes, Elna Baker, and Matt Goldich...
...and hosts Jon Friedman and Stuckey & Murray
An evening of razor-sharp comedy hosted by
Jon Friedman (host of the superb NYC monthly live comedy extravaganza The Rejection Show
and author of the upcoming book Rejected: Tales of the Failed, Dumped, and Canceled) and
Stuckey & Murray (The Discovery Channel, E!, VH1, Fuse, The College Sports Network; two comedy music series for NBC Digital Media and Heavy.com; wildly popular comedy videos on YouTube, Funnyordie.com, and their own Web site).
Tonight's wonderful guests include
Roger Hailes (exceptionally sharp, personable, funny stand-up; VH1, Chappelle's Show;
for sample videos, please click here and here),
Elna Baker (brilliant writer, storyteller, and comics creator whose If You See Something
was the best one-woman show at FringeNYC 2006; improvisor/storyteller for Red Room),