NYC Comedy Picks for Monday 1/7/08
Tonight's recommendations for the best in NYC live comedy include
hilarious hosts Noah Garfinkel & Joe Mande presenting such fearlessly funny comics as
Charlie Sanders (Conan O'Brien) and Jon Daly & Brett Gelman (as Cracked Out) at Totally J/K (8:15ish pm),
a brand new monthly comedic variety show from ace sketch troupe A Week of Kindness (8:15ish pm),
and one of the funniest shows in NYC—which just happens to be free—featuring stand-up stars
Todd Barry, Demetri Martin, and Jessi Klein, at a TV previews party from Human Giant (11:00 pm).
Hosted by quick-witted and enormously funny best buds Joe Mande and Noah Garfinkel
(for dueling birthday videos, please click here and here; and for other videos,
please click here and here). Tonight's terrific guests include
Cracked Out (artfully shocking chameleons Jon Daly & Brett Gelman
parodying a hip-hop group; for samples of the duo's mind-blowing videos,
please click here and here, and check out their album Fleetwood Cracked),
Charlie Sanders (brilliantly dynamic comic who's one of the most committed performers you'll ever see; sketch performer on Late Night with Conan O'Brien; member of world-class improv troupes Reuben Williams, Buffoons, and C, C + C Improv Factory), and
Andrew Orvedahl (for stand-up about riding on a bus, please click here).
8:15ish pm at Rififi, 332 East 11th Street (between 1st & 2nd Avenues); tickets are $5
Dan Hopper, Mike Still, and Nate Kushner
A Week of Kindness' Monthly Variety Show: Premiere!
Hilarious sketch troupe A Week of Kindness—consisting of Dan Hopper, Nate Kushner, and Mike Still—host this new monthly comedy extravaganza. To understand why these guys richly deserve their own show, please check out their videos on tiny folk The Thumblettes, a gripping science fiction saga, and Purple People Eater implants by clicking here, here, and here. Also consider Mike Still's motto: "When Oprah gives me opportunities, I call them Oprah-tunities.
And life is the greatest Oprah-tunity of all."
Tonight's scheduled guests are
Greg Johnson (superb stand-up, and co-host of one of the funniest shows in NYC,
The Greg Johnson and Larry Murphy Show every Friday at 8:30 at Rififi),
Michelle Collins (VH1's Best Week Ever and All Access, MTV U, YouCantMakeItUp.org; for a memorable chat about the power of penises over vaginas, please click here),
Henry Zebrowski (member of sketch troupe Murderfist),
Matt Little (loves unicorns), and the Bing Crosby Family.
Why miss this Oprah-tunity to catch great sketch and stand-up comics?
8:15ish pm at Pianos, 158 Ludlow Street at Stanton; tickets are $8
Stand-up comedy hosted by Billy Reno (SNL's Weekend Update,
Caroline's; for video samples, please click here and here).
Tonight's scheduled guests are
Sara Benincasa (host of NYC weekly live comedy show Family Hour with Auntie Sara;
for hilarious video, please click here; for bio, please click here),
Matt Taylor (MTV's Parental Control; host of Astoria, Queens show Tuesday Night Comedy),
Allison Castillo, Peter Kassnove, and Todd Montesi.
8:00ish 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)
Author Mark Crispin Miller & his election book Fooled Again, 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 Mark Crispin Miller, author of the books Boxed in: The Culture of TV, The Bush Dyslexicon: Observations on a National Disorder, Cruel and Unusual: Bush/Cheneys New World Order, and Fooled Again (which argues the last Presidential election was literally stolen).
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.
Singles Night: Solo Performances
Two one-man shows for five bucks.
Tonight's performers (reprising their tales of a month ago) are
George Clark: Storked—A Journey into Fatherhood, and
Steve Kornstein: In Search of Little Red Rosenberg.
9:30 pm at The Peoples Improv Theater, 154 West 29th Street (off 7th Avenue); tickets are $5
Todd Barry, Jessi Klein, and Demetri Martin...
...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 an all-star gathering of stand-up comics:
Todd Barry (wryly brilliant; 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),
Demetri Martin (The Daily Show: Trendspotting, Late Night with Conan O'Brien,
Comedy Central's Demetri Martin. Person., These Are Jokes CD/DVD), and
Jessi Klein (winner of 2003 ECNY Best Female Stand-Up award; Director
of Development at Comedy Central; Comedy Central's Premium Blend
and Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn; VH1's Best Week Ever;
NBC's The Today Show; 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).
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 1/8/08
Tonight's recommendations for the best in NYC live comedy include
some of the most talented and hilarious women in New York: Adira Amram, Livia Scott,
The Apple Sisters, Julie & Jackie, Katina Corrao, and Ann Carr—all of whom are
nominated for this year's ECNY Awards—at Carolyn Castiglia's Chicks & Giggles (8:00 pm),
superb stand-ups including Todd Barry, Liam McEneaney, Maureen Langan, Thomas Middleditch,
and raunchy deaf comic Douglas Ridloff at John Morrison's The Morrison Motel (8:30 pm),
and star stand-up comics Anthony Jeselnik (Premium Blend), Demetri Martin (The Daily Show), Peter Grosz
(The Colbert Report), Michael Showalter, and Craig Baldo at Seth Herzog's Sweet (9:00 pm).
Livia Scott, Adira Amram, and Julie Klausner & Jackie Clarke...
...and Katina Corrao; Sarah Lowe, Rebekka Johnson, & Kimmy Gatewood as The Apple Sisters; and Ann Carr
Carolyn Castiglia normally hosts a lineup of solid female stand-up comics;
but tonight's scheduled guests are awesome.
They've all been nominated for a 2007 ECNY Award; and they're all
incredibly smart, fiercely talented, and hilarious. They include:
Adira Amram, brilliantly funny writer/singer; Jane Magazine Editor's Choice;
nominated for Best Musical Comedy Act (by herself) and Best Variety Show
(with Rob Lathan for Get Psyched!); for sample songs & videos, please click here,
The Apple Sisters—Kimmy Gatewood, Rebekka Johnson, and Sarah Lowe—nominated for Best Musical Comedy Act (for the trio writing, singing, dancing, and acting up a storm for eight different shows in 2007) and Outstanding Achievement in Postcard Design (with the help of Matthew C. Johnson and Keith Huang), and Best Director (for Kimmy Gatewood); to get a feel for their highly acclaimed and much-loved The Apple Sisters Variety Show,
please click here & here & here & here,
Livia Scott, a brilliant and breathtakingly talented comedic chameleon who performed on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, is a member of world-class sketch troupe Meat, and has been nominated both for Best One-Person Show (for Goodnight, O.J.) and Best Emerging Comic,
Julie Klausner & Jackie Clarke, a duo of writer/performers who are creating some of
the freshest & most hilarious material in NYC via their UCBT show Obsessed with Julie & Jackie, nominated for Best Short Comedic Film Exuhcise, and Best Director (Jackie Clarke for the UCBT shows Get Psyched! and Film Noir),
Katina Corrao, who's performed on HBO's Daddy and on Comedy Central, and is a member of the NYC live comedy show 500% Italian, nominated for an Emerging Comic Award;
for video samples, please click here and here,
and Ann Carr (Nominated for Best One-Person Show, There is Only One You;
please click to view her hilarious Comedy Central Motherload video Honesty Wedding).
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)
Cover of Special Forces by Kyle Baker; illustrations by R. Sikoryak
Hosted by Alex Zalben, Justin Tyler and Pete LePage,
who enjoy discussing comic books while getting laughs.
Tonight's guests are acclaimed comics writers/illustrators
Kyle Baker (winner of both the Harvey and Eisner Awards; writer of 13 graphic novels; cartoonist for publications ranging from The New Yorker to The New York Times to National Lampoon; most recent series are Special Forces and The Bakers); and
R. Sikoryak (cartoons & illustrations in The New Yorker, Nickelodeon Magazine, Raw,
and Drawn & Quarterly, and on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart).
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—
Raynard, Tantrum, 1985, Bastian, and DeCoster
—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, John Morrison, and Maureen Langan
John Morrison (host of NYC weekly open-mic show Ochi's Motel)
welcomes these superb stand-up comics:
Todd Barry (wryly brilliant; 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),
Liam McEneaney (VH1's Best Week Ever, Comedy Central's
Premium Blend, former writer for Standup Nation with Greg Giraldo),
Maureen Langan ( winner of the Bud Light "Ladies of Laughter" Contest;
named by Backstage as one of the "Ten Standout Stand-ups Worth Watching"),
Baratunde Thurston (Web editor for The Onion; creator/producer of The Front Porch podcast;
for a history essay he wrote in 6th grade, please click here),
Thomas Middleditch (improv at Second City and Baby Wants Candy;
for cartoon that prompted the comment "wow i think i actually feel
my intelligence melting away as i watch this," please click here), and
Douglas Ridloff (deaf comic, and co-creator/producer of ASL [American Sign Language] in the Raw; will be performing via his interpreter for the hearing; reportedly raunchy & hilarious).
Discount Note: Please mention HyReviews.com at the door for $5 off the $10 cover!
8:30 pm at Cornelia Street Cafe, 29 Cornelia Street (between West 4th Street and Bleecker);
$5 per ticket (vs. $10) if you mention HyReviews.com at door, plus one item (food or drink) minimum
Demetri Martin, Anthony Jeselnik (being lauded by Robin Williams), and Michael Showalter...
...and Seth Herzog, Peter Grosz, and Craig Baldo
Hosted by the razor-sharp, dynamic, and hilarious Seth Herzog (VH1's Best Week Ever).
Tonight's all-star stand-ups are
Anthony Jeselnik (phenomenal comic specializing in darkly shocking jokes,
and already one of my favorite stand-ups ever;
Comedy Central's Premium Blend, ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live,
NBC's Last Call with Carson Daly, MTV's Walk of Shame;
for a video stand-up sample, please click here),
Demetri Martin (The Daily Show: Trendspotting, Comedy Central Presents,
Comedy Central's Demetri Martin. Person., Conan O'Brien, These Are Jokes CD/DVD),
Michael Showalter (MTV's The State, legendary Stella comedy troupe,
co-writer & co-star of comedy feature film Wet Hot American Summer),
Peter Grosz (writer for The Colbert Report, star of over 100 Sonic fast-food commercials,
member of UCBT star improv troupe 3 Square), and
Craig Baldo (Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Last Comic Standing,
Comedy Central's Premium Blend, VH1, Bravo, The Onion).
9:00 pm at The Slipper Room, 167 Orchard Street (corner of Stanton Street); tickets are $5
Donald Glover and friend, and Tom Shillue
Hosted by Jon Bander, Dan Gregor, and Lucas Held.
Tonight's terrific comics include
Tom Shillue (Comedy Central Presents, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, The Daily Show with
Jon Stewart, storytelling podcasts; for stand-up samples, please click here and here),
Donald Glover (writer for NBC's 30 Rock; multiple appearances on Late Night with Conan O'Brien; member of three-man improv/sketch comedy troupe Derrick, which is a star
both on stage at UCBT and on the Web via their wildly popular YouTube videos—
for samples, please click here and here and here and here), and
Dan Curry (Comedy Central; author of book Drunk on a Bike;
for stand-up video, please click here).
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: Maggie Carey, Devlyn Corrigan, Dominic Dierkes, Aaron Glaser,
Birch Harms, Doug Moe, Ben Schwartz, and Kate Spencer.
Team 2: John Adam, Anthony Atamanuik, Sarah Burns, Brian Faas,
Lydia Hensler, Ryan Karels, Mike Still, and Joe Wengert.
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 1/9/08
Tonight's recommendations for the best in NYC live comedy include
sharp stand-up comedy from Eric Andre, Baratunde Thurston, and other members
of The Black Comedy Project at host Neil Charles' The Deal (7:30 pm),
the delightful Amber Petty, Jessie Schupack, and Tricia McAlpin of Penny, and a joyously
silly musical celebration of school days, in White Orphans and High School Talent Show (8:00 pm),
typically stellar stand-up comics hosted by the great Eugene Mirman & Bobby Tisdale at Invite Them Up (9:00 pm),
a new show combining sex, alcohol, and improv: Happy Hour (9:30 pm),
and a laid-back free show where virtually anything can happen on a School Night (11:00).
The Black Comedy Project Presents The Deal
Neil Charles hosts some of the best African-American stand-up comics in NYC:
Eric Andre (Comedy Central's Live at Gotham; 2007 HBO Aspen Comedy Festival; Geico caveman; for a video sample, please click here),
Baratunde Thurston (Web editor for The Onion; creator/producer of The Front Porch podcast;
for a history essay he wrote in 6th grade, please click here),
Elon James White (stand-up comedy series Hey Mon),
Josh Homer (New York Underground Comedy Festival Award winner), and
Dave Lester ("I love comedy the way you love your mother after she punishes you
youre pissed at her, but you'd do anything just to be near her").
7:30 pm at The Tank, 279 Church Street (bet. Franklin & White Streets); tickets are $5
Comedy troupe Penny (Amber Petty, Jessie Schupack and Tricia McAlpin) in White Orphans...
...and High School Talent Show's Ilana & Eliot Glazer (left) and Mindy Raf (right)
Penny: White Orphans and High School Talent Show
Two delightful sketch shows for a mere five bucks.
Sketch/improv group Penny consists of the adorable & very funny comedy trio
Amber Petty, Trisha McAlpin, and Jessie Schupack. In tonight's show, the gals
promise to "guide you through their wonderful world of art, music, and laughter.
You'll laugh till you cry, cry till you laugh, and be moved enough that you too
will want a white orphan for your very own." Directed by Susannah Beckett.
The double-bill then continues with High School Talent Show,
a fun extravaganza from brother-sister duo Eliot & Ilana Glazer in which
"Upper Central High School's brightest stars take to the stage to deliver rabble-rousing performances in song, dance, magic, slam poetry, stilts, and more!" The cast of enormously talented comics playing high school students includes Ann Carr, Carolyn Castiglia, Shawn Hollenbach, Rob Lathan, and brilliant writer/singer Mindy Raf.
8:00 pm at UCBT, 307 West 26th Street (off 8th Avenue); tickets are $5
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
Becky Drysdale, Anthony King, Chris Gethard, Jason Mantzoukas, and Miriam Tolan
UCBT's signature show ASSSSCAT 3000 consists of a storyteller and a group of improvisors who act out the tales. This new show sounds like it might be a sexy & boozy variation of that. The official description: "Some of your favorite UCBT improvisers saddle up to the bar with their favorite drinks and spin their ribald and ridiculous bar tales into improv comedy you'll still remember in the morning." The players include
Deb Downing (improv at Second City),
Becky Drysdale (acclaimed one-woman show One Woman in Several Pieces,
Web video series Time Traveling Lesbian),
Chris Gethard (The Stepfathers, The Nights of Our Lives, author of book Weird New York),
Peter Grosz (writer for The Colbert Report; famed for performing numerous Sonic commercials),
Anthony King (UCBT-NY Artistic Director, Reuben Williams, Let's Have a Ball,
Gravid Water, off-Broadway show Gutenberg! The Musical),
Jason Mantzoukas (Mother: The Soundtrack, We Used to Go Out, The Mantzoukas Brothers),
Thomas Middleditch (Second City, Baby Wants Candy; for cartoon that prompted the comment
"wow i think i actually feel my intelligence melting away as i watch this," please click here),
Tami Sagher (writer for 30 Rock; writer and producer for Mad TV 2001-2006), and
Miriam Tolan (sketches on Late Night with Conan O'Brien 1993-1994, correspondent on The Daily Show 2000-2001, acted on The Office as "fake Tina Fey").
9:30 pm at UCBT, 307 West 26th Street (off 8th Avenue); tickets are $5
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 1/10/08
Tonight's recommendations for the best in NYC live comedy include
the last chance to see (before they go on tour) singing, dancing, and sexual innuendo from
one of the most charming & entertaining groups in NYC, The Apple Sisters (8:00 pm),
the delightful Kate Hess & Shelly Stover dancing and singing for laughs,
and talented comedic storyteller & real-life doctor Devlyn Corrigan providing an insider's look
at NYC hospitals and trauma centers, in We Kate Shelly and This is Gonna Hurt (8:00 pm),
the very odd but intriguing sketch troupe Murderfist (9:30 pm),
two comedic one-man shows from guys named Nick: Out of Africa My Mind and Cool Your J (9:30 pm),
and a battle between two of the funniest and most fiercely competitive improvisation troupes
in New York, Derrick and C, C + C Improv Factory, at Cage Match (11:00 pm).
Photo on left: Rebekka Johnson, Kimmy Gatewood, and Sarah Lowe
Photo on right: Sarah Lowe, Rebekka Johnson, and Kimmy Gatewood
The Apple Sisters: Right to Bare Charms
The delicious Apple Sisters—Kimmy Gatewood, Rebekka Johnson, and Sarah Lowe, with Tom Thomsen on keyboard—have sung, danced, and naughtily joked their ways into New York City's heart. This homage to 1940s girl groups like The Andrew Sisters has been one of the great successes of 2007...so much so that the gals are about to go on tour to spread their special brand of cheer around the country. If you haven't seen their show before, grab this last chance.
From the official description: "The Apple Sisters are Candy, Cora, and Seedy. Their mother, Ms. Reddy Apple, was a vaudeville star and she passed down the legacy to her three girls! The trio present their live show, broadcast on WXYZ AM Radio, straight to the troops in Germany, and present the show on stage at the Peoples Improv Theater in their first and favorite home, the Big Apple! Be a chum and always use Doramad Toothpaste, now with Thorium!"
In October, the Apples celebrated Halloween getting pursued by a serial killer, learning the joys of gal-on-gal wrestling, and (unforgettably) spitting massive amounts of corn in each other's faces. In November, they paid homage to Thanksgiving by drinking hideous-looking gravy and proclaiming it dee-licious, having Kimmy dress as a turkey and perform a hot strip-tease, and teaching a wheelchair-bound President Roosevelt how to dance. And in December, the sisters contemplated Christmas by retelling Jesus' birth, consuming slimy green pickles, and resolving a three-month storyline about Seedy Apple (played by the delightful Sarah Lowe) and her painfully platonic dating of God.
To get a feel for the production, please click here & here & here & here.
The show consistently sells out, so it's recommended you buy an advance ticket
online ($9.19, including service charge) by clicking here.
8:00 pm at The Peoples Improv Theater, 154 West 29th Street; tickets are $8 at the door
