NYC Comedy Picks for Monday 5/23/11
Two of the very best stand-ups in the world: Ted Alexandro (Whiplash) and John Mulaney (For the Hour)
Recommendations for the best in New York City comedy tonight
(in chronological order, with top picks noted and shows over $10 marked with $) include:
[TOP PICK] [$] 7:30 pm ($30, plus $12 min. if you sit at a table): " A musical one-woman comedy show from Broadway's Jackie Hoffman at Joe's Pub: Jackie Five-Oh
[FREE] 7:30 pm: NYC stand-ups Phil Hanley (Craig Ferguson), J-L Cauvin (Craig Ferguson), Graham Keay, Jake Weisman, and John Mihilser performing at a free weekly show in the Manchester Pub hosted by Phoebe Robinson: Case of the Mondays Comedy
[MEGA-TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): A writer/performer for Saturday Night Live (for a sample, please click here) who's also one of the very finest stand-ups in the country—with appearances on Conan O'Brien, Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central Presents, VH1's Best Week Ever, etc.—performing a deliciously long set tonight that's likely to leave you breathless with laughter and chuckling weeks later: John Mulaney: For the Hour
[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 run at The PIT that allows you to catch the gals for a mere $10: Naked in a Fishbowl
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($6.50 online or $8 at the door): Leo Allen (former writer for Saturday Night Live; Comedy Central Presents, Conan O'Brien, HBO's Funny or Die, host of top NYC comedy show Whiplash), Seth Herzog (staff comic for Jimmy Fallon; Comedy Central, CBS, VH1, movie star; host of Sweet), Jena Friedman (wry dark comedy stand-up), Nikki Glaser (Jay Leno, Last Comic Standing), and musical guest Leeni performing 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: Hot Tub Variety
8:30 pm ($5): Young comic Cass Bugge performing a one-woman show with the hopeful self-fulfilling title I Remember Edwina DeBooveman's One Woman Show
[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): Two of UCBT's fine house sketch comedy troupes, Fambly (featuring rising star Mamrie Hart) and Neighbor Boy, trying out new bits at Maude Night
9:30 pm ($5): Marie Cecile Anderson and Katy Frame "sing about everything from venereal diseases to Jurassic Park in sweet harmonies that will remind you of the good old days. Their lilting country style will warm your heart, tickle your funny bone, and make you cross your legs in fear and discomfort. You are powerless against the force that is" Reformed Whores
[TOP PICK] [FREE] 11:00 pm: Some of the finest stand-ups in the world—who tonight include Ted Alexandro (David Letterman, Conan O'Brien, Jimmy Kimmel, two Comedy Central Presents half-hour specials; frequently opens for Louis C.K.), Simon Anstell (brilliant, charismatic UK comedic storyteller), and Owen Smith (Comedy Central, Everybody Hates Chris)—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
[FREE] 11:30 pm: Adira Amram (fresh, hilarious rising star singer/songwriter; winner of the 2011 ECNY Award for Best Musical Act), David Smithyman, Graham Keay, Bob Powers, Doug Smith, Stone & Stone, and Tess Barker performing at Brooklyn's Freddy's Bar (627 Fifth Avenue; take R subway to Prospect Avenue) for this free weekly show hosted by Brooke Van Poppelen (brilliant stand-up, writer, and storyteller; TLC, blogger for trutV; for stand-up videos about overindulging at 30 and impersonating Morrisey, please click here and here) and Giulia Rozzi (Jimmy Kimmel, MTV, VH1, Playgirl Magazine, co-host of Stripped Stories): Dive Comedy
NYC Comedy Picks for Tuesday 5/24/11
Jason Mantzoukas & Ed Herbstman will perform breathtaking duo improv tonight as The Mantzoukas Brothers...
...and Wyatt Cenac and Simon Amstell will perform their unique versions of stand-up at 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:
7:00 pm ($5): Duo improv from team Snazzle Dazzle; and improv revolving around "the anticipation, the fall-out, that fragile moment when love blooms or dies" in Double Date
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): Comic book creators join super-hosts Alex Zalben, Justin Tyler, and Pete LePage in a lively & hilarious discussion about four-color pop culture at Comic Book Club
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): Host Cyndi Freeman and fellow storytellers Leslie Goshko (delightful & razor-sharp Manhattan Monologue Slam Champ, host of Sideshow Goshko), Peter Aguero, Brad Lawrence, Rory Scholl, Jeff Scherer, and Alex Gallafent tell tales at Brooklyn's Pacific Standard (82 Fourth Avenue). Cyndi says, "Come early and see ten minutes of sobriety:" The Standard Issues
[MEGA-TOP PICK] [$] [DISCOUNTED] 8:00 pm ($35.50 with discount code BOX): Mike Birbiglia performing a unique blend of stand-up and storytelling that's one of the best theatrical shows in NYC. For my more detailed write-up, please click here; and then grab tickets at the Barrow Street Theatre (27 Barrow Street, just one block from the #1 subway's Christopher Street stop) for Mike Birbiglia: My Girlfriend's Boyfriend
8:00 pm ($5): "A panel of comedians give their hilarious takes on the more grim/sensational crime stories taken from NYC's daily newspapers. It's live comedy with a streak of yellow journalism and dark New York flavor," with tonight's guests Big Jay Oakerson, Danny Solomon, and Chemda at Queens LIC's The Creek hosted by Pat Dixon (Comedy Central Presents): The New York City Crime Report
8:00 pm ($10): The worlds of "magic, mind-reading, and mutilation" are explored by Matthew Holtzclaw and Prakash Puru: Strange Things
8:00 pm to Midnight ($5): Four full hours of improv for only five bucks—tonight featuring UCBT house troupes Standard Oil, Very Good Kiss, Ragnaröck, Sandino, and CAPTCHA, and at 11:00 pm a small army of advanced UCBT improv students trying to snatch from order from chaos—all at Harold Night
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: The Sound & the Fury and BEEES!
[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($5): Wyatt Cenac (star correspondent for The Daily Show), Simon Anstell (brilliant, charismatic UK comedic storyteller), Nikki Glaser (Last Comic Standing finalist), and more performing at Ella (9 Avenue A) hosted by Seth Herzog (Jimmy Fallon, VH1): Sweet
9:30 pm ($5): Dan St. Germain (quick-witted rising star; Jimmy Fallon, MTV; for reenactment of Dan's breakup, please click here), Ophira Eisenberg (brilliant storyteller with notable bangs; VH1, Showtime, The Liar Show), Ryan Hamilton (Conan O'Brien), and "a secret guest" 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
[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
[MEGA-TOP PICK] 10:30 pm ($5): Genius improvisors Jason Mantzoukas (rising film/TV star; (We Used to Go Out, Mother, Baby Mama) and Ed Herbstman (stellar comedic actor; co-founder of the Magnet Theater) show off how breathtakingly quick-witted and skillful they are at creating scenes from air. Time Out New York named these guys Best Improv Duo of 2006. Happily, Jason is back in NYC for a while, so take advantage of this opportunity to see these improvisation comedy stars shine—and then engage in an unusually intimate, and potentially awkward, debriefing session with the audience that can be as much fun as the formal part of the show: The Mantzoukas Brothers
[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 5/25/11
NPR's This American Life host Ira Glass, plus his correspondents Dave Hill and Elna Baker (above), are among the stars at The Talent Show
Recommendations for the best in New York City comedy tonight
(in chronological order, with top picks noted and shows over $10 marked with $) include:
6:30 pm ($5):Timothy Dunn stars in the sketch show Brad Sacks Gets A Handjob, which tonight is paired with a sketch show I know even less about but has a great title: Auteur of Shit
[FREE] 6:00 pm to midnight: Six free hours of improvisation at The PIT's Super Free Wednesday
7:00 pm, 8:30 pm, and 10:00 pm ($5): Magnet house troupes performing improv, followed by a free show at 11:30 pm: The Magnet's Megawatt
[MEGA-TOP PICK] 7:00 pm doors, 8:00 pm show ($5 at the door, or $6.50 in advance online—the latter is recommended because tickets for this show tend to go fast): Genius storyteller Elna Baker and Kevin Townley host New York Magazine's 2011 pick for Best Variety Show, with tonight's guests Ira Glass (host of NPR's This American Life), Dave Hill, Eugene Mirman, Kurt Braunohler, Hanna Cheek, Glennis McMurray, Liz Armstrong, and more performing at Brooklyn's Littlefield (622 Degraw Street) for this month's theme Slumber Party: The Talent Show
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): John Mulaney (one of the finest stand-ups in the country; writer/performer for Saturday Night Live; Conan O'Brien, Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central Presents, VH1's Best Week Ever; for John's great bit on Weekend Update, please click here), Simon Anstell (brilliant, charismatic UK comedic storyteller), and more joining best bud hosts Noah Garfinkel & Joe Mande (author of Look At This F*cking Hipster) at Totally J/K
[TOP PICK] [FREE] 8:00 pm: Molly Knefel (member of superb improv troupe Naked in a Fishbowl) and her brother John Knefel (veteran stand-up) host this monthly comedy show, with tonight's guests Andrea Rosen (HBO's Flight of the Conchords, Comedy Central's Stella, Variety SHAC, winner of the 2011 ECNY Award for Best Stand-Up), Joe DeRosa (HBO’s Down and Dirty, Comedy Central Presents, co-host of Righteous Kill, comedy CD The Depression Auction), Ophira Eisenberg (brilliant storyteller with notable bangs; VH1, Showtime, The Liar Show), Katina Corrao (Good Neighbor Minute), and Neal Stasny performing stand-up at Le Poisson Rouge (158 Bleecker Street, off Thompson Street): John and Molly Get Along
[MEGA-TOP PICK] [$] [DISCOUNTED] 8:00 pm ($35.50 with discount code BOX): Mike Birbiglia performing a unique blend of stand-up and storytelling that's one of the best theatrical shows in NYC. For my more detailed write-up, please click here; and then grab tickets at the Barrow Street Theatre (27 Barrow Street, just one block from the #1 subway's Christopher Street stop) for Mike Birbiglia: My Girlfriend's Boyfriend
8:00 pm ($5—which includes a free beer!): NYC stand-ups Ben Kronberg (Jimmy Kimmel), Joe List (Comedy Central), Damien Lemon (Radio City Music Hall), and Max Silvestri (co-host of Big Terrific) performing at The Creek in Queens' Long Island City with host Nick Turner: Monsters
9:00 pm ($5): A unique mixing of storytelling and burlesque, with host Peter Aguero tonight telling four tales of his "dark days"—and in between, clothes-shedding dancers—at UNDER St. Marks for Told: Bare
[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): One of the finest comedic storytelling shows in the country, in which brilliant writer/performers—who tonight are Andrea Rosen (red-hot rising star and upcoming mom), Adam Wade, Anthony Atamanuik, Mark Sam Rosenthal, and wonderful host David Martin—tell tales that are brutally honest and utterly hilarious, with tonight's theme Mothers: The Nights of Our Lives
[FREE] 10:00 pm: Short videos from NYC comics, who tonight include Chelsea White, Dan St. Germain, Victor Varnado, and many more, at The Creek in Queens' Long Island City with host Nick Turner: Free Comedy
[FREE] 10:00 pm: Dustin Chafin (Showtime, Howard Stern Show), H. Alan Scott (Here-TV's Hot Gay Comics, superb baker of cookies), and Frank Liotti performing at the Bar-Tini Ultra Lounge (542 Tenth Avenue, between 45th & 46th Streets) for a gay-themed show hosted by Adam Sank: That Sank Show
[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
NYC Comedy Picks for Thursday 5/26/11
Wonderful comedic actresses Amy Heidt, Fran Gillespie, and more debut After the Final Rose: A Sketch Show for the Right Reasons...
...and Wyatt Cenac and Adam Wade will be telling stories about joy at Kevin Allison's Risk!
Recommendations for the best in New York City comedy tonight
(in chronological order, with top picks noted and shows over $12 marked with $) include:
[TOP PICK] 6:00 pm ($5): Three shows auditioning for a regular run on the prestigious UCBT schedule. I know nothing about the second two (Carl Gregory: Personal Fertility Clinic and Everybody's Dumb and Boring), but at 6:00 pm brilliant comedic actresses Amy Heidt, Fran Gillespie, and other talents perform a spoof of ABC's The Bachelor written by UCBT rising stars Leila Cohan-Miccio & Caitlin Tegart, and directed by Caitlin: After the Final Rose: A Sketch Show for the Right Reasons
[$] 7:00 pm ($20 plus $15 food/drink min.): I haven't seen this production, but the fact it's been included in the gala FringeNYC 15th Anniversary All-Star Series, and I love all the other shows I've seen in the series, is good enough for me. This one-night-only revival of a 2007 musical comedy about Brooklyn takes place at the Laurie Beechman Theatre, inside the West Bank Cafe (407 West 42nd Street, off Ninth Avenue): Williamsburg: The Musical
[TOP PICK] 7:30 pm: Terrific sketch duo Skinny Bitch Jesus Meeting (Leah Rudick and Katie Hartman) host a comedy variety show, with tonight's guests star singer/songwriter Corn Mo (.357 Lover), hit UCBT improv troupe Doppleganger, Katina Corrao (The Good Neighbor Minute), and Gabe Pacheco (Anecdotal Evidence) performing at The PIT's basement lounge: Daddy's Basement: A Comedy Variety Freakshow
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): Young Abbi Jacobson (Broad City) has the makings of a new UCBT star performing a one-woman show in which she engagingly plays a variety of oddball characters you might encounter at summer camp, while Paul Welsh debuts a one-man show about a hall of portraits, in the double-bill Welcome to Camp! and Men in Paintings
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($8): Will Nunziata and Jerry Miller performing a two-man sketch show designed as a love letter to the dystopian films of the 70s, 80s, and 90s:" Dystopia Gardens
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): An hour of improv directed by Magnet Theatre co-owner Armando Diaz: Evente
8:00 m ($35 & 2-drink min.): A stand-up and comedic actor who's hosted NBC's Last Comic Standing and MTV Jams, and performed on HBO, Showtime, ABC, USA, TBS, and feature films, headlining tonight through Sunday at Carolines: Bill Bellamy
[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($12): Judah Friedlander (30 Rock), Calise Hawkins (Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central), Joe DeVito (Last Comic Standing, Craig Ferguson, Chelsea Lately), Dan Goodman, and Chris Rozzi performing at Comedy Below Canal
[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 a guest (while Sean Patton shares his gifts with other cities): Comedy as a Second Language
[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($12): Top comics and comedic storytellers—who tonight are Wyatt Cenac (star correspondent for The Daily Show), Adam Wade (two-time Moth GrandSlam Storytelling Champion (2006 & 2009) and record-breaking 17-time StorySlam Champion; The New York Times Magazine; host of hilarious monthly storytelling extravaganzas Real Tales of College and The Adam Wade show; for Adam's award-winning tale of being an NBC page on Conan O'Brien, please click here), Dan St. Germain (quick-witted rising star; Jimmy Fallon, MTV; for reenactment of Dan's breakup, please click here), and Mike Lawrence (shrewdly funny curmudgeon; Comedy Central) —joining brilliant sketch comic and storyteller Kevin Allison (The State) to share tales on tonight's theme "Joy!" at one of the finest storytelling shows in the country: Risk!
9:30 pm ($5): Sharp improvisors make up one-act plays on the spot in The Scene
9:30 pm ($5): If you're a fan of CollegeHumor.com, you can get a behind-the-scenes peak—plus comics Streeter Seidell, Jake & Amir, Pat Cassels, Jeff Rubin, and Dan Gurewitch—at CollegeHumor Live
[$] 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): Ted Alexandro (one of the very finest stand-ups in the country; David Letterman, Conan O'Brien, Jimmy Kimmel, two Comedy Central Presents half-hour specials; frequently opens for Louis C.K.), Joe DeVito (Last Comic Standing, Craig Ferguson, Chelsea Lately), and Joe List (Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central) performing stand-up at The PIT for this comedy club-style (i.e., long set) weekly show hosted by Harrison Greenbaum: The Big One
[TOP PICK] 11:00 pm ($5): Vibrant improv troupes The Curfew and Great Big Dinosaur competing for audience laughs and votes at the raucous Cage Match
NYC Comedy Picks for Friday 5/27/11
2011 ECNY Best Sketch Group winner Serious
Lunch (Goofin' Off), and 2011 ECNY
Best Stand-Up winner Andrea Rosen (Ding
Dong Meow)
Recommendations for the best in New York City comedy tonight
(in chronological order, with top picks noted and shows over $10 marked with $) include:
7:00 pm ($8): Award-winning improv duo Lucas Kavner and Bradford Jordan make stuff up with "a celebrity guest improvisor' at Swords, while all-gal improvisors Alexis Saarela, Brigid Boyle, Elizabeth Findlay, and Ashley Ward perform as troupe Taco Supreme
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): Andrea Rosen is already famed as a comic—in fact, she recently won the prestigious 2011 ECNY Award for Best Stand-Up—but what's not as well-known is that Andrea's among the finest comedic storytellers in the country. This new one-woman show should fix that. It offers smart, fearless, hilarious material ranging from fast food you should avoid to the medicinal power of a boyfriend's penis. It also provides one of the sharpest comedic performances that will grace NYC this year (for which kudos are also deserved by the show's superb director, John Flynn). Plus if you sit in the first few rows, expect free home-baked cookies. Don't miss Andrea's unique blend of dark comedy and silliness: Ding Dong Meow...
...and in the other half of this double-bill, John Haskell and Arthur Meyer perform a sketch show as Two Fun Men
[FREE] 8:00 pm: Kurt Braunohler (Comedy Central; creator & host of IFC game show Pointless; co-creator & co-star of UK TV series Penelope: Princess of Pets; co-host of Hot Tub Variety; triple 2011 ECNY Award winner), Moody McCarthy, Jason Saenz, and Nore Davis performing stand-up at O'Hanlon's (14th Street off 1st Avenue) hosted by Mark Normand: Hot Soup
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($10): Groundbreaking and highly acclaimed improvisors Matt Higgins, Jay Rhoderick, and Kevin Scott performing with a three-piece rock ensemble: Centralia
[MEGA-TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm ($49.50): Mike Birbiglia performing a unique blend of stand-up and storytelling that's one of the best theatrical shows in NYC. For my more detailed write-up, please click here; and then grab tickets at the Barrow Street Theatre (27 Barrow Street, just one block from the #1 subway's Christopher Street stop) for Mike Birbiglia: My Girlfriend's Boyfriend
[$] 8:00 pm ($35 & 2-drink min.): A stand-up and comedic actor who's hosted NBC's Last Comic Standing and MTV Jams, and performed on HBO, Showtime, ABC, USA, TBS, and feature films, headlining tonight through Sunday at Carolines: Bill Bellamy
8:00 pm ($7): Sketch comedy from two friends who, by a wild coincidence, have the same name: We're Matt Weir: War Dogs
[$] 8:30 pm ($25 & 2-drink min.): A stand-up and TV writer who's appeared on HBO, BBC, FOX News, and SiTV, and is the author of The Complete Idiot's Guide to Comedy Writing, headlining tonight and Saturday at the Gotham Comedy Club: Jim Mendrinos
[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: Arden Myrin (Conan O'Brien, Mad TV, numerous other TV shows & films; for Mad TV samples, please click here and here and here), Alice Wetterlund, Brian McLoughlin, Casey Jost, and musical guests Chaz Kangas & DJ Milkmoney performing on this biweekly show at Brooklyn's Fort Useless (36 Ditmars Street) hosted by George Flanagan: Spit Take Friday
9:00 pm ($7): "In March of 2009 a gaggle of performers were born. Some died, some wandered off into the woods, others went to work in the private sector. Those that remained grew strong by feeding on the nectar of specific choices and the gruel of strong character work. The 2-year-old terror that exists today is akin to watching a Tsunami of hair and teeth attack a baby Blue Whale and destroy it with the will of a thousand hungry Burnese Mountain Dogs. What does it all mean? We don't know." In other words, improv from Chet Watkins
[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($10): The winner of the 2011 ECNY Award for Best Sketch Group (for a sample, please click here): Serious Lunch
[FREE] 10:00 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 in Queens' Long Island City: Mic and Cheese
10:00 pm ($5): "Where there is a stage and a piano, she will be there. Where there are strangers with embarrassing stories, she will be there. Where there is a group of people willing to sit and watch someone make up songs, she will be there. A one-woman musical improv journey through the lives of the audience. In The PIT basement lounge, you tell the story, Rebecca Vigil sings the soundtrack:" The Vigilante
10:00 pm ($7): Singing improvisors who use an interview with a n 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
11:00 pm ($10): Typically disturbing and semi-obscene sketches from troupe FUCT
11:30 pm ($5): Five women performing an improvised, and possibly tipsy, parody of The View at Focus
Midnight ($5): Sketch comedy troupes Hammerkatz NYU and The Chupacabra Conspiracy compete for audience laughs and votes, with troupe Sidecar hosting, in Backyard Brawl
NYC Comedy Picks for Saturday 5/28/11
Anthony King, Gavin Speiller, Ben Rodgers, and more perform an "anything goes" midnight comedy show: C.H.A.O.S.
Recommendations for the best in New York City comedy tonight
(in chronological order, with top picks noted and shows over $10 marked with $) include:
[MEGA-TOP PICK] [$] 4:00 pm & 8:00 pm ($49.50): Mike Birbiglia performing a unique blend of stand-up and storytelling that's one of the best theatrical shows in NYC. For my more detailed write-up, please click here; and then grab tickets at the Barrow Street Theatre (27 Barrow Street, just one block from the #1 subway's Christopher Street stop) for Mike Birbiglia: My Girlfriend's Boyfriend
[TOP PICK] 7:00 pm ($5): Comedy veterans Laura Grey (Second City, Klepper & Grey), Jodi Lennon (Exit 57), and Ari Voukydis (Conan O'Brien, VH1) perform an improvised play—about which Israel Savage of Improvisation News writes, "Achieves something more...they shoot for the moon"—in What a Year!
[TOP PICK] 7:00 pm ($8; includes free cookies): NYC stand-ups & storytellers Brandy Barber, Glennis McMurray, Mindy Tucker, and Gabe Delahaye telling funny, poignant, and at times unforgettable tales about their relatives for a show hosted by Sara Benincasa (CBS, CNN, MTV, The Sarah Palin Vlogs): Family Hour with Auntie Sara
[TOP PICK] 7:30 pm ($10): Genius improvisors Anthony King, Joe Bill, Ed Herbstman, Becky Drysdale, Christina Gausas, and more—plus a rotating cast of stellar visitors who've included writers & performers from 30 Rock, The Colbert Report, and The Daily Show—all joyously declaring Let's Have a Ball
7:30 pm ($7): Improv veterans Mark Grenier, Louis Kornfeld, and Charlie Whitcroft making up a play on the spot in Theory of Everything
[$] 8:00 pm & 10:30 pm ($38.25 & 2-drink min.): A stand-up and comedic actor who's hosted NBC's Last Comic Standing and MTV Jams, and performed on HBO, Showtime, ABC, USA, TBS, and feature films, headlining tonight and Sunday at Carolines: Bill Bellamy
[$] 8:00 pm & 10:00 pm & 11:45 pm ($25 & 2-drink min.): A stand-up and TV writer who's appeared on HBO, BBC, FOX News, and SiTV, and is the author of The Complete Idiot's Guide to Comedy Writing, headlining one last night at the Gotham Comedy Club: Jim Mendrinos
[FREE—plus FREE BEER!] 8:00 pm: A variety show of stand-up, storytelling, and sketch that's not only free, but promises to give each of the first 25 audience members who arrive a free beer! Unfortunately, the lineup hasn't been announced; but if you'd care to take a chance, join hosts Ray Combs Jr., Evan Jacobs, and Aalap Patel as they provide you a drink On the House
[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): Organic & energetic improv by the four guys of 4 Track!
9:30 pm ($10): "A cabaret of darkly funny songs and topical sketch comedy about culture and politics," following sold out shows at Joe's Pub: Political Subversities
[TOP PICK] [$] [DISCOUNTED] 10:00 pm ($15 both online and at the door using discount code SBWC, otherwise $20): This top musical improv troupe has wowed audiences around the world with its skill at making up an hour-long musical moment by moment. The plot and characters, the musical accompaniment, even the song lyrics and the "choreography" are invented on the spot, with no pre-planned structure. Come see why BWC won a FringeNYC Award for Outstanding Unique Theatrical Event by catching tonight's edition of Baby Wants Candy
[TOP PICK] [$] 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
10:00 pm ($5): NYC comics (not announced this week) performing at the The Brooklyn Lyceum (227 Fourth Avenue) hosted by all-gal sketch troupe M.A.D. and all-guy sketch group Sidecar: Gentrify Brooklyn
[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 (Statues of Liberty) and Leslie Korein as comedy trio Trike
[TOP PICK] Midnight ($5): Brilliant comics Anthony King, Gavin Speiller, Ben Rodgers, Neil Casey, Kate Spencer, Will Hines, Jon Gabrus, and Fran Gillespie "will walk onto a bare stage and create the most unpredictable, unsettling, surprising, and hilarious comedy show imaginable. Anything can happen. Stand-up? Improv? Bare-knuckle boxing? SOMEONE MAY DIE! (Probably not. But they might.) These fearless warriors will battle for your laughs against the forces of order and control at C.H.A.O.S.
[FREE] Midnight: A weekly chance for you to shine, as students and veteran improvisors share the stage to form "rare and wonderful one-night-only teams," with sign-up starting at 11:30 pm: Magnet Mixer
[$] 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 5/29/11
Elizabeth Blue performs her one-woman show Am I Blue, while Bill Bellamy headlines one last night at Carolines
Recommendations for the best in New York City comedy tonight
(in chronological order, with top picks noted and shows over $10 marked with $) include:
[TOP PICK] [$] [DISCOUNTED] 5:00 pm ($18.50 online using discount code ADVANCE ): One of the very best shows at FringeNYC 2010 was an award-winning comedy from NYC's own Faye Lane, a luminous storyteller and singer who will charm your socks off—and possibly give you a moon pie to boot—at the Soho Playhouse's downstairs Huron Club. This marvelous event recently received a 2011 Bistro Award for Musical Comedy and 2011 MAC Award for Special Production. Please read my review by clicking here, watch Faye make a pecan pie by clicking here, and then take advantage of this revival running Sundays through June to experience the hilarious and unforgettable Faye Lane's Beauty Shop Stories
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
[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 ($35 & 2-drink min.): A stand-up and comedic actor who's hosted NBC's Last Comic Standing and MTV Jams, and performed on HBO, Showtime, ABC, USA, TBS, and feature films, headlining one last night at Carolines: Bill Bellamy
8:00 pm ($5): Elizabeth Blue performing a new one-woman show about "a young woman in the midst of a breakdown, living in New York City searching for answers to age-old spiritual questions like, "Who am I supposed to meditate to?" and "How do I make the stuff on my vision board actually happen?" When gurus fail to answer her questions, Blue takes matters into her own hands, determined to create her own epiphany. If you've ever read a book on happiness, attempted to find your bliss, or said ugh when anyone spoke of either of these things, you are guaranteed to enjoy..." Am I Blue
[FREE] 8:00 pm: Joe List (Comedy Central), Robert Dean (host of Brooklyn's Meatsteak), Selena Coppock, Nimesh Patel, and more performing at RG Daniels' free weekly show at the Three of Cups East Village lounge: Sunday Night Stand-Up
[FREE] 8:00 pm: NYC stand-ups (not announced) performing at The PIT's downstairs lounge for a free weekly show: Cold Soda Comedy
[FREE] 9:00 pm: NYC stand-ups Liz Miele (Conan O'Brien, Comedy Central), Nick Turner (host of Monsters and Too Cool for School), Amber Nelson, and Scott Moran performing in the East Village's Beauty Bar at Vince Averill's & Jesse Popp's free weekly show Beauty Bar Comedy
[FREE] 9:00 pm: NYC stand-ups Steve Hofstetter, Wayne Federman, Matty Goldberg, and Hadiyah Robinson performing at Brooklyn's Knitting Factory (361 Metropolitan Avenue) guest-hosted by Calise Hawkins: Comedy Night
[$] 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 at Carolines: Paul Mooney
[FREE] 10:00 pm: A "Memorial Gay Weekend" edition with NYC stand-ups Helen Hong (Logo’s Setup Squad), H. Alan Scott (HereTV's Hot Gay Comics), and Danny Siegel (Gossip GIrl) performing at this free weekly gay-themed show at Therapy hosted by Brad Loekle: 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
