NYC Comedy Picks for Monday 9/4/17
The Torres Bros, Julio & Shane
Julio Torres (marvelously nuanced, outside-the-box stand-up; staff writer for Saturday Night Live; Billy on the Street, HBO's High Maintenance, Louis C.K.’s Horace and Pete), Shane Torres (fresh, hilarious stand-up; Conan O'Brien, IFC's Comedy Bang Bang, comedy album Established 1981; not actually related to Julio), Kate Willett (Comedy Central's This Is Not Happening, VICE's Flophouse, comedy album Glass Gutter), Subhah Agarwal (Comedy Central, TruTV, Fusion), Nathan Macintosh (Conan O'Brien), and Rosebud Baker perform stand-up in Brooklyn hosted by the wonderful Wyatt Cenac (former star correspondent for The Daily Show; writer for South Park, Adult Swim; albums Comedy Person and Brooklyn): Night Train (8:00 pm; $8; Brooklyn's Littlefield at 635 Sackett Street; take R subway to Union Street)...
...or if you prefer the East Village, enjoy the macabre comedy of cancer survivor & stellar stand-up Erik Bergstrom (Comedy Central Half Hour, cartoonist/author of Grimmer Tales, The New Yorker), NYC downtown history from Hank Smith (Sesame Street), stand-up by Arish Singh (host of Monkey Wrench), and more hosted by Nat Towsen (VICE, College Humor): Downtown Variety Hour (7:30 pm, $7, UCB East at 153 East 3rd Street)
Other notable shows this Monday include:
[TOP PICK] [$] 7:30 pm, 9:30 pm, and 11:30 pm ($12 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Some of the finest stand-ups in the country spread among three shows at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane): Comedy Cellar Monday
7:30 pm ($7): Improv is dominated by guys, so this is a rare treat—a dozen female improvisors "for an evening of comedy that will delight men, women, babies, and kittens," hosted by Megan Gray & Christina Dabney at The Magnet theatre: We Might Just Kiss
8:00 pm ($10): Stand-up by Nore Davis (HBO's Last Week Tonight, Comedy Central's Inside Amy Schumer and Russell Simmons Presents The Ruckus, Showtime's Boardwalk Empire, MTV) and his friends Petey Deabreu, Marie Faustin, Sydnee Washington, and Yassir Lester, plus music by Mamoudou N'Diaye, all at Brooklyn's Union Hall (702 Union Street; take R subway to Union Street): Nore Davis and Friends
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($7): Sketch comedy that aims to have you "laughing until blood pours out of your throat and eyes and you die and you go to hell and you're like 'god damn that was worth it!' to Satan and he'll be like 'Yeah, I know, I was there, it was dope'" at the UCB Chelsea theatre: O.S.F.U.G. The Fast Fuckin' Sketch Show
9:00 pm ($7): Talented comics perform solo characters at The Magnet theatre hosted by Ari Miller & Elena Skopeto: Character Bash
[TOP PICK] [FREE] 10:00 pm: Mark Normand (one of the very finest stand-ups in the country; Conan O'Brien, Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, stellar Comedy Central special Don't Be Yourself; Comedy Central Half Hour, Inside Amy Schumer, @midnight, Last Comic Standing, VH1's Best Week Ever; comedy album Still Got It; opens for Amy Schumer), Dan Soder (cast member on Showtime's Billions; film Trainwreck; Conan O'Brien, Comedy Central hour-long special Not Special, Comedy Central Half Hour, Inside Amy Schumer, MTV's Guy Code and Guy Court, VH1), Joe List (David Letterman, Conan O'Brien, Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central Half Hour, comedy albums So Far No Good and Are You Mad at Me?), Derek Gaines (host of MTV's Broke A$$ Game Show), Subhah Agarwal (Comedy Central, TruTV, Fusion),and more perform stand-up for this free weekly show at The Stand Comedy Club (239 Third Avenue, off 20th Street) hosted by Aaron Berg (TV series 24 Hour Rental, documentary A Universal Language): Frantic Mondays
[FREE] 10:00 pm: NYC stand-ups—sometimes stellar ones—push boundaries for a show designed for looseness and experimentation at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' Long Island City hosted by Andy Sandford: Permission to Fail
[MEGA-TOP PICK] [FREE; reservations go quickly, but you can probably get in if you arrive early and are okay with standing] 11:00 pm: Some of the finest comics in the world—who aren't announced in advance, but it's usually a great lineup and often an extraordinary one—at UCB Chelsea hosted by someone who's probably terrific (while usual world-class host Aparna Nancherla tours around the country): Whiplash
NYC Comedy Picks for Tuesday 9/5/17
Andy Blitz is a 9-time Emmy nominee and 5-time WGA Award winner; was a writer/performer for Late Night with Conan O'Brien from 1999 to 2006; and has also written for Comedy Central's Review and Important Things with Demetri Martin, Netflix's Master of None—which Andy also co-exec produced, Adult Swim's Eagleheart, MTV's Human Giant, etc. Andy is a unique stand-up whose sets—ranging from talking peanut butter to jet-flying cats to twisty tales based on exceptionally clever wordplay—tend to be unforgettable. Tonight Andy performs around 45 minutes of stand-up, with opening sets by some of his brilliant stand-up pals: Andy Blitz and Friends (9:00 pm, $10, The Slipper Room at 167 Orchard Street)...
...or check out this unusual show spearheaded by Natasha Vaynblat (improv group What I Did For Love, sketch group Absolutely, one-woman show United Federation of Teachers): "It's Fashion Week, and we're bringing you the hottest looks that were denied access to NY Fashion Week for being 'too ugly,' 'idiotic,' or 'not a real design.' Skip the line and spend the evening with us as we dazzle you with looks that will have you asking 'Is that fashion or just someone's trash?' This is the place to see and be seen if you weren't able to get in anywhere else:" New York Fashion Week Flagship Show (Rejects) (9:00 pm, $7, UCB East at 153 East 3rd Street)...
...and while you're at UCB East, consider sticking around for a screening of writer/director/star Heather Fink's first feature film Inside You, about a couple who switches bodies after a night with a magical sex toy, and that features such NYC comics as co-star Marshall Stratton and Christian Finnegan (for the trailer, please click here): Inside You Screening (10:30 pm, $5, UCB East at 153 East 3rd Street)...
Other notable shows this Tuesday include:
[TOP PICK] [$] 7:00 pm ($5 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Broadway, TV, and film star Colin Quinn (Trainwreck, comedy national treasure) hones material for a one-man show at The Fat Black Pussycat Lounge (130 West 3rd Street): Colin Quinn: Law Abiding Criminals
[TOP PICK] 7:00 pm-11:00 pm ($7 for the whole evening): In this 4-hour extravaganza, eight singing & dancing improv groups—all typically led by the best improv pianist in the biz, Frank Spitznagel—at The Magnet make up musicals based on audience suggestions: Magnet Musical Megawatt
[TOP PICK] 7:30 pm ($7): A monthly show about obsessions with pop culture, with tonight's topic AP English featuring Alison Leiby (writer for The President Show; VICE, Triumph The Insult Comic Dog; host of It's a Long Story), Mamoudou N'Diaye (MTV News' Decoded, Mic), and Henry Koperski (musician/comic) performing at UCB East hosted by Damian Bellino & Anne Rodeman: So Into It: A Fanatic Variety Show
[TOP PICK] [$] 7:30 pm, 9:30 pm, and 11:30 pm ($12 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Some of the finest stand-ups in the country spread among three shows at Village Underground (130 West 3rd Street, off Sixth Avenue): Comedy Cellar Tuesday
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($10—sold out of advance seats, but there'll be 150 tickets at the door): A monthly wild pun competition hosted by father-daughter duo Fred Firestone and Jo Firestone (one of the most relentlessly inventive comics in the biz; staff writer for Jimmy Fallon; star of Comedy Central Stand-Up Presents special; co-author with Fred of #1 bestselling Punderdome: A Card Game for Pun Lovers), with 18 audience members competing at Brooklyn's Littlefield (622 Degraw Street; take R subway to Union Street): Punderdome 3000
[FREE] 8:00ish pm: Leah Bonnema (VH1, IFC's Comedy Drop, WeTV's Cinematherapy, Logo, Opie & Anthony’s Virus Channel), Anthony DeVito (Stephen Colbert, Comedy Central Half Hour, This American Life, House of Cards), Sydnee Washington (host of The Warm Up), Norlex Belma (PBS), Jon Zeller (McSweeney's), and Thiago Macklin Lima perform stand-up at Brooklyn's Hungry Ghost Cafe/Bar (781 Fulton Street, between Fulton and South Oxford Streets) hosted by Keenan Steiner & Thiago Macklin: Comedy at the Corner
8:00 pm ($10): A raunchy musical about high school seniors and aliens from outer space plotting to harvest our genitals begins a 10-show run tonight through September 18th at The PIT Mainstage from writer Joe Kelly, musical director Jonathan Evans, and director Griffin Osborne: Aliens Coming: The Musical
[TOP PICK] 8:30 pm ($10): Comics perform their darkest, saddest, and most traumatically funny bits for this monthly catharsis machine—with tonight's guests Casey James Salengo, Dan Perlman, Marcia Belsky, Molly Austin, Wanjiko Eke, and Ben Wasserman at Brooklyn's Union Hall: hosted by Shane Torres, Nate Fridson, and Alison Zeidman: Dark Spots
[$] 8:30 pm ($5 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Mike Yard (former writer/performer for Comedy Central's The Nightly Show) tries out a long stand-up set at The Fat Black Pussycat Lounge (130 West 3rd Street): Mike Yard: I Love This Job
[FREE] 8:30 pm (reserve your free spots by clicking here): Typically terrific stand-ups (for the line-up, usually posted by 1:00 pm, please click here) performing at The Irish Exit (978 Second Avenue, off 52nd Street, in the back room) produced every Tuesday by Mark Normand, Matt Ruby, Gary Vider, and Sachi Ezura: Hot Soup
9:00 pm ($7): Comics, as well as members of the audience, play "mostly terrible" video games while other comics provide color commentary at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Brian McGuinness & TJ Del Reno: Retro Bits
[FREE] 10:30 pm (Free! using online code COMP; no min.): Stand-ups pair up to brutally insult each other and then be judged for the effectiveness of their viciousness by veteran comics such as Big Jay Oakerson and Rich Vos at The Stand Comedy Club (239 Third Avenue, off 20th Street) hosted by Luis J. Gomez: The RoastMasters
NYC Comedy Picks for Wednesday 8/30/17
Superb comic Marina Franklin (Trainwreck, Louie, Jay Leno, Last Comic Standing, Chappelle's Show) tries out a solo stand-up show in the West Village she plans to film later this year: Marina Franklin: Single Black Female (8:30 pm, $8 plus 2-item food/drink min., The Fat Black Pussycat Lounge at 130 West 3rd Street)...
...or if you prefer Brooklyn, come see Jean Grae (famed rapper and comic) interview Scott Adsit (cast member of 30 Rock; voice of robot Baymax in Disney's Big Hero 6; co-writer/director/producer & cast member of Adult Swim's awesome & Emmy-winning Moral Orel; HBO's Veep; half of genius improv duo John & Scott), Travon Free (writer for Full Frontal with Samantha Bee; former writer for The Daily Show and HBO's Any Given Wednesday; Chelsea Lately, Tosh.0; opens for Russell Peters), Joyelle Nicole (Seeso), and more: The Show Show with Jean Grae (8:00 pm, $10, Brooklyn's Union Hall at 702 Union Street; take R subway to Union Street)...
...or opt for comedic dance via a kinetic 25-minute sketch show set to Top 40 pop tunes by delightful rising star Amanda Giobbi (skills include "carrying a wide variety of snacks in my purse at any given moment") and Kelley Quinn (Lloyd Night, webseries Straight Marriage), with direction by Becky Chicoine: Power Hour (9:30 pm, $7, UCB Chelsea at 307 West 26th Street; on a double-bill with I'm Your Mommy)
Other notable shows this Wednesday include:
[TOP PICK] 6:00 pm ($7): Improvisors Leah Evans & Matthew Schrader make up a fast-paced duo-dialogue mini-play in the style of an Aaron Sorkin movie or TV series at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): The Boozeroom
[FREE] 6:00 pm-midnight: Six hours of free improvisation—including dynamite comics Adrian Sexton and Jay Malsky in The Community Players at 7:00 pm, musical improv from group Vern (which includes superb singer & comic Julie A. Feltman) at 7:30 pm, such stellar improvisors as Pat Swearingen and Langston Belton in Hero Complex at 8:30 pm, and star instructors such as Dana Shulman, Adrian Sexton, Chris Booth, and sometimes even PIT owner Ali Reza Farahnakian at The Faculty at 10:30 pm, all at The PIT Mainstage: Super Free Wednesday
[TOP PICK] [$] 7:00 pm ($5 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Broadway, TV, and film star Colin Quinn (Trainwreck, comedy national treasure) hones material for a one-man show at The Fat Black Pussycat Lounge (130 West 3rd Street): Colin Quinn: Law Abiding Criminals
[TOP PICK] [$] 7:30 pm, 8:00 pm, 9:30 pm, 10:00 pm, and 11:30 pm ($14, plus 2-item food/drink min.): Some of the finest stand-ups in the country spread among three shows at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane) and 8:00 pm & 10:00 pm shows at Village Underground (130 West 3rd Street, off Sixth Avenue): Comedy Cellar Wednesday
7:30 pm ($8): In this Dungeons & Dragons-themed show, comics Joon Chung, Dario Joseph, Hattie Hayes, Kristen Manna, and Erin Lynn O'Conner roll a 20-sided die that determines what tasks they must perform while also performing comedy at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Jacob Galang, Alex Fleming, and Pat Reilly: Dunces N' Dragons
8:00 pm ($8): Comics Alise Morales, Rachel Wenitsky, and Catherine Cohen get drunk and then compete to present the best scientific dissertation on this month's subject of Hormones to a genuine scientist—Dr. Sarah Mennenga (doctor of Neuroscience, postdoctoral fellow at NYU Experimental Therapeutics Laboratory)—all at Brooklyn's Littlefield (622 Degraw Street) hosted by Joanna Rothkopf, Shannon Odell, and Jordan Mendoza: Drunk Science
9:30 pm ($7): Comics compete in a Survivor-like game that tests them "in acting, writing, improvisation, character work, storytelling, and stand-up. The audience decides who goes to tribal council, but the tribe will actually vote and decide who is out of the competition" at The PIT Underground: Outwit, Outplay, Outlaugh: A Survivor Style Comedy Competition
9:30 pm ($7): Improv group Crisis makes up a comic book story springboarding off an audience suggestion at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Crisis: The Improvised Comic Book
[TOP PICK] 10:15 pm ($5): Stellar improvisors Charlie Todd & Kevin Hines provide color commentary on improv sets by other top improvisors at UCB East for this monthly event: Play by Play
11:00 pm ($5): James Dwyer & Jackie Jennings perform some of their 500 summer-based characters at the UCB Chelsea theatre: A Big Dumb Thing
NYC Comedy Picks for Thursday 9/7/17
Stand-ups try to solve the world's problems, with tonight's sages the irresistible Christi Chiello (above; Comedy Central's Roast Battle, MTV's Girl Code, TruTV, co-host of Battle of the Divas), Doug Smith (Conan O'Brien, co-host of See You In Hell), Lance Weiss (CMT, co-host of Gandhi, Is That You?), Josiah Madigan (Emmy-winning writer/producer; ABC, MTV, NatGeo, NPR's Ask Me Another), and Brock Mahan (Emmy-winning writer/producer; Comedy Central, Discovery, VH1, NatGeo, NPR; co-publisher of magazine Eel Fancy) hosted by Kevin McCaffrey (former warm-up comic for David Letterman; TruTV): Serious Matters (8:00 pm, $7, Brooklyn's Union Hall at 702 Union Street; take R subway to Union Street)...
...or see eternally luminous star Rosie Perez (Oscar-nominated movie star (Fearless), Broadway star, TV host (The View), Emmy-nominated choreographer (In Living Color), author, activist, and more) and Eric Haze (artists/designer) be interviewed by DJ hosts Stretch Armstrong & Bobbito Garcia for this Brooklyn live taping of their weekly NPR podcast: What's Good with Stretch & Bobbito (8:00 pm, $30, The Bell House at 149 7th Street; take R subway to 9th Street or F/G to Fourth Avenue)...
...or check out comics sharing tales of lost loves, heartbreak, and hopelessness—including Justin Perez talking about his ex—plus happy couple Kelley Quinn (ace UCB show Power Hour, webseries Straight Marriage) & Kelsey Bailey (UCB Harold Night, Here & Queer), and a live-on-stage blind date with co-host Jessie Jolles & Chris Metcalfe, all hosted by Claire Burns & Jessie: No Such Thing as Love (7:30 pm, $5—or Free if you're a single guy!, Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell at 27-16 23rd Avenue)
Other notable shows this Thursday include:
[TOP PICK] [$] 7:30 pm, 8:00 pm, 9:30 pm, 10:00 pm, and 11:30 pm ($14 per show, plus 2-item food/drink min.): Some of the finest stand-ups in the country spread among three shows at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane) and 8:00 pm & 10:00 pm shows at Village Underground (130 West 3rd Street, off Sixth Avenue): Comedy Cellar Thursday
[TOP PICK] 7:30 pm ($7): TV & movie star Janeane Garofalo, Lauren Adams (cast member of The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt), Adam Mamawala (MTV’s Girl Code), Alex English (The Run Down with Robin Thede), and Ed Galvez perform stand-up at UCB East produced by Carol Hartsell and hosted by Sean Crespo & Katina Corrao: Lasers in the Jungle
7:00 pm ($7): Comedic storytellers tell tales accompanied by videos, with tonight's guests Rob Cantrell (Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central, HBO, VHI, FX's Totally Biased, documentary Metaphysical Graffiti, High Times) and Chris O'Neil, plus improv group Happy Little Trees makes up scenes springboarding off the stories, all at The PIT Underground hosted by Harmon Leon: Videotale
[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($7): Charlie Pickering (Australian comedy star; host of ABC's The Weekly), Rae Sanni (New York Magazine), Caitlin Durante, and more perform stand-up at UCB East hosted by rising stars Jim Tews (Louie, Last Comic Standing, host of Homeschooled, New York Times bestselling author of Felines of New York) and/or Ashley Brooke Roberts (energetic, enormously likeable stand-up; writer for Nat Geo and MTV's Guy Code blog): Fresh Out
[TOP PICK] [$] 8:30 pm ($8 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Wil Sylvince (Comedy Central, HBO, Showtime) hosts Mark Normand, Michelle Wolf, Seaton Smith, Nick Griffin, Adrienne Iapalucci, and more trying out fresh stand-up material at The Fat Black Pussycat Lounge (130 West 3rd Street): New Joke Night
[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($7): The razor-sharp writers of Late Night with Seth Meyers gather on the UCB Chelsea stage to perform an all-improvised show at Seth Meyers Writers: Crate Night With Set Fires
[TOP PICK] 11:00 pm ($7): Last week indie improv group Miles From Pete (Desi Domo, Josh Tobin, Scott Vicari, and Waylen Roche), which had impressively not only defeated but decisively crushed two UCB house teams in a row, may have thought it'd have it easy against a fellow indie group consisting of only two people: Taylor Gonzalez & Will Martinez performing as 2 Puerto Ricans. However, Taylor & Will made full use of their chemistry as a duo to invent multiple parallel short scenes, with lots of callbacks, that resulted in a warm, vibrant, and emotionally resonant set.
In contrast, Miles From Pete was far from its best. First, it came out only three-quarters strong, as member Waylen Roche was missing (for reasons never explained). Worse, the remaining trio lacked the teamwork WFM had demonstrated brilliantly in previous weeks, with Josh Tobin & Scott Vicari sometimes going off into long bits that ignored the team's most powerful weapon, rising star Desi Domo. But even more baffling was that WFM seemed to forget its winning technique, which is its ability to create structured stories that build to a satisfying climax. Instead, it performed a rambling monoscene about an indoor zoo that essentially went nowhere. Yet even with all those errors, MFP demonstrated so much talent that it only barely lost; the final vote count was 73-70.
Tonight new champion 2 Puerto Ricans faces UCB East Friday night house group Bucky. There's no telling what will happen as these sharp improvisors compete for your laughs and votes at UCB Chelsea's raucous Cage Match
NYC Comedy Picks for Friday 9/8/17
The Now Hear This Podcast Festival provides live-on-stage shows from 25 popular podcasts, including Chris Gethard's Beautiful Anonymous, IFC's Comedy Bang Bang, Larry Wilmore's Black on the Air, Paul Scheer's How Did This Get Made?, Jon Lovett's Lovett or Leave It, and lots more, starting today at 5:00 pm and running through Sunday at 2:30 pm at the Javits Center: Now Hear This Podcast Festival (5:00 pm-10:30 pm today, 11:00 am-9:30 pm Saturday, 10:30 am-2:30 pm Sunday; $160 for 3-day pass using code FB20, $125 for Saturday-only pass; Jacob K. Javits Convention Center at 11th Avenue between 34th and 40th Streets)...
...or see one of the very best shows at UCB—from Jay Malsky, a super-charged & hilarious character comic who also sings beautifully. This 25-minute solo musical shows off all of Jay's strengths, as he plays a variety of women whose boyfriends he stole. With musical direction by Jody Shelton, choreography by Zak Sommerfield, and taped vocals by David Carl & Taylor Ortega, this production establishes Jay Malsky as a vibrant rising star with a great comedy career ahead of him. If you're in the industry and looking for fresh talent, come check this out: Jay Malsky Slept With My Boyfriend! (7:30 pm; $12—which includes a second show that briefly includes Jay, and is a great idea that starts out well but needs lots of development, The Kellyanne Show: UCB Chelsea at 307 West 26th Street)...
...or enjoy contestants who watch a wacky dance video from the Internet and then have three minutes to plan and perform their own dance springboarding off what they've just seen. They are then judged by comics TBA at The PIT Mainstage hosted by Deborah Lohse: Dancify That! (8:00 pm, $15, The PIT Mainstage at 123 East 24th Street)...
...and party at this monthly stand-up, storytelling, and carny show that brings the blog And I Am Not Lying to life on stage, with stand-up from Kat Radley (above left; staff writer for The Daily Show; comedy album The Important Thing is That I'm Pretty), Gabe Pacheco (The Story Pirates), and guest host Jess Salomon (former UN war crimes lawyer turned comic; CBS); storytelling from Adam Newman (above right, between Kat and cat; David Letterman, Comedy Central Half Hour, MTV); and burlesque from Clara Coquette and Pearls Daily: And I Am Not Lying (Midnight, $7, UCB East at 153 East 3rd Street)
Other notable shows this Friday include:
[TOP PICK] [$] 7:00 pm ($15): A play co-written & performed by Elana Fishbein & Elena Skopetosunique, and co-written & directed by Peter McNerney, about a family’s reluctant reunion received a rave from The New York Times' Elise Czajkowski, and is being briefly revived for three Saturdays this month at The Magnet theatre: Sisters Three
[TOP PICK] [$] 7:00 pm, 7:30 pm, 8:00 pm, 8:45 pm, 9:30 pm, 10:00 pm, 10:30 pm, 11:30 pm, and 12:15 am ($15 cover for FBPL shows, $24 cover for CC & VU shows, plus 2-item food/drink min.): Some of the finest stand-ups in the country spread among four shows at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane), the 7:30, 9:30, and 11:30 shows at Village Underground (130 West 3rd Street, off Sixth Avenue), and the 8:00 pm & 10:00 pm shows at The Fat Black Pussycat Lounge (130 West 3rd Street): Comedy Cellar Friday
7:00 pm ($7): Improvisors make up a documentary based on an audience member's suggestion at The PIT Mainstage: Observer Effect: An Improvised Documentary
7:30 pm ($10): A house sketch group that includes the wonderful Sarah Nowak and is directed by Holden McNeely (Murderfist) performs at The PIT Underground:: National Scandal
[TOP PICK] 8:30 pm ($10): Before this Magnet show, audience members may anonymously submit written confessions, secrets, rants, advice and opinions which will be used onstage by the improvisors—who include such talents as Phoebe Tyers and Sebastian Conelli: The Friday Night Sh*w
[TOP PICK] [$] 9:00 pm ($12): Some of the finest improv in the country from brilliant comics Connor Ratliff, Shannon O'Neill, Alexandra Dickson, Michael Delaney, and/or Silvija Ozols forming a seamless and hilarious group mind at UCB Chelsea—the all-star members of The Stepfathers
9:00 pm ($10): "When a very famous New York Times theatre critic writes a scathing review of New Team Honeybear's latest play, calling it, "Not a play at all," Jeff and Anthony are forced to question everything. Is it a play? Can they work together to prove the critic wrong? Will their friendship survive?" by sketch duo Jeff Mondoro & Anthony Jackson directed by Kevin Laibson at The PIT Underground: That's Not a Play: A Play by New Team Honeybear
[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($10): A comedic play written and starring Ian Lockwood & Sophie Zucker, and directed by Philip Markle, in which "Baby Jessica was the first child to fall down a well, thereby capturing the nation’s attention and becoming America’s sweetheart overnight. Baby Ian will be the second" at The PIT Mainstage: Baby Ian Falls Down a Well
[TOP PICK] 10:00 pm ($10): Musical improv group Premiere—which typically features the best improv piano player in the biz, Frank Spitznagel—springboards off an audience suggestion to create a complete story with song and dance at The Magnet theatre: Premiere: The Improvised Musical
10:00 pm ($10; typically includes free beer): Petey DeAbreu invites comedy friends (not announced) to hang out at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue): Petey's World
[TOP PICK] 10:30 pm ($7): I'm not sure he's in NYC tonight, but one of the finest improvisors alive, Joe Bill (Bassprov, iO, co-founder of the Annoyance Theatre) will either personally spearhead or lead in spirit a breathtakingly brilliant group of improvisors from Chicago and New York who will blow the roof off The PIT Underground with lightning-quick dark comedy unlike anything else in NYC. The other superb players typically include Doug Stoley (Conan O'Brien, The Scene), Amey Goerlich (Indie Cage Match, Krompf, The Scene), Jed Resnik (Annoyance Theatre, UCB), Silvija Ozols (The Stepfathers), Micah Sherman (Second City, co-host of The Scene, host of Fun), and/or many more, all declaring ChicaGoGo
[TOP PICK] [$] 10:30 pm ($12): Superb improvisors James Dwyer, Craig Rowin, Connor O'Malley, Matt Fisher, Sue Galloway, Brian Faas, Matt Moses, and Shaun Diston make up scenes about an audience member's legal dispute at the UCB Chelsea theatre: The Law Firm: Law & Disorder
[FREE] Midnight: "A new game show where three contestants get quizzed on random topics; raps, video games, different types of soda. We'll even have a few comics drop by" at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) hosted by Marvin Lattimore: A Night of Thrill-Via
NYC Comedy Picks for Saturday 9/9/17
A show celebrating the app that redefined online dating, with the lovely and quick-witted Lane Moore (above right; HBO's Girls; Sex & Relationship Editor of Cosmo; writer for The Onion, McSweeney's) going on a live Tinder safari for guys while a packed audience watches her every choice with fascination. Offering comments and suggestions during the adventure are tonight's guests Sasheer Zamata (above left; cast member for three seasons of Saturday Night Live; Comedy Central’s Inside Amy Schumer, Amazon’s Transparent, TBS’ People of Earth) and Chase Mitchell (former writer for Jimmy Fallon, the 2017 Golden Globe Awards, and MTV). This show usually sells out, so I recommend nabbing tickets ASAP for Tinder Live (8:30 pm, $15, Brooklyn's Littlefield (635 Sackett Street; take R subway to Union Street)...
...and it's Day #2 of the Now Hear This Podcast Festival, which features live-on-stage shows from popular podcasts IFC's Comedy Bang Bang, Larry Wilmore's Black on the Air, LeVar Burton Reads, The Flop House, Mortified, Who Charted?, and more, starting today at 11:00 am and running through Sunday at 2:30 pm at the Javits Center: Now Hear This Podcast Festival (11:00 am-9:30 pm today, 10:30 am-2:30 pm Sunday; $125 for Saturday pass, $50 for Sunday pass; Jacob K. Javits Convention Center at 11th Avenue between 34th and 40th Streets)...
...or experience Griffin Newman (Arthur on Amazon's The Tick, HBO, MTV), Akaash Singh (HBO's The Leftovers, Netflix's Brown Nation, MTV's Guy Code and Joking Off), and hosts Mike Brown & Dillon Stevenson make fun of a bunch of music videos a la MST3K: Super Video Bros. (7:00 pm, $10, Brooklyn's Union Hall at 702 Union Street; take R subway to Union Street)...
...or see the Fifth Anniversary show of a sketch comedy troupe that consists of Kristen Bartlett, Jason Gore, Eliza Kingsbury, Jesse VandenBergh, Shira Danan, Will Gallagher, Danielle Grace, and Adam Maid: Bridge & Tunnel (7:30 pm, $10, The PIT Underground at 123 East 24th Street)
Other notable shows this Saturday include:
[TOP PICK] [$] 7:00 pm, 7:15 pm, 8:00 pm, 8:45 pm, 9:15 pm, 10:00 pm, 10:30 pm, 11:15 pm, and 12:15 am ($20-$24 per show, plus 2-item food/drink min.): Some of the finest stand-ups in the country spread among four shows at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane), the 7:15, 9:15, and 11:15 shows at Village Underground (130 West 3rd Street, off Sixth Avenue), and the 8:00 pm & 10:00 pm shows at The Fat Black Pussycat Lounge (130 West 3rd Street): Comedy Cellar Saturday
7:00 pm ($10): Comedy group Terrorbird performs prehistoric dark sketch comedy at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Terrorbird
[TOP PICK] [$] 7:30 pm ($12): Improv powerhouses Charlie Todd, Jeff Hiller, Jim Santangeli, Natasha Rothwell, Brandon Gardner, Chelsea Clarke, Kevin Hines, Erik Tanouye, and John Timothy at UCB Chelsea interview an audience member about where he or she grew up and then "turn that town's tourist attractions, landmarks, hangouts, local celebrities, urban legends, and more into a hilarious show made up on the spot:" The Curfew: Not From Around Here
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($10): Improv groups Gypsy Danger (which includes brilliant comics Katie Hartman and Evan Kaufman, and which will make up a feature film on the spot) and The Baldwins (which includes brilliant comics Micah Sherman and Sarah Nowak) make stuff up at The PIT Mainstage: Gypsy Danger: The Improvised Movie and The Baldwins
8:00 pm ($7): Skilled improvisors David Rysdahl & Paul Gutkowski make up a play on the spot at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street) as improv duo True East
[TOP PICK] [$] 8:30 pm ($12): Improv group Airwolf—with big talents Molly Lloyd, Tim Martin, Achilles Stamatelaky, Eddie Dunn, Ben Rameaka, and Adam Fruccie—make up scenes about terrible audience experiences related to a home at UCB East: Airwolf: Let's Go Back to Your Place
[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($10): A highly talented freestyle rapping long form improv group takes the stage for an hour at The PIT Underground: North Coast
9:30 pm ($10): Nore Davis (HBO's Last Week Tonight, Comedy Central's Inside Amy Schumer and Russell Simmons Presents The Ruckus, Showtime's Boardwalk Empire, MTV), Rae Sanni (New York Magazine), Joyelle Nicole, and Eman El-Husseini perform stand-up at Brooklyn's Union Hall (702 Union Street; take R subway to Union Street) hosted by Mamoudou N’Diaye & Yedoye Travis: The Resistance Comedy
9:30 pm ($10): A raunchy musical about high school seniors and aliens from outer space plotting to harvest our genitals begins a 10-show run tonight through September 18th at The PIT Mainstage from writer Joe Kelly, musical director Jonathan Evans, and director Griffin Osborne: Aliens Coming: The Musical
[TOP PICK] [$] 10:00 pm ($12): A powerhouse group of improvisors—Zhubin Parang (writer for The Daily Show), Michael Kayne (Baby Wants Candy, Diamond Lion), Natasha Vaynblat (one-woman show United Federation of Teachers), Casey Jost (former writer for NBC's Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and TruTV's Impractical Jokers), and Lui Vega—springboard scenes off interviewing an audience member about his or her love life at the UCB East theatre: What I Did For Love
[TOP PICK] 10:30 pm ($10): Long form improv about the behavior of a theatrical troupe both on-stage and off-stage, revolving around a different show biz theme each week at The Magnet theatre: The Cast
[TOP PICK] [$] 10:30 pm ($12): At UCB Chelsea, improv group Grandma's Ashes—which includes stellar talents Ryan Karels, Morgan Grace Jarrett, Brandon Scott Jones, and more—takes your written secrets and turns them into very funny improv scenes: Grandma's Ashes: We Won't Tell
[TOP PICK] 10:30 pm ($10): Using real horror films purchased in local gas stations and bodegas, host J.W. Crump selects specific clips to play for 30 seconds, then asks his talented cast of improvisers—who include Keisha Zollar, BJ Thorne, and and Josh Krebs—to finish the scene. Will anyone survive at The PIT Underground? Attend at your own peril: Gas Station Horror
[TOP PICK] 11:30 ($7): A game show that describes itself as follows: "Ever talk to a straight guy and think, 'Jesus Christ you're boring!' Join gay-ass hosts Matt Rogers & Dave Mizzoni as they gay up the straights through games and trivia. Life lines include one woke woman and a wise queer. Come witness the ultimate test of who Is honorarily Gay As Fuck!" at the UCB East theatre: GAYme Show
[TOP PICK] Midnight ($7): In this Stephen King It parody, "After decades of slumber, the being known as Pennywise the Dancing Clown has arisen to begin anew a cycle of bloodshed and terror. But first, It wants to put on a big ol' comedy show! So It's left the sewers of Derry, Maine for an equally creepy basement underneath a grocery store. There, alongside trusty sidekick Susie the Murdered Little Girl, It's going to put on a tremendous show featuring special guests from all across the Stephen King multiverse!" hosted by Jon Bershad & Keisha Zollar at the UCB Chelsea theatre: Pennywise's Sewer Circus: A Stephen King Multiverse Bit Show
NYC Comedy Picks for Sunday 9/10/17
Over the past two days, the way fun Now Hear This Podcast Festival has featured numerous comedy greats, including Chris Gethard, Paul F. Tompkins, Larry Wilmore, Jason Mantzoukas, Paul Scheer, Griffin Newman, Scott Aukerman, and Jessica McKenna & Zach Reino (hosts of Off Book). This final day of the fest isn't as comedy-heavy but is still likely to be a good time, with live-on-stage shows from popular podcasts Doughboys, StarTalk AllStars, The Weeds, Conversation with the Big Guy, and more at the Javits Center: Now Hear This Podcast Festival (10:30 am-2:30 pm, $50, Jacob K. Javits Convention Center at 11th Avenue between 34th and 40th Streets)...
...or see Michelle Buteau (above left; VH1's Morning Buzz and Best Week Ever, Comedy Central's Key & Peele, FOX's Enlisted, Craig Ferguson, Last Comic Standing, @midnight, comedy album Shut Up), Seaton Smith (below right; rising star stand-up; HBO's Girls, FOX's Mulaney, Seth Meyers, Inside Amy Schumer, The Nightly Show), Whitmer Thomas, Ester Steinberg, and Mike Lebovitz perform stand-up hosted by Will Miles, Clark Jones, and/or Kenny DeForest: Comedy Night at the Knit (9:00 pm, Free!, Brooklyn's Knitting Factory at 361 Metropolitan Avenue)...
...and Ilana Glazer (co-star of Comedy Central red-hot hit Broad City) is delivering superb stand-up shows, in which she performs a great long set and then hosts two sharp stand-up friends also do long sets. Tonight's early and late shows are sold out, but you might be able to nab tickets via the Fan Exchange. Alternatively, you can buy tickets for next Sunday 9/17 at 7:30 pm or 9:30 pm: Ilana Glazer and Friends (7:30 pm and 9:30 pm, $10, Brooklyn's Littlefield at 635 Sackett Street;—take R subway to Union Street)
Other notable shows this Sunday include:
[TOP PICK] [$] 1:30 pm, 7:30 pm, 8:00 pm, 9:30 pm, 10:00 pm, and 11:30 pm ($14 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Some of the finest stand-ups in the country spread among nine Labor Day Weekend shows, with four shows at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane), and the 8:00 & 10:00 pm shows at The Fat Black Pussycat Lounge (130 West 3rd Street): Comedy Cellar Sunday
[$] 7:00 pm ($5 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Irish stand-up star Des Bishop performs an intimate one-man show at the West Village's Fat Black Pussycat Lounge (130 West 3rd Street): Des Bishop: Grey Matter
[TOP PICK] 7:30 pm ($10): Groundbreaking and highly acclaimed improvisors Patrick McCartney, Matt Higgins, Jay Rhoderick, and Kevin Scott make up scenes at The PIT Mainstage: Centralia
[TOP PICK] [$] 7:30 pm ($12) and 9:30 pm [FREE]: UCB Chelsea's signature improv comedy extravaganza, which typically includes superstars in the improv world such as Shannon O'Neill and Anthony Atamanuik, and sometimes network TV & movie stars such as Amy Poehler and Horatio Sanz: ASSSSCAT 3000
7:30 pm ($7): Kevin Barnett (NBC's The Carmichael Show, MTV's Guy Code, #FAIL Comedy Central, TruTV's Friends of the People, Sleepwalk With Me, College Humor), Emily Winter (writer for Fusion’s Come Here and Say That, co-host of Backfat Variety), Sarah Sherman, Daniel Simonsen, Finn Straley, and Max Rosenblum perform stand-up at UCB East produced by Kara Klenk (writer for MTV's Girl Code & Guy Code and contributor to Broad City) and hosted by Alison Leiby (sharp, fresh, likeable stand-up; staff writer for Comedy Central's The President Show; VICE; host of It's a Long Story): If You Build It
[TOP PICK] [$] 8:30 pm ($5 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Michelle Wolf (star stand-up who's also a star writer/correspondent for The Daily Show; previously staff writer & performer for Seth Meyers), Josh Gondelman (Emmy & Peabody Award-winning writer/producer for HBO's Last Week Tonight with John Oliver; Conan O'Brien, The New Yorker; stand-up comedy album Physical Whisper), and more comics who've written for and/or appeared on Seth Meyers perform stand-up at the West Village's Fat Black Pussycat Lounge (130 West 3rd Street) hosted by Ryan Reiss: Comedians of Seth Meyers
[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($10): Help Aasif Mandvi (former correspondent for The Daily Show; appearances in numerous movies & TV shows) try out a new one-man show at The PIT Mainstage: New Material Night: Come See How the Sausage is Made
Copyright © 2017 Hy Bender
Email: hy@hyreviews.com
>
>
>
>