NYC Comedy Picks for Week of April 3, 2017

NYC Comedy Picks for Monday 4/3/17

Aparna Nancherla

Aparna Nancherla (one of the very finest stand-ups in the country; co-star of HBO's Crashing; former writer for Seth Meyers; Conan O'Brien, @Midnight, Comedy Central Half Hour, comedy album Just Putting It Out There; opens for Tig Notaro; hosts top weekly NYC stand-up show Whiplash), Jeff Simmermon (NPR's This American Life, Moth GrandSlam Champion, host of And I Am Not Lying), Al Diaz (NYC graffiti artist and Basquiat collaborator), and The Bowery Boys (authors of Adventures in Old New York) perform and/or are interviewed at Nat Towsen's Downtown Variety Hour (8:00 pm, $7, UCB East at 153 East 3rd Street)...

...or catch Aparna Nancherla, plus Ophira Eisenberg (NBC's The Today Show, CBS' The Late Late Show, Comedy Central, VH1, Showtime, host of NPR's trivia/puzzle show Ask Me Another, bestselling book Screw Everyone, comedy album Bangs!), The Gregory Brothers (wonderful musical inventors of "Songify the News"), and Andrew Collin (co-host of Happily Never After podcast) perform in LES for hosts Cory Cavin & Kevin James Doyle: Great Times with Cory & Kevin and Friends (8:00 pm, $20, The Bowery Ballroom at 6 Delancey Street)...

Filip Jeremic

...or see extraordinary character comic and rising star Filip Jeremic (above; co-star of UCB's Characters Welcome) & Brittany Lee McDonald create a myriad of extreme and memorable characters, with guests John Swan & Zoob Fernandez helping out on this month's theme of Not Human at The PIT Mainstage hosted by Brian Michael: The Wigging Hour

More recommendations for the best in New York City comedy tonight (in chronological order, with top picks noted and shows over $10 marked with $) include:

[FREE] 6:00 pm to midnight: Six free hours of improvisation—including at 8:00 pm group Poor Melissa, which features superb comics Dana Shulman & Adrian Sexton—at The PIT Underground: Super Free Monday

[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

[FREE] 7:30 pm: Jim Tews (rising star; Louie, Last Comic Standing, host of Homeschooled and co-host of Fresh Out, New York Times bestselling author of Felines of New York, upcoming comedy album I Was in Band), Will Miles (co-host of Comedy Night at the Knit; TruTV, The Chris Gethard Show; Steve Martin's Comedy MasterClass; comedy album Good Year), Molly Austin (TruTV's Late Night Snack), and Babe Parker (MTV, Someecards) performing stand-up at the HiFi Bar (169 Avenue A) hosted by Mindy Raf & Katie Compa: Golden Spiral Comedy

7:30 pm ($7): Comedy groups Stockton and Kinfolk perform sketch comedy at The Magnet theatre: Magnet Sketch Teams

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($8): Ophira Eisenberg (NBC's The Today Show, CBS' The Late Late Show, Comedy Central, VH1, Showtime, host of NPR's trivia/puzzle show Ask Me Another, bestselling book Screw Everyone, comedy album Bangs!), Adam Newman (David Letterman, Comedy Central Half Hour, MTV), Kevin Avery (staff writer for HBO's Last Week With John Oliver), and Lawrence DeLoach performing stand-up at Brooklyn's Littlefield (622 Degraw Street) 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

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($7): At the UCB Chelsea theatre, a one-man play by Geoff Garlock about memories of a classic music festival: Rock and Roll Will Never Die...

...and in the second other of this double bill, 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':" O.S.F.U.G. The Fast Fuckin' Sketch Show

[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm ($8 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Wil Sylvince hosts Michelle Wolf, Dan Soder, Sam Morril, Phil Hanley, Nimesh Patel, Gary Vider, and more trying out fresh stand-up material at The Fat Black Pussycat Lounge (130 West 3rd Street): New Joke Night

8:00 pm ($5): Producers, writers, and other staff members of TruTV show Impractical Jokers improvise scenes at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Impractical Jokers Staff Infection

[FREE] 8:00 pm: Four improvisers form teams with comics they've never performed with before at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' Long Island City: The Kaleidoscope

[TOP PICK] 8:30 pm ($6): Frank Conniff (TV's Frank on Mystery Science Theater 3000) hosts as "Moodsy, the Clinically Depressed Owl showing weird/crappy old cartoons in between sets," with guests Daniel Audritt, Brian McGuinness, and Hannah Cowger at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue). Described by Patton Oswalt as "like a kid's show done in Bosnia," it's Frank Conniff's Cartoon Dump

9:00 pm ($7): Talented comics perform solo characters at The Magnet theatre hosted by Ari Miller & Elena Skopeto: Character Bash

9:30 ($7): House sketch groups Pretty Boys and Cha-Cha try out new material at UCB Chelsea for Maude Night

9:30 pm ($7): Improv veterans Brandon Gardner, Chelsea Clarke, Phil Jackson, and/or Steve Theiss hosting & performing in a show at UCB East with guest improvisors: Improv Nerds

9:30 pm ($7): A five-person improv group makes up scenes at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Janet

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 10:00 pm: Sean Patton (one of the finest stand-ups in the country; killer sets on Jimmy Fallon and Conan O'Brien, Comedy Central Half Hour, VH1, feature film Wifed Out; former co-host of Esquire Network's Best Bars in America), Laurie Kilmartin (dynamite stand-up; writer for Conan O'Brien; finalist on Last Comic Standing; Jimmy Kimmel, Comedy Central, VH1), Joe List (HBO, David Letterman, Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central), Christi Chiello (Comedy Central's Roast Battle, Last Comic Standing, MTV's Girl Code, TruTV, co-host of White Chocolate Sundaes), Casey James Salengo, Mo Vida, Matt Rife, and Ali Kolbert at one of best comedy clubs in NYC at absolutely no cost to you (feel encouraged to order food and//or drinks, but you don't have to) for 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

10:30 pm ($7): Nick Kanellis & Woody Fu perform duo short-form improv games at The Magnet theatre hosted by the wonderful Megan Gray: Shortform 2Prov

[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 typically hosted by Aparna Nancherla (one of the very best stand-ups in the country; co-star of HBO's Crashing; former writer for Seth Meyers; Conan O'Brien, @Midnight, Comedy Central Half Hour, comedy album Just Putting It Out There): Whiplash

Monday Open Mics & Jams

4:30 pm-7:00 pm ($5 plus 1 drink min., with drinks as low as $2): Walk-in stand-up open mic with two rounds, the first providing 5-6 minutes per set and the second 2-3 minutes per set, at The Grisly Pear (107 MacDougal Street) hosted by Tuval Mor: Kickin It Open Mic

5:00 pm ($5): Two-hour open-mic for 20 stand-ups performing for 5 minutes each, with sign-up online here, at the Stand Up NY Comedy Club (236 West 78th Street): Stand Up NY Open Mic

[FREE] 6:00 pm: Open mic stand-up show that provides each performer who shows up time on stage at The Creek downstairs lounge in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) hosted by Jacob Lie & Situ Mel ton: Raining Buckets

6:00 pm & 8:00 pm ($5 for both comics and audience members): Open mic stand-up providing 5-7 minutes per comic, with each show running 1 hour and 45 minutes. Arrive 30 minutes before the show you want to be in to get on the signup sheet. This is a fine opportunity to perform at the only comedy club in the East Village: Eastville Comedy Club Open Mic

[FREE] 6:00 pm: Your chance to make up scenes in a 7-minute set with veteran improvisors who are supporting diverse voices at The Magnet theatre: Diversity Jam

7:30 pm ($10; sign-up starts at 7:00 pm): Open mic for stand-ups, storytellers, singers, poets, actors, and more, with 5 minutes per performer and 25 slots available, at The Parkside Lounge (317 East Houston Street, off Avenue B) hosted by Nathan P., followed by a raucous afterparty with dancing & drink specials from 10:00 to midnight: Inspired Word's Open Mic Joint

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 8:00 pm: Walk-in open mic for telling stories or jokes about sex, desire, and romance, with each performer getting 7 minutes at The Delancey (168 Delancey Street) produced by Ames Beckerman: Safe Word: The Sexiest Open Mic in NYC

[FREE] 10:30 pm: Improv veterans Brandon Gardner, Chelsea Clarke, and Phillip Jackson hosting & performing in a show at UCB East with improvisors taken from the audience...and who may include you: Improv Nerds Jam

11:00 pm ($5): Open mic stand-up, with each comic getting 5 minutes and room for 15 comics who sign up per show, at The PIT Mainstage hosted by John Field: The Power Exchange

[FREE] 11:00 pm: Open mic stand-up show that provides each performer whose name is pulled from a bucket 4 minutes on stage at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' Long Island City hosted by Joseph Robert: PBR & Scrap Paper Open Mic Stand-Up

[FREE] 11:00 pm: Improv students are welcomed onto the stage at The PIT Underground for this weekly open access show hosted by such improv talents as Gary DeNoia and Langston Belton at The PIT Underground: Base Jam

 

NYC Comedy Picks for Tuesday 4/4/17

Jessica Kirson

Jessica Kirson (The Tonight Show, The View, Last Comic Standing, Celebrity Apprentice, HBO, Showtime, Comedy Central, Bravo, VH1) tries out a new one-woman show in the West Village: Jessica Kirson: Talking to Myself (8:00 pm, $10 plus 2-item min., Village Underground at 130 West 3rd Street)...

Hasan Minhaj and David Lawson

...and a "longform storytelling" show provides a whopping 30 minutes per writer/performer, with tonight's yarn-spinners Hasan Minhaj (correspondent for The Daily Show), and David Lawson (fresh, sharp, edgy storyteller; Solocom; host of The Astoria Bookshop Storytelling Show) telling fun anecdotes about what it's like to hand out flyers in Times Square while competing with a wide variety of unusual characters for the attention of tourists. It all happens at Under St. Marks (94 St. Marks Place, off First Avenue) hosted by Eli Reiter: Long Story Long (7:00 pm, $10, Under St. Marks at 94 St. Marks Place off First Avenue)

More recommendations for the best in New York City comedy tonight (in chronological order, with top picks noted and shows over $10 marked with $) include:

[TOP PICK] [$] 7:00 pm ($5 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Jim Norton (David Letterman, Jay Leno, Last Comic Standing; hosted HBO stand-up showcase Down and Dirty; former cast member of HBO sitcom Lucky Louie; HBO half-hour One Night Stand; feature film Spider-Man; regular on The Opie & Anthony Show; author of book Happy Endings) hones material for a one-man show at The Fat Black Pussycat Lounge (130 West 3rd Street): Jim Norton: Work In Progress

[TOP PICK] 7:00 pm-11:00 pm ($7 for the whole evening): In this 4-hour extravaganza, eight singing & dancing improv groups at The Magnet make up musicals based on audience suggestions (preceded by a free improv jam at 6:00 pm that gives you a chance to perform with some of these sharp talents): Magnet Musical Megawatt

7:00 pm ($7): A weekly showcase for brand new scripted shows—tonight featuring solo characters by an all-gal lineup of Lani Harms, Sarah Smallwood Parsons, Becca Beberaggi, Amanda Xeller, Kathleen O'Mara, and Michelle Drozdick—at The PIT Underground produced by the wonderful Ronny Pascale: Pilot Season

[FREE] 7:00 pm: Justin Silver (host of Funny for Fido podcast, author of The Language of Dogs) & Eric Neumann ("I am yet to have a year that financially tops my Bar Mitzvah year. If you book me, you can help make this sad reality go away") each perform a 30-minute stand-up set every night through Friday at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue): Week at the Creek: Justin Sliver and Eric Neumann

7:00 pm ($7): A one-woman show by Lucy Shelby about the burdens of being beautiful at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Pretty Hurts

7:00 pm ($7): A themed comedy show featuring improv and more at The PIT Mainstage hosted by Florence Friebe: The Thank You 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 Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane): 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 usually hosted by father-daughter duo Fred Firestone and Jo Firestone—but Jo will be performing comedy in Florida tonight, so Fred is flying solo—with 18 audience members competing at Brooklyn's Littlefield (622 Degraw Street; take R subway to Union Street): Punderdome 3000

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($7): A monthly show about obsessions with pop culture, with tonight's topic Things We Hate with Amanda Duarte (host of Dead Darlings and co-host of Girl Friday podcast), Jeff Hiller (30 Rock, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, musical improv group Rumpleteaser), and Carrie Wittmer (The Belladona, McSweeney's) performing at UCB East hosted by Damian Bellino & Anne Rodeman: So Into It: A Fanatic Variety Show

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 8:00 pm: Comics creators join super-hosts Alex Zalben, Justin Tyler, and Pete LePage in a lively & hilarious discussion about four-color pop culture at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street), with giveaways of comics and gift certificates (and if you can't make it, watch in online here): Comic Book Club

8:00 pm & 9:30 pm ($5 per show): House groups at UCB Chelsea perform the classic improv form The Harold at Harold Night

8:00 pm ($7): A double-bill of one-woman shows by Katina Corrao (HBO, Comedy Central's Broad City, VH1, co-host of Lasers in the Jungle) and Becky Yamamoto (Web series Uninspired) at The PIT Mainstage: Katina and Becky Have It All

[FREE; plus FREE DRAFT BEER 8:00-8:30!] 8:00 pm: Carolyn Castiglia (Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central, VH1; host of Right Now; for sample of Carolyn as white rapper, please click here), Robert Dean (Comedy Central), Ayanna Dookie, and Hannah Cowger performing stand-up at Brooklyn's Two Boots Pizza Williamsburg (558 Driggs Avenue) hosted by Lucas Connolly, David Piccolomini, and Jake Fromm: Ambush Comedy

[FREE, plus FREE BEER] 8:00 pm: Enjoy a comfy seat and a free beer while you watch comedy at The Creek's downstairs lounge in Queens' Long Island City: Couch Cave Live

[TOP PICK] [$] 8:30 pm ($10 plus 2-item food/drink min.): A new storytelling show featuring top stand-ups, hosted by Mark Normand (one of the very finest stand-ups in the country; Conan O'Brien, Stephen Colbert, Comedy Central Half Hour, Inside Amy Schumer, Last Comic Standing, VH1's Best Week Ever; comedy album Still Got It; opens for Amy Schumer) with Carmen Lynch (David Letterman, Conan O'Brien, Inside Amy Schumer, Last Comic Standing finalist), Robert Kelly (Louie, HBO, CBS' upcoming The 2-2, two Comedy Central specials), Joe List (HBO, David Letterman, Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central), and Leonard Ouzts (Conan O'Brien, Comedy Central), all performing at The Fat Black Pussycat Lounge (130 West 3rd Street): Tuesdays With Stories Podcast Recording

[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

8:30 pm ($5): Superb improvisors and guest improv groups join host Skycopter (which includes David Carl) to make up one-act plays on the spot at The PIT Underground: Act One

9:00 pm pm ($10): A one-man show by Carol A. Jantsen having fun with motivational speaking at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): How to Help the Self When the Self Needs Help

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($7): Shane Torres (fresh, hilarious stand-up; Conan O'Brien, IFC's Comedy Bang Bang) and Josh Johnson each perform 30-minute stand-up sets at UCB East hosted by Naomi Ekperigin (dynamite rising star stand-up; Comedy Central Half Hour; writer for Comedy Central's Broad City and Hulu's Difficult People; MTV, VH1, FX): Comedy Central Corporate Retreat: Shane Torres, Naomi Ekperigin, and Josh Johnson

9:30 pm ($7): Sketch group Mountain Rapids Soda performs a play in which oddball characters trapped together out on the high seas must uncover a killer in their midst at The PIT Mainstage: Boat Show Expo: A Murder Mystery

10:00 pm ($7): Improv trio Christine Pineiro, Zak Sommerfield, and Andy Hilbrands leverage their mutual love of improv and tank tops to make up scenes at The PIT Underground: T-Tops Three Prov

[TOP PICK] 11:00 pm ($5): Jordan Klepper (correspondent for The Daily Show) performs a show TBD at the UCB Chelsea theatre: Jordan Klepper TBD

11:00 pm ($5): Improv group Higgins looks at the Instagram photos of audience members and then uses them as springboards for comedy scenes at the UCB East theatre: Higgins: The Instagram Show

11:00 pm ($7): TJ Del Reno hosts improv groups performing at The PIT Underground: TJ Del Reno's Flying Improv Circus

Tuesday Open Mics & Jams

5:00 pm ($5): Two-hour open-mic for 20 stand-ups performing for 5 minutes each, with sign-up online here, at the Stand Up NY Comedy Club (236 West 78th Street): Stand Up NY Open Mic

6:00 pm ($5): Walk-in stand-up open mic at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Giggles & Bits Open Mic

[FREE] 6:00 pm: In this free Magnet show, audience members can join in with veteran musical improvisors to make up stories in song on the spot: Musical Magnet Mixer

6:00 pm ($5 for both comics and audience members): Open mic stand-up providing 5-7 minutes per comic, running 2 1/2 hours. Arrive 30 minutes before the show to get on the signup sheet. This is a fine opportunity to perform at the only comedy club in the East Village: Eastville Comedy Club Open Mic

[FREE] 6:00 pm: Open mic for comedy of all types providing 2 minutes for each performer (with sign-up starting at 6:00) at Queens LIC's The Creek upstairs theatre hosted by Tim Unkenholz: Butt Factory

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 8:00 pm: This weekly two-hour open mic storytelling show allows each performer 6 minutes to tell a compelling and funny tale at Queens LIC's The Creek upstairs theatre hosted by Jake Hart and a guest co-host: The Dump

[FREE] 8:00 pm: Weekly open mic for any kind of act (with sign-up starting at 7:30) at Brooklyn's Goodbye Blue Monday (1087 Broadway) hosted by Joe Crow Ryan: Goodbye Blue Monday

[ALMOST FREE] 10:30 pm ($1): A chance for you to get on stage and improvise with PIT faculty at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Tuesday After Class: Slow Jam

[FREE] 11:00 pm: Weekly walk-in open mic stand-up providing 3 minutes for each comic whose name is pulled from a bucket at Queens LIC's The Creek upstairs theatre hosted by Michelle Slonim: Rapid Fire

11:00 pm ($5): Ten stand-ups whose names are drawn from a "golden bowl of destiny" will be given stage time, along with a few invited stand-ups, at The PIT Underground hosted by Will Purpura: Bring It

 

NYC Comedy Picks for Wednesday 4/5/17

Zoe Coombs Marr: "Trigger Warning"

Australian comic Zoe Coombs Marr performs a one-woman show for which UK's The Guardian ran a review titled "Why a 'Cranky Lesbian in Her 30s' Should be Person of the Year." The gender-bending production has Marr playing a hack male comic who abandons stand-up due to social media outrage from feminists over his sexist jokes, and so is now instead performing mime—and it gets more complicated from there (for a sneak peek, please click here). Take advantage of this one-night-only opportunity to see Marr doing her highly acclaimed show in NYC: Trigger Warning (8:00, $7, UCB Chelsea at 307 West 26th Street)

More recommendations for the best in New York City comedy tonight (in chronological order, with top picks noted and shows over $10 marked with $) include:

[FREE] 6:00 pm-midnight: Six hours of free improvisation—including musical improv from group Vern (which includes superb singer & comic Julie A. Feltman) at 7:15 pm, such stellar improvisors as Pat Swearingen and Langston Belton in Hero Complex at 8:30 pm, and PIT owner Ali Reza Farahnakian and star instructors such as Dana Shulman at The Faculty at 10:00 pm, all at The PIT Mainstage: Super Free Wednesday

[TOP PICK] 7:00 pm ($7): Mike Birbiglia's Dream is both a reference to Mike's hit play & film Sleepwalk With Me, and to the group of improvisors he's gathered being a "dream team" for making up scenes springboarding off his stories—which in the past has included Chris Gethard, Tami Sagher, Shannon O'Neill, and more at the UCB Chelsea theatre: Mike Birbiglia's Dream

[TOP PICK] [$] 7:00 pm ($5 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Jim Norton (David Letterman, Jay Leno, Last Comic Standing; hosted HBO stand-up showcase Down and Dirty; former cast member of HBO sitcom Lucky Louie; HBO half-hour One Night Stand; feature film Spider-Man; regular on The Opie & Anthony Show; author of book Happy Endings) hones material for a one-man show at The Fat Black Pussycat Lounge (130 West 3rd Street): Jim Norton: Work In Progress

7:00 pm-11:00 pm ($7 for the entire evening): Four hours of improv from eight groups at The Magnet theatre: Magnet Megawatt

[FREE] 7:00 pm: Justin Silver (host of Funny for Fido podcast, author of The Language of Dogs) & Eric Neumann ("I am yet to have a year that financially tops my Bar Mitzvah year. If you book me, you can help make this sad reality go away") each perform a 30-minute stand-up set every night through Friday at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue): Week at the Creek: Justin Sliver and Eric Neumann

[FREE] 7:00 pm: Group Ground Floor Comedy performs sketches at Greenpoint's Brooklyn Bazaar (150 Greenpoint Avenue): Comedy at the BK Bazaar: Ground Floor Comedy LIve

7:00 pm ($7): Graduates of The PIT Improv Program perform at The PIT Underground: Biscuit Out

[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 ($7): Expanding the UCB longform improv showcased on Harold Night is this weekly show at UCB East which features three house groups making up scenes on the spot: Lloyd Night

7:30 pm ($7): In this Dungeons & Dragons-themed show, comics Misha Han, Sharron Paul, Eman El Husseini, Elise Valderama, and Kevin Froleiks 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: Dunces N' Dragons

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 8:00 pm: Josh Gondelman (writer/producer for HBO's Last Week Tonight with John Oliver; Conan O'Brien, The New Yorker), Clare O'Kane (Viceland, Semi-Famous; former writer for SpongeBob SquarePants), Carmen Lagala, and Tim Barnes perform stand-up, plus a cast of improvisors & sketch comics parody Sleep No More with their own version of immersive theatre at Greenpoint's Brooklyn Bazaar (150 Greenpoint Avenue) hosted by Harris Mayersohn (recurring character Stoney Von Dankington on Stephen Colbert; Conan O'Brien, Comedy Bang Bang): Comedy at the BK Bazaar: Joke No More

[FREE] 8:00 pm: Young and/or struggling NYC stand-ups performing at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) produced by Meghan O'Malley, Adrian Davidson, and Erick Hellwig: Barely Making It

8:00 pm ($5): NYC comics (not announced) performing at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street) hosted by Charlie Landsman & David Fried: Milk & Cookies: The World's Sweetest Comedy Show

[TOP PICK] [$] 8:30 pm ($8 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Storytellers Ben Bailey (Emmy Award-winning host of Cash Cab and NBC's Who's Still Standing?; Comedy Central Presents, Jay Leno) and DC Benny (Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central, ABC's The Unusuals) tell comedic tales at The Fat Black Pussycat Lounge (130 West 3rd Street): Comedy Storytelling Show

8:30 pm ($7): Over a dozen comics perform stand-up or improv at The PIT Underground hosted by Jared Wilder: Laugh and a Draft

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 9:00 pm: Big Jay Oakerson (Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central Presents, Louie, Inside Amy Schumer, HBO, Showtime, MTV, IFC; stellar new comedy album Live at Webster Hall), Dave Smith, Luis J. Gomez, and other NYC comics "discussing the skankier sides of life, love, and stand-up comedy" for this weekly podcast taping at The Creek downstairs lounge in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue): Legion of Skanks

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 9:00 pm: Myq Kaplan (one of the quickest minds in comedy, and rapidly rising star; finalist on Last Comic Standing, semi-finalist on America's Got Talent; David Letterman, Conan O'Brien, Seth Meyers, Jay Leno, Comedy Central Presents, comedy CDs No Kidding, Small, Dork, and Handsome, Vegan Mind Meld, and Meat Robot), Matt Fulchiron (Comedy Central Half Hour), Adrienne Iapalucci (David Letterman, Last Comic Standing, VH1), Matt Goldich (staff writer for Seth Meyers; Comedy Central, VH1), Perry Strong ((MTV’s Ladylike), and Michael Palascak (Last Comic Standing) perform for this free weekly show at Lucky Jack's Pub (129 Orchard Street) produced by Lance Weiss & Brendon Fitzgibbons: Gandhi, Is That You?

[FREE] 9:00 pm: Catherine Cohen & Steven Markow perform duo sketch comedy at Greenpoint's Brooklyn Bazaar (150 Greenpoint Avenue): Comedy at the BK Bazaar: Cohen & Markow

9:00 pm ($5): Melissa Diaz and Benel Germosen each perform a 30-minute stand-up set at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Neruda Williams: Notflix Unspecial with Melissa Diaz and Benel Germosen

[TOP PICK] 9:15 pm ($7): The instructors of UCB's classes include some of the finest improvisors in the country. In this new weekly show a bunch of them get on stage at UCB East hosted by Doug Mo and/or Ben Rameaka: Hot for Teacher: The UCB Faculty Show

9:30 pm ($7): A secret organization ("like the Illuminati but absolutely not the Illuminati") holds an improvised meeting at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): The Society

9:30 ($7):A show in which over a dozen talented female improvisors—including Lauren Adams, Natasha Vaynblat, and Caitlin Bitzegaio—parody all-gal opinion shows such as The View, making up most of the show on the spot based on a loose outline at the UCB Chelsea theatre. The result is often proof that "less is more," but if you're very patient there are worthwhile moments to be had at The Female Gaze

10:00 pm ($10): Gina Yashere (HBO, Showtime, Starz, Last Comic Standing) performs a headlining 45-minute stand-up set at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue): Gina Yashere

[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

10:30 pm ($7): Booked comics try out stand-up, characters, songs, and other new material at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street) hosted by Liz Noth, Jessica Morgan, Erin Bartley, and/or Casey McCormick: First Looks

[TOP PICK] 11:00 pm ($7): "Every month James Dwyer & Jackie Jennings spend too much time on a big, dumb idea for a show that they will perform once and then never again" at the UCB Chelsea theatre: A Big Dumb Thing

Wednesday Open Mics & Jams

5:00 pm ($5): Two-hour open mic for 20 stand-ups performing for 5 minutes each, with sign-up online here, at the Stand Up NY Comedy Club (236 West 78th Street): Stand Up NY Open Mic

[FREE] 6:00 pm: Walk-in open mic storytelling show, with each yarn-spinner (selected via names from a bucket) getting up to 8 minutes to tell a true and funny tale at Astoria Queens comedy venue QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Vincent Chang: Flynn's Mic

[FREE] 6:00 pm: Open mic stand-up show that provides each performer whose name is pulled from a bucket 5 minutes on stage at The Creek downstairs lounge in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) hosted by Kaity Neagle & Irene Hartmann: Ragtag Team Open Mic Stand-Up

6:00 pm ($5 for both comics and audience members): Open mic stand-up providing 5-7 minutes per comic, running 2 1/2 hours. Arrive 30 minutes before the show to get on the signup sheet. This is a fine opportunity to perform at the only comedy club in the East Village: Eastville Comedy Club Open Mic

[FREE] 6:00 pm: Sign up at 5:45 pm for the opportunity to make up scenes at The Magnet with veteran improvisors: Magnet Mixer Wednesday

[FREE] 6:00 pm: Your chance to improvise on stage at The PIT Mainstage hosted by Anthony Velez: Recess

[FREE] 7:00 pm: Open mic stand-up providing 4 minutes per comic. Email PhoningItInMic@gmail.com to sign up, or take a chance at lottery sign-up live between 6:45 and 7:45, at Brooklyn's Halyards Bar (406 Third Avenue) hosted by Lukas Kaiser: Comics Phoning It In

11:00 pm ($5): Open mic stand-up show, with each comic whose name is selected from a bucket getting on stage for 3-5 minutes (depending on the number of comics) at The PIT Underground: The Camel Butt

[FREE] 11:00 pm: Weekly walk-in open mic stand-up providing 3 minutes for each comic whose name is pulled from a bucket (but no actual punch or pie, that's just a lure to entice you to come) at Queens LIC's The Creek downstairs lounge hosted by Matthew Tenenbaum: Punch & Pie

[FREE] 11:00 pm: Your chance to perform on stage with experienced improvisors at The PIT upstairs theatre hosted by Bernard Maynore and/or Patrick Cucuta: Improdome

[FREE] 11:15 pm: A gay-themed opportunity to perform improv—especially musical improv—on the UCB East stage: ...XYZ Jam

 

NYC Comedy Picks for Thursday 4/6/17

Whitney Cummings

The co-creator & co-writer of CBS' 2 Broke Girls and NBC sitcom Whitney is also a stellar stand-up who's performed on HBO, Showtime, Comedy Central, MTV, TBS, E!, and Chelsea Lately...and is headlining tonight through Saturday at Carolines: Whitney Cummings (7:30 pm tonight, 7:30 pm & 10:00 pm Friday & Saturday; $46.50 tonight, $49 this weekend, plus 2-drink min.; Carolines Comedy Club at 1626 Broadway)

More recommendations for the best in New York City comedy tonight (in chronological order, with top picks noted and shows over $10 marked with $) include:

[TOP PICK] 7:00 pm ($7): A dozen PIT comics—who in the past have included such talents as Katie Hartman, Keisha Zollar, and Sarah Nowak—each have 5 minutes to perform a solo character piece at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): The PIT Character Showcase Hour

[FREE] 7:00 pm: Justin Silver (host of Funny for Fido podcast, author of The Language of Dogs) & Eric Neumann ("I am yet to have a year that financially tops my Bar Mitzvah year. If you book me, you can help make this sad reality go away") each perform a 30-minute stand-up set every night through Friday at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue): Week at the Creek: Justin Sliver and Eric Neumann

[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 & 10:00 pm shows at Village Underground (130 West 3rd Street, off Sixth Avenue): Comedy Cellar Thursday

7:30 pm ($7): Leah Bonnema (VH1, IFC's Comedy Drop, WeTV's Cinematherapy, Logo, Opie & Anthony’s Virus Channel), Liz Barrett, Ayanna Dookie, Peet Guercio, and Christian Polanco performing stand-up at UCB East hosted by Sean Crespo, Dan Wilbur, and Katina Corrao: Lasers in the Jungle

7:30 pm ($7): A show by Eric Sholl, with help from Jody Shelton, inspired by Trump tweets at The PIT Underground: Songs in the Key of Trump

7:30 pm ($6): All-gal stand-up, with 3 booked comics—who tonight are Jill Weiner, Carmen Lagala, and Eman El Husseini—and 4-minute open mic spots for 13 additional female comics on a first come, first serve basis at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Andrea Shapiro & Caitlin McKee: Saw Her Stand Up There

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($7): Breathtakingly subtle genius improvisor John Lutz (cast member of 30 Rock; six years as staff writer for Saturday Night Live; John and Scott) and extreme improvisor Peter Grosz (Veep, Inside Amy Schumer, former writer for Seth Meyers and The Colbert Report, star of over 100 Sonic fast-food commercials) perform duo improv at UCB Chelsea as 2 Square

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm-Midnight ($10 for the entire evening): Four veteran house improv groups, indie improv group The Boys, themed improv show Titanic (exploring love stories beyond Jack & Rose that might have taken place during the doomed voyage), and improv competition Inspirado, all for just $10 at The Magnet theatre: The Magnet's Thursday Night Out

8:00 pm pm ($5): Sharon Jamilkoswki performs a one-woman show as Diana Ross, the daughter of PBS guru Bob Ross (The Joy of Painting), at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): The Joy of Arting with Diana Ross

[FREE] 8:00 pm: A featured stand-up (not announced) performs a 30-minute set, with a 15-minute opening from another stand-up, at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) hosted by Jenn Welch & Tom Lisi: The Half-Hour Hour

[TOP PICK] [$] 8:30 pm ($5 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Wil Sylvince (Comedy Central, HBO, Showtime) hosts Carmen Lynch (David Letterman, Conan O'Brien, Inside Amy Schumer, Last Comic Standing finalist), Adrienne Iapalucci (David Letterman, Last Comic Standing, VH1), Sean Donnelly (David Letterman, Conan O'Brien, Comedy Central Half Hour, Last Comic Standing, MTV), and more trying out fresh stand-up material at The Fat Black Pussycat Lounge (130 West 3rd Street): New Joke Night

9:00 pm ($7): Emmy Blotnick (writer for Comedy Central's @midnight, Roast of Rob Lowe, Not Safe with Nikki Glaser; MTV's Nikki and Sara Live, VH1's Best Week Ever), Joe Kwaczala (The Onion), Tom Thakkar, Zachary Sims, and Peet Guercio performing stand-up at UCB East hosted by rising stars Jim Tews (Louie, Last Comic Standing, co-host of Fresh Out and Homeschooled, New York Times bestselling author of Felines of New York) & Ashley Brooke Roberts (energetic, enormously likeable stand-up; writer for Nat Geo and MTV's Guy Code): Fresh Out

9:00 pm ($6): Rebecca Vigil (rising star powerhouse improv singer; Your Love Our Musical, The Vigilante), Jeff Simmermon (NPR's This American Life, Moth GrandSlam Champion, host of And I Am Not Lying), Jess Solomon, Patrick Holbert, and Jono Zalay performing at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Liz Simons & Jenn Wehrung: Laugh It Up, Astoria

9:00 pm ($7): A one-man show by Ross Baron in which he "squares off with a gay inner demon, a corn maze of confusion, and The demogorgon of his mind" at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street) directed by Amelia Bienstock: Way Too Precious: Not Based on a Novel by Sapphire

[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

10:30 pm ($7): Duo sketch, duo improv, or anything else that works for two comics performing together at The PIT Underground: Two-Timing

[TOP PICK] 11:00 pm ($5): Powerhouse musical improv group Rumpleteaser sent improv group Mermaids back to the lower depths last week, winning 120-41. Tonight the champion (9 victories in a row) competes with improv group Fluffty for your laughs and votes at UCB Chelsea's raucous Cage Match

11:00 pm ($5): A variety show that encourages comics to perform whatever they're most passionate about—tonight featuring Keisha Zollar & Caroline Martin (Comedy Central), Mehdi Barakchian (host of Passport Control), Ingrid Ostby (Reductress), and Joanna Hausman (Bill Nye Saves the World)—at the UCB East theatre hosted by Nicole Pasquale: WOKE AF: A Mind-Opening Variety Show

11:00 pm ($7): Improv with feedback at The PIT Mainstage hosted by Matthew Woods & Dan Miller: Improv MD

Thursday Open Mics & Jams

5:00 pm ($5): Two-hour open-mic for 20 stand-ups performing for 5 minutes each, with sign-up online here, at the Stand Up NY Comedy Club (236 West 78th Street): Stand Up NY Open Mic

[FREE] 6:00 pm: Stand-up open mic in which 15 walk-ins whose names are drawn from a bucket get to tell jokes on stage for 4 minutes each at UCB East hosted Brandon Scott Wolf & Paul Oddo: Thursday Night Open Mic

[FREE] 6:00 pm: Open-mic stand-up with comics' names drawn from a bucket and each chosen receiving 2 minutes—and if that goes well, maybe a hug (but not actual puppies)—at The Creek's downstairs lounge in Queens' Long Island City hosted by Ross Parsons & Trey Galyon: Free Puppies

[FREE] 6:00 pm: Open mic stand-up with 4 minutes per comic (sign-up starts at 5:30 pm) at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Jake Vevera & Amy Liszka: The QED Thursday Mic

6:00 pm ($5 for both comics and audience members): Open mic stand-up providing 5-7 minutes per comic, running 2 1/2 hours. Arrive 30 minutes before the show to get on the signup sheet. This is a fine opportunity to perform at the only comedy club in the East Village: Eastville Comedy Club Open Mic

6:00 pm ($3): A weekly improv jam for which the number of participants on stage is determined by a roll of the dice at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street) hosted by Jon Monje, Glorillis Tavarez, Trumane Alston, and Julien Darmon: Chance Encounters Jam

6:30 pm ($5): If you're a gal who'd like to try stand-up but are wary of being vulnerable in a tough male-dominated room, this show may be the perfect opportunity for you—an all-female open mic, with the first 15 comics to sign up (starting at 5:50 pm) getting 3 minutes each on stage at The PIT Underground: Ladies Night Open Mic

7:00 pm ($2, which includes a free beer or water): Open mic stand-up providing a whopping 10 minutes per comic. Email PhoningItInMic@gmail.com with subject line Phoning Thursday to sign up; or take a chance at lottery sign-up live between 6:45 and 7:45 at Brit Pack Studios (34 Pell Street, 2nd Floor) hosted by Ian Fidance: Comics Phoning It In

[FREE] 7:00 pm: In this free Magnet show, audience members (signing in at 6:00) can join in with a veteran improv group to make up scenes on the spot: Magnet Mixer Thursday

[FREE] 8:00 pm: A recorded-for-podcast walk-in open mic providing 5 minutes on stage for whatever you want to perform—stand-up, sketch, song—with names drawn from a bucket at The Creek's downstairs lounge in Queens' Long Island City hosted by Mike Mercadal & Will Watkins: Unsung Heroes

[FREE] 10:30 pm: Walk-in stand-up open mic (signup at 10:30 pm) at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Chelsea Condren, Kate Moran, and Kristin Seltman: Late Night Snack Open Mic

10:30 pm ($3): A chance for you to get on stage and improvise with PIT faculty at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Thursdays After Class Jam

[FREE] 11:00 pm: An open-mic stand-up show that's first come, first serve, with each comic getting 3 minutes on stage at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) hosted by Matt Anderson: Barf Up the Jokes

 

NYC Comedy Picks for Friday 4/7/17

Anthony Atamanuik

Anthony Atamanuik is thoroughly hilarious as Donald Trump—and this evening "he's giving a luxurious speech from the East Room of the White House. Join him and his paid audience as he updates America on his first 100 days:" Trump Dump: The Presidential Address (6:00 pm, $5; if this sells out of seats, you can still probably get in if you arrive early and don't mind standing; UCB Chelsea at 307 West 26th Street)...

Kevin McDonald and John Gemberling

...and stars Kevin McDonald (The Kids In The Hall) and John Gemberling (co-star of Comedy Central's Broad City, NBC's Marry Me, and FOX's Making History) are the guests of brilliant improvisor & character comic Connor Ratliff (The Stepfathers), who transforms into "filmmaker George Lucas (Radioland Murders) as he embarks upon an exciting new career as a comedian and talk show host! He'll be joined by his hilarious talk show sidekick (Griffin Newman) as they revolutionize the talk show format the same way Lucas once revolutionized cinema:" The George Lucas Talk Show (Midnight, $7, UCB East at 153 East 3rd Street)

More recommendations for the best in New York City comedy tonight (in chronological order, with top picks noted and shows over $10 marked with $) include:

[TOP PICK] [$] 7:00 pm, 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 ($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 7:30, 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 ($10): The Magnet theatre hands out its annual awards to its own performers at The Maggies

[FREE] 7:00 pm: Justin Silver (host of Funny for Fido podcast, author of The Language of Dogs) & Eric Neumann ("I am yet to have a year that financially tops my Bar Mitzvah year. If you book me, you can help make this sad reality go away") each perform a 30-minute stand-up set one last night at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue): Week at the Creek: Justin Sliver and Eric Neumann

7:00 pm ($10): Comedy group Terrorbird performs dark sketch comedy at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Terrorbird

[TOP PICK] [$] 7:30 pm & 10:00 pm ($49 & 2-drink min.) The co-creator & co-writer of CBS' 2 Broke Girls and NBC sitcom Whitney is also a star stand-up who's performed on HBO, Showtime, Comedy Central, MTV, TBS, E!, and Chelsea Lately...and is headlining tonight and Saturday at the Carolines Comedy Club: Whitney Cummings

[$] 7:30 pm ($12): At the UCB Chelsea theatre, a mild parody of girl bands via "the world's first Asian-American pop group from the USA. Join Baby Rice, Quirky Rice, Edgy Rice, Competitive Rice, and Brown Rice as they kick off their tour by dancing, singing, and rapping about boys, friendship, and systemic racism/oppression:" AzN PoP!: Live in Concert...

...and in the second other of this double bill, Mark Vigeant springboards off audience suggestions to create and launch a website on the spot: Let's Make a Website

[$] 7:30 pm ($12): Improv group Bucky makes up one long scene in the same location (a winning form that's helped such teams as Death by Roo Roo win a whole lot of Cage Match victories)—and, when SNL is on break, sometimes includes star Sasheer Zamata (whenever that happens, consider this a TOP PICK)—at the UCB East theatre: Bucky: Thank F#@% It's Friday!

7:30 pm ($10): Six New York comics telling stories of where they came from (one from Canada, another from Portland) and the journey that led them to NYC performing at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Katie Boyle (who's from Ireland): Transplants

[FREE] 8:00 pm: Adrienne Iapalucci (David Letterman, Last Comic Standing, VH1), Matt Goldich (staff writer for Seth Meyers; Comedy Central, VH1), Matt Ruby (MTV; sharp co-host of Hot Soup and We're All Friends Here, award-winning blog Sandpaper Suit, new comedy album Hot Flashes), Zach Sims, and Erik Bransteen perform stand-up at the HiFi Bar (169 Avenue A) produced by Gary Levitt & Matt Schwartzer and hosted by Mike Lebovitz: I Don't Get It Stand-Up

[$] 8:00 pm ($15): A musical parody of the Star Wars movies with periodic solid moments, and that includes superb comics Rebecca Vigil & Evan Kaufman (Your Love, Our Musical), and terrific singer Tarik Davis (whose "bromance" duet with Evan as Finn & Poe is the highlight of the show). Unfortunately, most of the time the script doesn't quite hit the mark; but if you're a die-hard fan, you might get a kick out of this production playing through May 6th at The PIT Mainstage: Star Wars: The Farce Awakens

8:00 pm ($5): At this uniquely heckler-friendly show, "every audience member gets a bag of crazy shit to throw at stand-ups. Show your love or your hate with flowers, Nerf guns, stuffed animals, water balloons, candy, and anything else we give you to toss. The audience picks their favorite comic to win $$$, and comics pick their favorite audience heckler to win a prize" at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) hosted by Gregory W. Hall &Teresa Sheffield: Mob Rule

8:00 pm ($7): A play about a high school student finding a genie who can grant three wishes at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Pop Punk High

[TOP PICK] [$] 9:00 pm ($12): Some of the finest improv in the country from brilliant comics Connor Ratliff, Shannon O'Neill, Alexandra Dickson, Silvija Ozols, and/or Michael Delaney forming a seamless and hilarious group mind at UCB Chelsea—the all-star members of The Stepfathers

[TOP PICK] [$] 9:00 pm ($12): Cipha Sounds (Hot 97, Chappelle's Show) thought it would be cool if a hip-hop star told tales and then improvisors made up scenes based on them. This monthly show is the result, with a "secret" music celebrity "mesmerizing the crowd with amazing stories and linguistic darts to spark the creativity of some of the best improvisers in NYC," the latter being Anthony Atamanuik, Natasha Rothwell, Brandon Gardner, Lydia Hensler, Christian Capozzoli, and/or Shaun Diston at the UCB East theatre: Take It Personal: The Hip-Hip Improv Show

9:00 pm ($7): An audience member with a decision to make becomes the basis of an improvised court trial at The PIT Underground: The People's Court

9:00 pm ($10): NYC sketch comedy groups Café con Sketché and American Danger performing at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Boogie Manja

9:30 pm ($10): Comedy group His Majesty, The Baby blends sketch, dance, physical comedy, poetry, live music, and/or metaphysical comedy. In this show, "we will argue that most comedy we currently experience is either ethically problematic (e.g., alt-right trolling) or creatively at a dead end (e.g., alt-comedy), or both (e.g., liberal satire, much of which with the advent of Trump has turned into a sad form of wish-fulfillment: HillaryBeatTrump.org). The evening then concludes" at The PIT Mainstage: Don't Normalize His Majesty, the Baby

[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

[$] 10:30 pm ($12): Sue Smith (VH1's Best Week Ever), Peet Guercio (E!), Gastor Almonte (Comedy Central), and Zach Sims (CMT)i performing stand-up at UCB East hosted by Brandon Scott Jones, Justin Tyler, and/or Alden Ford: Gentrify

[TOP PICK] 11:00 pm ($10): Stand-ups who are single each perform a set and then participate in a dating game show, choosing among three mystery contestants based on their online dating profiles at The PIT Mainstage: Tinderella

[TOP PICK] [FREE] Midnight: Comics perform stand-up sets and then go on dates with each other as part of the live show at Queens LIC's The Creek upstairs theatre hosted by Rob Harper & Rachel Coleman: We're Getting Laid

Midnight ($7): Comics form bands to compete for a fake recording contract and the honor of performing "Wonderwall" at the UCB Chelsea theatre hosted by Achilles Stamatelaky & Matthew Star: Seriously, Are You Ready to Rock?!

Friday Open Mics & Jams

[FREE] 5:00 pm: Walk-in open mic (signup at 4:30 pm), with 5 minutes per comic, storyteller, poet, or singer, at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Sydney Beveridge & Davey Melch: Queens Open Mic Fridays

5:00 pm ($5): Two-hour open-mic for 20 stand-ups performing for 5 minutes each, with sign-up online here, at the Stand Up NY Comedy Club (236 West 78th Street): Stand Up NY Open Mic

5:45 pm ($5 for both comics and audience members): Open mic stand-up providing 5-7 minutes per comic, running 1 hour. Arrive 30 minutes before the show to get on the signup sheet. This is a fine opportunity to perform at the only comedy club in the East Village: Eastville Comedy Club Open Mic

6:00 pm ($5): A weekly walk-in stand-up open mic at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Friday Night Mics

[FREE] 6:00 pm: An open-mic show on a lottery system (sign-ups happen at 5:45-6:00 pm) at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' Long Island City hosted by Shalewa Sharpe & Courtney Fearrington: Thug Passion

6:30 pm ($3): PIT improv veterans mix with improv novices on-stage at The PIT Underground for Happy Hour

[FREE] 8:00 pm: An open-mic show that's first come, first serve (sign-up starts at 7:30 pm), with each comic getting 5 minutes on stage at The Creek downstairs lounge in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) hosted by Seena Jon: Mic and Cheese

 

NYC Comedy Picks for Saturday 4/8/17

NYC Podfest

Top NYC-based podcasts with a sense of humor are spotlighted live on stage this weekend by the annual NYC Podfest, running today 1:30 pm-10:30 pm and Sunday 1:00 pm-10:00 pm. Shows that haven't yet sold out include The Bowery Boys (NYC history), Broadwaystead (NYC theatre), The Room Where It's Happening (celebrating Hamilton), Risk! (comedic storytelling), and Snap Impression Live (celebrity impersonations). All shows are at Brooklyn's Bell House (149 7th Street; take R subway to 9th Street or F/G to Fourth Avenue). For a complete list of the events and/or to buy tickets, please click here.

More recommendations for the best in New York City comedy tonight (in chronological order, with top picks noted and shows over $10 marked with $) include:

[$] 10:00 am-11:00 am ($15 per family): A sketch and stand-up show for kids—no irony, this is for children aged 4-9—with guests TBA at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Mark Malkoff: Two Juice Minimum

6:00 pm ($7): Duo musical improv set on a cruise ship at The PIT Underground: Jiji & Viv's Ship of Dreams

6:00 pm ($5): Solo improv by Dion Flynn (frequent sketch comic on Jimmy Fallon) at The PIT Mainstage: Works Well With Others

6:00 pm ($5): Four Indie improv troupes performing at The Magnet theatre: The Rundown

6:00 pm ($7): Senior citizens perform improv at The PIT Mainstage: Geezers

[TOP PICK] [$] 7:00 pm ($12): Improv group Women and Men interview audience members about a weird and/or wild birthday, wedding, bar mitzvah, or other social gathering and then make up scenes based on those anecdotes at the UCB East theatre: Women and Men: Party Jumpin'

[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

[TOP PICK] 7:00 pm ($10): Improv group Big Black Car 2, plus improv group The Quitters, make up scenes at The PIT Mainstage: BBC2 and The Quitters

7:00 pm ($7): Political activists and pundits mix with comics at this political comedy show that makes fun of the news at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Electoral Dysfunction

7:00 pm ($5): Sketch comics share clips from fake shows that never actually happened at Queens LIC's The Creek upstairs theatre: Clip Show: A Sketch Show

[TOP PICK] [$] 7:30 pm & 10:00 pm ($49 & 2-drink min.) The co-creator & co-writer of CBS' 2 Broke Girls and NBC sitcom Whitney is also a star stand-up who's performed on HBO, Showtime, Comedy Central, MTV, TBS, E!, and Chelsea Lately...and is headlining one last night at the Carolines Comedy Club: Whitney Cummings

[TOP PICK] 7:30 pm ($10): "Created in 1995 at the iO Theater in Chicago, The Armando Diaz Experience is the longest running improv show ever. A guest monologist—who tonight is Matt J. Weir—takes a suggestion from the audience and shares true personal tales. These stories are then brought to life by a rotating cast of improv all-stars—and occasionally Armando himself" at The Magnet theatre: The Armando Diaz Experience

[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

7:30 pm ($7): Gianmarco Soresi, Gregory Hall, Joseph Rocha, Emily Duncan, and Matt Vita perform stand-up or sketch at The PIT Underground: Funny Things Happen Here

7:30 pm ($8): Female and/or LGBTQ stand-ups Lauren Maul, Tammy Twotone, Chewy May, Liz Simons, Ariel Leaty, and Cathy Humes perform at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Kate Moran: The Revolution

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($10): Improv group Gypsy Danger (which includes brilliant comics Katie Hartman and Evan Kaufman, and which will make up a feature film on the spot) and improv group And Friends make stuff up at The PIT Mainstage: Gypsy Danger: The Improvised Movie and And Friends

8:00 pm ($5): A frat-themed comedy show at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) hosted by Carmen Lagala, Billy Prinsell, and Samantha Ruddy: Creek Bros

8:00 pm ($10: Kyle Ayers (written for CBS, Comedy Central, TBS, BBC, The New York Times), Jennie Sutton (former writer for David Letterman, writer/producer of Comedy Central Snapchat series Poolers), Jim Search, and Craig Friedman performing stand-up at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street) hosted by Will Abeles: Hey Guys!

[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 makes up scenes with fierce musical energy at The PIT Underground: North Coast

[TOP PICK] [$] 9:00 pm ($12): An improvised apocalypse from sharp comics John Murray, Sean Casey, Jackie Jennings, Caroline Cotter, Joanna Bradley, David Bluvband, and Zach Cherry at the UCB Chelsea theatre: Goat

[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($10): Sharp improvisors Peter McNerney & Rick Andrews make up scenes at The Magnet as comedy duo Trike

9:00 pm ($5; or Free if you arrive an hour early at 8:00 pm): Amber Nelson (dynamic stand-up & character comic; Comedy Central, TruTV's Almost Genius; sketch group Murderfist), Selena Coppock (Amazon's Red Oaks, VH1, author of book The New Rules for Blondes), Jordan Temple (writer for MTV's Decoded), Calvin Cato (Oxygen's My Crazy Love, host of Ed Sullivan on Acid), Trey Galyon, and Ronnie Fleming perform stand-up at Brooklyn's Art Cafe & Bar (884-886 Pacific Street) hosted by Ben Totushek & Koshin Egal: The Human Citizen Comedy Show

9:30 pm ($10): Improvisors make up scenes of a relationship springboarding off an audience-supplied wedding announcement in The New York Times at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Forever: Improv Inspired by NYT Wedding Announcements

9:30 pm ($10): Comedy group His Majesty, The Baby blends sketch, dance, physical comedy, poetry, live music, and/or metaphysical comedy. In this show, "we will argue that most comedy we currently experience is either ethically problematic (e.g., alt-right trolling) or creatively at a dead end (e.g., alt-comedy), or both (e.g., liberal satire, much of which with the advent of Trump has turned into a sad form of wish-fulfillment: HillaryBeatTrump.org). The evening then concludes" at The PIT Mainstage: Don't Normalize His Majesty, the Baby

9:30 pm ($8): Stand-ups performing at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) produced by Patrick Holbert and guest-hosted by Oscar Aydin: End of the Line Comedy

[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] 10:00 pm ($5): "Starting in 1982, the city of Atlanta threw an annual party called Freaknik which essentially became the largest black spring break party in the country. The party became so big and wild that the city shut it down for good in 1996. But comedians Andy Sandford and Noah Gardenswartz are bringing Freaknik back...to Long Island City. 'Comedy Freaknik' will be a lot like the original Freaknik, except it’s going to happen once a month, and it will be a comedy show hosted by three white guys. That’s basically the only difference" at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' Long Island City: Freaknik

[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—which tonight is Experimental Theatre—at The Magnet theatre: The Cast: Experimental Theatre Edition

[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—tonight with special guest Jordan Klepper (correspondent for The Daily Show, star of upcoming 11:30 pm series to directly follow The Daily Show): Grandma's Ashes: We Won't Tell—5th Year Anniversary Show with Jordan Klepper

[TOP PICK] 10:30 pm ($10): Using real horror films purchased in local gas stations and bodegas, the hosts select specific clips to play for 30 seconds, pause, and then ask the improvisers to finish the scene. Will anyone survive at The PIT Underground? Attend at your own peril, with hosts J. W. Crump: Gas Station Horror

[$] 11:00 pm ($15): Comics make a case for why each of them would be a better President than Donald Trump, with tonight's candidates Christian Finnegan (co-star of A&E's Black and White; Conan O'Brien; three Comedy Central specials, Netflix special The Fun Part; TBS, VH1, MSNBC, Chappelle's Show, The Today Show), Yedoye Travis (Hulu), and Rae Sanni (Comedy Central) at The PIT Mainstage hosted by Andrea Ilene Shapiro: #ThatsMyPresident- A Fundraiser for Lambda Legal

[FREE] 11:00 pm: Stand-ups performing at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) produced by Fredric Goldstein and hosted by Judith George: Last Stop Laughs

11:30 ($7): "Matt Radlow & Betsy Kenney are not musicians, and neither are their friends. But that won't keep them from delivering one hour of non-stop music-themed comedy directly to your brains" at the UCB East theatre: Matt and Betsy Do Music

[TOP PICK] Midnight ($7): In this acclaimed monthly show, six NYC stand-ups (not announced) each perform an 8-minute set while they "risk getting slapped by Satan himself. Actually, he hosts only bringer shows, but join Matt Wayne and Doug Smith as they step into the Big Man's shoes and put NYC's finest through comedy purgatory. Hula-hoops, celebrity impressions, unwanted audience participation, all incorporated into each performance! Will they triumph or will the nether world eat their souls? Come see for yourself" at the UCB Chelsea theatre: See You in Hell

Midnight ($5): Sketch comedy from groups Hot Moms (Ryan Clark, Julia Darden, Jake Keefe, and Dillon Geyselaers) and Kiss on the Lips (Garrett Verdone, Jonathan van Halem, and Alex Guaglianone), plus Patrick Jones, all performing at The PIT Underground: Hot Moms, Kiss on the Lips, and Patrick Jones

[FREE] Midnight: "Every month comedian Dan King writes a pilot script for a new sitcom and hosts a live table read of the script. It’s important that you come see these live because these ideas will never, ever make it to television" at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue): Test Pilots

Saturday Open Mics & Jams

4:00 pm ($5; your ticket provides $3 off a drink at nearby Pioneers Bar): Walk-in lottery style open mic (sign-up starting at 2:45 pm) at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Swing Riders Open Mic

[FREE] 5:00 pm-7:00 pm: Walk-in comedy open mic (lottery system, with sign-up starting at 4:30 pm) providing each selected comic 4 minutes on stage at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Chris Gersbeck & Veronica Garza: Murray Povich Mic

[FREE] 7:00 pm: Walk-in open mic, with names drawn from a bucket (sign-up starts at 6:50 pm), and a designated beer drinker on stage who might chime in at any moment to riff with you during your set, at Queens LIC's The Creek downstairs lounge hosted by Amy Shanker, Brett Hiker, and Cameron Ford: Power Hour Open Mic

[FREE] 9:00 pm: Walk-in open mic for character bits, stand-up, etc. at Queens LIC's The Creek downstairs lounge hosted by Elise Edwards: Discount Disco

 

NYC Comedy Picks for Sunday 4/9/17

Dick Gregory

A pioneering and legendary political comic who broke racial barriers for stand-ups and sparked numerous conversations around the country about race probably has some things to say about our current administration while he headlines tonight and Monday at Carolines: Dick Gregory (7:30 pm, $32.75 plus 2-drink min., Carolines Comedy Club at 1626 Broadway)

More recommendations for the best in New York City comedy tonight (in chronological order, with top picks noted and shows over $10 marked with $) include:

[FREE] Noon-2:00 pm: The NYC comedy and other performing arts communities gather to discuss surviving, thriving, and taking action over the next four years of a clown residing in the White House. Plus there's usually free coffee and/or donuts. Join in at Under St. Marks (94 St. Marks Place, off First Avenue) hosted by comedic storytellers Brad Lawrence & Cyndi Freeman: The Underground Service

[TOP PICK] 1:00 pm-10:00 pm ($15-$25 per show): Top NYC-based podcasts with a sense of humor are spotlighted live on stage one last day at this annual festival at Brooklyn's Bell House (149 7th Street; take R subway to 9th Street or F/G to Fourth Avenue). Shows that haven't yet sold out are The Bowery Boys (NYC history), Broadwaystead (NYC theatre), Risk! (comedic storytelling), and Snap Impression Live (celebrity impersonations). To learn more and/or buy tickets, please click NYC Podfest.

[TOP PICK] 5:00 pm-7:00 pm (no cover charge, but 1-drink min.): For two back-to-back live podcast recordings, comics Jenni Ruiza (Fusion's Come Here and Say That) and David Lawson (fresh, sharp, edgy storyteller; Solocom; host of The Astoria Bookshop Storytelling Show) share tales of their "first time" (e.g., first job, first time on stage, first time getting drunk, first kiss) at Brooklyn's Salzy (506 Fifth Avenue) hosted by Evan Morgenstern & Darin Patterson: The Virgin Chronicles

[$] 5:00 pm ($20): This musical with puppets is a family-friendly and interactive reinvention of the fairy tale The Three Billy Goats that urges the audience to work at improving the environment. Today's performance at The PIT Mainstage is the NYC premiere of Gruff!

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 6:00 pm: Magnet instructors and other top improvisors—including Ed Herbstman, Louis Kornfeld, and Sebastian Conelli—perform "the most grounded, organic, and simplified scenes ever" at The Magnet theatre: Whizbang

6:00 pm ($5): Three NYC improv groups that are independent (i.e., not a house team of any particular improv school/theatre) compete for audience member laughs and votes at UCB East hosted by Lou Gonzalez, Chrissie Gruebel, and Brian Urreta of improv group The Mannequin Room: Indie Cage Match

[TOP PICK] 7:00 pm ($10): Storyteller Lyssa Mandel invites comics to "expose their bleeding-heart adolescent artifacts (journal entries, poetry, original songs, and art), then laugh at and with their own flaws," with tonight's guests Leah Bonnema (VH1, IFC's Comedy Drop, WeTV's Cinematherapy, Logo, Opie & Anthony’s Virus Channel), Jay Malsky (highly talented, super-charged improvisor, character comic, and singer; FringeNYC), Jenn Dodd (extreme character comic), and Peter Michael Marino (Edinburgh Fringe; comedy producer & coach), all at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue): The Bitch Seat

[TOP PICK] 7:00 pm ($10): A sketch comedy double-bill from Dinosaur Jones, a group that's "part adventure, part absurdity, and all comedy" and The Executives, a tie-wearing group that leverages physical comedy, all at The Magnet theatre: Dinosaur Jones and The Executives

7:00 pm, 8:00 pm, and 9:00 pm ($5 per show): The wonderful Ronny Pascale has quickly thrown together three back-to-back shows tonight at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street) that he's calling a "Pop-Up Comedy Fest," but really are curated collections of smorgasbord comedy.

Featured at 7:00 pm are stand-ups Will Carey and Gianmarco Soresi, sketch group Backdoor Barbecue, and improv group And Friends.

Performing at 8:00 pm are stand-up Shawn Wickens, storytellers Chloe Canahauti and Jewel Elizabeth, and improv groups The Doug Funnies and Just Gravy.

And at 9:00 pm are stand-ups Dipti Goel, Natty Bumpercar, Charlotte Otremba, and Justin Perez, character comic Chris Mann, and improv groups Personal Policy and Thank You For Your Cervix.

7:00 pm ($7): A team of over a dozen improvisors create a complete feature film on the spot springboarding off an audience suggestion at The PIT Mainstage: Picture Show

[FREE] 7:00 pm: Long-form improv group Distance performs and hosts other groups making up extended scenes via the improv form called "Harold" at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue): Harold Night at The Creek

[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 five shows, with three shows at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane), and the 8:00 pm & 10:00 pm shows at Village Underground (130 West 3rd Street, off Sixth Avenue): Comedy Cellar Sunday

[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

[TOP PICK] 7:30 pm ($7): Sheng Wang (Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central Presents, Totally Biased), Amber Nelson (dynamic stand-up & character comic; Comedy Central, TruTV's Almost Genius; sketch group Murderfist), Matt Wayne (Adam Devine's House Party, co-host of See You in Hell), Megan Gailey (Comedy Central's Adam Devine's House Party), Joe Kwaczala (Funny or Die), Peet Guercio (MTV), and Cherith Fuller (Reductress) performing 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 Robert Dean (Comedy Central): If You Build It

7:30 pm ($5): Dana Shulman and friends are improv group Student Driver, which hosts two indie improv troupes making up scenes and then performs itself, all at The PIT Underground: Student Driver: Indie Road

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($8): SNL's Sasheer Zamata hosts comics Jon Glaser (HBO's Girls, NBC's Parks and Recreation, star of Adult Swim's Delocated and TruTV's Jon Glaser Loves Gear; long-time writer/performer and 5-time Emmy nominee for Conan O'Brien), Nore Davis (Inside Amy Schumer, HBO's Last Week Tonight, Boardwalk Empire, Comedy Central's Russell Simmons Presents The Ruckus, MTV), and Ana Fabrega (Comedy Central, IFC, The Jim Gaffigan Show, The Chris Gethard Show, host of Over the Eight), plus Brooklyn-based musical trio Invisible Familiars (Jared Samuel, Rachel Housle, and Adam Brisbin), all performing at at Brooklyn's Littlefield (622 Degraw Street): Sasheer Zamata Party Time

8:00 pm ($7): A play about a 12-year-old girl named Beatrice "B.B." Baxter battling through the nine circles of Hell to find and rescue her older brother, who was abruptly killed in a car accident, at The PIT Mainstage: B.B.'s Inferno: The Finale

8:30 pm ($7): The screening of a film created by gathering a massive number of Middle School history projects and then using them to tell a history of the United States, plus a pre-screening Q&A session with the movie's director/producer Daniel Ahrens, all at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue): The History Project Q&A and Screening

8:30 pm ($5): How can you resist a show that describes itself as "long form improvisation...with God"? The nine comics performing include the stellar Adrian Sexton—and, of course, the Almighty (whose sense of humor is undeniable)—at The PIT Underground: GodProv

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 9:00 pm: Dan St. Germain (enormously likeable and rapidly rising star who has several TV shows in the works; Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central Half-Hour Special, The Electric Company, MTV, VH1), Melissa Villaseñor (talented force-of-nature new cast member of Saturday Night Live), Monroe Martin (David Letterman, Jimmy Fallon, finalist on Last Comic Standing, MTV), Drew Michael (writer for Saturday Night Live), Megan Gailey (Comedy Central's Adam Devine's House Party), Giulio Gallarotti, and Joe Kwaczala perform stand-up at Brooklyn's Knitting Factory (361 Metropolitan Avenue) hosted by Will Miles, Clark Jones, and/or Kenny DeForest: Comedy Night at the Knit

9:00 pm ($10): Duo improv from Rick Andrews & guest Jess Andrews at The Magnet theatre: Andrews & Andrews

[FREE] 9:00 pm: Group Medusa turns a calamity selected by the an audience member into an improvised documentary live on stage at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue): Medusa Presents Improv Against Humanity

9:30 pm ($7): Improv group Higgins looks at the Instagram photos of audience members and then uses them as springboards for comedy scenes at the UCB East theatre: Higgins: The Instagram Show

[$] 9:30 pm ($20-$30): MTV's Wild 'N Out comics Chico Bean, Karious Miller, and Darren Brand perform stand-up for one night only at The PIT Mainstage: We Got Jokes

Sunday Open Mics, Open Stages, and Jams

[FREE] 4:00 pm: An unusually early walk-in open-mic stand-up show (put your name in the bucket) at The Creek downstairs lounge in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) hosted by Sam Rose: Bucket! We'll Do it Live!

[FREE] 5:00 pm: Walk-in stand-up lottery style open mic that provides 4 minutes per comic at Astoria Queens' QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) hosted by Andrea Shapiro & Chris Gersbeck: Bunk Bed Time Open Mic

5:30 pm ($3): Sign up at 4:30 pm to do improv with experienced PIT performers at The PIT Underground hosted by Sasha Capelli, Eitan Levine, and Shaina Stigler: 10K Jam Jam

9:30 pm ($5): Open-mic comedy, with 3-5 minutes per walk-in performer who signs up (first come, first serve) at The PIT Underground, hosted by Will Neville: Amateur Night at the Gemini

[FREE] 10:00 pm: An open-mic stand-up show (sign up is at 9:45 pm) providing 5 minutes for each comic whose name is pulled from the bucket at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens' LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) hosted by Ian Kitchen: The Grandstand

[FREE] 11:00 pm: The only open-stage show for entire groups of improvisors and sketch comics, running weekly at UCB East hosted by Austin Rodrigues: Bring Your Own Team: Improv/Sketch Team Jam

 

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