For more, please visit HyReviews.com.
Judah Friedlander performs in the West Village at Comedy Cellar…
…but first performs in the East Village with Janeane Garofalo at Eastville
Tonight’s recommendations for the best in New York City comedy (in chronological order, with top picks noted and shows over $10 marked with $) include:
[TOP PICK] [$] [DISCOUNTED] 3:00 pm ($25 [vs. $65] using discount code PENMAS): This isn’t pure comedy, but an enchanting hodgepodge of original tall tales fueled by laughs. The 2-hour play from the wonderful guys of PigPen blends shadow puppetry, songs, inventive staging, and more to create living dreams. For my review of PigPen’s two previous shows at FringeNYC, please click here and here. This newest work is their most ambitious, and that sometimes results in the story feeling too slow or padded; but it also yields a deeper emotional payoff. And even though not all the bits hit the mark, so many of them do that you’re likely to feel satisfied—and missing PigPen’s world after the show is over. The production is at The Gym at Judson (243 Thompson Street) in the West Village: The Old Man and the Moon
[FREE] 4:00 pm: An unusually early walk-in open-mic stand-up show at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City: Face-Plant Comedy Showcase
[FREE] 6:00 pm: A smorgasbord of of stand-up, comedic music, comedic dance, sketch, and more at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City: Mishmash Variety Hour (and a Half)
6:00 pm ($5): Open-mic stand-up that includes professional feedback on each comic’s 5-minute set at Queens LIC’s Laughing Devil Comedy Club (4738 Vernon Blvd.): Mic-Shop: Open Mic Workshop
[TOP PICK] 7:30 pm ($10) and 9:30 pm [FREE]: UCB Chelsea’s signature improv comedy extravaganza, which typically includes stars in the improv world, and sometimes even TV & movie stars such as Amy Poehler and Horatio Sanz: ASSSCAT 3000
7:30 pm ($5): Improv troupes not affiliated with any comedy school compete at UCB East for audience laughs and votes—and the privilege to go on to perform at the primary Cage Match show at UCB Chelsea—in this show hosted by the delightful Amey Goerlich & R an Karels (Krompf): Indie Cage Match
[FREE] 7:30 pm: Sketch, improv, and more at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City from comedy troupe Froduce
[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm ($14 plus 2-item food/drink min.): TV & Broadway star Colin Quinn, Mark Normand (hilarious stand-up; Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central; co-host of Hot Soup and We’re All Friends Here), Kurt Metzger (Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central Presents, Ugly Americans), Keith Alberstadt (David Letterman,, VH1, contributor to SNL’s Weekend Update,), Jeff Lamp (Jay Leno), and more performing at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane) hosted by Mike Yard (Comedy Central, Def Comedy Jam): Colin Quinn, Mark Normand, and More
[$] 8:00 pm ($38.25 plus 2-drink minimum): A former Saturday Night Live star, cast member of Showtime’s Weeds, star of his own Comedy Central special, and actor in over two dozen comedy feature films—including Anger Management, Happy Gilmore, The Wedding Singer, Daddy Day Care, Get Smart, and You Don’t Mess With The Zohan—headlining tonight through Sunday at the Carolines Comedy Club: Kevin Nealon
8:00 pm ($8): Ora Fruchter & Christopher Scheer put a hand-puppet through improvised therapy at The PIT upstairs theatre: Puppet Therapy
[FREE] 8:00 pm: Sheng Wang (Comedy Central Presents), Maddog Mattern (Sirius Radio, Howard Stern TV; to see Maddog handle a heckler, please click here), Damien Lemon (MTV2′s Guy Code, Comedy Central, The Amazing Spider-Man), and more performing at the Three of Cups lounge (83 First Avenue at 5th Street) hosted by RG Daniels: Sunday Night Stand-Up
8:00 pm ($5): A one-woman show at The Magnet about how “Molly Marjorie Rosenblatt is in New York and her musical theater career isn’t taking off. She doesn’t have a job, but thinks finding a boyfriend will make life easier. Learn how she comes into her own as a broke and unemployed hot mess living in Queens through Facebook stalking, online dating, and adventures in Brooklyn. Told primarily through original songs (music and lyrics by Mallory Schlossberg, arrangements by Joel Esher), and directed by Jen Sanders: Molly Marjorie Rosenblatt Needs A Man
[TOP PICK] [$] [DISCOUNTED] 9:00 pm (FREE TICKETS if you reserve in advance by calling (212) 260-2445 and mention HyReviews.com, but there’s still a 2-drink min. per person): TV & movie star Janeane Garofalo (9:00 pm only), Judah Friedlander (one of the quickest minds in comedy; 30 Rock, Meet the Parents, Along Came Polly, author of How to Beat Up Anybody), Big Jay Oakerson (Comedy Central Presents, HBO, Showtime, MTV), and more performing at the only comedy club in the East Village: Eastville Comedy Club
[FREE] 9:00 pm: Phoebe Robinson (TV Guide’s 100 TV Shows To See Before You Die and 25 Biggest Reality Star Blunders, Huffington Post), Brent Sullivan (Comedy Central; for video about crying while reading The Giving Tree, please click here), Mark Chalifoux, and Brian Frange performing stand-up in the East Village’s Beauty Bar for this free weekly show hosted by Adam Sokol, Brad Austin, and/or Nate Fridson: Comedy at the Beauty Bar
[FREE] 9:00 pm: Typically sharp stand-ups (not announced this week) performing at Brooklyn’s Knitting Factory (361 Metropolitan Avenue) typically hosted by the wonderful Hannibal Buress: Comedy Night
9:00 pm ($5): Improv veterans Brandon Gardner, Chelsea Clarke, and Phillip Jackson hosting & performing in a show at UCB East with guest improvisors: Improv Nerds
[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): All-gal storytelling show of “true tales with feelings; so many feelings…,” tonight starring Ophira Eisenberg (brilliant storyteller with notable bangs; Comedy Central, VH1, Showtime, host of NPR’s trivia/puzzle show Ask Me Another), Malaika Gordon, and Anita Flores at The PIT upstairs theatre hosted by Caitlin Brodnick and Lisa Kleinman: Shut Up: An All-Female Storytelling Show
9:30 pm ($5): Magnet sketch comedy teams Jacktown, Risky Bottom, Breakfast for Dinner, and Dispacho try out new material at this show with the on-the-nose title Magnet Sketch Teams
9:30 pm ($1): Open-mic stand-up, with four minutes per comic, at The PIT downstairs lounge hosted by Molly Austin & Mike Brown: Vicious Cycle
[TOP PICK] [$] 9:45 pm ($14 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Killer line-up of Judah Friedlander (one of the quickest minds in comedy; 30 Rock, Meet the Parents, Along Came Polly, author of How to Beat Up Anybody), Todd Barry (David Letterman, Conan O’Brien, Comedy Central Presents, FX’s Louie, HBO’s Flight of the Conchords and Bored to Death, Adult Swim, feature films The Wrestler and Pete Smalls is Dead), Marina Franklin (developing into one of the finest stand-ups in the country, with an uncommonly gentle, graceful style that’s pure joy; Last Comic Standing, Chappelle’s Show, Craig Ferguson, VH1, Comedy Central’s Premium Blend), Louis Katz (Jimmy Fallon, HBO, Comedy Central Presents), Tony Woods (David Letterman), and more performing at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane): Todd Barry, Judah Friedlander, Marina Franklin, and More
10:00 pm ($5): 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
From legendary NYC comedy site Brooklyn Vegan: If you want to know what is happening in NYC comedy on a particular day, you gotta get hip to this dude Hy Bender and his site Best New York Comedy. The site is updated daily and features a super exhaustive look at what is happening in the NYC comedy world that particular day. The site is updated religiously…It is your daily comedy itinerary and it scares me how on top of his shit this guy is.
