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Anthony Atamanuik pokes offensive fun in The Tony Show: St. Patrick’s Alcoholism Spectacular…
…and Chris Gethard improvises with Tami Sagher in Sagher & Gethard
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] 7:00 pm ($10): Meghan O’Neill has such a strong command of voice and movement that in a sketch in 2011 she managed to convincingly evoke a dozen pop culture figures in under 30 seconds. O’Neill is also a sharp writer, bringing a groundedness and underlying meaning to even the silliest of scenarios. O’Neill is a member of the acclaimed Story Pirates, but it’s especially terrific to see her go solo—which she’ll do tonight in the debut of this one-women at The PIT upstairs theatre: This Is It
7:00 pm ($5): Michael Antonucci & Yoni Lotan Sharp perform a sketch-based one-act about buddies being on the road at the UCB Chelsea theatre: License to Chill
[FREE] 7:00 pm to midnight: Five free hours of young improvisors performing at The PIT downstairs lounge:Free Improv Monday
7:00 pm ($5): Improvisors take a single (but large) location and explore the many characters who might populate it. “What begins as a collection of disparate scenes across various sub-locations will slowly close in on itself as intersecting storylines converge, the boundaries of space and time are stretched, and we show you firsthand how small the world can be” at The Magnet theatre: Small World
[FREE] 7:30 pm: Four improvisers form teams with comics they’ve never performed with before at The Creekupstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City: The Kaleidoscope
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): Tami Sagher (former writer for 30 Rock; writer and producer for Mad TV 2001-2006) and Chris Gethard (comedy genius; The Office, Broad City, IFC; star of The Chris Gethard Show; author of bestsellerA Bad Idea I’m About to Do and Weird New York) perform duo improv at the UCB Chelsea theatre: Sagher & Gethard
[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm ($12 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Great lineup of 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), Kevin Meaney (Saturday Night Live, 30 Rock, HBO, Comedy Central, Adult Swim), Gary Gulman (David Letterman, Jay Leno, Last Comic Standing, Tourgasm, Comedy Central hour-long special), Big Jay Oakerson (Comedy Central Presents, Louie, HBO, Showtime, MTV, IFC), Jeff Lamp (Jay Leno, Comedy Central), and Modi (Comedy Central) performing stand-up at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane) hosted by Ardie Fuqua (HBO’s Bad Boys of Comedy, Comedy Central): Todd Barry, Kevin Meaney, Gary Gulman, Big Jay Oakerson, and More
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($10): TV & Broadway star Colin Quinn, Emmy Blotnick (blogger for Jimmy Fallon, MTV’sNikki and Sara Live, VH1′s Best Week Ever), and Josh Gondelman (G4′s Attack of the Show) performing stand-up at The PIT upstairs theatre hosted by Griffin Newman and/or Andrew Tavin: The Awooga Comedy Hour: Colin Quinn and More
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): Brilliantly innovative comic Anthony Atamanuik (Death by Roo Roo, 30 Rock, Conan O’Brien, The Nights of Our Lives) plays oddball characters in a mix of sketch and improv, aided by producer Andy Rocco, tonight “honoring the death of Saint Patrick by gathering the greatest drunks in history to entertain you. Come drunk, blitzed, and tanked. Tony will make sure to make you look at the failure that is your life. With special guests including Billy Joel” (not actually…); plus stand-up or sketch from Amber Nelson (fearless, innovative rising star; Comedy Central; sketch troupes Murderfist and The Prom, co-host of The Dream Show) and Phil Hanley (Jay Leno, Comedy Central), all performing at the UCB East theatre: The Tony Show: St. Patrick’s Alcoholism Spectacular
8:00 pm ($8 at the door or $9.47 online): Ophira Eisenberg (Comedy Central, VH1, Showtime, The Today Show, host of NPR’s trivia/puzzle show Ask Me Another, bestselling book being made into movie Screw Everyone), Michelle Wolf (staff writer for Seth Meyers; MTV’s Girl Code, IFC), Adam Newman (David Letterman, Comedy Central, MTV, host of Big Long Sets), DC Benny (Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central, ABC’s The Unusuals), Matteo Lane (Keith and the Girl), and Raj Sivaraman (ImprovBoston) performing stand-up at Brooklyn’s Littlefield(622 Degraw Street) guest-hosted by the Kondabolu Brothers: Night Train
[FREE] 8:00 pm: Comedic storytellers Lynn Bixenspan, Sharif Ali, J LaLonde, and Harmon Leon performing, and drinking, at Fontana’s (105 Eldridge Street) for this monthly show hosted by Jake Hart & Bodger Millerd:Antagonist Storytelling Series
[FREE] 8:00 pm: Four improvisers form teams with comics they’ve never performed with before at The Creekupstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City: The Kaleidoscope
8:30 pm ($5): A one-man sketch show from Michael Lutton about “modern poetry, the Protestant Reformation, the culture of the Senate, and Star Trek: The Next Generation” at The Magnet theatre: A Man For One, Maybe Two, Seasons
[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): Two UCB Chelsea house sketch groups try out new material: Ripley (which includes brilliant comedic writer Marguerite Spellman and Death By Roo Roo member Dan Black) and Absolutely (which includes stellar comic Bridey Elliot): Maude Night: Ripley and Absolutely
9:30 pm ($5): Improv veterans Brandon Gardner, Chelsea Clarke, Phillip Jackson, and/or Steve Theiss hosting & performing in a show at UCB East with guest improvisors: Improv Nerds
[TOP PICK] [$] 10:00 pm ($12 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Great lineup of Dave Attell (one of the most respected stand-ups in the biz; star of Showtime’s Dave’s Old Porn and Comedy Central’s Insomniac; HBO, David Letterman, Conan O’Brien, Jay Leno, The Daily Show, Comedy Central Presents), Mark Normand (one of the finest stand-ups in the country; Conan O’Brien, Comedy Central Half Hour, Last Comic Standing; opens for Amy Schumer; co-host of Hot Soup and We’re All Friends Here), Nick Griffin (David Letterman, Jay Leno, Comedy Central Presents), Carmen Lynch (David Letterman, Last Comic Standing finalist, Comedy Central), Rachel Feinstein (finalist on Last Comic Standing; Comedy Central, HBO, The Apprentice, opens for Sarah Silverman on tour), Ryan Hamilton (Conan O’Brien, Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central, Showtime), Andrew Schulz (MTV’sGuy Code, Girl Code, Failosophy), and Godfrey (Comedy Central Presents, Louie, 30 Rock, VH1; films Zoolander, Original Gangsters, Soul Plane) performing stand-up at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane) hosted by Ardie Fuqua (HBO’s Bad Boys of Comedy, Comedy Central): Dave Attell, Mark Normand, Nick Griffin, Carmen Lynch, Rachel Feinstein, and More
[TOP PICK] [FREE] 10:00 pm: Mike Lawrence (nerd persona but razor-sharp mind has made this stand-up a rapidly rising star; Conan O’Brien, Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central Half Hour, John Oliver’s NY Stand-Up, comedy album Sadamantium), Giulia Rozzi (Jimmy Kimmel, Chelsea Lately, writer for MTV’s Girl Code, VH1, Playgirl Magazine, co-host of Dive Comedy and Stripped Stories), Pete Davidson (MTV’s Guy Code), Aaron Berg (TV series24 Hour Rental, documentary A Universal Language), Chloe Hilliard, Frank Liotti, Chrissie Mayr, and Fariaz Rabbani performing for this free weekly stand-up show at The Stand Comedy Club (239 Third Avenue & 20th Street) hosted by Michael Kosta: Frantic Mondays: Mike Lawrence, Giulia Rozzi, and More
10:00 pm ($5): Magnet Instructors Louis Kornfeld and Rick Andrews pair together for one night of improvisation as comedy duo Kornfeld & Andrews
[TOP PICK] [FREE] 11:00 pm: Some of the finest comics in the world—who aren’t announced in advance, but it’s virtually always a great lineup—at UCB Chelsea hosted by the wonderful Leo Allen: Whiplash
Monday 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 theStand Up NY Comedy Club (236 West 78th Street): Stand Up NY Open Mic
6:00 pm & 8:00 pm (no cover, 1 drink min. 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: An open-mic stand-up show, with 10 comics each performing for 5 minutes, at The Creekupstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City hosted by Abigoliah Schamaun & Peggy O’Leary: Dicks Open Mic
[TOP PICK] [FREE] 6:30 pm: Open-mic storytelling, with names drawn out of a bucket at UCB East in the bar area (“Hot Chicks Room”), hosted by Julia Wiedeman: Happy Hour Open-Mic Storytelling with Julia Wiedeman
[FREE] 6:30 pm: Open-mic stand-up, with 20 comics each performing for 5 minutes (sign-up starts at 6:15 and ends at 8:30) at Brooklyn’s Muchmore’s (2 Havemeyer Street) hosted by Dan Fox (reserve a spot by emailing him at danmaxfox@gmail.com): Muchmore’s Stand-Up 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 Monday to sign up; or take a chance at lottery sign-up live between 6:45 and 7:45 at Brit Pack Studios (153 Lafayette Street, 3rd Floor) hosted by Tim Duffy:Comics Phoning It In
[FREE] 7:00 pm: An open-mic stand-up show, with 10 comics each performing for 5 minutes, at Brooklyn’sColony (274 4th Avenue) hosted by Emily Winter: Sparky the Dog Open Mic
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 One and One Bar’s Downstairs Nexus Lounge (76 1st Street, corner of First Avenue) hosted by Nathan P., followed by a raucous afterparty with dancing & drink specials from 10:00 to midnight: Inspired Word’s Open Mic Joint
[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
[FREE] 11:00 pm: Improv students are welcomed onto the stage at The PIT downstairs lounge for this weekly open access show hosted by Gary DeNoia & Langston Belton: Base Jam
Best Inexpensive Stand-Up, Improv, Sketch, and Storytelling
Upright Citizens Brigade Chelsea
(307 West 26th Street; 150-seater; shows free-$10; one of the most respected comedy theatres in the world)
Upright Citizens Brigade East
(153 East 3rd Street; 99-seat main theatre, bar area for open mics; shows free-$10)
The PIT
(123 East 24th Street; 99-seat upstairs theatre, 40-seat downstairs theatre; shows free-$15)
The Magnet
(254 West 29th Street; 60-seat theatre; shows $5-$10)
The Creek and the Cave
(Queens’ Long Island City; 40-seat theatre upstairs, 25 downstairs; virtually all shows free)
Best NYC Stand-Up Comedy Clubs
Comedy Cellar
(117 MacDougal Street; among the finest daily stand-up lineups in the world; 2-item min.)
The Stand
(239 Third Avenue; recent competitor to Comedy Cellar; no drink min.—support this policy!)
Carolines Comedy Club
(1626 Broadway; focuses on the world’s top headliners, who perform hour-long sets; 2-drink min.)
Gotham Comedy Club
(208 West 23rd Street; headliners on weekends, specialty & lineup shows weekdays; 2-drink min.)
Eastville Comedy Club
(85 East 4th Street; strong weekend lineups; no cover using code HyReviews; 2-drink min.)
Greenwich Village Comedy Club
(99 MacDougal Street; convenient if Comedy Cellar’s sold out; no cover using code HyReviews; 2-drink min.)
Comic Strip Live
(1568 Second Avenue, off 81st; Upper East Side club with typically solid lineups; 2-drink min.)
Stand Up NY
(236 West 78th Street, off Broadway; Upper West Side club with typically solid lineups; 2-drink min.)
Laughing Devil
(4738 Vernon Blvd., by #7 train; Queens LIC club, with MST3K-style movie night on Thursdays; 2-drink min.)
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.
