Comedy
New York City’s best guide to comedy clubs, stand-up comedy, comedy venues and comedy events
The best comedy shows in NYC this week
Want to be in the cult of comedy? These get-downs at comedy clubs in NYC feature some of the city’s best and most diverse comedians taking the stage and doing what they do best. So whether you’re into regular open-mic nights or insane sketch comedy, we’ve got you covered. Some of the best NYC comedy podcast stars are known to make surprise appearances at these shows, so keep your eyes open…
The best comedy shows in NYC this month
Sure, you could stay home and watch the best stand-up comedians’ specials, or you could head out to the best comedy clubs in NYC and see some world-class performances in person. Below you’ll find our picks of the absolute best shows happening this month, from improv to open mic nights and everything in-between.
Time Out New York's Comedians to Watch 2019
Washington is a madhouse and Hollywood is just as complacent as ever, which means that many of the big issues of today are hashed out in the comedy arena—a supposed bastion of free expression that more often devolves into an animus house for frustrated straight men. But NYC is, once again, at the center of a massive shift towards inclusive, smart, relevant comedy that is actually funny. Here are five acts at the vanguard of the new comedy institution.
Comedian of the year: Marcia Belsky looks back on a harrowing 2018
Since she started in stand-up, Marcia Belsky has never shied away from a fight. In 2018, as Belsky and Melissa Stokoski launched and toured their brilliant parody, Handmaid’s Tale: The Musical, the private battles that women comedians face became more public—and the backlash was brutal. We spoke with Belsky about Louis CK, engaging with trolls and the next generation of comedy.
The best comedy shows by women in NYC
The days of schlubby male stand-ups in sweatpants complaining about their girlfriends are (hopefully) over, at least in NYC. Women-identifying, trans and nonbinary performers have taken over NYC's best comedy clubs, and we couldn't be happier. Here's our handy guide for shows going down in Brooklyn, Queens and Manhattan.
Upcoming NYC comedy events
Best comedy events in NYC: Critics’ picks
Amanda Duarte: Staying Alive
Satan's Alley may sound like an apt description for our present political circumstances, but it's also the name of the fictional musical in the lurid, outrageous Saturday Night Fever sequel Staying Alive. And, 35 years later, it's the inspiration for Amanda Duarte's raw, intensely revealing new show. The writer and Dead Darlings host puts the inferno of her personal life in perspective with the great garbage fire of American discourse and sets us straight for the battles to come. Not to be missed.
Not Dead Yet
Someday soon, graduate students will pen analyses of the brilliant, blink-and-you'll-miss-it comedy of Lorelei Ramirez, Amy Zimmer and Ana Fabrega. Fortunately,you get to see the three idiosyncratic artists on the same night for just a few ducats. Join them for a night of stand-up, videos and more, featuring guests Francesca D'Uva, James Sprang, Carlos Hernandez and Peter BD.
Michelle Collins: Strong Monster
Thank God, she's back. The Joan Rivers of her generation hits Joe's Pub with stories, songs and slides from a life too off-the-rails for a reality TV show. Keep up with fast-paced stories of a Miami childhood, celebrity run-ins and dating disasters, featuring musical accompaniment by Kenny Mellman. Not to be missed.
Top comedy stories
Sydnee Washington revisits her years as a hard-partying bottle girl
Sydnee Washington may be one of NYC’s most in-demand stand-ups, but living the dream isn’t always lucrative. In her one-woman show, Death of a Bottle Girl, the ferociously funny cohost of The Unofficial Expert podcast returns to the wild decade she spent as a high-earning cocktail server.
Stand-up Kate Wolff launches her rap video Labia Game and her album 11:11
Stand-up comedian. Single Mom. Healer. Tarot reader. And now...rapper? As Kate Wolff triumphantly launches her hilarious, totally-empowering rap video "Labia Game," along with her debut stand-up album 11:11, the goddess of dirty comedy tells us about her journey from telling jokes to spitting flow.
Joel Kim Booster on dating fans and his new comedy album Model Minority
When it comes to hustling, nobody does it like Joel Kim Booster. You can often see the sharp and shady stand-up—who just released a Comedy Central special and the album Model Minority—at multiple venues every night, making merciless observations on race, politics and the secrets of his sex life.
