Best comedy events in NYC: Critics’ picks

NYC's unbeatable comedy bastion moved its Chelsea HQ to Hell's Kitchen in late 2017. Expect the same steady lineup of bonkers improv, sketch and solo shows every night from young and veteran performers. 

Claustrophobes, beware: It gets crowded down here, especially on weekends, thanks to the immense popularity of this Village standby. Big names from Amy Schumer to Aziz Ansari will drop by for a set and on any given night, you can expect to see other local greats whose acts are more X-rated than at other clubs (and who will distract you from your bachelorette-partying neighbors).

Serious libations and serious laughs collide at this comedy club–restaurant hybrid in Gramercy. Sons of Essex’s Seth Levine turns out comfort-food spins—like cheeseburger pot stickers and duck-topped pizzas—in the upstairs dining room. After dinner, head downstairs to the club, where you can sip cocktails designed by Minetta Tavern vets, while catching regular acts like Louis C.K., Jim Gaffigan and Tracy Morgan. Test your stand-up knowledge and try to name all the comedians on the wallpaper in the bathrooms. 

This free weekly getdown from Carolyn Busa, Julia Shiplett, Ben Wasserman and Emily Winter is a reliable night for solid laughs and surprise stars in Crown Heights. 

Forget Game of Thrones, forget laundry night, forget your dayjob in the morning: Sunday nights now belong to Marie Faustin, Sydnee Washington and Aminah Imani. The trio of stand-up supremes give you looks, life and a top-tier comedy showcase every week. Stay sharp and look fresh. You're about to witness the best night of comedy in New York. 

At this masterful showcase, Trump Lear actor David Carl takes his impression of the president to disturbing, mesmerizing new levels. At this epic gambit, he unleashes an armada of deranged characters, from Miss Piggy to Nick Nolte. Don't miss the daring mix of character sketches, games, challenges and beyond from the singular performer. 

When stand-up Zach Zimmerman embarked on a career in comedy, his mother advised him to keep it clean. His flagrant disobediance has led to quite a hot streak, with an opening gig in March for Alyssa Edwards and the release of his #1 album Clean Comedy in April. For this special World Pride celebration, he gives you some much-needed laughs in between the hard parties. 

Fresh off of turns in HBO's High Maintenance and Boots Riley's Sorry to Bother You, the queen of cringe-worthy social satire takes over the Bell House for a night of surreal, upsetting and too-real observations and characters. Think before you laugh—she's probably making fun of you.

Some stars are made to shine over New York. Witness Cole Escola, the disturbingly talented character incubator as he gifts us with severely funny experiments from his downtown throne. Be sure to grab your tickets quick; Escola's fanbase gets more fiendish by the year. 

Twice a week, after closing time, 20 people crowd into the city’s oldest magic shop, Tannen’s, for a cozy evening of prestidigitation by the young and engaging Noah Levine. The shelves are crammed with quirky devices; there's a file cabinet behind the counter, a mock elephant in the corner and bins of individual trick instructions in plastic covers, like comic books or sheet music. The charm of Levine's show is in how well it fits the environment of this magic-geek chamber of secrets. As he maneuvers cards, eggs, cups and balls with aplomb, he talks shop, larding his patter with tributes to routines like the Stencel Aces and the Vernon Boat Trick—heirlooms of his trade that he gently polishes and displays for our amazement.

Emmy-winning former Late Show writer Ted Greenberg performs an hour of boisterous interactive stand-up that ends with one audience member being whisked home in a taxi by Greenberg, who is a licensed NYC cabdriver.

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. We asked the very funny New Yorker to share the gritty details of life from gig to gig—including his favorite fast food restaurants between sets and what it’s like meeting fans on the road. Workload If I'm in New York I average out at about two shows per night. This is including nights where I'll only have one and nights when I try to cram in three to four. Those nights are usually a mess and end with nearly everyone being mad at me for screwing with the timing of the show. There are some moments in my career when I'm not working on a ton of material and let myself relax a little bit. With the album and the special dropping back to back like they did, I'm currently panic-writing new material, so I'm grabbing at all the stage time I can get. Transportation It all depends on how much time I have to get to my next show, and where the show is at. This city is complicated, because taking a cab is not always the quickest option. Especially if I'm schlepping from Brooklyn to Manhattan, which happens frequently. Not to be a bitch, but I'm lucky to be at a place in my career where I can afford to take a Lyft if I have the time and I don't want to deal with the train. Sometimes I just like t

For a night of killer laughs from a great variety of acts, look no further than this weekly getdown at VSPOT, hosted by Gianmarco Soresi and Jay Schmidt. Past guests have included Aparna Nancherla, Christian Finnegan, Jena Friedman, Mark Normand and more. 

Left Unmediated, some celebrity feuds can go on forever. Thankfully, very funny New Yorkers Christi Chiello and Matteo Lane have arrived to settle scores. At their brilliant and bonkers monthly show Battle of the Divas, they invite local comics to debate over the clothes, talents and histrionics of supreme queens like Cher, Madonna, Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey, all with shady commentary from Lane and Chiello. Before the Taylor Swift vs. Katy Perry edition at New York Comedy Festival on November 7, the duo face off on boy bands, pop icons and the greatest rivalry of all: NYC pizza vs NYC bagels.  

Jo Firestone and her Rodney Dangerfield impersonator father, Fred, host this beloved competition, in which the first 18 individuals or duos to sign up at the door attempt to pun-up each other’s spontaneously-produced wordplay. Winners are determined by the Human Clap-O-Meter and go home with a Mystery Box prize. Get ready to laugh—and groan. 

Head to a beloved West Village music shop for a banging musical comedy blowout every month. Host Max Stalker-Wilde and his big band welcome a lineup of stand-ups and musical guests to tear the roof off the classic venue every month. Show up early, save a seat and BYOB: You're in for a party. 

The only thing thing better than reading a celebrity's innermost thoughts is having another celebrity read them to you. Major comedic actors prick the bubble of autobiographical puffery by performing droll, verbatim readings from stars' memoirs in Eugene Pack’s acclaimed series. The cast on July 15 includes Susan Lucci, Rachel Dratch, John Fugelsang, Ralph Macchio, Julia Macchio, and Dayle Reyfel.

This long-running, hilarious hour of hastily written sketch comedy brings together some of the city’s most bold, batshit performers. If you’re looking for the definitive wild night at UCB, you’ll find it with this manic mash-up.