Comedy in NYC This Week

Photo

Our guide to stand-up, improv and variety shows.

JEN KIRKMAN at the Highline Ballroom (Sept. 21, 8 p.m.). You may recognize Jen Kirkman from television’s “Chelsea Lately,” “Drunk History” or “@midnight.” Now, she’s on the road with her “All New Material, Girl” tour. This brassy comedian can deliver a one-two punch one minute and dive deep into an extended metaphor the next. It all feels more like gossiping with a funny friend than witnessing a seasoned professional.
212-414-5994, highlineballroom.com

‘LITERATI: A COMEDY SHOW ABOUT THE GREATEST AMERICAN NOVELS NEVER WRITTEN’ at Union Hall (Sept. 21, 9:30 p.m.). This regular live show and podcast welcomes new comedians each month to read a selection of literature, real or imagined, in character and in costume. This month the guest headliners are Jacqueline Novak, who doles out Jane Austen-like wit with the self-assurance of Jane Eyre, and Jaboukie Young-White, whose Twitter feed could be compiled into a best-selling book of aphorisms.
718-638-4400, unionhallny.com

‘PICTURE THIS!’ at Union Hall (Sept. 16, 5 p.m.). At this event, part of the Eugene Mirman Comedy Festival, cartoonists and comedians join forces, adding a touch of visual flair to stand-up. Animators will illustrate the sets of guests — including Reggie Watts, Clare O’Kane, Mehran Khaghani and others — on a screen behind them. The fun is twofold: The comedians can’t see what’s being drawn, and no one ever knows just how far the art will go.
718-638-4400, unionhallny.com

‘SKETCH CRAM!’ at Upright Citizens Brigade Theater Chelsea (Sept. 16, 11:59 p.m.). Once a month, the Upright Citizens Brigade invites performers from all over to spend a frenzied 24 hours putting together an all-new sketch comedy show by the midnight start time. In this installment, writers and actors from “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” are the participants, and the Roots won’t be there to save them with a musical break should things go awry.
212-366-9176, chelsea.ucbtheatre.com

‘STARTALK LIVE!’ at Kings Theater (Sept. 18, 8 p.m.). StarTalk, Neil deGrasse Tyson’s podcast about space, science and pop culture, comes alive on the Kings Theater stage, with Eugene Mirman, a frequent guest on the show, hosting alongside the astrophysicist. The guests for this engagement are the inimitable Whoopi Goldberg, and Michael Ian Black of “Wet Hot American Summer.”
800-745-3000, kingstheatre.com

‘TAMARA AND ADRIAN’S TAROT VARIETY SHOW’ at PIT Loft (Sept. 16, 9:30 p.m.). In the luxury wellness world, writes Caroline Tell in The Times, facets of New Age ideas and beliefs have penetrated the everyday, with crystals now as common as yoga and green juice. Can tarot cards be far behind? Adrian Sexton and Tamara Young do their part with this monthly variety show preceded by free tarot readings starting at 8:30 p.m.
212-563-7488, thepit-nyc.com

‘THESE COMEDIANS WOULD RATHER BUY A NEW AIR CONDITIONER THAN REPAIR THEIR OLD ONE’ at Bell House (Sept. 15, 10 p.m.). A comedy show with a lineup this packed with talent can make you feel truly blessed, as if you were on a subway ride with no delays or distressing smells. The comedians Chris Gethard and Eugene Mirman welcome Gary Gulman, Jo Firestone, Janelle James, Josie Long and Reggie Watts for this event, part of the tenth annual Eugene Mirman Comedy Festival.
718-643-6510, thebellhouseny.com

Continue reading the main story