Comedy in NYC This Week

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

JUDD APATOW at Gotham Comedy Club (July 12-13, 9:30 p.m.). Mr. Apatow is best known for establishing the R-rated comedy film in the 21st century, writing and directing movies like “Knocked Up” and “The 40-Year-Old Virgin” as well as producing a slew of television shows, including the HBO series “Girls” and the Netflix series “Love.” Over the past few years he has begun to perform stand-up comedy again, a medium that he left behind decades ago. His next stage appearances will be a pair of headlining sets at this Chelsea comedy club.
212-367-9000, gothamcomedyclub.com

‘JOEL KIM BOOSTER: MODEL MINORITY’ at Ars Nova (July 11-12, 8 p.m.). Mr. Booster is a fast-rising star in the New York stand-up scene, with a half-hour Comedy Central special due in the fall. He will use these two shows to record his first comedy album, calling in help from friends including Patti Harrison, Aaron Jackson, Henry Koperski, Matt Rogers, Josh Sharp, Tiffany Topol and Bowen Yang.
866-811-4111, arsnovanyc.com

‘LAUGHTER IN THE PARK’ at Washington Square Park (July 9, 2 p.m.). Every summer, this free outdoor comedy series offers family-friendly stand-up from some of the best working comics in parks around New York. This year’s first show, at Garibaldi Plaza in Washington Square Park, features comedy from Mark Normand, whose hourlong special “Don’t Be Yourself” debuted on Comedy Central in May; Greer Barnes, a staple of the New York stand-up scene; and Alingon Mitra, a writer and stand-up who appeared on NBC’s “Last Comic Standing.”
nylaughs.com

‘MARY HOULIHAN’S BIG COMEDY SHOW!’ at Our Wicked Lady (July 11, 8 p.m.). Ms. Houlihan will host this eclectic hour of stand-up, sketch, characters, and other delightfully difficult-to-classify comedic bits and pieces. Performers include Jo Firestone, a writer and occasional performer on “The Tonight Show,” and Nate Fernald, whose half-hour special debuted on Comedy Central last year, as well as Sam Taggart, Chris Burns and Eudora Peterson.
ourwickedlady.com

‘MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000’ LIVE at PlayStation Theater (July 8, 6 and 9:30 p.m.). The cult-favorite television show “Mystery Science Theater 3000,” which began as a public-access series centered on making fun of terrible films in the late 1980s, was rebooted by Netflix this year after a fan-funded Kickstarter campaign. Now, a mix of original and new cast members will perform their movie-mocking shtick live on the “Watch Out for Snakes!” tour. Performers include Joel Hodgson, the series’s creator and original host; Jonah Ray, the show’s current host; and Hampton Yount, Rebecca Hanson and Tim Ryder, who will provide the voices of the robot characters Crow, Synthia and Tom Servo.
888-929-7849, playstationtheater.com

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