Comedy in NYC This Week

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

MARIO CANTONE at Café Carlyle (June 20-23, 8:45 p.m.). Probably most famous for his turn as Anthony on “Sex and the City” and his time as a host of “The View,” Mr. Cantone is also a three-decade veteran of stand-up. His rapid-fire comedy touches on both his personal life and pop culture (impressions of classic celebrities like Liza Minnelli, Joan Rivers and Julia Child are staples of his sets).
212-744-1600, ticketweb.com

INDIE TEAM CAGEMATCH TOURNAMENT at Theater for the New City (June 19-21, 7:30 and 9 p.m.; June 22, 7:30 and 9:30 p.m.). Every year 24 improv teams compete against each other as part of this weeklong tournament in which groups are selected to advance to the next round by audience vote. The champion will earn a coveted spot on the schedule of the 19th-annual Del Close Marathon, an Upright Citizens Brigade-hosted weekend of improv beginning on June 23.
212-366-9176, newyork.ucbtheatre.com

QUEERCOM 2017 at the Peoples Improv Theater (June 16-18). Every year, the PIT hosts this weekend of queer-inspired comedy before New York’s gay pride celebrations. The festival will feature improv, stand-up, sketch, drag, storytelling, music, screenings and panels. Highlights include the stand-up and improv show “CPT: Comedy People’s Time”; the hip-hop improv group North Coast; Molly Dykeman’s new solo show, “Power to the Mullet!”; the political sketch troupe Buzz Off, Lucille; and the improv team Punch!
212-563-7488, thepit-nyc.com

‘TOMMY McNAMARA’S SUMMER BEACH BASH’ at Union Hall (June 19, 8 p.m.). Tommy McNamara hosts this summer spectacular in which he will try to the write the 2017 song of the summer live onstage. The top lineup will include the fast-rising stand-up Aparna Nancherla, who can be seen on the new season of Netflix’s “Master of None”; Jo Firestone, a writer for “The Tonight Show” whose half-hour stand-up special will debut on Comedy Central in the fall; and Joe List, a host of the “Tuesday With Stories” podcast; as well as Langston Kerman and Kyle Ayers.
718-638-4400, unionhallny.com

‘STARLIGHT: A BACKYARD COMEDY EXPERIENCE’ at 243 Irving Avenue, Apartment 1L (June 17, 8:30 p.m.). Anthony Kapfer and Lucas Connolly will host this stellar night of free stand-up in the backyard of their Bushwick apartment. Performers include Frank Conniff, one of the stars of “Mystery Science Theater 3000”; Myq Kaplan, a sharp-witted stand-up whose latest album, “No Kidding,” was released in February; and Emmy Blotnick, a writer for Comedy Central’s new late-night series “The President Show,” as well as Krystyna Hutchinson, Ben Kronberg and Kerry Coddett.
eventbrite.com

‘THANK YOU FOR COMING OUT’ at Magnet Theater (June 19; 7:30, 9 and 10:30 p.m.). The centerpiece of this evening of comedy is an improv show featuring two coming-out stories, each followed by an improvised set based on that story. (One of the sets will be musical improv.) The first show of the night is Palette, a sketch and character show featuring lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer performers; after that is Spectrum, a storytelling show. Proceeds from all the shows benefit Lambda Legal, an organization that supports gay rights and people living with H.I.V.
212-244-8824, magnettheater.com

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