Best Comedy Clubs in NYC
Four of the Best New York Comedy Clubs
What are the best comedy clubs in NYC? On any given night, of course, that answer can change, depending on who’s going up on stage. But over the years we’ve found that the four New York comedy clubs listed below, each offering a different sort of NYC comedy club experience, consistently offer the most laughs for the money.
Comedy Cellar Is One of the Best NYC Comedy Clubs
One of the best New York comedy clubs has to be the Comedy Cellar, long packing in tourists and locals alike in the heart of Greenwich Village. Raw, rowdy, and with regular pop-ins like Colin Quinn, Dave Attel, Louis CK, and Dave Chappelle joining the up-and-comers, up there in front of the brick wall, you’re pretty much guaranteed a good, loud, often very rude time. Comedy Cellar is located on a lively stretch of MacDougal Street, between West 3rd Street and Minetta Lane. There are two shows of, usually, five or so comedians, every Sunday through Thursday night, three shows on Friday night, and four on Saturday. For more information and a look at tonight’s line-up, click here.
Comic Strip Live NYC Comedy Club
Another top comedy club in New York City is the Comic Strip, often as raucous as the Comedy Cellar, but located on the more refined Upper East Side. Comic Strip live alumni include such stellar stand-ups as Chris Rock, Jerry Seinfeld, Adam Sandler, Carol Leifer and Ray Romano–all of whom have been know to stop by for a surprise set or two–but what really makes this one of the best comedy clubs in NYC is the excellent quality level of the new talent the club’s well-connected bookers always seem to land. The Comic Strip is located on Second Avenue between 81st and 82nd Street. For complete details and a look at who will be on stage tonight, click here.
Carolines Comedy Club NYC
For a different kind of NYC comedy club experience, there’s the glitz and polish of Carolines Comedy Club on Broadway, one of the largest (and fanciest) such venues in town. Big names regularly perform for several nights in a row at this dinner-theater-style club, which this fall will include Nick DiPaulo, Gilbert Gottfried and Norm MacDonald. The prices are a bit higher than other New York comedy clubs, the audience thick with out-of-towners (it is in Times Square, after all), but any A-list stand-up act passing through the City usually stops here for a show or three, so it’s always worth checking. Carolines Comedy Club is located on Broadway between 50th and 49th Streets. For prices, menus and info about tonight’s show, click here.
Upright Citizens Brigade May Be The Best Comedy Club in NYC
Finally, the best New York comedy club can’t really be considered a “club” at all. Yes, performers at the Upright Citizens Brigade in Chelsea have included Conan O’Brien, Tina Fey, Will Ferrell, and Mike Meyers–as well as dozens of other writers and performers on just about every great comedy show you can think of, from Saturday Night Live to the Daily Show to The Office–but never for more than $8 a seat. And, yes, they serve drinks at the UCB Theater, but there’s no minimum, and everything’s moderately priced. And at the UCB Theater you’re much more likely to see wildly creative longform improv or sketch routines than some stale stand-up. So if you want the best comedy clubs in NYC with an edge, if you want to see something you’ve never seen before, the Upright Citizens Brigade is your ticket to a memorable, and shockingly inexpensive, night on the town. The UCB Theater is located on 26th Street, just West of 8th Avenue. For much more about the Upright Citizens Brigade–including info on their famed improv and sketch classes–click here.
Posted in NYC Events |
