Stand Up for Heroes
Theater at MSG; 4 Penn Plz., nr. 32nd St.; 212-465-6741; 11/6 at 8 p.m.
Nothing warms the heart like famous people banding together for a good cause. Jerry Seinfeld, Bruce Springsteen, Jon Stewart, Roger Waters, and more do just that in this benefit for injured service members, veterans, and their families. Your parents would love it if you took them.
Cost: $124-$5,$156. Tickets.
Hannibal Buress
NYU Skirball Center; 566 LaGuardia Pl., at Washington Sq. South; 212-992-8484; 11/6 at 8 p.m.
Buress’s career shoots faster than we can sometimes keep up with. The latest is that he’s signed a multi-platform deal with Comedy Central, encompassing a recurring role on the upcoming series Broad City, an hour-long stand-up special, a national tour, and an unscripted pilot. Tomorrow, who knows.
Cost: Two for $35. Tickets.
Stephen Colbert
The Town Hall; 123 W. 43rd St., nr. Sixth Ave.; 212-840-2824; 11/7 at 8 p.m.
Can we call him America’s Sweetheart? We’re going to. America’s Sweetheart and a panel of writers give us the lowdown on what goes on behind the scenes at The Colbert Report.
Cost: $57.60–$61.75. Tickets.
Wanda Sykes
The Beacon Theater; 2124 Broadway, nr. 74th St.; 212-465-6500; 11/7 at 8 p.m.
You never know what’s gonna come out of the mouth of this Curb Your Enthusiasm star and comedy vet, but it’s always fun to find out.
Cost: $61.50–$99.85. Tickets.
Maria Bamford
NYU Skirball Center; 566 LaGuardia Pl., at Washington Sq. South; 212-992-8484; 11/8 at 8 p.m.
For a preview of her live act, check out Bamford’s Special Special Special!, which was taped before an audience of two—her parents—and drew as many laughs from its awkwardness as for the jokes. Ridiculously original, odd, and confessional.
Cost: $30. Tickets.
W. Kamau Bell
Gramercy Theatre; 127 E. 23rd St., nr. Lexington Ave.; 212-614-6932; 11/8 at 8 p.m.
You’ve seen the sociopolitical comic on TV, even more this season since his show Totally Biased was picked up nightly by the FXX network. Tonight, see him live, with Rob Cantrell.
Cost: $19. Tickets.
David Cross
Paley Center for Media; 25 W. 52nd St., nr. Fifth Ave.; 212-621-6800; 11/8 at 6:30 p.m.
Rob Tannenbaum (Coauthor, I Want My MTV: The Uncensored Story of the Music Video Revolution) moderates this discussion touching on Cross’s creative process and career, from his beginnings on Mr. Show to the never-nude antics of Arrested Development’s Tobias Fünke.Cost: $20–$25. Tickets.
John Mulaney
The Town Hall; 123 W. 43rd St., nr. Sixth Ave.; 212-840-2824; 11/9 at 7 p.m.
A winning combo of innocent looks and dark humor, Mulaney’s breakout stand-up special was called New in Town, even though he’d actually been around for a while. He’s currently working on his new series for Fox and will probably go on to do incredible things, but to us, he’ll always be the co-creator of Stefon on SNL.
Cost: $51–$55 Tickets.
The Rejection Show
Upright Citizen’s Brigade Theater; 307 W. 26th St., nr. Eighth Ave.; 212-366-9176; 11/9 at 10:30 p.m.
Rejection Show auteur Jon Friedman has been busy as of late, with the hit MTV series Guy Code. But sometimes he comes out of hiding to host his popular celebration of failure—from rejected scripts, to rejected hearts.
Cost: $15. Tickets.
Nick Kroll
Paley Center for Media; 25 W. 52nd St., nr. Fifth Ave.; 212-621-6800; 11/9 at 4 p.m.
It’s a good thing they named the comic actor’s parodic series Kroll Show. With his many disguises, we can’t always be sure. A discussion with executive producers and writers Kroll, John Levenstein, and Jonathan Krisel, who also directs episodes.
Cost: $20–$25. Tickets.
Larry David and David Steinberg
The Town Hall; 123 W. 43rd St., nr. Sixth Ave.; 212-840-2824; 11/10 at 7:30 p.m.
Having served as guest host multiple times for The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson, comedian (and subject of the documentary Quality Balls: The David Steinberg Story) Steinberg will no doubt be able to handle the musings of Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm creator Larry David.
Cost: $79–$100. Tickets.
Jenny Slate and Friends
Littlefield; 622 Degraw St., nr. Fourth Ave.; 718-855-3388; 11/10 at 8 p.m.
Actress, comedian, and voice and co-creator of Marcel the Shell With No Shoes On, Jenny Slate may not be back in New York for good, but when she visits, she throws a sweet party. Guests include Nick Kroll and Max Silvestri.
Cost: $15–$20. Tickets.
New York Comedy Writers
Stage 72; 158 W. 72nd St., nr. Amsterdam Ave.; 212-362-2590; 11/10 at 3 p.m.
Comedic writer Alan Zwiebel moderates a panel including Bill Scheft (Late Show With David Letterman), JR Havlan (The Daily Show With Jon Stewart), Chris Henchy (Funny or Die), and Lisa Birnbach (author of The Official Preppy Handbook).
Cost: $20-$25. Tickets.
Hey Ladies
This year the festival gives a serious shout out to the fairer sex, not only with the women in comedy panel with Whitney Cummings, Fran Drescher, Samantha Bee, Delia Ephron, and Linda Bloodworth-Thomason, but shows headlined by the aforementioned Cummings, celeb fiend Kathy Griffin, MTV’s Nikki and Sara (and friends), California comic Ali Wong, a podcast taping by up-and-comer Jen Kirkman, and a HERsterical stand up show featuring SNL’s Vanessa Bayer.