New York comedy this week: five nights for May 20 to May 27, 2026
Five comedy nights in New York this week, May 20 to May 27. Drop-in sets, headlining tours, late shows in tucked-away rooms. The picks below are ranked by who is funny right now.
The full live map is on the New York map. This piece is the editor's cut.
Five comedy nights for the week
Chanel Omari: 40 is the new 20 Comedy Special
Chanel Omari at The Cutting Room in Flatiron, Saturday 8:30pm, free entry. The Long Island comic and former Princesses cast member built her current hour, 40 is the new 20, around the kind of after-the-tabloid material that lands harder live than on Instagram. The Cutting Room is a proper supper-club room, full bar, table service, decent sightlines. Worth knowing the comedy here usually starts later than the listed time. Aim to arrive by 8:15.
Lee Syatt + Chris Brown - Stand-Up at UESC 5/21
Old Man Hustle's Brooklyn outpost, Thursday at 8pm, free. Lee Syatt and Chris Brown are the headliners on a stacked midweek bill that runs eight comics deep before the room turns over. The Old Man Hustle format is famously generous with stage time and unforgiving on hacks, which is the right combination if you want to see who's actually working. Drinks are cheap and the room sits maybe sixty. No reservations. Get there at 7:30.
Babes
Brooklyn Comedy Collective's Pig Pen room on a Sunday at 6:45pm, free at door. Babes is the name of the night, the lineup rotates, and the format is loose enough that you'll see a couple of comics try material that wouldn't survive a paid showcase. BCC has been one of the better feeder rooms for the New York alt-comedy circuit for a while now, and the early-evening Sunday slot pulls a sharper crowd than the late shows. Tip the comics.
Mike Falzone, Sahib Singh, Janeane Garofalo & More!
Janeane Garofalo on a Wednesday night at The Stand. Free admission, 8pm, with Mike Falzone and Sahib Singh on the bill alongside the announced surprise drops. Garofalo still does the New York club circuit when she wants to, and her material at The Stand tends to be looser than the festival sets you've seen on YouTube. The room itself is a proper comedy basement, two-drink minimum, no phones. Reserve a seat by 7. The door line gets long.
Why Are You Single? A Singles Game Show with Marie Faustin - TAPING
Marie Faustin taping the latest season of Why Are You Single at The Bell House. Gowanus, Thursday 7:30pm, free entry on RSVP. Faustin runs the singles game-show format the way the early Comedy Central tapings used to, with audience interaction that actually goes somewhere instead of becoming a writers' room exercise. The Bell House is one of the best independent venues in Brooklyn for this kind of show. Arrive 45 minutes early if you want a seat with a view of the stage.
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