Help me see at a show at the NYC UCB

July 7, 2010 6:04 PM

I am going to New York tomorrow and I'd like to see a show at the UCB. How much advanced planning do I need to do for tickets?

My dilemma is that I am traveling with family who aren't interesting in the UCB. In addition our daily agendas aren't nailed down so I'd like to be as flexible as possible. So be that as it may, how often do the later night shows sell out? I know that ASSSSCAT 3000 gives away tickets at 8:15 for the 9:30pm Sunday show. How far in advance of 8:15 do I need to line up to get tickets?

Baring that, any recommendations for a later night comedy, improv or sketch show this Thursday, Friday, Saturday or Sunday?

posted by mmascolino to Travel & Transportation around New York, NY (9 answers total)

It's SUPER-HOT and they will make you WAIT IN LINE OUTSIDE.

There will be a big line.

I never liked the weekend-end shows at the UCB, Friday-Saturday is a madhouse, hit them up Sunday or Thursday.
posted by The Whelk at 6:17 PM on July 7, 2010 [1 favorite]

Can you not reserve tickets?

I can't remember if I did it online or over the phone, but when I went, they had tickets saved for me. The only waiting-in-line I did was for my seats.
posted by AtomicBee at 6:25 PM on July 7, 2010

Tickets are reserved in advance (which you can do on their website once you click on an individual show). Once you arrive at UCB theater, go downstairs and pick up your tickets, then go wait in line.

You should arrive at least 30 minutes (preferably 45 minutes) in advance for a busy show.
posted by BobbyVan at 6:30 PM on July 7, 2010

You might want to check out the Comedy Cellar lineup. Louis CK has been doing shows there a lot recently, though I think Sunday would be your best bet. Their line-up currently only lists through Thursday.

As for ASSSSCAT, I'd say you should get there by 5 if you want to make sure you get seating. If you don't mind standing room, being there by 7 should be fine if you don't want to have to risk going standby. If you're in town for a few days I'd recommend going to Harold night on Tuesdays. The line for that is just about as bad if you are waiting standby. I'd suggest making reservations for that ASAP.

I'm still new to the city so I haven't gotten out to any other places yet, though a little clipping about underground comedy I got from a local paper cites the Karma Lounge, the Magnet Theater, Under St. Marks, the Brooklyn Lyceum, The Creek and the Cave, and 92YTribeca.
posted by gregoryg at 6:40 PM on July 7, 2010

I'll go ahead and amend that to say get to ASSSSCAT before 6, unless you're worried about getting the best seats in the house. Last week I got there at 5 and had ~15 people in front of me and the line grew slowly for the next hour. But my friends and I did get some of the best seats.
posted by gregoryg at 7:04 PM on July 7, 2010

Asscats tough but they have a ton of other great shows. The Pit is also close by.
posted by sweetkid at 7:33 PM on July 7, 2010

I only went once, to what was probably not one of their most popular shows, on a Saturday. We bought tickets in advance, were 10 minutes late for the start, and had no problem standing to watch. In fact, one of us got a seat. The shows don't last that long and even standing isn't that bad as far as view is concerned. Given the tickets are pretty cheap I would buy one in advance and not worry toooo much about getting there absurdly early, especially in the death heat of the summer when the city is pretty dead except for European tourists.
posted by ch1x0r at 7:47 PM on July 7, 2010

It really depends on who's in the show. ASSSSCAT is always very popular and annoying to get into if you don't have an advance reservation for the early show. (I see that they're doing stand-by only for the early show from the web site.)

Can you not reserve tickets?

For some but not all shows you can reserve tickets and pay when you pick up at the door. Often times the advance reservations will sell out and they'll have a standby line.

For the other, non-ASSSSCAT shows, I don't really see anything that appears to be super-popular since none of them feature people who are known via TV or movie work. Charlyne Yi (who starred opposite Michael Cera in Paper Heart) will be at UCB, though, on July 14, but that might be too late for you.

Elsewhere, Hannibal Buress hosts his free Comedy At The Knitting Factory every Sunday at 9pm. I found out about him by seeing him open for Eugene Mirman if that gives an indication as to his style. Judah Friedlander is also at Comix this weekend but shows there are seated, include dinner, and have a two drink minimum, making them more expensive and requiring a bit of planning. I think the bigger issue is that a lot of the indie stand up comedians in NYC are traveling on tour + the summer festival circuit right now.
posted by kathryn at 10:38 PM on July 7, 2010

Death by Roo Roo and Reuben Williams are back-to-back on Saturday night and my favorite current shows. Make a reservation for one or both of them; you don't pay until you show up and claim your reservation. If you can't make your reservation, just call the box office and have them take you off the list.

If you're going by yourself, show up at the theater 20 minutes early and you will almost certainly have no problem getting a single seat. For a seat in the front two rows, be there 30-45 minutes early. If you don't mind standing, just be there before showtime.
posted by schustafa at 6:28 AM on July 8, 2010