The New York Comedy Festival has brought the biggest laughs to the Big Apple for nearly two decades. Spanning 10 days and featuring over 100 shows across all five boroughs, NYCF has become a massive city-wide gathering of comedy’s top talent.
In 2023, the festival will host comedy veterans such as Conan O’Brien, Nicole Byer and Ilana Glazer, along with the annual Stand Up for Heroes charity event featuring Jon Stewart, Josh Groban, Rita Wilson, Tracy Morgan and The War and Treaty.
Among this year’s star-studded roster, we’ve highlighted some picks that you won’t want to miss. Check out 6 must-see acts from 2023’s New York Comedy Festival below.
Bill Burr Live
Date: November 10
Venue: Madison Square Garden
Bill Burr has proven to have no shortage of new material — his 2023 Bill Burr Live tour follows two 2022 comedy specials, Friends Who Kill and Live at Red Rocks. The Massachusetts native has also hosted the weekly Monday Morning Podcast since 2007, and made on-screen appearances on TV shows Breaking Bad, The Mandalorian and the 2020 movie The King of Staten Island. Burr received his first Grammy nomination for his 2019 comedy special Paper Tiger, and his first Emmy nomination followed in 2022 for his short-form comedy series Immoral Compass. Furthermore, he became the first comedian to perform at Fenway Park in 2022. Burr’s NYCF performance will mark the third time he’s performed at Madison Square Garden.
Get tickets to NY Comedy Festival Presents Bill Burr Live here.
Brett Goldstein: The Second Best Night of Your Life
Dates: November 10, 11 and 12
Venue: Beacon Theatre
Two-time Emmy-winning Ted Lasso star Brett Goldstein has been staying busy with his ongoing Second Best Night of Your Life solo tour across North America. During Goldstein’s break from is role as co-creator, writer and executive producer on Apple TV+’s Shrinking and hosting his long-running podcast Films To Be Buried With, the British actor, writer and seasoned stand up comedian will spend three nights at New York’s Beacon Theatre in a headlining event for the 2023 New York Comedy Festival.
Get tickets to NYCF Presents Brett Goldstein: The Second Best Night of Your Life here.
Sam Morril: The Class Act Tour
Date: November 4
Venue: The Theater at MSG
New York native Sam Morril will be hosting a hometown showcase of his Class Act Tour. The ongoing North American tour shares its name with Morril’s first comedy album, 2015’s Class Act. He has since released four standup specials: 2018’s Positive Influence, 2020’s I Got This, 2021’s Up On the Roof and 2022’s Same Time Tomorrow. As part of the New York Comedy Festival, the We Might Be Drunk podcast co-host will play one of the biggest headlining shows of his career at The Theater at MSG on November 4.
Get tickets to NY Comedy Festival Presents Sam Morril: The Class Act Tour here.
Margaret Cho: Live and Livid!
Date: November 8
Venue: Town Hall
The Grammy and Emmy-nominated Margaret Cho has long been one of the sharpest standup acts in comedy across her three-decade career. Along with her near constant tour schedule that has yielded several comedy albums, including 2004’s Revolution and 2015’s PsyCHO, Cho has written two books and made memorable television appearances on Drop Dead Diva, Sex and the City and 30 Rock. Her 2023 Live and Livid! showcase offers “new material that feels tailor made for these insane times,” according to her tour announcement.
Get tickets to NY Comedy Festival Presents Margaret Cho: Live and Livid! here.
Dave Attell and Friends
Date: November 10
Venue: Town Hall
Dave Attell has helped shaped the New York comedy scene since entering the local standup circuit in the late ’80s. The native New Yorker has hosted shows like Comedy Central’s Insomniac with Dave Attell and Comedy Underground with Dave Attell. Additionally, he’s recorded several one-hour specials, including 2007’s Captain Miserable and 2014’s Road Work. Attell’s NYCF performance at Town Hall on November 10 is billed with Friends, an intriguing addition for the headliner considering his deep rolodex. Over the years, Attell has collaborated with Amy Schumer, Jim Gaffigan, Pete Holmes, Jeff Ross and more.
Get tickets to NY Comedy Festival Presents Dave Attell and Friends here.
Robyn Schall: The Robyn Schall Experience
Date: November 5
Venue: Town Hall
Robyn Schall, the New York-based comedian and host of the Betches Media podcast Call Waiting, is presenting her solo show The Robyn Schall Experience, which she described to the Stamford Advocate as “not your normal stand-up show. It almost feels more like a party; there’s stand-up, there’s videos, there’s games, there’s interaction — it’s a whole event.” Schall released her first comedy album Guilty Pleasure in 2019, and vaulted to global notoriety in 2020 through her popular TikTok channel.
Get tickets to NY Comedy Festival Presents Robyn Schall: The Robyn Schall Experience here.
The 2023 New York Comedy Festival runs from November 3 to 12. Find tickets to all NYCF events here.