6 Comedy Shows to See Live in November, From Chappelle at the Garden to Margaret Cho
One weekend, six rooms, and Jon Stewart somehow booked in two of them. Here's where to sit in the dark with strangers this month.
By the Heckle Desk · · 2 min read
The first full weekend of November is the busiest stretch the stand-up business has had all year, and it seems to have happened by accident, the way traffic does. Chappelle has the Garden, Boston has its annual charity show, Palm Springs has Pride and a special taping, and the New York Comedy Festival opens on top of all of it. If you've been waiting for a reason to leave the house, here it is. If you've been waiting for a reason not to, the ticket prices will supply one.
These are the six worth the trip, with dates confirmed against the venues and the papers. Prices on the resale sites move around like a cat on a hot stove, so check before you commit. And go in person. A comic on a stage is a man trying to win a fight with five thousand people at once, and you ought to see that at least once before one of you dies.
- 01
Dave Chappelle: Karmageddon (Madison Square Garden, New York, Nov. 6 and 7)
The last two nights of his fall tour, both at 7:30 p.m., and the first one opens the New York Comedy Festival. It's a phone-free show, so your phone goes in a locked Yondr pouch and you have to experience the evening with your own eyes, like a pioneer. Resale prices on Monday started somewhere north of $110, which works out to about a dollar a minute to be told what he thinks.
- 02
New York Comedy Festival (venues across all five boroughs, Nov. 6–15)
The 22nd edition runs ten days with Marc Maron, Ilana Glazer, Ziwe, Sarah Sherman and Jordan Klepper among the headliners. Stand Up For Heroes, marking its 20th year, lands Nov. 9 at David Geffen Hall with Bruce Springsteen, Jon Stewart and Hasan Minhaj. It's the only festival in America where you can see 100 comics and still have to explain to your cousin which one was on TV.
- 03
Comics Come Home 30 (TD Garden, Boston, Nov. 7)
Denis Leary hosts the 30th edition, with John Mulaney, Ray Romano, Jimmy Fallon, Jon Stewart, Leslie Jones and Alex Edelman. Proceeds go to the Cam Neely Foundation for Cancer Care, and the show has raised more than $19 million. Stewart does Boston on Saturday and Lincoln Center on Monday, which is the busiest a semi-retired man has been since the invention of golf.
- 04
Pete Davidson (The Chelsea at the Cosmopolitan, Las Vegas, Nov. 6)
One night, 8 p.m., tickets through Ticketmaster. It's his second Strip date of the year, after the Fontainebleau in April. Las Vegas is a fine town for Davidson. It's the only place in America where nobody asks a man about his personal life, because they're afraid he'll ask about theirs.
- 05
Margaret Cho: Choligarchy (Plaza Theatre, Palm Springs, Nov. 7)
Cho is filming her new special, Choligarchy, during Palm Springs Pride, which runs Nov. 6 through 8. A taping is the best seat in comedy: the comic has to be good twice, and you might end up on camera laughing, which is more than most of us can say for our wedding videos. Chris Tucker also has a Pride-weekend show that Saturday.
- 06
Josh Thomas: Jiggle Jiggle (Underbelly Boulevard, London, Nov. 4–8)
The Please Like Me creator opens a UK run in London before heading to Bristol, Manchester, Leeds and five more cities. If you happen to be in England this week, it's the cheapest way to hear an Australian talk about his feelings without marrying one.