Pussy Bros. Present Aaron Urist
Friday, September 1, 7 p.m.
El Charrito's Comedy RoomRoom
The Pussy Bros. are a Denver-based standup-comedy supergroup comprising Christie Buchele, Janae Burris and Rachel Weeks, who've united to forge their own path through a historically male-dominated industry. Among the funniest comics in town, the Pussy Bros. have toured the country, co-headlined a comedy festival and now produce a pair of monthly standup showcases. One of the Comedy RoomRoom at El Charrito's earliest successes, the First Friday Pussy Bros. show remains a highlight of the five-star dive bar's increasingly busy entertainment calendar. The September lineup includes local Jake Cambron, Austin's Arielle Norman, Chicago's Basil Faraj and New York's Faisal Alam opening for local crush-smith Aaron Urist. Admission is free, but donations for the comics are always appreciated.
Mile High Movie Roast: Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure
Friday, September 1, and Friday, September 22, 7:30 p.m.
Alamo Drafthouse
Though it's changed names and venues over the years, the Mile High Movie Roast is a Denver comedy institution. Spearheaded by local mirth merchant Harrison Rains, along with a small ensemble of the city's nimblest riffers, the ongoing series screens cult classics and fan favorites ripe for mockery in a Mystery Science Theater 3000-inspired event tailored for comedy-loving cinephiles. Join Rains and September guest comic Timmi Lasley for a most bodacious screening of Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, the goofy time-traveling romp starring Keanu Reeves, Alex Winter and George Carlin. If you can't make the screening on September 1 at the Alamo Drafthouse in Sloan's Lake, don't fret: Rains and Lasley will be holding a repeat performance at the Alamo Drafthouse Littleton on Friday, September 22. Visit Drafthouse.com for tickets, $13 plus fees, and information.
Sexpot Comedy Presents: Andy Haynes
Friday, September 1, 7 p.m., and Saturday, September 2, 8 p.m.
Syntax Physic Opera and Bug Theatre
Andy Haynes is a dynamic standup comedian known for his appearances on Conan, Last Comic Standing and Comedy Central's The Half Hour, as well as his Midnight Run comedy showcase, which gets comedians unreasonably stoned and then lets them sort through the weirdness on stage. A natural fit for the Sexpot Comedy brand, Haynes is in town to headline a Sexpot-branded showcase on September 1 that also includes local comics Emily Zeek, D. Kelly and Mike Stanley at Syntax Physic Opera, 554 South Broadway. Haynes and Sexpot will also bring the Midnight Run showcase to an appreciative and equally stoned Denver audience at the Bug Theatre, 3654 Navajo Street, at 8 p.m. Saturday, September 2. Tickets for the Syntax show, $7, are available via Nightout, and Midnight Run tickets are $10 at the door. Visit sexpotcomedy.com to learn more.
John Mulaney: Kid Gorgeous
Thursday, September 7, 7:30 p.m.
Macky Auditorium, University of Colorado Boulder
After a storied tenure on the writing staff for Saturday Night Live, where he co-created fan-favorite character Stefon with Bill Hader, John Mulaney achieved the pinnacle of comedy stardom with his own eponymous sitcom. Though Mulaney received an indifferent response from critics and was swiftly canceled after its abbreviated first season, its creator and star bounced back with an instant-classic standup special, fittingly called The Comeback Kid. He's also appeared on the Jim Gaffigan Show and Difficult People, and he portrayed the character George St. Geegland on Comedy Bang Bang and Netflix's Oh, Hello on Broadway. Back with a new hour of jokes on the Kid Gorgeous tour, the frequently besuited Mulaney remains one of the sharpest joke-writers of his generation, so don't miss out when he headlines the University of Colorado Boulder's Macky Auditorium at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, September 7; tickets are $35 via Vendini. Mulaney will also be performing at the Pikes Peak Center in Colorado Springs on Saturday, September 9, and after his first show sold out, he's just added a second at the Buell Theatre on November 11. Visit johnmulaney.com for more information.
Mike Epps
Friday, September 8, through Sunday, September 10, 7:30 and 10 p.m.
Denver Improv
After starting out in the fertile comedic breeding ground of Def Jam Comedy, Mike Epps quickly rose from obscurity to become the popular entertainer he is today. Appearing in films such as The Hangover, Next Friday, How High, Girls Trip and Resident Evil: Apocalypse as well as its sequel, Extinction, Epps has a knack for reviving ailing franchises with his comic charisma. As a standup, Epps has released four specials, including Inappropriate Behavior, Funny Bidness and Underrated and Never Faded. With a starring role on the sitcom adaptation of Uncle Buck and a new Friday sequel on the way, Epps shows no signs of slowing down. Be sure to take advantage of the chance to see him live on a local stage; tickets, $35, are available via ticketweb.
Ali Wong
Saturday, September 9, 7 p.m.
Paramount Theatre
Ali Wong is one of the fastest-rising stars in contemporary comedy, thanks to her hilarious debut Netflix special, Baby Cobra. Filmed when she was many months pregnant, there's never been a better showcase for Wong's funny ferocity. After appearing on shows like Fresh Off the Boat and Inside Amy Schumer, as well as lending her voiceover talents to BoJack Horseman, American Dad and The Angry Birds Movie, Wong landed a role as a series regular on ABC's American Housewife and recently got the green light to star in a Netflix original movie that she co-wrote with Randall Park and Michael Golamco. Though Hollywood beckons, Wong is a true master of the stage, so comedy fans shouldn't sleep on getting their tickets, $39.50 to $65 via Altitude Tickets, before this show sells out. Visit aliwong.com to learn more.
Tom Segura: No Teeth, No Entry
Saturday, September 16, 7 and 9:30 p.m.
Paramount Theatre
Tom Segura is gearing up to film his next special, No Teeth, No Entry, and he's doing it at Denver's own Paramount Theatre. A member of the DeathSquad Comedian Network, which includes Duncan Trussell, Joe Rogan and more, Segura has performed on late-night staples such as Comedy Central Presents, Conan and The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson. A podcasting pioneer, Segura started Your Mom's House with his wife and fellow comedian, Christina Pazsitzky, back in 2012, earning a nomination for the First Annual Stitcher Awards. He's turned up on sitcoms like Gary Unmarried and Workaholics, but Segura's skills as a comic raconteur truly shine on his specials Completely Normal and Mostly Stories. Have your laughs recorded for posterity at either the 7 or 9:30 p.m. showcases; tickets are $29.50 to $39.50 via Altitude Tickets. Visit Segura's website to learn more.
Gaybies: The Tinder Date Special
Thursday, September 21, 8 p.m.
Voodoo Comedy Playhouse
Nothing calls for the "yes, and" ethos of improvisation more than working through the inherent awkwardness of a Tinder date. That's the spirit of Gaybies: The Tinder Date Special, an evening of free-form comedy tailor-made for you and your match. Though the troupe has always had a rotating cast, the current iteration of Marina Swain, Matt Brown, Rachael Price, Pam Russell, Ryan Daterri, Michaela Clinton and Catey Brannan has developed a great rapport and puts on spectacularly different shows all over the city. Admission is $8 in advance and $10 at the door; for more on the Gabyies — and to find out what a "Queel" is — visit the Voodoo Comedy Playhouse events calendar.
Action shot from last year's Lucha Libre & Laughs: Ladies Night.
Geoff Decker: Hidden Vision Photography
Friday, September 22
The Oriental Theater
While standup comedy and professional wrestling have been historically regarded as strictly dude-centric purviews, such ideas discount the efforts of distaff comics, wrestlers and fans. Here to correct the record, Denver's Best Comedy Night is honoring womankind with Lucha Libre & Laughs: Smash the Glass Ceiling. With an all-female lineup on the mic and in the ring, the evening promises thrilling bouts between punch paragons such as Allie Gato, Solo Darling, Unholy Trinity, Sage Sin and more with running color commentary from Ian Douglas Terry and Denver Comedy Champion Nathan Lund. With Queen City crushers Allison Rose, Rachel Weeks, Miriam Moreno and headliner Nora Lynch providing the "laughs" side of the equation, the patriarchy is in for a bruisin', and caddish emcee Bobby Valentino may finally get his comeuppance. Learn more and buy tickets, $10, on the Oriental Theater events calendar.
Norm MacDonald
Friday, September 29, and Saturday, September 30, 7:15 and 9:45 p.m.
Comedy Works South
Norm MacDonald is perhaps still best known for his four-year stint on Saturday Night Live, but he's a favorite guest on late-night shows, performing the final standup set ever on the Late Show With David Letterman. He's starred in many movies, including the cult classic Dirty Work and a handful of Adam Sandler films, as well as three television series; he became a judge on Last Comic Standing and also portrayed Colonel Sanders in an avant-garde series of spots for KFC. As a comic, MacDonald's wooly, halting rhythm and bizarre anti-logic pushes the boundaries of the standup form in exciting and unpredictable directions. Norm is in fine form both on his recent special Hitler's Dog, Gossip & Trickery and bonkers new — and heavily fictionalized — book Based on True Story: A Memoir. Visit the Comedy Works events page to learn more and buy tickets, $38.
