Week of May 8-14, 2025

By Jason Pomietlasz
(Image above: Brian Regan, who will be performing at Buffalo State’s Rockwell Hall)

We are in the second fiscal quarter of the year, if you haven’t already seen live comedy, now is the time.

Thursday, May 8

Buffalo Improv House, 255 Great Arrow Ave., Suite 207, Buffalo.
Improv Mixer, a relaxed environment to try out improv or just to watch. Sign-ups at 7:15 p.m., 7:30 start. $5 suggested or pay what you can. 

Mr. Goodbar, 1110 Elmwood Ave, Buffalo, 8 p.m.
Open mic comedy on the second floor. Sign-ups at 7 p.m,  Free. 

Friday – Saturday, May 9 – 10 

Helium Comedy Club, 30 Mississippi Street, Buffalo, tickets $35.99 – 50.99.
Lisa Ann Walter will perform four shows at Helium; her 7 p.m., Friday show is sold out. Most people know Walter’s as Melissa Schemmenti from “Abbott Elementary” but before that she spent 10 years headlining clubs and her first televised standup set was on “It’s Showtime at the Apollo,” where she turned a skeptical crowd into a cheering one. 

Friday, May 9

Buffalo Improv House, 255 Great Arrow Ave., Suite 207, Buffalo.
Improv Collider, two of the BIH’s house teams perform on a double bill. 7 p.m., tickets $10. 

Castles and Creatures, an improv show inspired by everyone’s favorite role playing game. 8 p.m., tickets starting at $14.

The New Friday Mixer, same as Thursday’s mixer, just a later time. 9:30 p.m., $10 suggested. 

Buffalo Comedy Collective, 155 Chandler Street, Buffalo.  
Comedy Sportz match-up. Two teams “competitively” play short form improv games with suggestions from the audience, who also decides the winner. 7:30 p.m., tickets $18. 

Improv Jam, improvisers of all experience levels are welcome for a $5 bucket jam. Just show up, put your name in the bucket for a chance to perform multiple times. 9:30 p.m.

Brian Regan at Performing Arts Center at Rockwell Hall, Buffalo State University, 1300 Elmwood Ave., Buffalo. 8 p.m., tickets starting at $68.00. 
Brian Regan built his 30-plus year career mostly on the strength of his material and he performs in close to 100 cities each year. In 2015, Regan made history with his stand-up special, “Brian Regan: Live From Radio City Music Hall,” as the first live broadcast of a stand-up special in Comedy Central’s history. If you can’t quote at least one of Regan’s bits, you are not a true comedy fan.

Saturday, May 10

Buffalo Comedy Collective, 155 Chandler Street, Buffalo.  
ComedySportz match-up. Two teams “competitively” play short form improv games with suggestions from the audience, who also decides the winner. 6 p.m., tickets $18.

Same Game, an interactive improvised game show inspired by shows such as Match Game and Family Feud. 8:30 p.m., tickets $18. 

Buffalo Improv House, 255 Great Arrow Ave., Suite 207, Buffalo. 7 p.m., $10 or pay-what-you-can. 
Community Showcase, featuring “You Should Smile More,” a rotating cast of female and gender nonconforming improv performers and “Partners in Crime” with a cast of BIH community members and students.

Trevor Wallace at the Performing Arts Center at Rockwell Hall, Buffalo State University, 1300 Elmwood Ave., Buffalo. 7 p.m., tickets starting at $55.00. 
Trevor Wallace: “The Alpha Beta Male Tour” comes to Rockwell Hall. Wallace is a stand-up, writer & actor with a digital thumbprint of over 2.5 billion views across his social media channels and a following of over 16 million fans collectively. Wallace was a finalist for “Best in Comedy” at the 2020 Shorty Awards. 

Sunday, May 11

Revolver Records, 810 Elmwood Ave., Buffalo. 7 p.m., free.
Sunday comedy at Revolver Records. Along with comedians, there will be live DJ’s and the bar and store will be open.  

Monday, May 12

Tudor Lounge, 335 Franklin Street, Buffalo, 8 p.m. 
Comedy Open Mic Comedy. Start your week by hearing new premises and jokes. Sign-ups at 7. Free.

Tuesday, May 13

Nietzsche’s, 248 Allen Street, Buffalo, 9 p.m. 
Rust Belt Comedy Showcase, Buffalo’s longest running comedy open mic. Free. 

Wednesday, May 14 

Milkies, 522 Elmwood Avenue, Buffalo. 
Comedy Open Mic Comedy. Sign-ups at 7, show starts at 9 p.m. Free. 

Road Less Traveled Productions, 456 Main St., Buffalo, 7:30 p.m., tickets $20.
An improvised two-act play with a cast of experienced improvisers and a special guest, using the set of the current play running at the RLTP. 

Helium Comedy Club, 30 Mississippi Street, Buffalo. 
Open Mic, where over 20 comics will perform their best 3 minutes, 7 p.m., free with two-item minimum.

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Have a comedy event you want to add, email lakeeffectcomedy@gmail.com.