Buffalo Comedy: Local and national comedians take the stage in comedy this upcoming week across WNY.

(Above: Bruce Bruce via mybrucebruce on Facebook).

By Jason Pomietlasz

I asked ChatGPT what to write here and “it” said to encourage people to see live comedy and also to speak nicer to Alexa and Siri.    

Thursday, Oct. 23

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 6:45 p.m., 7 start. $5 suggested or pay what you can. 

Mr. Goodbar, 1110 Elmwood Ave, Buffalo, 8 p.m. Free.
Open mic comedy on the second floor. Sign-ups at 7 p.m, hosted by the above average height Bennett Solowski.

Helium Comedy Club, 30 Mississippi Street, Buffalo. 7 p.m., tickets $33.99 – 43.99.

Aaron Weber was the youngest standup to perform at the Grand Ole Opry in 2019 at 28 and is part of the “crimson tide” of southern comics dominating stages right now. His special “Signature Dish” is free on Youtube. 

Friday – Saturday, Oct. 24 – 25

Helium Comedy Club, 30 Mississippi Street, Buffalo. Times vary, tickets $38.99 – 53.99.

Bruce Bruce is a 30-year comedy vet who initially used his sense of humor to help sell snacks before his 1993 appearance on “Def Comedy Jam”, which led to the Apollo, arguably the toughest “room” in America, and the rest is history as people say for the sake of brevity.

Seneca Niagara Resort & Casino, 310 4th St Niagara Falls. 8 p.m., tickets starting at $55. 

Anthony Rodia’s “Laugh Till It Hurts” Tour comes to the Bear Den. Rodia dabbled in comedy in his youth but started a career in sales until the pandemic hit. He used social media for good and starting posting videos featuring his stable of characters that went viral. Post-lock down, he performed 100 shows in nine months helped him put away the 9 to 5 game forever. 

Friday, Oct. 24 

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. 

Chordially Yours: A Musical Improv Show. A musical show with a variety of games that will always end in a song. And of course, everything is made-up on the spot. 9:30 p.m., tickets $18. 

Buffalo Improv House, 255 Great Arrow Ave., Suite 207, Buffalo. 

“Confessions,” where audience members can put their secrets and confessions into the “Bucket Of Truth,” and they will be read aloud, then used as inspiration for improv scenes. 7 p.m., tickets starting $12 presale or $15 general admission. Your ticket allows you to stay for the rest of the evening.

Improv Collider, several BIH house teams perform different long-form improv styles. 8:30 p.m., tickets $10 presale, $12 general admission or $5 for students and folks who appreciate a discount.

The New Friday Mixer, same as Thursday’s mixer, just a later time. 9:30 p.m., tickets $5 or pay what you can. 

Donald Savage Building, Buffalo State Uni., 1300 Elmwood Ave., Buffalo, 8 p.m., free.

Friday Night Live, Buffalo State’s improv troupe will perform an hour of short and long form improv. FNL is sometimes coached by local improv legend, Todd Benzin.

Saturday, Oct. 25 

Buffalo Comedy Collective, 155 Chandler Street, Buffalo. 

ComedySportz Saturday 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. 

Dynamic Duos, six roster members from CSz Pros and BCC Shorties Program are paired up for two-person scenes. After each pair performs, the audience votes for their favorite scene and the pairs switch to do it all again, twice. The performer with the most points by the end wins. 8:30 p.m., tickets $18. 

Buffalo Improv House, 255 Great Arrow Ave., Suite 207, Buffalo. 7 p.m., tickets $15 online, $20 general admission.  

Singles Night: The Improv Dating Show. Host Q. Stupid, a “love expert” will bring an audience member onstage to meet eligible “characters” with green flags and hidden red flags, sort of like real dating. Ultimately the goal is to find true love through audience interaction and longform improv, because romance isn’t dead but swiping left definitely is.

Helium Comedy Club, 30 Mississippi Street, Buffalo. 4 p.m., tickets $32.99 – 42.99.

Teachers Gone Bad. A show where most of the comedians are former teachers who mine the comedic rich grounds that is modern education. As they say at TGB HQ, you can’t get fired twice. Also the usual topics of dating, technology and anything else is on the table.

Sunday, Oct. 26

Helium Comedy Club, 30 Mississippi Street, Buffalo. 4 & 7 p.m., tickets $10 – 54.99.

Pinky Patel is a PTA mom turned creator who has harnessed the power of social media and built a fan base of over 5 million subscribers. There will be talk of her glam cave. 

Deric Cahill’s origin story is an old one but a classic one, for comedy anyway. In 2010, he did his first open mic while working as a server at Off the Hook Comedy in Marco Island, FL, and a scant 15 years later (2024) released his first special “Toxic Papa” for free on Youtube. And in between that he wrote and told a lot of jokes.

Monday, Oct. 27

Tudor Lounge, 335 Franklin Street, Buffalo, 8:30 p.m. 

Comedy Open Mic Comedy. Start your week by hearing new premises and jokes. Once again hosted by Don Johnson. If you’re curious why, ask him. Sign-ups at 7. Free.

Tuesday, Oct. 28

Nietzsche’s, 248 Allen Street, Buffalo, 9 p.m. 

Rust Belt Comedy Showcase, Buffalo’s longest running comedy show hosted by Jake Samson and Jake Piskor also known as the two Jakes. Signups at rustbeltcomedy.weebly.com. Free. 

Matinee, 698 Main St., Buffalo, 7:30 p.m.

Train Stop Comedy, open mic comedy with host Mamudu Kargbo. For all levels of comics and audiences. Signups at 7 p.m., 17 comic limit. Free. 

Third Space Cafe & Entertainment, 777 Main St., Buffalo, 6:30 p.m.

The Early Bird Comedy Open Mic. Brand new open mic hosted by Brody Walsh and Connor Mink. Signups start at 5:30 p.m. Free.

Wednesday, Oct. 29

Milkie’s Elmwood Lounge, 522 Elmwood Avenue, Buffalo. 

Comedy Open Mic Comedy. Sign-ups at 7 or online, show starts at 9ish p.m. Hosted by the super funny Jesse Winterhalter. Free. 

Helium Comedy Club, 30 Mississippi Street, Buffalo. 7:30 p.m., tickets $19.99 – 29.99.

“Night of the Laughing Dead”. It is officially spooky season and local comics will dress-up and perform tribute sets as their favorite comic, living or dead. Audience costumes encouraged. 

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