THEATER: The Summer Play Festival is at full blaze over at the Theater Row complex on 42nd Street. At $10 a ticket it’s your cheapest way to catch new work by playwrights whose heat index is rising. Tonight you have your pick of four plays; insider theater blogger Surplus recommends Cipher, which concerns two clerks stuck in a secret location monitoring the thoughts of suspected terrorists. “When their assignment gets tough, they begin to ask questions — which is a dangerous thing to do.” - John Del Signore more ›

THEATER: Should we be trying to protect our children from the man in red? That’s the premise of Jeff Goode’s much-performed The Eight: Reindeer Monologues, in which Santa’s vices are exposed by those on the receiving end of his lash. A scandal erupts when Vixen accuses Santa of sexual harassment; in the subsequent media frenzy, the other members of the sleigh team demand to share their perspectives, and a sordid tale of corruption comes to light. - John Del Signore more ›

Comedy Legends Live: The inimitable Carl Reiner speaks with Curb Your Enthusiasm’s Susie Essman. Reiner—comedian, actor, novelist and director— was a creator, writer and producer for The Dick Van Dyke Show. In 1999, he was awarded the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor by the Kennedy Center and was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame. Come check out a legend. more ›

Writing sketch comedy is not an easy skill. Appealing to a wide audience, writing a good ending for each sketch, and rehearsing your material are not always taken into consideration. Which is why Gothamist loved the new sketch show The Incorrigible Mr. J, now up at the PIT [154 w. 29th Street]. Matt Donnelly, Rebekka Johnson and Jim Festante of the improv group Possible Side Effects, have created a world where reclusive hermits, “dynamic choreography”, and Samuel L. Jackson all cleverly intersect. The Incorrigible Mr. J. - Fridays in October at 7pm - $5 more ›

Obviously Labor Day is the weekend to kick back and squeeze out the final drops of summer before retiring your Nantucket Reds in favor of muted browns and tweeds. Obviously. And obviously the last thing you ought to do on a weekend such as this is put any effort into anything. However, Gothamist highly recommends you take action as soon as possible to snag the now-on-sale tickets to see Elliot Kalan’s interview with Stephen Colbert at Juvie Hall. The show will take place on September 9th but tickets are available and selling quickly now at SmartTix. Long live Mr. Noblet! more ›

Everyone in New York, it seems, wants to make it big. But with so many people competing, work falls by the wayside, dreams get dashed and people get rejected. Which is the foundation for Jon Friedman’s Rejection Show, this Wednesday at P.S. 122. The show embraces the rejected material of professional and amateur writers, comedians, cartoonists, artists, and human beings, who display their creative “failures” live on stage. Of course many of the performers are contributors for The Daily Show, The New Yorker and even star on Arrested Development, so quit feeling sorry for yourself, even these guys have their critics. This week the show welcomes comedian Liam McEneany, cartoonist Matt Diffee, mayoral candidate Andy Horwitz and many more. more ›

Jon Friedman, Rejection Show Producer, Comedian and Writer more ›