Quarantine Can’t Stop Comedy. Here Are the City’s Top Comics, as Chosen by Their Peers
As the pandemic wore on, it became clear that gathering in tight quarters while forcefully expelling respiratory droplets in appreciation of a good bit about hoarding toilet paper wasn’t going to happen anytime soon. It’s the reason we initially decided to forgo our annual survey of more than 100 comics, club owners, bookers and megafans, looking for the best standups in the city. But then we realized something: Just because stages are empty doesn’t mean comedy isn’t happening. It’s happening in empty parking lots at guerrilla-style drive-in shows. It’s happening at BYOC street performances—that’s “bring your own chairs.” And, of course, it’s happening on the internet, on every platform available. And so, here is your Funniest Five Class of 2020. Better late than never.