One can't blame Jackie Mason for trying something different after six one-man shows since his 1986, career-resuscitating classic, The World According to Me. His schtick was getting a little too familiar, his new material sounding too much like the old material. Initially, Mason was working on a sequel of sorts to the comedy-burlesque hit, Sugar Babies, but plans were scaled back, and the results became Laughing Room Only, a mix of Mason's stand-up with musical-comedy numbers penned by Doug Katsaros and performed by a lively, though decidedly second-tier, supporting cast. Stunned by the critical thrashing this mishmosh received, Mason quickly added an opening monologue in which he tried to convince us the show was a lot better than the critics said it was. Well, we wanted to believe him, but most of the songs were only vaguely amusing, and most of the stand-up was old (Mason got big laughs with his anti-"Starbucks" routine, but they were the same big laughs he got with that same routine in his last show).
Mason's delivery is always good for a chuckle, and his new political material scored some bullseyes, but the evening as a whole proved a tepid misfire. I overheard one patron say, "I felt sorry for him up there" and would have agreed, but the sheen of egotism on display made me feel even sorrier for the paying customers.
