Rob Schneider

The Improv was packed for Friday night's first show, but Rob Schneider was not ready for prime time. He couldn't even get thru his "hello" without referring to crib notes laid out on a stool on stage. Very quickly, however, we heard a couple of his trademark character voices and the audience roared its approval. But, that was to be the last time. He then proceeded to virtually read off his other "jokes", which all landed with a thud. Recognizing this, he began to give the jokes a monetary value, frequently stating that the previous joke wasn't a "$37.50 joke, but more like a $27.50 one", referring to the $37.50 each of us doled out for the show. Truthfully, there wasn't a single joke worth $1.75, and he ended his show almost a half hour early when the audience began to heckle, sending waiters scrambling as the lights came up to get checks out to the tables where everyone was sitting stunned looking at their still-full second drink. A disaster like this can happen at the Improv of course, but its not acceptable for it to be on the night with a headliner of this pedigree.