COMEDY REVIEW : IMPROV BANG GOES TO WHIMPER

If Jerry Seinfeld’s six-day stand last week launched the new Irvine Improvisation with a bang, the comedy club’s grand opening party Thursday more closely resembled a whimper.

As with the opening of other Improv branches (in California now located from San Diego to Sherman Oaks), numerous celebrities were invited to attend the private event, and numerous comics were asked to perform.

Many folks in both categories accepted the invitations but probably not the caliber that would have paparazzi battling for photos or comedy connoisseurs shaking with laughter.

Those in attendance--many bused from Hollywood by Improv impresario Budd Friedman--included Jack Carter, Dick Van Patten, Wilt Chamberlain and Bernie Kopell. Nice in a “Hollywood Squares� way but not quite generating the star power that other invited guests (reportedly including Bette Midler and Don Johnson) might have.

Similarly, the lineup of comedians helped make for a curiously flat evening. The show began with greetings from co-owner Mark Anderson, who in a partnership with Friedman has previously opened Improvs in San Diego and Dallas, and emcee Friedman, who founded the first Improv in New York nearly 25 years ago. Then came a slow parade of nine acts, doing 5-to-15-minute sets.

Although most were comics long identified with the Improv organization--Wil Shriner, Rich Shydner, Bill Maher--to recognize their names you would have to be a pretty serious devotee of club comedy and/or a regular viewer of “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.� On the other hand, Richard Belzer is a veteran stand-up performer who could be seen on television that same night as host of “The Late Show.� And Marc Price is familiar to many as Skippy on the hit NBC sitcom “Family Ties.�

Still, sorely missed was someone like Jay Leno, who, when in town, often turns up at Improv events and would likely have supplied the evening’s missing energy and edge. As it was, though, the show was a hit-and-miss sampler of stand-up material, good-natured ribbing and a fistful of local references. J.J. Wall, who is headlining at the club through Sunday, noted that it’s “a pleasure to be in Irvine, where it’s actually illegal to be less than middle class.�

For all the pluses and minuses of the evening, the intent was to celebrate the opening of the club. At one point, Friedman--who has never met a superlative he didn’t like--observed that “this club is certainly the most beautiful of the Improvs.� And he may well be right.

The exterior bears the black and white checkerboard motif of the two previous Improvs opened by Anderson, and there is a dining area outside the club. Inside, the fondness for black and white continues, though not the checkerboard pattern--and much heavier on black. The carpet is predominantly black, as are the walls, which are bare except for photographs of Improv regulars, including one-time local boys made good, Daniel Rosen and Al Lubel.

The 283-seat showroom is large; some might say almost too large. The club’s sheer size places it perilously close to lounge territory, sacrificing the intimacy of smaller venues where the best stand-up sparks often fly. Similarly the stage, with the trademark brick background, is huge, considering it generally will only be occupied by one performer holding one microphone. Comics who aren’t particularly animated or active on stage may have to adjust their appearances to connect with those seated in the rear of the room.

But the patrons in back will certainly see the performers. Despite a few floor-to-ceiling posts, the sight lines are uniformly good. There’s not a bad seat in the house. Nor an inexpensive one, by the time you leave. The cover charge varies but is now $6 on weeknights and $8 on Friday and Saturday (higher last week for the Seinfeld shows).

Then there’s a two-item minimum: Each person must purchase at least two items, food or drink. (And if you think it’s easy to maneuver around this on a budget, keep in mind that an order of fries is $3.95.) So add the $10 dinner ticket, some drinks or appetizers, and two people could spend enough to make a down payment on your own comedy club.

Steep as it may sound, however, these prices are in line with the going rate to attend a comedy club. And the “you get what you pay for adage� holds up pretty well at the Improv. Almost without exception, headliners at the Improv will be veteran comics who have logged appearances on “Late Night With David Letterman,� “The Tonight Show� or other television programs and films.

The headliner next week will be comic-rock parodist Dennis Blair, followed by monologuist Larry Miller Aug. 4-9. The Improv is at 4255 Campus Drive, Irvine. For more information, call the Improv at (714) 854-5455.