Friday, Dec. 8, 2000 | 10:15 a.m.
"Legends of Comedy" is a Bill Kirchenbauer-Art Vieluf production at the New Frontier. Both Kirchenbauer and Vieluf have extensive comedy club management experience and seem to have made the most of the space provided.
With deserved advertising and promotional support from the New Frontier, this could be a winner, even in this setting.
There are some good production effects and excellent use of videos on two large screens. At the show caught, the five featured comedy legends were Jay Leno, George Burns, Roseanne, Rodney Dangerfield and Jack Benny, portrayed by Marcel Forestieri, Chuck Fraher, Tina Peeples, Bill Sacra and Eddie Carroll, respectively.
The opening was a vocal version of "Comedy Tonight," from "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum," very effective and just enough. There is an introduction to Leno and Forestieri, a slightly shorter ringer for Johnny Carson's successor as the "Tonight Show" host, who has the timing, the mannerisms and, sometimes, better material than the original.
The show was off to a flying start, and Fraher's Burns was scary -- it is so close in every respect. The jokes are Burns' material, and Fraher's two vocals on "Old Bones" and "Young At Heart," with taped musical accompaniment, were show warm spots. Fraher has been around locally and was a near-perfect fit in the second slot.
Peeples is Roseanne as she was on the successful television sitcom. She took a minute or two to find the sound and tempo. Peeples has the look and the build for it and left the stage a winner overall, but the lines could stand some punching up and polishing.
Dangerfield was captured accurately by Sacra. Here the material was vintage Dangerfield and never missed when it came to audience response. The mannerisms are distinct, and there is that wide-eyed off-kilter look that makes the material work so well. Sacra set up the next act, Carroll's depiction of Benny, perfectly.
Carroll has been doing Benny for a long time. It shows, as does his affection for his subject. There were some excellent film clips that preceded Carroll's entrance, and he also played the violin, a la Benny, a nice extra touch. His telling of Burns' stories (also a la Benny) completed another warm, winning portrait of one of the best-loved performers in the past century.
From time to time other characters will be substituted, including duplicates of Abbott & Costello, George Carlin, Joan Rivers and Robin Williams. The co-producers have a viable idea and have done quite well in making it work. If people can be made to know it's here, they will come.
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