Red Light Comedy District at the Improv, West Hollywood June 26, 2004

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Apologizing profusely for the short notice, Sam Phillips sent me an e-mail invitation on Saturday to the Improv's Red Light Comedy District for that same evening. She said that she, Nikki Nova and Sunny Leone would be in the show. Well, how could I pass that up? These are three women I'm fond of and want to show support for. I was hoping to arrive early, but ended up in the usual horrible L.A. and Hollywood traffic and then drove around for twenty minutes trying to find parking, so I ended up arriving about 20 minutes after the show began. When I arrived, the whole comedy troup of five men plus Sam, Nikki and Sunny were on stage doing improvisational skits with suggestions being thrown out from the audience to fit the theme of "World's Worst." Then there was a skit with Sunny and a guy from the audience acting out a scene from a porn movie as it was being dubbed with dialogue ad-libbed by two other people. Sunny and the guy had to move their mouths as though they were saying the words, as well as act out the scene. It was very funny. Next up was a comedian I really enjoyed a whole lot (and so, it seemed, did everyone else). His name is Jeremy Hotz. His delivery is excellent and his jokes hilarious. I was going to relay a couple of his jokes, but realized that the delivery is so important, that it just wouldn't be the same as listening to him live. The third comedian, Joey Diaz, was a tough-talking guy with humor similar to Andrew Dice Clay. Although his material mostly wasn't what makes me laugh, he did have some fans in the audience with whom he seemed to connect. Before I arrived, another comedian, Jeff Burghart, also performed his stand-up act, and I heard later that he was very good. I met him after the show and he obligingly showed me a couple of his impersonations--one of a Spanish-speaking Rodney Dangerfield and the other of Ozzy Osbourne--that were quite impressive. There was one of his fans nearby singing his praises, and I'm sorry I missed his act. Other performances included a skit with Chris Pina and Nikki Nova, where Chris was a priest and Nikki was a slutty looking girl in a skimpy outfit applying to be a nun. It was very cute and Chris and Nikki both did an excellent job. There was also a skit with Sam, Nikki, Sunny, Chris Pina and Chris Bonno that had to do with trying out as Chippendale's dancers. The evening concluded with more improv in a game called "Freeze." The group plans to bring their comedy show to other Improv clubs. Be sure and catch the show if it's in your area. The five men who performed in the improv skits included Rick Overton (Emmy Award-winning writer for Dennis Miller, actor in 8-Legged Freaks, star of upcoming Fat Albert Movie); Chris Bonno (Mad About You, Just Shoot Me), who was celebrating his birthday on this night; Dean Hagland (X-files); Tony Edwards, (Hot Shots Part Deux and Hollywood Shuffle); and Chris Pina (star of the upcoming movie Trial and Error, 90210). Check out The Fugitives, Rick Overton's Improv comedy group and Humor in the News, Chris Pena's Website. Catch Sam Phillips on her show The Single Life on 97.1, KLSX in Los Angeles, that she hosts with Gary Garver on Saturday nights from 9 p.m. to 10 p.m.  Nikki Nova's website is NikkiNova.com.  Sunny's site is SunnyLeone.com. I expected to see a lot of adult stars in the audience, but although the place was packed with comedy afficionados, I only saw a couple people from the Industry: Jason Sechrest and Hannah Harper. I also met Mac Turner who is getting into the gay porn Industry and is dating Jason. The Improv in West Hollywood is located at 8162 Melrose Ave. Visit the Improv's Website. Return to Worth-a-Million Productions' MAIN MENU