Jackie Mason's Laughing Room Only is two shows: one is Jackie doing his usual conversational schtick with the audience, in his subdued tone with physical absurdities sprinkled in; the second is bright, entertaining musical numbers by the sparkling Doug Katsaros, performed by a first-rate Broadway quintet of singer-dancers. Only one number integrates the two, and that is the high point of the show: "Tea Time," wherein Jackie plays a waiter overhearing and misunderstanding a conversation between two women in a tea room. That's the show.
If there were more of that, if Katsaros' brilliance and gift for the humor of incongruity were the core of the production instead of the musical breaks, the show might have worked. As it is, Jackie's material is a rehash of his former shows, and it closed this weekend.
