What’s My Line? – Live on Stage

Produced by Jim Newman and J. Keith van Straaten

Barrow Street Theatre

27 Barrow Street

212-243-6262

 

Review by Meg Van Huygen

 

After three years in Los Angeles, the stage production of What’s My Line? has made a smashing transition to the West Village. Produced by Jim Newman and host J. Keith van Straaten (formerly of Comedy Central’s “Beat the Geeks”), the show faithfully follows the TV format: A panel of four B-list-ish luminaries are presented with a civilian whose unusual occupation they must guess via yes-or-no questions, followed by an A-list-ish mystery guest. Everything is unscripted, and hilarity usually ensues.

 

What Do You Do? J. Keith van Straaten hosts What’s My Line? - Live on Stage.

 

The panelists in the April 28th episode were mostly unknowns: “Beat the Geeks” Music Geek Andy Zax, Tony-winner Jarrod Emrick, “Wallstrip” hostess Julie Alexandria, and the crown jewel, comedienne Jackie Hoffman, currently on Broadway in Xanadu. In turn, the guests were a bartender at a milk bar, a retired Navy submarine officer, and an electric harpist. None of that seemed to matter, however, as everyone was in fine form and of quick wits. The sub officer, Roger Mehle, came packing a special one-two punch:  Not only was he a mystery guest on the original television show in 1966, his mother, columnist Suzy Knickerbocker, was on the panel for that episode as well. (A clip was shown of a blindfolded Suzy joyfully recognizing her son, who was supposed to be off in Vietnam at the time.) Our evening’s mystery guest turned out to be Larry Storch of “F-Troop” and “Tennessee Tuxedo,” who proceeded into hysterical old-man-without-a-filter impersonations, including James Mason, Jackie Gleason, and a very superior-grade Louis Armstrong. The look on Jackie Hoffman’s blindfolded face when she figured out it was Storch was worth the cost of the ticket alone.

 

Overall, it’s a fabulous evening just for what it is, and that’s to say nothing of a boring old Monday night. Not everything about the show is spot-on. Host J. Keith tends to stammer and interrupt people, and a performance by the electric blues harpist went on for far too long. But, hey, them’s the breaks when your show is brand spanking new every week. The jokes in What’s My Line? yield a far higher success rate than your average improv show, so folks should be happy to pay the price.