I should start by saying that I ABSOLUTELY LOVE Stephanie Miller and the gang on the radio and FSTV. I try to watch or listen every day, and consider myself a major fan.
Maybe I had built it up too much in my head, and my expectations were over the top. Perhaps the fact that I read only RAVE REVIEWS online made me think it was going to be better than it was. Maybe it was simply a bad show (we've all had them), or I just didn't know what to expect.
The format was fun--Stephanie did some "stand-up," then John Fugelsang, and finally Frangela. Basically, it was not interactive, rather three different "sets," if you will. The show was long enough, but that was basically it, aside from the reappearance of Stephanie at some point, and a little (very little) Q & A at the end.
In any event, here's what it was like. Not unexpectedly, the whole show had the same silly right-wing-bashing flavor as the radio show, but without the interaction between the on-air personalities and the callers (which I think is a big part of the fun of the show). Most of the audience absolutely loved it, hooting and squawking at all the right moments.
But Stephanie seemed uncomfortable on stage. Her schtick didn't quite work and she seemed unrehearsed, chuckling nervously after every punchline while she turned the page and glanced over at the stand holding her notes. It wasn't typical stand-up material--it was more of a cross between slapstick site-gags and silly impressions, all of it very "blue" (gratuitous? perhaps). But I guess maybe Stephanie isn't really known for her standup, and maybe she simply wasn't "on." I'm sure carrying a morning show on the radio makes it all but impossible to also do nighttime shows scattered throughout the year. This is really an undertaking, and I imagine it has a lot to do with why Stephanie doesn't do more of these. Maybe it had been a while, and she was rusty? I don't know--I'm just guessing, but I want to think it's usually much more polished.
John Fugelsang, as always, was smart and funny, and he's clearly comfortable doing stand-up. If you've listened to him as much as I have, you won't hear a lot of new material, but he's so smart and interesting (not to mention cute) that it doesn't matter.
Frangela (Francis and Angela, best friends) were quite hilarious. I always like listening to them on the show, and I found them to be the most engaging, at least in this venue. I think this has a lot to do with the fact that they have each other on stage--their repartee was truly original and gut-wrenchingly funny. They are classic stand-up comics.