Mason's musical to close early

Jackie Mason's Broadway comedy Laughing Room Only is to close early.

The curtain will go down on the show on November 30, after just 14 performances and 31 previews.

Critics had roundly panned the show, which combined stand-up with song-and-dance numbers.

The New York Times said Mason's humour "played fast and loose with the line between humour and hate speech".

And the New York Post said the musical numbers were of varying quality - "some bad, some very bad".

Punters tuned on the show, too, with a tickets sales sluggish, even at the bargain-basement price of $19.99.

Published: 21 Nov 2003