Comedy shows have always had a tight grip around the neck of Las Vegas. Even famous acts like The Rat Packfeaturing Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra - offered guests a lot more than crooner classics. Their shows delivered some great comedy sketches and even some legitimate improve. Following in those footsteps is Vegas Free Beer! The Improv Show.

Its always extremely difficult to describe an improv show in any type of general terms; i.e. good, bad, entertaining, etc. This is due to the nature of improvisation comedy: theres never any set stage or routine, per se; there are simply some talented improvisation comedians who feed off of one another and deliver original skits.

For Free Beer! The Improv Show in particular, its very similar to the UKs and Americas hit show Whose Line is it Anyway, where a cast of comedians, directed by a host, take audience suggestions and play out different scenarios on a whim. The spirit of Free Beer is certainly along those same lines.

Truthfully, one night might be more entertaining than the next. If you go on a weeknight without much of an audience, you might be in store for a somewhat boring show. Unless theres a lot for the comics to feed off, even the best improv comes across as forced and bland. This might give credence to the opinion that laughter is contagious.

However, if you catch Free Beer! on a packed night, when everyones half lit and ready to have a great time, then the comics really seem to feed off the energy and deliver a much better show. Theyll instantly take any criticism from hecklers - and even suggestions - and transform it into a sketch. Its about as much audience participation as youll get without a hypnosis show.

The name Free Beer is given for a particular reason: everyone seeing the show gets one free beer or one drink from the bar. This means you must be 21 to enter the show and get your drink, but that doesnt really have a negative effect on the size of the audience.

Free Beer! The Improv Show is playing at The Stage Door Theatre in Town Square on Las Vegas Boulevard. There are a few show dates extending through the end of the month, but its still unclear whether or not the improv show is ongoing. It pops up every now and again at different locations. Last year it was at the Broadway Vegas.

Although its not set in stone which comedians youll see while attending Free Beer!, there are always some great improvisation comics gracing the stage. Some of the more frequent comedians include Paul Mattingly, Michael Hartnett, Matt Donnelly, Lloyd Ziel, Denda Brink, Jenni Caruso, Glenn Heath and Terrence Williams, among others.

The show is extremely unpredictable, and perhaps thats the charm of it all. You can get in for around 20 bucks and enjoy your free beer and, hopefully, some great comedy. Its definitely one of Vegas more affordable shows.