One of the many pleasures of The Improv is that you get a little history along with your comedy. The restoration of the 1905 Centro Español in Ybor retains the patina of age, with exposed brick walls and carefully faded paint on the tall proscenium arch, and it´s a lot more spacious than your usual crowded boite. Still, when a take-no-prisoners comedian like Alonzo Bodden is on top of his game, as he was during the consistently hilarious Last Comic Standing show in August, you´ll be laughing too hard to think much about the architecture.
The Improv, 1600 E. Eighth Ave., C-112, Centro Ybor, Ybor City,
813-864-4000, www.tampaimprov.com
This article appears in Sep 22-28, 2004.