An ensemble cast made up primarily of theater actors perform in short sketches and comedy routines before a studio audience in New York. The writers of the skits are Broadway and Off-Broadway playwrights, including Christopher Durang, Jules Feiffer, Wendy Wasserstein, Mark O'Donnell, John Bishop, John Ford Noonan and Jaston Williams. Steve Allen revived his classic `Man on the Street' bit when he appeared on the show's premiere.