13

Saturday

As it is with a marriage, it’s difficult to assess a comedy team from the outside. In 1956, comic authority Steve Allen wrote that “[e]xperience has by now welded [Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin] into so polished a team that I don’t believe there will ever be any real danger of their splitting up.” The famous pair broke up that same year. The ’70s version of Martin & Lewis was without a doubt Cheech & Chong, the stoner-hippie duo that captured the era’s drug and music culture perfectly and hysterically. Tommy Chong was the creative force behind the albums and movies, yet after they split in 1985, Cheech Marin was the one who enjoyed a successful acting career, with stops at the Smithsonian to discuss his world-class art collection. As for Chong? Well, he went to jail for selling bongs through his Web site. Since then, he’s resurfaced only to protest the government and drug laws. See 67-year-old Chong roll his own laughs at 8 p.m. and at 10:30 p.m. (see City List for other dates) at the DC Improv, 1140 Connecticut Ave. NW. $25. (202) 296-7008. (Dave Nuttycombe)