Protesters find a Hollywood comedy crowd almost as tough as LAPD

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The baton-wielding police officers on horseback might have seemed a tough crowd, but that was before some of the Democratic National Convention's protesters tried out their comedy acts at Hollywood's Laugh Factory.

And while no one got hit by rubber bullets Tuesday night when members of Wild Blue Planet, D2K Network and California Peace Action took the stage at one of Los Angeles' most popular nightspots, the laughs weren't exactly flying either.

Not that the protester-comedians didn't try.

Environmental activist Janet Allen, aka "Janet Planet," donned a beige trench coat and a dress with a picture of the planet, then put a toilet seat over her head.

The Wild Blue Planet activist also launched into a rap song calling on people to recycle, use solar energy and save the rain forest. The crowd of 35 to 40 people, which barely filled a quarter of the club, applauded tepidly.

Terry Stone of D2K had a tougher time when she asked: "Does anybody here know what WTO is?"

The dead silence that followed implied that nobody did. Until a few people tentatively raised their hands. Last fall, protesters at the World Trade Organization's meetings in Seattle caused millions of dollars in damage and shut down opening ceremonies.

Sara Messenger, 36, of Los Angeles took guitar in hand to spread her message, singing "Freest Country in the World."

"We do the baking but we don't get a piece of the pie," in the freest country in the world, she lamented.

Laugh Factory spokeswoman Kimberly Clark said the demonstrators were invited because of the restrictions placed on their protests by police, who clashed with protesters Monday night after a concert by Rage Against the Machine, an anti-authoritarian band.

"We wanted to take them off the street and pass them into the Hollywood spotlight," she said.

Although the result was mixed, Messenger, Allen and the others fared better than members of the Puerto Rican Alliance. The group showed up late and missed its 15 minutes of fame, having been replaced by the club's regular stable of comedians.t

Copyright 2000 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.