The controversial actor reclaimed some bit of public esteem with the successful second night of his show.
The reception of “My Violent Torpedo of Truth: Defeat is Not an Option” in Chicago was a far contrast to its debut in Detroit. The Detroit performance was a flat-out bomb, with audience constantly booing Sheen and chanting for refund. One attendee described it as “like Rocky Horror Picture Show – but with a live performer.”
But the response in Chicago was, perhaps surprisingly, very positive. The show even began and ended with a standing ovation.
The Chicago performance saw some changes in the routine. Sheen dropped most of the skit (it didn't work previously because of all the heckling) and stayed largely to a Q&A-style format with an unidentified master of ceremonies.
It was the right choice – it is, after all, Sheen's flippant, and meme-coining dialogues that make his life's debacle largely amusing. Well, the show didn't come up with such laughably original phrases such as “tiger blood” and “fire breathing fists”, but it had some fairly good ones.
When asked how many times he has married, Sheen said, “Seven thousand. That's why I'm broke.” Regarding why he hired prostitutes in the past: “Because I had millions to blow. I ran out of things to buy.”
Adding to his problems with drugs and failed marriages, Sheen's latest controversy is his fight with Two and a Half Men producer Chuck Lorre.
“My Violent Torpedo of Truth” is scheduled for 20 more showings in various cities in the US and Canada. Tickets have previously sold well but ticket agencies reported that many people tried to unload their tickets after the disastrous performance in Detroit. With its success in Chicago, and if things turn out okay in his next show (Cleveland), ticket demand might see another reverse.