Brea Comedy Club Opens With a Real Bang : Entertainment: An electrical mishap generated lots of smoke : and some impromptu material for the Improvisation’s : inaugural headliner.

If the comedy boom of the ‘80s continues apace in the ‘90s, it won’t be long before the opening of a new comedy club holds all the sense of occasion of a ribbon-cutting at a frozen-yogurt store.

But for now, it’s still noteworthy--if not quite front-page news--that the Improvisation’s nationwide chain of chuckle factories on Wednesday opened its second Orange County operation, this one in Brea. Now North Countians can find out what Irvinites and their South County neighbors have been guffawing about since 1988.

Briefly, though, it appeared as if the event might make front-page news. Just five minutes into Ritch Shydner’s set as the newest Improv’s inaugural headliner, the gruff-voiced comic uttered a particularly booming syllable and, with a loud pop, his microphone went dead and smoke began billowing up from under the sound booth.

Attention zoomed away from the stage and onto the source of a ballooning cloud that smelled of pan-fried electrical insulation. But then ever-resourceful Improv founder Budd Friedman handed Shydner the top portion of a kitchen blender to use as a mini-megaphone, and the comedian grabbed the spotlight back for his own.

“Not to worry, folks,” he said nonchalantly, “but there’s a small fire.”

As it quickly became apparent that there was no serious danger and the smoke dissipated, Shydner pointed to the club logo on the familiar faux-brick wall behind the stage and quipped simply, “The Improv!”--a phrase whose true meaning isn’t often tested in the tightly scripted world of contemporary comedy.

“It’s not often you see a man using kitchen utensils on stage,” Shydner joked. It’s very nearly as rare to see a comic sustain momentum, however redirected that momentum was, under the circumstances Shydner faced. Several weeks ago, fast-rising stand-up artist Bill Hicks suffered a similar loss of amplification at the Irvine Improv and did a fair amount of fumbling over the technical mishap before resigning himself to delivering a set of acoustic jokes.

In any case, the sound-system snafu was the only observable foul-up during the Brea Improv’s maiden voyage. Customers were admitted free Wednesday (and Thursday), partially to guarantee a full house (it worked) and partially to head off any complaints if service was less than ideal (no one griped when Friedman took a poll on service at mid-set).

Although the club has virtually the same capacity as its O.C. sibling (287 in Brea vs. 283 in Irvine), the feel of the two rooms is markedly different because of their layouts. High ceilings and an essentially square floor plan, with the stage centered along the wall opposite the entrance, give the Brea club the open ambience of a small concert hall, rather than the densely packed intimacy of a typical small comedy club. Perceptible reverb from the sound system reinforced the feeling of spaciousness. But few acoustical subtleties were lost in the wide, open spaces--even when Shydner was doing his cordless humorizing.

The clean, logical placement of tables and minimum intrusion of roof-support columns allow good sight lines around the room, which is smartly decorated in standard Improv black and white, with blocks of checkerboard tile accenting the north and south walls.

Other than that, what’s there to say about the technical or architectural appointments in a comedy club? As long as there’s a mike that works, a stage to stand on and a spotlight or two, you’re pretty much in business.

Shydner will be back for a New Year’s Eve show, and other headliners in coming weeks include Rob Becker (Jan. 2 through 6), Jeff Jena (Jan. 8 through 13), J. J. Wall (Jan. 15 through 22) and Rick Rockwell (Jan. 23 through 27).

The menu should look basically familiar to Improv habitues--there’s one new addition, chicken cordon bleu, to the old standby entrees (prime rib, manicotti and Hawaiian chicken), all priced from $9.95 to $11.95. And, as ever, small type beneath the rundown of main courses gently reminds patrons that “as a condition of your reservation, you have agreed to purchase one of the above entrees,” not to mention the obligatory “two-item minimum per person in the show room.”

Which means that the tab at the end of an evening shouldn’t be any surprise to Improv regulars either. With appetizers that range from $4.95 to $6.95, wine from $3.50 to $4.75 a glass of beer from $2.75 to $3.25, it’s not likely to be a cheap date.

You may have to scout around a bit to find the club. It’s in the new Brea Market Place shopping center, just north of the Brea Mall across Birch Street where it intersects with State College Boulevard. The club is behind Circuit City and just west of a new UA multiplex cinema.

And if you still have trouble, it’s just a few doors down from--ta-da!--a new frozen-yogurt store.

The Brea Improv is at 945 E. Birch St., Suite A, Brea. Information: (714) 529-7878.