Sheen show fares better in Chicago

Troubled actor Charlie Sheen made some changes to his road show early today - and this time, it ended with a standing ovation.

After being heckled and booed in Detroit, Michigan, Sheen, 45, used a talk show-style format at his Chicago show, with a master of ceremonies asking the actor questions.

The interviewer, who did not identify himself, kept sacked 'Two And A Half Men' star Sheen on track and gave the actor a chance to make some cutting comments.

Some audience members said the second performance on Sheen’s 'My Violent Torpedo of Truth/Defeat Is Not an Option' tour was not outstanding, but at least it had amusing moments. And Sheen drew cheers throughout the show, which began and ended with a standing ovation.

Mackenzie Barth, 19, said it was a “weird” show, but “at least no one was booing”.

During the show at the historic 3,600-seat Chicago Theatre, Sheen smoked cigarettes and answered questions about his marriages, his career and his life with the women he calls his “goddesses”.

“They have not disallowed me everything that makes me happy. Period. The end,” Sheen said of the former porn star and an actress who live with him.

Sheen also had some snappy comebacks for the MC.

Asked how many times he had been married, Sheen retorted: “Seven-thousand. That’s why I’m broke.”

Asked why he had “paid for sex” in the past, Sheen responded: “Because I had millions to blow. I ran out of things to buy.”

Sheen also seemed to have a better rapport with the Chicago crowd. As the show began, some in the crowd began chanting “Detroit sucks”. When one audience member asked Sheen to take off his shirt, he swapped his T-shirt for a collared shirt thrown at him by a larger man in the audience.

He proceeded to wear the too-big shirt for the rest of the show and referred throughout to the man who had given it to him.

Early on, Sheen urged the audience in an obscenity-laced statement “not to become (expletive) Detroit tonight. Let’s show Detroit how it’s (expletive) done”.

Later when Sheen was asked by the interviewer when he had started “winning” - his catchphrase -, Sheen responded: “The winning started in (expletive) Chicago.”

Ellen Olson, who was wearing a black T-shirt with “Winning!” in white across the front, said she enjoyed the performance.

“I think he interacted with the audience a lot, which made it more funny,” said Ms Olson, 55, of Elmwood Park.

Before the show, audience members said they had low expectations based on what they heard and read about the inaugural performance.

“We figured we’d try it out and see what happens, and if it’s bad, we’ll leave,” said Katie Iglehart, 23, of Chicago, who was attending the show with a friend.

Like the Chicago show, Sheen’s Detroit performance began with thunderous applause. But it soon disintegrated before ending 70 minutes later. In between, Sheen tried to appease his audience with rants, a rapper and a question and answer session, ultimately concluding the first show was “an experiment”.

Sheen reappeared after the house lights went up to thank the hundreds who remained.

It was not clear when the actor lost the audience, but there were many awkward moments.

Sheen, known for his wild partying and rampant drug use, said he thought Detroit would be a good place to tell some stories about crack cocaine. That remark prompted loud, immediate boos.

At another point, Sheen showed a short film he wrote, directed and produced years ago called RPG. He sat in the front row to watch the film, which starred a much younger Johnny Depp. Again, more boos.

Sheen did not show the film today.

Sheen has made headlines in recent years as much for his drug use, failed marriages, custody disputes and run-ins with the police, as for his acting. His father, actor Martin Sheen, has compared his son’s struggle with addiction to a cancer patient’s struggle for survival.

In August, the wayward star pleaded guilty in Aspen, Colorado, to misdemeanour third-degree assault after a Christmas Day altercation with his third wife, Brooke Mueller. The couple have since finalised their divorce.

Sheen’s behaviour, which included lashing out at 'Two And A Half Men' producer Chuck Lorre, finally became too much for Warner Bros Television, which sacked him on March 7.

Sheen fired back with a £62m lawsuit and all-out media assault in which he informed the world about his standing as a “rock star from Mars” with “Adonis DNA”.