Variety says that show business is bad this season. This unfortunate condition will not be improved by the arrival of the musical revue, "Alive and Kicking."

George Tobias and Lenore Lonergan play the comedy leads. Tobins tells ancient jokes, postures, grimaces-but fails to entertain. Miss Lonergan, by far the superior performer, is sometimes able to make the audience believe that what it sees and hears is clever; but when she leaves the stage, apathy takes her place. Jack Cole and his troupe of dancers are occasionally interesting; more often they merely wiggle their hands and chase one another in circles.

The basic fault of "Alive and Kicking" is, not surprisingly, its material. In spite of the assistance of Milton Berle, Henry Morgan, and four other contributors to the sketches, there are no more than three or four genuinely funny moments all evening. The songs, written by a total of ten people, can be most charitably described as innocuous. Costumes and scenery are similarly undistinguished. Surely such weak efforts do not deserve a cast of 40 and a production costing thousands of dollars.