Dave Chappelle: The Next Stage

By Barbara Kiviat

The international man of mystery is back in the house. Dave Chappelle, the congenial comedian who took off in the middle of making the third season of his acclaimed Comedy Central show, popped unannounced into two Los Angeles comedy clubs last week. They were Chappelle's first performances since his abrupt escape to South Africa. (Onstage, he ridiculed the rumors of rehab.) Meanwhile, sales of his second-season DVD package are breaking records, with 1.2 million copies sold in the first week alone. Now that's something nice to come home to.