One of the biggest perks of going to a well-known school like Penn State is its ability to bring in well-known stars like Pete Davidson. Davidson, of Saturday Night Live, came to Eisenhower Auditorium to perform a stand-up routine for students on Wednesday night – the perfect way to get away from homework and studying for a few hours to enjoy yourself and laugh until your stomach hurts.
The event was coordinated by the Penn State Student Programming Association, which has brought numerous exciting acts to our school including Laverne Cox who visited the day after Davidson.
Before Davidson came out on stage, he was preceded by three opening acts. The first act was a comedian who called himself “Heavy” and who made plenty of jokes about his short-lived college career. His soft-spoken, dry delivery made his vulgar humor that much more hilarious, and it was a well-organized contrast to the next opening act, a man named Joseph Gay who shouted so loudly he barely needed the microphone.
Gay also made some vulgar jokes perfectly suited for the age range of a college crowd. He pushed the envelope a lot, as most stand-up comedians do, poking fun at stereotypes and the inappropriate behavior of college students. After 10 minutes or so of screamed jokes that had the audience falling out of their seats, Gay left the stage and was followed by Alex Moffat, another cast member on Saturday Night Live.
Moffat may not have had too much airtime so far on this season of SNL, but Valley wouldn’t be surprised if eventually he becomes one of the most notable actors on the show. His stand-up routine was incredibly funny and even more unique – he began with a 15 minute bit in which he spoke in an almost indecipherable German accent but threw in words and phrases here and there that pertained to Penn State.
He then went on to do celebrity impressions (his “Christopher Walken” was spot-on), and ended up with a “piano performance” which was really just him singing “Piano Man” and playing the piano horrendously. The crowd was in tears, and one of the most unique things about Moffat’s humor was the fact that he didn’t need to resort to vulgarity or expletives to make a crowd of college students crack up.
Finally, the main event – Pete Davidson – stepped onto the stage for roughly an hour-long stand-up routine. He joked a lot about his sobriety and the time he spent in rehab (while smoking a vape on stage). He talked about his personal life, love life, and the fact that “he is spending a lot of time with his grandpa before he dies because he wants to post that perfect Instagram picture.” He interacted a lot with the crowd, putting audience members on the spot by asking them personal questions and then roasting them directly after. He would deliver his jokes flawlessly then wait with a straight face as the audience laughed – a type of infectious deadpan humor that made his set all the more funny.
He finished up with a quick Q&A with the audience. A lot of questions were about his experiences on SNL, and he gave plenty of insider information including that he thought Beck Bennett was the funniest cast mate and that he smoked “a lot of weed” with Russell Crowe when Crowe hosted the show. Other questions covered a range of topics, from his favorite songs to “if he were a pair of pants which celebrity would he want to have wear him.”
Overall, the show was extremely entertaining and enjoyable. Valley would be surprised if anyone left the Eisenhower Auditorium with their stomach not aching from laughter.
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