Comedian Judah Friedlander entertains students and community.
Photo courtesy of Nick Karp /Special to The Leader
CLAIRE WOODCOCK
Special to the Leader
Last week, feel-good vibes resonated throughout King Concert Hall. The weather was nice that day, so Judah Friedlander “parkoured from Korea” to Fredonia for the show.
Throughout the show students and community members buzzed over the jokes he laid down for the audience. Spectrum also brought several openers affiliated with Comedy Central. Among them were Thomas Dale, Jermaine Fowler and headliner Judah Friedlander, best known for his role on NBC’s “30 Rock.”
“I actually know who that guy was, like I’ve watched him on TV and everything. And I didn’t know we had big name people come here, which is awesome,” said Britney Ferger, a freshman speech pathology major of headliner Friedlander.
Friedlander strolled onto the stage decked out in his notorious “World Champion” attire. His onstage demeanor reflected that of his character from the late “30 Rock” — a sluggish comedy writer, affirmed karate champion and self-proclaimed sex god. From the stage, Friedlander looked like a slacker, but his quick judgment and snappy jokes won him many laughs.
Last year Spectrum brought Mike Birbiglia to campus. In the past when Spectrum has brought comedians to campus, they have seen ample positive feedback from the students.
“When we look at our spring show we look at a variety of options and a variety of World Champion parkours to Fredonia potential people that we can bring. And one of the options that came up was a Comedy Central on Campus tour. We kept communicating with the company until we got a good name and someone who had a good following. And eventually it came back that Judah Friedlander was one of the options so we picked him,” said Stephanie Willis. She’s a sophomore Public Relations and Marketing major who deals with the promotional tasks for Spectrum.
Overall, the audience seemed equally receptive to each comedian’s set of jokes. The comedians were in high spirits about the turnout as well.
“We went backstage and they were immediately like, ‘Wow, that was a good crowd and a good school.’ They were so excited to meet all of the students, because they were so pumped from how well the crowd was responding from them, so we’re glad that they love Fredonia,” Willis continued.
“It was a lot of fun. Everyone was very comedy savvy, which was cool. Sometimes you perform for people and they’re like ‘I don’t get it,’ but you guys were awesome and you guys totally get the humor and the jokes, which made it fun,” said Thomas Dale, the first comedian welcomed to the stage.
But instead of simply making fun of other people, all of the comedians shared jokes that dealt with their personal experiences with cultural issues relevant to today’s society.
“They made a lot of satirical references to racial profiling and homophobia, but they made it very comfortable and very at ease. I think that was a very good job how they did it and how they presented the material,” said Antonio Regulier, a junior social work major.
“I think it brought to light some of the situations that we kind of sometimes take too much to heart. And they kind of made a lighter way of looking at it,” he continued.
Towards the end of his performance, Friedlander asked the audience, “I’m gonna be the next president of the United States, whose gonna vote for me?” He then called out the kid in the second row that didn’t cheer for him.
“Do you hate America? Are you against heroes? Why would you not vote for me?”
He then welcomed questions from the audience about the actions he would take if he became president. This allowed him to critique the contentious elements of our society. Overall, Friedlander and friends show was a raging success.