The Collegian

Issue date: 3/17/06 Section: News

Media Credit: James Snyder Members of the news team get a laugh from the comedians during the event.

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The fourth Grandma Tilly's Comedy Jam turned the Tillie Lewis Theatre into a real crowd pleaser, with all sorts of video and live comedy entertainment. Even though the theatre was far from full, the laughs could be heard pretty well from outside the hall.

The show's host, Solomon Stadtner, really kept his composure on stage and though his jokes were a bit corny at times, he sometimes had his moments.

The Comedy Jam also had a "News Team" monologue, which seemed more confusing than funny. I guess the "News Team" was supposed to introduce the videos and stand-up comedians, but that is what a host does, right? It seemed ridiculous, but the crowd ate it right up.

The video entertainment consisted of six video monologues, with the most random subjects, such as "Chimney Sweeps" and "Emeril Lagasse fight sequences." Yet, there were two videos which stood out of the pack and actually made me do something more than just slightly chuckle.

"The Chimney Sweep 3000" video was the introduction of the Comedy Jam, and it attempted to sell a product that would clean your chimney without any hassle. This parody of a bad infomercial had some awkward moments that had the audience laughing out loud.

"Clown Morgue" was the second-to-last video of the show, but the only video at the Comedy Jam which can be called nothing less than hilarious. Its writer and star, Joe Famularo, really has a lot of potential in comedic film making.

Aside from the host, Stadtner, there were two other young comedians by the names of David Stathatos and Paul Jaffe.

Stathatos was a guy who knew what he liked and definitely knew what he hated. He seemed to be really opposed to the "emo scene" and "hippies," comparing the two and stating why he hated them so much.

Jaffe got a person thinking about ducks. The highlight of his stand-up was questioning the intelligence of ducks. He actually sold me on thinking that ducks are stupid. If they are so smart, then why do they walk across streets facing all sorts of danger, instead of flying and not have cars crush them?

This wasn't the greatest show on Earth, but it was for charity (funds went to the St. Mary's Dining Hall) and the only thing that matters is the people attending actually laughed. The crowd seemed closely attuned to most of the performers, which was good to see because the cheers and support are probably what make some of the younger high school performers strive towards a career in entertainment.

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