Funnyman Jeff Richards, formerly of MADtv and Saturday Night Live, performed a free show for students in the Event Center Tuesday night.
Almost every seat in the house was filled by students looking for a fun and gut-busting time, which is exactly what they got.
A veteran of stand-up comedy, Richards’ routine was filled with customer service rants, comical accounts of his day-to-day life, interactions with the audience and near-spot-on impressions.
One of his famous and more spot-on impressions was of David Letterman, which he performed while as a cast member on MADtv. This impression explores whether Letterman turns off his talk show voice when he goes home to his children. His impression encompasses what makes David Letterman funny: facial expressions, constant giggling and a funny noise every fifth word.
Not to be outdone was his “drunk girl” character, which he performed on Saturday Night Live on numerous occasions. He speaks incoherently, laughs constantly, is super hungry and hates the person he is with. Of course at the end of the bit, like drunken girls do, he passed out snoring mid-sentence.
Other impressions included President George Bush, Al Gore, Gary Busey and Dustin Hoffman, which were all funny in their own right.
What the audience really enjoyed was the interactions Richards had with the individual audience members. He asked what people did for a living, commented on couples in the audience, and at one point wondered if I, sitting in the back row, was planning on shooting anybody.
At the end of the show, Richards spent 15 minutes answering questions from audience members. He answered questions, among other things, about his experiences working on both Saturday Night Live and MADtv and which celebrities he did and did not enjoy working with.
Not to be left out was opening act Brenton Biddlecombe. With five years of stand-up experience, Biddlecombe was comfortable on stage and very interactive with the audience.
Both men were very pleased with the turnout for the show.
“The crowd was very receptive, lively and fun,” said Biddlecombe after the show. “These shows can be unpredictable. They could be good, they could be bad – this one was good.”
Richards was just happy it was in a hall.
“I’ve done one (show) in a kitchen at a college before,” said Richards. “But this one was good.”