Everybody on the mystery machine

Upon entering college, I knew that I would see a slew of drunken college students, especially on Friday nights, laughing about incredibly stupid things. Old people? Funny. Old people falling? Hilarious. Even inanimate objects can hold an audience; that's the beauty of college. In the event that something actually is funny, then, one would expect boisterous, booming, and even honking laughter? Well, such was the case in Fulton 511 at the Hello ... Shovelhead! performance on Friday night. Prior to the show, audience members received a necessary disclaimer that listed the groups of people that would be offended. Appropriately, it included about any type of person one would think could be offended by a risqué comedy performance. Little did I know at the time, that every group listed (and more) were in for some dignity-bashing and outright offensive comedy, but, hey, doesn't that make things fun?

From the Shovelhead original video that was met with thunderous applause, to the final Sexual (white) Chocolate performance in which cast members busted a move (among other things), there was a myriad of skits that brought forth cheers from the crowd. Everything, including the exceptional soundtrack played between skits, appeared to be the polished product of hard work, creativity, and no shame.

Highlights ranged from the very brief skit in which a Hungry Hungry Hippo upchucked after a meal to the Scooby-Doo spoof in which cast members fit the teen mystery marvels to a T. Tim Manning, A&S '08, and his mannerisms were so animated I thought he was cut from a Looney Toons episode. Molly McAleer, A&S '07, and her portrayal of a short-tempered home shopping network saleswoman: priceless. That sketch, in particular, with its bitter yet hilarious exchange between Barb and Chad, played by McAleer and Ryan Kagy, A&S '08, respectively, was similar to Anchorman but to the "n"th degree.

Ania Pritchard and George Jasinski, both A&S '06, were consistent audience favorites. Pritchard made a normally unspectacular Velma look and act hilarious thanks to her quirky habits. Jasinski's depiction of an awkward camp counselor emceeing a talent-less talent show was hysterically accurate and made me want to rethink my summer plans.

The Middle-Aged Mutant Ninja Turtles was a great idea, and Shovelhead managed to go all over the place with it. Similar creativity was seen with the aforementioned home shopping network program, as well as a conservative politician's publicity of his son's faked homosexuality in order to garner a liberal vote. The latter included newcomers Kendall Mayhew, A&S '07 and Jim Gordon, CSOM '09, both of whom gave great performances in their roles.

Grand High Chancellor of Comedy (it just sounds better than president), Kevin Allocca, A&S '06, is included among notable performances as well. His involvement in several skirts contributed to the show's flow.

This, along with the general chemistry between the cast members, leads me to believe that Allocca's leadership, as well as all the cast's collective charisma, is something unseen in other comedy groups on campus. One could detect a forceful effort in each of its participants to show the audience a good time, and that's just too nice of them all.