Shovelhead's 11th B-day

The sketch comedy group Hello ... Shovelhead! performed its spring show last Friday and Saturday nights. After apologizing for missing its 10-year anniversary, claiming that the cast members were too drunk and too stupid to figure it out, the group decided to celebrate its 11th anniversary and make it the theme of the spring show. Directed by John Maher and Lauren Tallevi, both A&S '04, the show was very well done and extremely funny.

The majority of the skits were based on events outside of Boston College, including recent movies, the debate over homosexual marriage (Shovelhead featured a union between Ronald McDonald and Colonel Sanders), and Bush's space program. There were not as many skits focused on BC life as in some of their previous shows, but those that were BC-related were the highlights.

The group carried many of the successful themes from its fall show and incorporated them into the performance. If one hadn't seen the previous performance, however, some of the jokes may have been lost.

The most notable example of this was found in the extension of last fall's finale. George Jasinski, A&S '06, appeared as Eagle's Nest employee Wandeta Jackson, who had won the UGBC recall elections held during the fall performance. As the new UGBC president, Jasinski held a press conference, relating everything to various Eagle's Nest wraps.

Another highlight of the show was a 30-second rendition of The Matrix, performed by Kevin Allocca, A&S '06. Allocca's furiously paced interpretation of the movie, including expertly mimicked impressions and hilarious parodies of the fight scenes, left the audience stunned.

Since its last performance, Hello ... Shovelhead! has received a lot of attention stemming from run-ins with the administration over the portrayal of University President Rev. William P. Leahy, SJ, in one of its skits. To the delight of the audience, the group did not shy away from using this material last weekend, but it made it clear that it was not making fun of Leahy.

The performance's program contained a disclaimer directed towards those who are "tall, short, fat, skinny, gay, straight, male, female, Father Leahy, etc." The list was extensive and demonstrated the group's belief that it was not targeting specific groups or individuals.

The comedy was edgy, but it was not tasteless, and while Leahy was portrayed in the show, he was not singled out. In addition, members would appear on stage prior to skits referring to Leahy to reiterate that offending him was not their intention.

The show's weakest part was the introductory video. The group prepared a video that was shown to the audience before the cast began their live performance. In keeping with the 11th anniversary theme, the video depicted the founders creating the sketch group and arriving on a suitable name. This was done by randomly pulling three words out of a hat - the three just happening to be "hello," "shovel," and "head." The video was lengthy, and the cast's live performance was far better.

The show itself lasted about two hours, which was on the long side, but it was so entertaining that it did not become an issue.

The show was very enjoyable. Skits ranged from poking fun at the fast food industry to the UGBC. The performances were hilarious, and the writing was well done. Shovelhead's performance demonstrated why it has been around for 11 years, and its show was a success.