'Comedy Jam' showcases two top comedians

Dave Chapelle and Tony Woods made students laugh Thursday night at Irvine. Students laughed for more than two hours Thursday night as the annual SPEC Comedy Jam's featured guests, comedians Dave Chapelle and Tony Woods, entertained them at Irvine Auditorium. The event followed a format similar to HBO's Def Comedy Jam -- on which Woods often appears. Comedian Vince Putterson started the show with several short jokes that created a loose atmosphere and prepped the audience for the guests of honor. But the main attractions -- Woods and Chapelle -- quickly overtook the audience with their humor. During his 40-minute monologue, Woods joked about an imaginary midget girlfriend and made several other sexual innuendos. Chapelle -- who starred in The Nutty Professor -- stayed away from the more risque jokes, choosing to entertain the audience by satirizing races and politicians. "Tony Woods came to campus for '95 Homecoming and at that time many people liked him," said College junior Robert Hassett, director of special events for the Social Planning and Events Committee. "That's why we invited him again. And Dave Chapelle had a new movie recently so we thought it would bring people's interest more." Hassett added that he was thrilled to meet the two celebrities. Hassett said he had expected Penn students to enjoy the show as well -- and the amounts of laughter heard during the performances proved he was correct. "It was really cool -- marvelously funny," College sophomore Mike Turi said. After the comedians finished their performances, Putterson called six audience volunteers onto the stage to show off their own comedic talents. The show ended with their attempts at humor. Although many of the audience members said they greatly enjoyed the event, several added that they wished it had been better advertised so more students would have known about it. "I almost missed this funny show unless I passed Irvine Auditorium tonight," said a College sophomore who was unhappy with the turnout. "If there were more flyers before the show, much more people could come and enjoy together." After the show, Woods reminisced about his start in the world of comedy and the personal rewards he has gotten from it. "My friends used to tell me that I am such a funny guy," he said. "I have enjoyed my job for more than 10 years. I love to see people want to talk to me and take a picture of me."