'Def Comedy Jam' lights up Zellerbach

Friday's comedy show was sponsored by SPEC-TRUM as part of Penn's Winterfest '99. Laughs flowed freely through Zellerbach Theatre on Friday as a packed crowd of students and local residents turned out for the live version of Russell Simmons' Def Comedy Jam. The event, which featured five comedians, was hosted by the Social Planning and Events Committee To Represent Undergraduate Minorities and attracted an audience of about 950 people. The comedy show was the centerpiece of the University's third annual Winterfest weekend. Jam was hosted by Joe Clair, who is also host of the Black Entertainment Television cable channel's Rap City. During the show, comedians T.J. Cross, Gerald Kelly, Dominique and feature act Talent poked fun at issues ranging from drugs, to sexual practices, to school shootings. They also made frequent jokes about racial differences. Cross, for instance, made fun of college students who act like gang members. "How you going to be in a gang in college? What are you going to fight over? Books?" Cross joked, drawing a loud round of laughter from the audience. And while some audience members may have taken offense to certain jokes -- which included one about the mass murder at Columbine High School last spring -- Clair suggested to the crowd that they remember the show was "just comedy." The show opened with DJ Kid Capri, a well-known personality from the television show. Capri mixed a number of hip-hop albums through a set of booming speakers placed on the stage. The crowd bounced to the music for 15 minutes before Clair was brought out to perform some stand-up comedy of his own and introduce the other comedians. Many audience members laughed consistently throughout the two-hour duration of the show. Several times, Clair even directed humor at the audience -- two outspoken female audience members served as targets as Clair made fun of them until they quieted down. After the show, several comedians praised the enthusiasm of the crowd, which included some students from Drexel and Temple universities, but was overwhelmingly composed of Penn students. "[The audience] was off the hook -- high energy -- we hope for this kind of crowd," Clair said. College sophomore Shamika Lee, a SPEC-TRUM co-director, said she considered the show a success. "Everyone I spoke to said they had a great time," Lee said. "I had a couple people walk up to me to say that it was good to have a laugh before finals." Def Comedy Jam enjoyed a several-year run on HBO in the early 1990s and now travels the country doing live performances. Conceived by comedian Russell Simmons, the show takes its name from Simmons' Def Jam Records.