The Social Planning and Events Committee and Mask and Wig kicked off Spring Fling to a packed Irvine Auditorium last night the sober way -- but with plenty of music and laughs.
Mask and Wig's Fifth Annual Comedy Festival featured Kevin Nealon of Saturday Night Live fame as well as comedy groups from Cornell, Princeton and Yale universities and the University of Maryland.
Nealon, dressed in casual gray pants and a blue shirt, started the show, coming onto the stage to loud cheers and applause from the audience.
"I like coming to towns like Philadelphia," he said. "I feel like I'm back in college."
After making a few jokes and throwing in a series of Freudian slips -- including the words horny, stripclubs and lap dancer -- in his opening remarks, Nealon introduced the "Maryland Sketchup."
The group presented skits with subjects ranging from the effects of beer, vodka and joints to the NCAA Tournament and even impersonated a deaf comedian.
"You hear me?" the deaf comedian asked through sign language and a translator. "Cuz' I don't hear shit."
Penn's Mask and Wig also took the stage to do a few skits, one of which featured the group's members dressed as monks. They performed a mock commercial and a "Monks Gone Wild" video, adapting the tunes of popular songs to sound like hymns.
Following the group exhibitions, Nealon returned to the stage to more applause and spent a few minutes promoting some of the weekend's festivities.
"This Spring Fling week is amazing," he said as he read from a list of events.
Returning to his performance, Nealon entertained the crowd by mocking issues such as airport security, the war and gun control.
"I can't stop watching that war," he said. "He's got so many look-alikes. Everyone in Iraq is a Saddam Hussein look-alike -- even the women."
"Guns don't kill people," he commented at another point. "People kill people -- which is exactly why I don't keep people in my house."
Engineering freshman Greg Bobich said that the night "was definitely worth it."
"The Oregon Trail skit was outstanding," he said. "But Penn took the cake."
Bobich also thought Nealon's performance was great, especially when he walked through the audience conducting a mock "talk show," shaking hands, cracking jokes and introducing himself to students.
College freshman Zoe Tsien agreed with Bobich, adding that Nealon was "a great host."
"It was a bit long," Tsien added, noting that the show was about two and a half hours. "I'm glad Mask and Wig was last because if it wasn't, I would've left earlier."
College sophomore Claire Constantine also noted the length and said she was disappointed with some of the comedy groups from other colleges.
"It wouldn't have felt as long if the other groups had been funny," she said. "Mask and Wig was definitely the best."
