Lehigh students were engaged in an interactive and relevant comedic performance with “The Daily Show with Trevor Noah” correspondents Roy Wood Jr. and Jordan Klepper at Baker Hall on Friday.
In their opening collaborative act, the pair worked off of each other and the audience in lending advice to the students, covering everything from 4 o’clocks to athletics to dreaded roommate issues.
The audience responded well to Klepper and Wood’s humor, clapping and laughing throughout the performance.
Talia Rodkey, ’19, said she enjoyed the act because it was relatable. She found herself laughing more often than she has at other comedic acts University Productions has brought to Lehigh in the past.
During the Fall 2015 semester, University Productions brought in Pete Davidson from Saturday Night Live, one of the biggest names to perform on campus to date.
“I saw Pete Davidson and he was extremely vulgar,” Evan Mehok, ’19, said. “While (he) was funny, it wasn’t in my taste, (but) this was definitely relatable. I thought that (Klepper and Wood) were absolutely hilarious. It really made my night.”
Noah Marcus, ’18, University Productions’ co-producer of comedy, explained the Daily Show duo attracted a different crowd than Davidson.
“I think it was a different form of comedy,” Marcus said. “This was more politically driven and Pete Davidson was more, ‘What is he going to do now?’”
While Davidson infamously showed up half an hour late, Klepper and Wood were at Zoellner an hour and a half early.
Marcus said this truly speaks to the professional nature in which the comedians work.
In addition to asking the students about their lives, each of the “Daily Show” stars remarked on personal experiences of their own in their respective forty-five minute sets.
Klepper addressed millennial topics such as selfies, “Netflix and chill” and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, while Wood touched on racial issues and his college experience.
Both comedians emphasized politics.
“I don’t think they offended anyone,” Rodkey said. “They were just making fun of the political system, so that was funny.”
With the upcoming election, late night talk shows have ample material to work with, resulting in the comedians’ topics revolving around politics and the presidential candidates.
“I like the political stuff,” Mehok said. “I could relate to what they were saying because I’m following (the election). So I was completely on board with what they were talking about. I thought that it was pretty funny.”
Marcus was glad to see a positive reaction from the audience in regard to the political commentary and the act in general.
He said the best part of his job is having the opportunity to talk to the comedians backstage.
“(Klepper) told us that one of his jokes was right off the top (of his head), and he’s gonna add it to his set,” Marcus said. “It’s just cool the way you see comedy work like that.”
He said University Productions will persist in the tradition of Klepper, Wood and Davidson by continuing to bring in big comedic names in the upcoming years.
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