University Productions kicked off the school year with a show starring Saturday Night Live comedians Alex Moffat and Mikey Day at Zoellner Arts Center on Sept. 6. The event was the highest-selling comedy show the arts center has seen in years, with 412 tickets sold.
Rachel Kulakofsky, ’21, and David Owolabi, ’20, the co-comedy directors of University Productions, were in charge of getting Moffat and Day to Lehigh. Ally Abramson, ’19, the president of UP and the former director of comedy, acted as an adviser to Kulakofsky and Owolabi in planning the event.
“We try to consider Lehigh’s comedy style and think about who students would enjoy,” Abramson said.
UP knew the SNL names would attract comedy fans. Moffat and Day are best known for their Weekend Update sketches impersonating Donald Trump’s sons, Donald Jr. and Eric.
Emily Nesgoda, ’21, frequently attends UP events. Kulakofsky, her roommate, encouraged her to come to see Moffat and Day.
“I had never heard of them before,” Nesgoda said. “I had never been to a comedy show before.”
One of the jokes that resonated with the crowd referenced Greek houses that lost recognition within the last year. Moffat and Day involved the audience in their show and performed many of their characters from SNL.
The comedy duo even agreed to do a Q&A with the audience, which wasn’t originally planned. They came back to the stage after the show and passed the microphone around, giving students a chance to ask questions about their careers and gain insight into working at SNL. Moffat and Day also did a meet and greet with the students involved in UP.
“It was really rewarding, and we wanted to show Alex and Mikey that this school wanted to see them,” Kulakofsky said. She also attributed a great deal of the behind-the-scenes work to the Zoellner staff.
UP is still planning events for the year, which could include a spring music show and live music at Molly’s called Pub Jams. Besides music events, they are planning excursions to Philadelphia and a nearby apple orchard.
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