Saturday night one could hear laughter echoing throughout The Bryce Jordan Center, which meant only one thing: the 100% Laughter Arts Festival had arrived.
Walking in to see the big letters "LAF" lit upon the stage, a brick wall in the background and more than several large plants scattered around, no one knew what to expect.
The show began with Kevin Meaney, donning a jacket and khakis, who asked the 2,000 people attending, "Is anybody vacationing here?" This got big laughs from the many older locals along with quite a few students.
Meaney performed for nearly half an hour, which was followed by Wendy Liebman. Liebman, wearing a black cardigan over a long, dark dress, started off by saying, "I didn't know what to wear . . . obviously." She explained that her style came from DKNJ — "Donna Karen New Jersey" — and that her shoulder pads were in fact maxi pads. "I feel fashionable and fresh," she said.
She continued in her fun, casual routine by getting in touch with the college crowd, talking about her brother who attended Penn State and discussing her own college experiences. "I used to drink a lot and take advantage of myself, then never call."
She then went on about what she did after college, including a secretary job. "Like all secretaries, I practically ran the whole place . . . into the ground," she said.
She also discussed relationships utilizing her quick, intelligent humor by saying, "I met a guy who wanted a long-distance relationship. He told me to go to hell, so I went to L.A."
She ended her act with probably the best line of the night, which rang true for many college students in attendance. "The only way to have safe sex is to abstain . . . from drinking."
Following Liebman, Meaney returned to the stage again, this time to introduce Bobcat Goldthwait and to throw off a few more off-color lines, such as asking, "Is Chandra Levy here?"
As Goldthwait jumped on the stage — literally — the howls and cheers grew exponentially, proving his popularity among the college crowd. He was quick on the spot to respond to the crowd and the setting, joking about his request to have 15 plants on stage or he wouldn't go on.
Goldthwait, like Liebman, knew how to get through to the college crowd as he discussed his trip to State College, saying, "Lions are indigenous to the area. I remember driving, and 40 to 50 lions ran in front of my car!"
He also went on to poke fun at the media in attendance, particularly the photographers and The Daily Collegian, saying that he questioned if there was really enough going on in the area for the paper to publish daily.
While Goldthwait brought on tons of laughs — mostly thanks to his shrieking voice and hyper demeanor — he relied on a lot of older material, such as Michael Jackson, Star Wars and Melissa Etheridge jokes. Nonetheless, Goldthwait was a wonder to watch.
Last came Robert Schimmel, who took the stage with a timid air about him. He wore a suit and tie, which made it all the more surprising when he began his act with jokes full of sexual innuendo.
Schimmel managed to tie sex in with everything from his struggle with cancer to computers, the gym and wrestling. Referencing his bout with cancer, he said, "Laughter is the best medicine; I just want you to know Morphine is a better medicine."
Another great line of Schimmel's was when he discussed being in a threesome: "That'd be fun to be in a threesome because I've never disappointed two people simultaneously."
After Schimmel's show-stealing performance came a 15-minute question-and-answer session, during which the comedians were asked about Paula Poundstone, George W. Bush and why they came to State College.
"We lost a bet," Goldthwait said.
Whatever the reason for coming, no one left disappointed.
"I thought it was so good and funny. I was mad that it wasn't recorded or anything, I liked it that much," said Jeff Stromberg (freshman-bio-engineering).
