By Mary DiRienzo
Correspondent
Kendall Hall buzzed with excitement on Sept. 17, as students stood in line for hours to see America’s favorite cat-hating, germaphobe comedian, Sal Vulcano.
Tru TV’s mega hit show “Impractical Jokers” is a staple in many a college student’s show rotations. The four jokers — Sal Vulcano, Joe Gatto, James “Murr” Murray and Brian “Q” Quinn — have used their fame to branch off into their own platforms and passions. As part of CUB’s fall comedy show, Vulcano came to the College to showcase his passion for stand-up comedy and leave students in side-splitting laughter.
The night opened with Chris DeStefano, a Long Island comedian who had the room in tears by connecting with the audience’s college experience.
Vulcano’s portion of the show began with roaring applause as he took the stage. From stories of breaking up with a girl because she only ate flax seeds to having the belief as a child that moths were going to take over the Earth because of his grandparents’ obsession with moth balls, he sent the audience into a fit of laughter over his relatable, observational humor on seemingly ordinary situations.
The highlighted joke of the evening went right into Vulcano’s niche of being paranoid 24/7. Being a child of the 1980s, he was afraid of Gloria Estefan’s hit, “Rhythm is Gonna Get You” — he literally feared that the rhythm was going to get him.
After a spooky reading of Estefan’s lyrics “at night when you turn off all the light...no place to hide...the rhythm is gonna get’cha,” Vulcano was so afraid of these lyrics his mother would use the “rhythm” to scare his sister and him into behaving.
Vulcano also talked about his wild ride on “Impractical Jokers,” which he used to tie in different strands of humor. Sophomore special education and elementary education dual major Hudson Waller said that students across the board appreciated his efforts to talk to the audience a lot, and he would use that to connect with them.
“He would talk to audience members a lot, and kind of build off of their reactions,” Waller said. “So, for example, if someone didn’t laugh at a joke he would poke fun at them. It felt more like comedic discussion because he based his humor on how the crowd was feeling. He was telling a lot of jokes about New Jersey and things that really connected to our age group.”
Students agreed that for a Tuesday night, this was an enjoyable way to spend their time.
“The energy was wild,” Waller said. “Everyone was so hyped to see Sal. When someone that’s that well-known and beloved among this age demographic comes in, the energy becomes insane.”
