With cheeky wit and endearing slapstick humour, renowned comedians Joe Wong and Steve Macone entertained students at Comedy Night last Friday in the Den. Stand-up comedian Wong has previously been featured on the Ellen DeGeneres show and Late Night with David Letterman and was named Boston Comedian of the Year in 2010, according to Wong’s website. Macone has appeared on Comedy Central and is a contributor at “The Onion,” according to his website. Macone started off the night with a joke about the Andover campus, breaking the ice by comparing the school to Hogwarts. With the audience in high spirits, he continued his act by breaking down the meaning of an “emotional roller-coaster,” emphasizing the “awesomeness” of a roller coaster and how there is no “downtime.” In a comedic yet slightly serious way, Macone then addressed the serious environmental issue of littering. “It is generally accepted that if a cigarette butt is thrown out of a car you do nothing, I think the person should be shot with a grenade launcher,” Macone joked. Macone recalled an experience he had with a girl in a party. He said, “I met this girl called Tia and she explained that her name meant something like hope, and I wondered why don’t we just name our children with the meanings. I am going to name my child Sea of Doves.” One of the highlights of his performance came when Macone discussed the “cult” aspect of a Catholic ceremony. He first noted that baptism was an unfair “water fight,” and then, drawing the most laughs of his act, imitated a 3’4’’ old lady in church by singing one high pitch note for ten seconds. “I really enjoyed Steve Macone’s show, especially the Catholic part. Everything he said was in fact very true and relatable,” said Efua Peterson ’14. Wong performed next. He started by commenting on an experience in which he showed up to a geek festival with a lightsaber, later finding out that it was actually a Greek festival. Putting an original twist on normal comedic acts, Wong used a PowerPoint presentation to relay his jokes to the audience. The PowerPoint began with a slide of the stars, which was dramatically enlarged to represent, in Wong’s words, “the expansion of the universe.” The main part of the PowerPoint was a section called “Wong’s Equation.” One of the slides in this section was about Wong’s weapons during high school. He said, “At first, my weapon was my violin case, but after joining a gang I learned the cello.”, “The PowerPoint was a standout of the performance; it was subtly funny. His jokes had an impeccable ability to linger in the air after they were spoken, letting them sink in slowly,” said Gabriel Parlin ’14. Wong also drew from his personal experiences in high school and in Texas during his comedic acts. “Having a gang sign of a smile and a wave didn’t help,” said Wong, as he described his experience of joining a high school gang for protection but still getting beaten up. Wong also referenced his Chinese-related experiences. “Celtics Cheerleaders tried to teach Chinese students how to cheer, they failed because they never seemed to be able to represent the Chinese characters [with their bodies],” he said When asked about his type of comedy, Wong appropriately said, “I would believe that my comedy is simply a smart comedy. Whatever is funny is suitable.” Wong credited his work to others who have worked in the industry. Wong said, “I was inspired by intelligent American comedians. Hearing some perform was enough.”
