When I mentioned to a friend that I was going to see Jerry Seinfeld perform, the only response I got was, “Isn’t Jerry Seinfeld for old people?”
Whether he draws in an older crowd or not, I have been a huge Seinfeld fan for as long as I can remember. His comedy show was constantly on my television while I was growing up, and there isn’t one episode that I haven’t seen. Heck, my family even plays Seinfeld Scene It on game nights. I’m pretty sure my father would have disowned me if I hadn’t become a fan.
When I heard that Seinfeld would be coming to Eisenhower Auditorium on Oct. 21, I immediately called my dad. The next day, my entire family had tickets to go see our favorite entertainer. My parents drove three hours from Forest Hill, Maryland to come see Seinfeld perform for an hour. Ladies and gentlemen, those are true fans.
Mario Joyner opened the show and won the crowd over instantly by announcing he was born in Pittsburgh. He started by making a few jokes about our humble college town, “Is it University Park or State College?!” He yelled to the crowd, making the college kids laugh. Anybody who can engage their audience is a true performer, and Joyner did an excellent job of asking us questions and throwing out jokes that pertained to our lives. The former host of MTV’s “Half-Hour Comedy Hour” looked very nice in his black suit and perfected all of his jokes. Joyner was the perfect gateway into Seinfeld’s act.
Running out onto the stage in a black suit, Seinfeld had the audience going wild. I had never seen Seinfeld live before, and I had expected good ol’ Jerry from the television to pop out on stage. Boy, was I wrong. 57-year-old Seinfeld has short, gray hair and a face that has aged tremendously. Regardless, he still had that same crazy look about him, and the way his eyes just pop out of his head seemed all too familiar. Once I heard that high pitched squeal of a first joke, I knew he was the real deal.
Seinfeld did an excellent job of altering his jokes to the college crowd, ripping on everything from electronics, gay French kings and star 69. He went on about random, everyday events and somehow made them hilarious—signs of a great comedian. After he finished with his act, Seinfeld allowed some time for questions from the audience, giving his fans a chance to get to know him on a personal level.
After seeing Seinfeld preform live, I am now an even bigger fan. The jokes went along with the same corny humor in his show, and I just couldn’t get enough of it. My cheeks ached the next day from having laughed so hard, and I would watch the show all over again in a heartbeat, even if I am the youngest person in the crowd.