If laughter truly is the best medicine, a wide array of illnesses must have been cured at last Thursday night’s comedy show in Robsham Theater. Organized by the Campus Activities Board (CAB), “A Night of Comedy” featured the humor stylings of Alex Stone and Matthew Broussard. From Stone’s seamless, natural audience interaction to Broussard’s self-deprecating sense of humor, the duo had every audience member rolling in laughter from beginning to end.
The night began with Alex Stone’s routine. Covering every topic imaginable, from cheating girlfriends and the taste of human meat to petting feral wolves and playing “Would-You-Rather,” Stone quickly builds an easy rapport with his audience members, making them feel like a part of the show rather than just spectators. At one point, Stone began dialoguing with members of the crowd—after telling the story of a mouse who had escaped his mousetrap, he attempted to discover who had the grossest critter-related story. Any performer that can make a viewer feel like a good friend is an effective one, and this, by far, is Alex Stone’s biggest strength.
Stone, relatively well-known in the world of comedy, has appeared on NBC’s hit show Last Comic Standing and has also performed at Montreal’s Just For Laughs comedy festival. His debut album, Hello, was released in August of last year and features a number of unique tracks that are guaranteed to draw a laugh from anyone who listens.
Halfway through the show, Stone ended his set, and up stepped Matthew Broussard. After giving the audience a choice between offensive and non-offensive material (naturally, in a crowd of college students, the offensive material was first choice), Broussard launched into his spiel. As it happens, the choice played quite well to Broussard’s style of delivery—without warning, he began by lamenting the fact that college kids, still immature and ignorant, aren’t actually capable of having a real opinion.
Offensive humor fittingly balances Broussard’s personality. With his background in bioscience and applied mathematics, he very effectively blends anatomical humor with the intellectual, creating an environment every person can enjoy. Broussard is, beyond any doubt, not afraid to offend—he comments on every societal nuance that he sees differently than others, with a particularly humorous section on rap lyrics. Like Stone, Broussard is quite talented in the department of audience connection. From the beginning of his set, Broussard admits, at least half of his audience has him pegged as “the stereotypical douchebag,” and that he has simply accepted the title with pride.
Similarly to Alex Stone, Matthew Broussard is also fairly well-known. He has performed on Comedy Central, as well as starring on MTV2’s Guy Code and Not Exactly News. In his routines, Broussard also mentions both his sculptures and his drawings, the latter of which were presented at A Night of Comedy. According to him, he rather enjoys puns, often drawing small sketches that illustrate a unique pun or play on words. In addition to being a gifted comedian, Broussard is also a very skilled artist, and his artwork sculpts out the perfect end to a spirited evening of laughter.
CAB’s latest Robsham event, A Night of Comedy, was a resounding success. Throughout the night, Boston College students bonded through laughter and love of humor, which, more than anything else, Alex Stone and Matthew Broussard exude. It is clear that these two have a genuine passion for making others smile, making their work all the more enjoyable. For this reason more than anything else, the show was incredibly effective—there is absolutely no doubt that Stone and Broussard would be welcome back for yet another excellent Night of Comedy.
Featured Image by Amelie Trieu / Heights Editor
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