ASU welcomed Saturday Night Live stars and comedians Colin Jost and Michael Che at the annual Homecoming Comedy Show Monday night.
The duo, mostly known for their roles as co-anchors on the SNL Weekend Update, headlined the show. American radio personality Cipha Sounds and Last Comic Standing winner Rachel Javorsky, a film junior, both performed as opening acts.
The free show garnered attention on social media and was one of the first significant University-promoted events in the new Student Pavilion.
ASU’s Student Events and Programming Activities Advisor Karen Stepanek said the event sold all of its 1,100 seats within five days of its posting on Facebook.
Jost and Che’s stand-up performances poked fun at college life, Arizona heat, politics and their lives as comedians, from their origins to today.
Jost said when he visited Arizona in August he enjoyed his trip, however desolate Arizona may seem.
“There was no one on the streets,” Jost said. “I thought I saw one guy but he was a cactus.”
He joked that he took note of the elderly-dominated parts of the state.
“It’s just full of old people,” Jost said. “This whole place is full of old people. It’s 145 degrees. This is where they all go to die.”
After recounting some of his beginnings as a comedian doing stand-up and working for The Daily Show, Che told the crowd to “stay in school.”
“I didn’t go to college and Colin graduated from Harvard,” Che said. “And somehow we have the same job.”
Kavitha Ramohalli, the programming and activities board president at the Tempe campus and a marketing management senior, said the high turnout added to the excitement of the day.
The attendance count capped off at around 800 people after check-ins, she said.
“It’s a really great opportunity to remind yourself and the community why it’s awesome to be a Sun Devil and really involve yourself in that spirit, pride and tradition,” Ramohalli said.
All students and other members of the community should attend the various homecoming events throughout the week, she said.
“There’s literally an event for any kind of person throughout the week,” Ramohalli said.
PAB Tempe’s Director of Live Entertainment and business management senior Anthony Green helped lead the event. Green, who sat on the selection committee, said the process of choosing the Homecoming Comedy Show headliners began last May.
“Whenever we have an event, on the day of the event we all run around like crazy,” Green said. “Everything went really smoothly tonight and I think it was the best way to kick off the Pavilion’s grand opening.”
Green said Homecoming is more than a week of events about school pride. It's a way to build a stronger ASU community, he said.
“As a school, we emphasize that we want to have a healthy community,” Green said. “I think (Homecoming Week) is a great way for students to really show that school pride for their community.”
Reach the reporter at Kimberly.Rapanut@asu or follow @kimrapanut on Twitter
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