Television viewers know him for his creative spins as anchor of the “Weekend Update” — the “fake news” on NBC’s “Saturday Night Live.” He’s also known for his renditions on SNL of Bob Dole during the 1996 campaign, and for his role as a former professional hockey player on the ABC sitcom “Norm.” He has played parts in films such as “Dirty Work,” “Billy Madison” and “Man on the Moon.”
But tonight at 8, comedian Norm MacDonald will bring his stand-up form of humor to McArthur Court.
Writer and comedian Stevie Ray Fromstein will also be joining MacDonald on stage. The two longtime friends started out in comedy together in 1986, Fromstein said, when they met at a stand-up club called Yuck Yucks in Ottawa. A few years later, both MacDonald and Fromstein moved out to Los Angeles.
“I love working with Norm,” Fromstein said. “He makes me laugh more than anyone.”
Even offstage, Fromstein said, MacDonald is unpredictable and unique, not to mention clever and dirty.
“Comedy has to have the element of surprise — a twisted angle,” Fromstein said. “The thing about Norm is he sees things for what they are, exposing everyday paradoxes.”
Fromstein, the co-executive producer of the ABC sitcom “Two Guys and a Girl,” has appeared on both “The Late Show with David Letterman” and the “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.”
And tonight, he said, he is planning to focus on himself, relationships and observational humor.
The ASUO Cultural Forum is bringing MacDonald to campus, and Ian Clayman, performing arts coordinator for the group, said the reason is purely for entertainment. Clayman said he hopes that because MacDonald is a “large-name comedian,” he will appeal to a wide range of students.
“We wanted to reach a demographic we haven’t reached before,” Clayman said, adding that he expects a crowd of more than 4,000 people.
Clayman said people are attracted to MacDonald because his sense of humor is sarcastic and non-traditional. He warned viewers that MacDonald’s show will be “blue in nature,” and they should be wary of MacDonald’s use of adult language. Clayman, who has worked with the Cultural Forum for two years, has been responsible for bringing other famous names to campus, such as Bob Dylan, David Spade, the Harlem Globetrotters and Dr. Drew Pinsky. Junior economics major Heather Soczek said she enjoys MacDonald on “Norm” because he makes fun of people’s everyday worries. She said MacDonald’s humor brings people laughter.
“Happiness is the most important thing in the world, and people can find it in comedy,” she said. “It makes it easier for us to accept our own faults.”
Nathan Jones, a sophomore educational studies major, decided to buy tickets for his girlfriend so they could see MacDonald in person.
Jones said some of MacDonald’s best moments were on SNL’s “Weekend Update.” Jones added that he’s hoping MacDonald will be a little more daring in his jokes when addressing a primarily college-aged audience.
“I’ve never seen a stand-up comedian before in my life,” Jones said. “And I just really like his comedy style. He has a dry sense of humor and makes fun of the stupid things people do.”