The Sketch-22 crowd was simmering with excitement last Saturday night, as a packed house rushed to find seats in the already-jammed Herter 231 auditorium. The first performance of the year had fans, friends and family alike waiting in anticipation for the comedy troupe.

Sketch-22 is a student-run comedy show under Student Valley Productions in which the members write, produce, direct and perform all of the skits. Performing only three times a year, the group works hard to bring energy to their audiences. To get ready for the show, Jake Goldman, a member of Sketch-22 since last May remarked that they do “warm-ups to get their blood flowing – anything, really, to get us laughing.”

The Dynamics, an on-campus a capella group, opened for Sketch-22 on Saturday night with “Take It Easy” by The Eagles followed by “Portions for Foxes” by Rilo Kiley. Both were sung well, however, the best of the numbers had to be their closing song, “I Believe in a Thing Called Love” by The Darkness. The use of their vocals as instruments and the energy they brought to the stage were both funny and invigorating for the crowd.         

Another continuous bit the cast did was a series of “Before They Were In Sketch” acts, describing where the cast members were before joining Sketch-22. From being porn stars to old women to carbohydrates, members of the cast were anything but ordinary. 

Other hilarious acts included “The Body of Christ,” written by Marc Boyd and Ryan Harrington and played by the two along with Madeleine Maggio. With songs like “Let’s Get Nailed,” their Christian rock band “Come” sought to spread the music of God with subtle and not-so-subtle innuendoes. “Doctor’s Visit” portrayed Seth Hapenny as an overly enthusiastic doctor who is actually from the insane asylum. “Hannah and The Real Boy” parodied the movie “Lars and The Real Girl.” Both revolved around characters that believed a blow up sex toy was an actual person. “They Call Me Benny” was a jab at a music video from Ke$ha. The show ended with a “Saturday Night Live” inspired music video.

Sketch-22’s first show of the year was a big hit. Paige Shea, a freshman at the University of Massachusetts, said, “I loved going to see Sketch-22 because they are hilarious. I enjoyed the video segments about how the members became a part of the sketch.”

This group is always looking for more members. Their sister organizations include Mission:IMPROVable and Improv With Attitude, the last of which performs weekly.

Eleine Fang can be reached at [email protected].