Courtesy photoCaroline Rhea performed some of the funniest comedy at the Performing Arts Center on Saturday, Oct. 13 with hilarious routines like the “muffin top” (the midsection of your body that you get after 40), the inevitable “snoring partner in the long-term relationship” and “the constant ribbon of terror” that runs along the bottom of the CNN broadcast.
Civil engineering junior Casey Gagnon said, “I really enjoyed her show … I see Caroline Rhea on TV and everything and it was great to see a different side of her. It brings a different perspective to her as a person.”
Cal Poly English professor David Hennessee said Rhea had a wandering comedic sense.
“I mean, I wonder where she’s going but she always comes back to some place that’s really funny,” Hennessee said. “It’s also really great that she involves the audience.”
Animal science sophomore Katie Douglas felt there she had a personal connection to Rhea and her comedy.
“Every time she tells jokes, I completely get it. It’s like we’re on the same wavelength,” Douglas said. “I completely understand everything she talks about. I really get her.”
Opening act Costaki Economopoulos came out and performed a 30-minute set.
With such humorous bits as “vegetarian meatballs” and “silent G-spot,” which he says are complete oxymorons, his comedy style ranges from quite witty to quite edgy.
One of his funniest bits was when he discussed the benefits of getting older and having Alzheimer’s disease. As he merrily sprinted along in this vein, he imagined how cool it would be to just forget things for a little while.
“Imagine,” Economopoulos told the crowd, “the advantages of capturing the power of Prozac in a pill form, for seven or eight hours of pure forgetfulness … Imagine: The Magic Of ALL-ZAC.”
Speaking about some of the material that didn’t make it into the opener, Economopoulos said, “I was on the road last month and doing an hour’s worth of material every night. So to do a half-hour was like, ‘Oh, how do I get this in?'”
Economopoulos talked about his own impressions of the show.
“I thought it was great,” Economopoulos said. “The sound was great, the audience was smart, patient and supportive. From the very beginning they were right with us, so it was one of those super pleasant, easy, fun shows all the way through. We really loved it.”
Animal science sophomore Natalie Grubb gave her impressions on Economopoulos’s performance.
“I think that he was really good,” Grubb said. “I thought that he connected with the audience pretty early on, which is rare, especially in opening acts because they usually take a little while to warm up but he was really into it.”
“I like the dark humor that he was going toward … I was pretty much in hysterics the whole time,” Douglas said.
Hennessee also agreed that Economopoulos had a bit of a darker side to his comedy.
“He was definitely more understated and darker than Caroline but still funny,” Hennessee said.
Douglas said that she would like to see Economopoulos and Rhea, who are currently dating, perform together.
“They are both so different, it would be hilarious.”