The Daily Collegian

Issue date: 11/5/07 Section: Arts & Living

"The Late Night Players" comedy style is similar to the television show "Whose Line Is It Anyway?," but with more politcal references and specialized jokes to their latest tour stop.

Tuesday night, the Jewish Student Union and UMass Hillel will be bringing something to campus that it has been notably lacking: live Jewish sketch comedy.

On Nov. 6, Boston-based comedy troupe "The Late Night Players" will be coming to Amherst as part of their nation-wide college campus tour.

The Late Night Players started as a group of six friends at Brandeis University in Waltham, Mass. who had a love of sketch comedy. They performed frequently at school and, upon graduation, decided to take their show to campuses across the country. Eventually, two members were not able to tour, leaving Aaron, Seth, Andrew and Zach as the new players.

Their style of comedy consists of social commentary, political criticism, random silliness and Napoleon Dynamite-style dancing. Some sketches poke subtle fun at the politicians, while others are very overt. The Players wear their opinions on their sleeves (literally), directly attacking Wal-Mart by comparing it to Harry Potter's main villain.

This relevant brand of humor has won The Late Night Players wide acclaim by youth across the country, but rarely by the mainstream media, as their venues tend to be small and they often go under the radar.

They usually do school-specific humor as well, ripping good-naturedly into the area, by-laws and alumni of whatever university they happen to be at. Their specialty, however, is anagrams of the school name.

"Anagrams is the best thing we've ever come up with," said Zach Sherwin. "The concept is brilliant, and we're so good at the execution now."

Since the UMass Hillel was involved in bringing them to campus, you can also expect a good amount of Hebrew humor, such as "the time traveling Israelite" and their sketch about the common uses of the word "oy."

The Late Night Players are very socially active, raising money and awareness for important causes such as Global AIDS and the Darfur genocide at many of their shows. These efforts are spearheaded by Andrew Slack, but supported by all of the members for their obvious importance to society. They believe that those who have the attention of the public have a responsibility to put it to good use.

The event will open with a performance by the University's own Mission: Improvable. M:I is a group of 16 UMass students with a knack for making things up on the spot. The group was started in 1996 by four UMass alumni as a weekly comedy show. Since then it has been thriving, putting on regular shows and participating in comedy festivals across the state.

Their humor is decidedly ridiculous, and the shows operate somewhat like "Whose Line is it Anyway." Previous skits have included slow-motion battles and the dilemma of putting a snake into a nursing home.

The event will be held at 8 o'clock in the Earthfoods café in the Student Union. The price is right, admission is free, courtesy of the Jewish Student's Union and the Hillel. For entertainment people, Jewish people and anyone who likes a good laugh, The Late Night Players should be a mid-week priority.

Andrew Sheridan can be reached at asher@studdent.umass.edu.

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