The Good 5 Cent Cigar

Issue date: 11/6/08 Section: Entertainment

Media Credit: Lauren Gingerella Comedian Jay Leno entertains students' families by telling a joke Saturday night at his show in the Ryan Center.

11/6/08 - The main lights were dimmed, but the stage lights blared and flash bulbs lit the arena while Jay Leno, the unmistakable grey-haired man with the protruding chin, dazzled the Ryan Center audience with joke after joke.

On the first night of November, the University of Rhode Island's Student Entertainment Committee presented students and families with Leno.

Leno, host of "The Tonight Show" and a standup comedy icon, treated URI students and their family members with a night of humor and laughs.

Headlining the 2008 URI Family Weekend, Leno impressed both students and parents.

Freshman Jared Greenbatt said, "I thought it was good. He's a lot funnier in person than on 'The Tonight Show.'"

Ron Pepe, a parent, commented, "I thought he was really funny - really funny and topical. He was great." He continued, "I didn't see how he could be good for 90 minutes, but he was good for 90 minutes."

For that 90-minute period, Leno captivated an audience that would embrace him with loud genuine laughter, but would also listen to his jokes receiving an awestruck dead silence.

Covering topics relevant to the news today and from past years, Leno made light out of the darkest of topics. He told jokes on topics ranging from the presidential election and the current economic situation to "Shiite meat bombs" and "horny degenerate gamblers."

"When did meat become a condiment for more meat," Leno asked, when he poked fun at the obesity epidemic in the United States. His style was to seemingly make fun of the audience in a way that had them laughing at themselves.

At one point during the show, Leno displayed his improvisational skills when he talked to members of the audience.

He asked several people questions about themselves and then immediately turned their answers into jokes. The quick-witted Leno spoke to a mixed batch that included students, a lawyer, a doctor, a 10-year-old pro-football hopeful and URI President Robert L. Carothers.

Leno also appropriately told jokes about the quirks of families. He shared experiences from his personal life including a childhood Thanksgiving mission to find napkins and an adulthood incident involving his parents, a VCR, a na've video-rental store employee and the movie Basic Instinct.

Many in attendance were accompanied by family members, and nearly 5,000 people came to see Leno. SEC Major Events Coordinator Michael Nolfe was pleased with the number in attendance.

"The turnout was really good with the family tickets and the student tickets,"Nolfe said. "I think [the students] thought [Leno] was good, so overall we were very happy with it."

The comedic act continues to be a staple of the URI Family Weekend and on Saturday, Leno joined the long list of comedians that have performed at URI that includes Bill Cosby, Will Ferrell, Demetri Martin and Brian Regan.

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