Possible inherent bias alert: I used to be a Nevergreen. I left the group only because of the time constraints of junior year; there is absolutely no ill will between us. It was great seeing the group perform again, and it would be entirely unprofessional of me to let any relationships between us get in the way of this review.
Loyola’s comedy group performed once again this weekend, and it was a weird experience to watch from the raised seats of the blackbox. For the uninitiated who happened to miss out, the Nevergreens are Loyola’s premier comedy group that have been performing since 2008. They specifically do sketch comedy, just like SNL or Key and Peele might do. Every time I tell someone about the group for the first time, I get the question: “So…are they funny?” After seeing the show the other night, I can tell you that yes, indeed they are.
The show started out with a sketch called Pinterest Pow Wow where two talk show hosts made arts and crafts from the internet, including a hilarious moment when junior Mike Ebmeier lifted up his shirt in a moment of great fear and trepidation to reveal a Pokéball bra, a recurring image throughout the show. From there on out it was a whirlwind of Loyola humor, jabs at political correctness and comments on the modern political landscape.
A few takeaways from the show that I jotted down throughout:
Weird voices are funny, right?
Move over Father Linnane, Papa Lenny’s taking your place.
Dan McCarthy has some moves.
I should bring the yak-hair vest look back.
Don’t mess with the pizza mob.
However, there were a few iffy sketches where the Nevergreens should have treaded more lightly in their coverage of certain topics. There was a sketch called “Wait…My Roommate is Gay” that played heavily into stereotypes about the homosexual community, so much so that it became anything but uncomfortable for the audience.
Another poor choice was the handling of Ebola in the ongoing “Bureaucracy” sketches throughout. It seemed ignorant to play on very real fears of Ebola to get a laugh, and ended up falling flat. Look guys, I’m all for finding the humor in any situation, but certain topics are often far too personal to keep the audience comfortable with laughing at, or with ,the actors.
Beyond those few missteps, some of the actors had truly great moments. McCarthy broke up the skits really well with a stand-up routine in the middle of the show. (Poignant moment of the night: pointing out that we value handicapped parking spaces way more than we do bathrooms.)
Ebmeier, always one to come up with at least one great character each show, did not disappoint with his log-pinching, plantain-eating Papa Lenny. If you saw his Wendell bit in years past, Papa Lenny was a solid incarnation of the Ebmeier shtick.
Finally, Kaitlyn Gallagher helped wrap up the show with a spot-on impression of Dr. Christina Spearman over in Student Life. We love you, Dr. Spearman, but sometimes it’s too easy.
Overall it was a great show, and another awesome production by the latest incarnation of the Nevergreens. If you missed out this past weekend, they will likely have a spring show so you can catch up on all the hilarity that you might have missed because you were too busy reading James Fox’s plethora of articles this week to go check out the show. I know I have that problem sometimes.
Featured image: Mike Ebmeier performs a skit during the Nevergreens’ fall performance. Jake Rauscher / The Greyhound
