A&O Productions confirmed Thursday that Northwestern will be one of 19 universities to host comedian Dane Cook’s Tourgasm tour.
The show is scheduled for April 11 at Welsh-Ryan Arena, and A&O is expecting a crowd of 4,000. Tickets will go on sale Monday at the Norris Box Office.
A&O has reserved 1,500 student tickets, but the performance will also be open to the public. The 2,500 general admission tickets will be available online at musictoday.com.
Rob Luchow, director of speakers and special events for A&O, said negotiations with Cook’s agent began in the middle of Winter Quarter after learning of the tour from Cook’s Web site.
“We thought, ‘Why not? We’ll give it a shot,'” said Luchow, a Weinberg senior. “We’re the only Chicago-area school, and his agent agreed that it would be good to bring the show to a major city.”
Recently named the newest “Hot Comic” by Rolling Stone magazine, Cook performs stand-up on Comedy Central and on his first CD/DVD, “Harmful if Swallowed.” Tourgasm, a month-long series of college shows starting in California and ending in Massachusetts, also includes comics Gary Gulman, Robert Kelly and Jay Davis. They will be filming their time on the road and turning the tour into a documentary.
Although some NU students had never heard of Cook, others said they were enthusiastic about the upcoming event.
Weinberg freshman Jake Schumaker, a fan of Cook, said he was excited to learn that A&O had arranged for the comedian to perform at NU.
“That is awesome,” Schumaker said. “I’m definitely going. He’s hilarious.”
Miriam Rocek already knew of the show and said she plans to get tickets. Rocek said she thinks the show has already generated a crowd.
“I’ve gotten e-mails from people about it, and I think a lot are interested,” said Rocek, a Weinberg freshman.
Luchow said he expects the event to be very successful.
“This is a smart tour for (Cook) to do because he fits very well with the college crowd,” he said.
Because the tour will stop mainly at large universities such as Tulane University, Penn State and Boston University, Luchow said he’s looking forward to seeing the reaction of the NU crowd.
He said the show will be the largest one that A&O has hosted in a long time, and that it’s very rare for a group to have access to the basketball stadium for a program.
“People always think Northwestern can be kind of lame, so I’m excited to see 4,000 people screaming for Dane Cook because he’s so energetic and exciting,” Luchow said. “We’re involved in a national tour, so that’s huge.”
In addition to Tourgasm, A&O is planning for a concert and another speaker. Although details have not yet been finalized for these events, Luchow said he anticipates confirmation soon.
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