Mocking rappers, audience members and his little cousin Harris, comedian Aziz Ansari performed in front of a packed Pick-Staiger Concert Hall on Friday night, drawing raucous applause and laughter.
Ansari, famous for his role on the NBC show “Parks and Recreation,” was A&O Productions’ winter speaker. Part of Ansari’s “Deliciously Dangerous” stand-up tour, the event was co-sponsored by the Muslim-cultural Students Association and the South Asian Student Alliance.
According to Elsa Stahura, co-director of promotions and public relations for A&O, more than 900 tickets were sold for the show. Before selecting him, A&O knew Ansari would be a big draw for students, she said.
“Aziz Ansari’s always gotten a really strong response,” the Communication junior said. “We’ve been looking at him for a couple of years.”
An accomplished actor, Ansari drew some of his biggest laughs from his celebrity impersonations. Over the course of his performance, Ansari imitated rappers Drake, 50 Cent and Jay-Z, ending the evening with mockery of R. Kelly.
Before attending the event, Medill sophomore Kawther Albader was unfamiliar with Ansari’s work and unsure about what to expect.
“I thought it was really funny,” she said. “I was very impressed.”
Whether talking about his Wikipedia web-surfing or his cousin Harris’s college application, Ansari excited the audience with his unique delivery style, with many jokes relying on exaggerated voices and gestures. Ansari himself noted the capabilities of nonverbal communication.
“I think you can make anything sound racist, with the right tone and inflection,” he said, following with a demonstration.
Ansari was not afraid to explore bawdy or controversial material. However, he shied away from mocking his cousin Darwish Gani, who is a Weinberg sophomore.
In addition to performing his scripted work, Ansari encouraged audience participation, reacting to attendees and creating comic, improvised moments. After his entrance, a girl in the audience shouted out that she loved him, drawing a fearful reply.
“Oh, God, please don’t murder me, whoever you are,” Ansari said.
Soon afterward, Ansari posed for photographs, asking front-row attendee Eric Brown to stand up and pretend he was an angry heckler.
“I was definitely nervous,” the Medill freshman said. “My main fear was that I’d freeze and that I would make a fool of myself in front of a thousand people.”
Brown stood with a wide smile, attempting an angry stance. After Ansari chastised him, Brown corrected his performance technique, standing stone-faced.
“I really liked how he was getting the audience into it,” Brown said. “It was a great experience.”
Near the end of the show, Ansari asked the audience what they wanted to talk about. After listening to shouts of “Parks and Recreation,” “Darwish” and “Randy,” he asked the audience to instead discuss their recent relationships.
One student spoke lovingly about her long-distance boyfriend but was shot down.
“That (expletive) ain’t working out,” Ansari said.
