Students looking to swallow a few extra laughs will have a chance when comedian Joel McHale hits the Hilltop Oct. 24.
The Activities Council is bringing in McHale, who is host of E!’s “The Soup,” a satiric show about pop culture.
“We have brought in comedians in the past, but I think it has been probably four or five years,” said Kathleen McGing, special events reserve fund coordinator for ACBU. “It’s something different. People can be really subjective with their music taste but everyone likes to laugh.”
Senior accounting major Jessica Buterbaugh said she’s happy to see a comedic act come to Bradley.
“I’m stoked,” she said. “I’ll definitely be going.”
ACBU also plans on hosting a fall concert but hasn’t begun the search, McGing said.
Tickets are $5 for students and $15 for family members, since the event falls over parents’ weekend. Students may purchase up to six family-priced tickets, however an exact date for ticket sales hasn’t been established.
“It’s the standard pricing we always go with,” McGing said. “It wasn’t an extremely expensive show. It was in our budget. We wanted to give [parents and families] a break, because they’re kind of a part of the Bradley family.”
The event will be hosted at the Peoria Civic Center, and bus transportation will be provided for students to and from the show.
ACBU looked at other comedians, but decided on McHale because he seemed to be most popular in the college market and cost a reasonable price. ACBU also wanted to avoid scheduling a comedian who was already passing through the area, and McHale’s schedule fit well with Bradley’s, McGing said.
“Being Parents’ Weekend, it was a good way to entertain parents and students,” she said.
This fall, McHale will also play the starring role in a new NBC comedy, “The Community.”
In the show, McHale plays a lawyer whose degree has been revoked, so he is forced to go back to community college, where he meets a group of misfits. Chevy Chase is also in the cast.
McHale will also star opposite Matt Damon in the movie ‘The Informant: A True Story,’ which is set to hit theaters in October 2009.
“The buzz about this has been really good,” McGing said. “We’re excited to offer students something really different from what they’ve seen before.”
