Back in Blue
Oct 12, 2014
Headline: Back in Blue
Subhead: Spotlight Productions presents comedy show with the Wayans Brothers
By Shelby Pendowski
In the early morning hours on Oct. 9, the Spotlight Productions crew at Grand Valley State University began preparing for the arrival of the Wayans brothers, Marlon and Shawn. The students under the direction of Spotlight president Amy Hallochak set up seating for 3,200 people, transformed the GVSU Fieldhouse Arena with a stage and prepared organic chicken at the request of the comedians.
The Wayans Brothers, known for their roles in “White Chicks” and the Scary Movie franchise, were booked instead of a musician for this year’s Homecoming concert.
With a planned arrival of 7 p.m. and a curtain call of 8 p.m. the Spotlight team scrambled to not delay the performance for too long when the comedians arrived past the scheduled curtain call.
Will Sylvince, the opening act who tours with the Wayans brothers, took time in his 15-minute skit to share his impressions of GVSU and Allendale. The polished façade and air purity made an impact on the comedian, who went on to joke about the already chilly weather. The audience roared for Sylvince’s set, but the screams of the audience escalated with the introduction of Marlon Wayans.
“I had this whole opening in my head,” Marlon said. “I wanted to come out and I wanted fireworks and one of those laser shows and a tier of smoke…then I realized I don’t have the budget for that…but musicians have budgets. Comedians though, all we have is this microphone.”
Following a small skit by Sylvince, Shawn Wayans took his turn in front of the Laker nation.
Shawn, similar to his brother, joked about comedy in relation to music and his love for hip-hop. But it was his relationship advice that kept the crowd laughing.
With over 2,000 tickets sold, there was an immense amount of support for the comedy show this year.
“I thought the show was great and I thought the crowd was electrifying,” Sylvince said. “There was a lot of energy…and they seemed to really like comedy.”
