Stand-up comedian Christian Finnegan's quip of "Welcome to Fire Hazard Night at Brandeis" seemed particularly appropriate Saturday night, when the Best Week Ever regular and Chappelle's Show contributor performed to an overflowing Shapiro Theater, in an hour of sidesplitting laughter sponsored by Student Events.Finnegan began by pointing out his awareness of his uncanny resemblance to the character Biff from the Back to the Future series. For the next hour Finnegan took on everyone from John Kerry to Clay Aiken to the wheelchair-bound theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking.

Finnegan's humor was not for the faint of heart, as he spent the final portion of the show illustrating the unfortunate true meaning behind celebrating your own birthday. He took his illustration even further when he identified one audience member who had celebrated her birthday a day earlier. Finnegan went on to provide a graphic yet hysterically funny hypothetical account of the girl's conception.

Finnegan's performance was highlighted by hilarious stories of his lifelong failure at the game of Monopoly and his inability to make it to his gym more than a handful of times per year. "I've resigned myself to paying an $80-a-month fat tax," he said of his monthly gym membership fees.

He spent a portion of the show picking on a few unlucky members of the audience seated just feet from the stage as well as one female member of Student Events who had become the satirical target of Finnegan's affection by the end of the night. During one particular stretch of the show he transformed himself into a human fountain of sorts, spitting his water onto the colorful stage while he spun in circles.

Finnegan first gained widespread exposure after appearing on Comedy Central's Chappelle's Show as "Chad," the lone white roommate in a spoof of the long-running MTV reality series, The Real World. In addition to his extensive background in stand-up, Finnegan's long rsum includes a stint writing for the short-lived Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn series, as well as frequent appearances on VH1, including a weekly gig on the popular Best Week Ever. He has also been featured in his own half-hour special on Comedy Central.

Josh Gondelman '07 opened the night with his Woody Allen-inspired variety of self-deprecating humor and was, as usual, a big hit with the crowd. In one of his best jokes, he discussed publishing a personal ad that read "seeking female or best offer." Still, he would have done well to have prepared some fresh material, as his set included only two or three new jokes.

In contrast, it's difficult to communicate on paper the hilarity that Christian Finnegan created for the jam-packed crowd. Those fortunate enough to have been in attendance knew they were in for something special just minutes into the performance and by the end of the night, audience members were visibly reluctant to let the comedian leave the stage. Although comedians aren't typically enticed back on stage for an encore, it seemed strangely tempting-if only for a moment-on Saturday night. As far the audience was concerned, the night could not have been better.