Judah Friedlander, the actor, comedian and self-described world champion, well-known for his eccentric hats and his roles in 30 Rock, Zoolander and Meet the Parents, performed a stand-up routine in the Shapiro Gym on Friday, Oct. 25 as part of this year's Fall Fest.

The opening act, performed by James Huessy, a comedian and student at Northeastern University, was short, no longer than around 15 minutes, and disappointing. Huessy's jokes, which ranged from rants about how much he hated his internship to a story about an interaction with a pigeon, fell short. When he made a transphobic joke about the Brandeis women's basketball team, the audience reacted with awkward silence. It was very odd that a non-Brandeisian was selected to open, especially when the University has many improvisation and stand-up groups with talented comedic performers.

However, Friedlander did not disappoint. Amid whoops and cheers from the audience, he started off by thanking everyone for "a sitting ovation" and went on to talk about myriad of topics from politics to karate to his numerous world championships over the course of an hour.

The show felt more like a dialogue between audience and comedian than a traditional performance. The material was funny and off-the-cuff and seemed like a mix of improv and prepared jokes and monologues. Friedlander was casual and conversational, throwing around phrases like "dude" and "you know" instead of being more formal and scripted. Oftentimes, in the middle of a thought, he would randomly call on a member of the audience, ask them questions about where they were from and what their major was and then would mock them relentlessly. Other times, he would invite the audience to call out answers to questions about sports, politics or whatever was on his mind.

The focus of Friedlander's performance was on his self-described status of world champion, and most of his bits revolved around his various exploits, ranging from "[going] to DeVry Elementary School" to his ability to say "Rosetta Stone in over 500 languages" to the time he raced a cheetah and won.

Part of Friedlander's charm comes from the fact that he is not the athletic powerhouse he claims to be. With straggly, slightly grey hair and a body that would never belong on the cover of Sports Illustrated, he just looks like someone's awkward uncle. But that's what makes his performance and status as world champion even more hilarious.

However, his talents really came through when engaging with the audience. During one such engagement, Friedlander formally announced his plans to run for president in 2016 and invited everyone to ask questions about his platform. When asked about potential running mates, Friedlander looked the questioner straight in the eye and responded with "a hero does not need a sidekick" to laughter and applause.

Other parts of the Friedlander platform included "mandatory gay marriage," cars with lower emissions that are powered by sexual energy and a plan to invade North Dakota because "if I'm psycho enough to invade my own country, imagine what I'd do to another country." Friedlander managed to handle sensitive topics, such as abortion and illegal immigration, with humor and seemingly without offending anyone in the audience.

The audience had a number of questions for Friedlander, and he was more than happy to answer them. When asked about which of his ubiquitous hats was his favorite, Friedlander seemed outraged, retorting with "I don't play favorites." There were also many questions about 30 Rock. Friedlander quipped about how he "heard it [was] a good show, been meaning to watch it" and joked about the animalistic chemistry he and Tina Fey had at his first audition.

Although sometimes Friedlander tripped up, one time quite literally over a stool, he calmly shook it off and would deliver yet another quip. Shapiro Gym, while packed with only a few empty seats, was not an ideal location due to the acoustics, which could make it difficult for Friedlander to hear the audience. At one point in the middle of the performance, during a question period, he simply admitted "I [couldn't] hear anything so I just rambled shit."

Even if Friedlander was just rambling, as he claimed, he blew the audience away. Even after the show was supposed to end, he kept performing and answering various questions, and ended up staying around after the show to chat with students and take photographs.

Judah Friedlander's performance was easily one of the best pieces of live stand-up I've ever seen. With a mix of deadpan humor, casual attitude and eagerness to interact with everyone present, he certainly blew me and the rest of the Brandeis community, away.
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