by Taylor Brethauer, Editor-in-Chief
The improv comedy troupe, Scatterbomb, hosted another hilarious show just in time for the Halloween holiday season. On Friday, Oct. 26, Hayden 100 filled with costumed students eager to see the group perform.
The show started with stand-up by student Jane Nolan, who performed at the previous show. She was dressed as John Lennon and spoke about her past successful Halloween costumes such as the Geico cavemen and Michael Phelps.
She eventually began talking about how video games like the Sims and Roller Coaster Tycoon and how dangerous the games were for the younger generation.
“Sims made us killers and none of us feel remorse for it,” said Nolan.
She then shared a story about a time when she was trick-or-treating in middle school, when a woman picked up candy out of her friend’s bag and then put it back in.
“If you don’t want to pay for candy and you hate kids, just regift the candy,” said Nolan.
The audience applauded for her stand-up as she thanked the crowd at the end of her set.
Kevin Donald, dressed as the American television personality Fred Rogers from the “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood”, ran in to turn on the show’s theme song and went back out into the hallway. As the lyrics began, Donald and the rest of the group marched in, all dressed as Fred Rogers. Each wore a red sweater over a button-up shirt and a tie and khaki pants.
They then asked the audience for a Halloween story. One audience member told the group they got a roll of pennies while trick or treating one year and the team went with the suggestion as the inspiration for their first scene.
The first half of the show revolved around a scene of Donald, Aeden Roney, Brendan Hanney, Jenn Bueti and Meredith Taylor planning what they would give to the kids who trick or treated. Ideas ranged from popcorn balls to macaroni balls to balls made of pennies.
This scene transformed into ordering pizza for trick or treaters, but making sure the pizza didn’t have any cheese for the kids with dairy allergies. Sydney Waitt introduced the term “nut cheese” as the of dairy-free alternative. Donald repeated that phrase to any customer that came in and the audience erupted in a fit of laughter.
Eventually the scene ended up with Roney and Donald getting into a gun fight with one another, with Hanney exclaiming, “Not on Halloween! Halloween is supposed to bring people together.”
For their second half, the team used the word “balloon” for their inspiration.
In the first scene, Bueti starred in a vegan commercial with the tagline, “Once you go vegan, you feel great.”
The scene then transformed into Hanney and Roney going on a date and eventually their wedding, accompanied by their mom and friend respectively whispering into their ears. With Erin McWilliams and Moira Delaney telling the two what to say, along with Bueti telling Donald, playing the waiter and then priest, what to say, the crowd applauded as the scene transformed again.
The show wrapped up in a fit of laughter after the group sold ice cream, balloon animals and ice water, then wore costumes made of boots and finally the story of a secret Rite Aid manager.
But at that point, the show wasn’t done yet. As per tradition, members of the audience came up on stage to compete in the annual costume contest.
The winners were decided by claps. Students Felim Raftery and Amber Perez, dressed as Napoleon Dynamite and Pedro, respectively, from the film “Napoleon Dynamite”, were awarded the winning prize: a monkey statue from the local thrift store.
The next show will be the team’s annual “English Night”, on Friday, Nov. 16.