Abbi Jacobson (left) and Ilana Glazer of the Comedy Central show ‘Broad City’ and comedian Hannibal Buress (right) are set to come to OSU on Nov. 10 in an OUAB-sponsored event. Credit: Lane Savage, courtesy of Comedy Central (left), courtesy of TNS (right)
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Key and Peele, Bill Hader and Louis CK have all come to Ohio State in recent years — now the responsible organization, the Ohio Union Activities Board, is bringing Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer, stars of Comedy Central’s “Broad City,” to campus, and some students are expressing excitement.
The Nov. 10 event, which is also set to include stand-up comedian Hannibal Buress, is part of the stars’ “Broad City Live” tour, which takes the duo across the country, performing a comedy variety show with stand-up and videos. Each night is set to be centered around a different theme, with shows including themes such as “positive thinking” and “bucket list.”
“The event will feature Abbi and Ilana in ‘Broad City Live,’ a live rendition of their show they developed a few years ago when ‘Broad City’ was a popular web series with a cult following,” Joey Kaiser, OUAB’s comedy chair and a third-year in finance, said in an email. ”Overall, we are very excited to bring these up-and-coming comedians for Ohio State students.”
“Broad City” premiered on Comedy Central in January and features Jacobson and Glazer in a comedy about 20-something New Yorkers.
Hannibal Buress is a cast member on “Broad City” and a former writer on “Saturday Night Live.” He has also become a stand-up staple on late-night talk shows in recent years. He has performed on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!,” “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” “Late Show with David Letterman” and “Conan.”
Mitra Jouhari, a fourth-year in psychology and member of OSU’s 8th Floor Improv Comedy Group, expressed excitement for the event.
“I hope it generates a bigger fan base for the show than it already has,” she said. “I’ve seen them live before, and it’s really fun, so I hope connecting to them as people will get others to watch the show.”
Buress and the “Broad City” stars are some the highest-caliber stars in comedy, Jouhari said.
“Hannibal Buress is actually one of my favorite stand-up comedians. I really like his stage presence,” Jouhari said. “I love the show — it’s my favorite show on TV. I think it has amazing writing and really good performances from everyone on it.”
She doesn’t pay attention to most of OUAB’s events, but said she’s been impressed so far by its comedy events this year.
“The comedy events this semester have been incredible. Key and Peele are two of the best comedians working right now. Bringing ‘Broad City’ and Hannibal Buress is a really cool move by (OUAB) because it’s kind of cutting edge right now,” Jouhari said.
Vince DeJulius, a first-year in exploration, also said he’s especially excited for Buress.
“I really like Hannibal Buress and his style — he reminds me of Eddie Murphy,” he said. “OUAB’s done a great job of putting together events, and they’ve put on lots of cool events.”
Brennan Dzierzek, a third-year in communication, also said he has been impressed by the people OUAB has brought.
“OUAB’s getting the big names who are blowing up right now,” he said. “I was really excited for Chance the Rapper. He’s a real rising star.”
Sarah Jerels, a fourth-year in communication, said she’s excited to see how “Broad City” translates on stage.
“I love that it shows the modern woman struggling in New York — it’s so relatable to me,” Jerels said. “Ilana’s character is just so boisterous, so I can only imagine that the energy on stage or in person would be tenfold, especially unedited. All of the top names that OUAB is bringing in will really pull in the outliers.”
Meanwhile, several other students were both unfamiliar with the show and the events that OUAB has put together this year.
Victoria Gonzalez, a first-year in neuroscience, a third-year in special education, both said OUAB could do more to let students know about upcoming events.
“I don’t think I’m well-informed on what’s usually coming … so if it were advertised more, I would have a better idea of what’s going on,” Gonzalez said.
The “Broad City” performance is set to take place at 7:30 p.m. in the Archie Griffin Grand Ballroom on Nov. 10, with the ticket release Thursday at 5 p.m. at the Ohio Union information desk.
Martin Lopez, Qing Dai and Danielle Seamon contributed to this article.
