Wellmont audiences laughed at Ralphie May’s standup.
The Wellmont was beaming with laughter on Friday, March 28 as Ralphie May took the stage and put on a hysterical show. It was certainly money well spent for the audience, who filled the floor rather quickly. Bob Greenberg opened up with a 20 minute comedy act that warmed up the audience for the bigger jokes they were going to witness.
Greenberg begins his act by saying, “So you’re all probably thinking, ‘Why is Chris Christie up on the stage?’” The audience made the connection, seeing that Greenberg and Christie look alike. He added to his introduction by saying, “This is a big show…you can call it fat and fatter.” Bob Greenberg and Ralphie May were very open about their weight, which made the Wellmont audience feel comfortable about laughing at their jokes.
The rest of Greenberg’s act dealt with funny impersonations of people like John Candy and Curly from the Three Stooges. He also told the story about how he tried to ask his wife out several times but he couldn’t get the words out. He ended his act with a funny rendition of all of Shakespeare’s speeches from his famous plays. Needless to say, he was not a disappointment.
As Ralphie May approached the microphone, he said, “Give it up for Chris Christie,” which sent the audience into laughter. But, it didn’t stop there. May wasted no time spitting out his New Jersey jokes, which all of the audience was able to relate to. The way he was venting to us was impossible to not laugh at. He was able to cause a huge uproar in the whole theater in a matter of 30 seconds.
One of Ralphie May’s jokes involved his experience at a New Jersey Shell gas station. He did not feel like waiting for the gas attendant, so he went to go pump his own gas instead. The attendant comes up to him and tells him he cannot do that. May proceeded to go on a rant about how every other state is allowed to pump their own gas, and New Jersey is just too lazy.
Ralphie May’s small encounters with some audience members made up a good part of the night. His first conversation goes as follows:
Audience Member: Hi.
May: Hi baby how are you? …Good talking to you.
The second conversation was his last act of the night. He spotted a 14 year old boy in the Wellmont crowd and gave him advice on women, how to be successful in the future and defending himself in a hysterical manner. He warned his father that the conversation was going to be awkward, yet he would never have to address it to his son again. This was probably one of the most memorable performances of the night since all the audience members around me, including myself, were in full hysterics at this point. May’s reaction to hearing the boy’s age was, “You’re old enough to know the words [I’m using], but you’re too young to stay home alone.”
Ralphie May is onto his 25th year of stand-up comedy, and he is still going strong. The way the audience laughed that night proved that he’s still got it. What was very special about his act was that he told totally different jokes from the ones that are on his album. It showed that he put a lot of effort into his performance, and his focus is to please the audience with his talent. Be sure to catch him when he comes to the Montclair area again because he is a comedian that you don’t want to miss out on.
Consider following Ralphie May on Twitter at @Ralphie_May. When he retweeted my tweet to him an hour after the concert, I was stunned since stars like him don’t necessarily pay attention to their fans’ tweets. But, this guy does. It’s very rewarding to become a fan of May, and being able to laugh at his jokes is a bonus.
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