Review: AN EVENING WITH WAYNE BRADY at Tilles Center At LIU Post 'The Improv can Improve'

Actor. Singer. Dancer. Comedian. Wayne Brady is no doubt a triple threat entertainer. On November 5, 2016, Wayne Brady performed an evening of comedy at the Tilles Center which was met with both laughs and cringes. It was an entire evening of improv comedy performed by Brady and Let's Make a Deal announcer Jonathan Mangum, who served as the evening's hilarious emcee. Before the show, the audience filled out suggestion cards to help move the audience-participation centered show along.

There were some really hysterical moments in the show that involved audience participation. Brady integrated some of the great sketches used on the series Whose Line Is It Anyway? Including: sound effects, where the comedians have audience members make sound effects to the actions of the comedians, living scenery, where the comedians use the audience members and turn them into living props/scenery, and greatest hits, where Ryan Stiles and Colin Mochrie would act as salesmen for a Time-Life record collection and discuss highlights from the collection. They would prompt Wayne to sing short songs by announcing the title and genre/artist. These three games were definitely the best moments of the evening. During the greatest hits segment, Brady was really able to shine and show off his musical and improv skills by performing the songs "Shower Together" (in the style of Sam Smith), "You've Seen Too Many Bodily Functions on a First Date" (in the style of Michael Sembello's Maniac), "I Love Physics" (in the style of MC Hammer) and the hysterical "How Did I End Up in Long Island Singing to a Bunch of White Folks?" (in the style of Prince). Brady's impression of Prince was perfection! All of the song titles were created by the audience.

Personally, I really wish Mr. Brady would have sang more during this show. The songs in the greatest hits segment were only about a minute to a minute and a half long. Wayne Brady has built his career lately through song. From a Billboard charting Grammy nominated album called "A Change is Gonna Come" to his numerous appearances on Broadway in shows like: Chicago and Kinky Boots. Brady should have structured a show that provided a mix of music with audience participation comedy. Had he incorporated more music, it would have saved him from some cringe-worthy moments.

One moment that made me cringe was when Brady was looking for volunteers to participate in a sketch. Brady literally stopped the show because he noticed that the group in the front row were sitting with their arms folded. Mr. Brady asked the group if they were enjoying the show. The group responded with yes. Brady then stated, "Are you sure? Because you all look like I just pissed all over your sodas." Brady then went on to make fun of the way they looked and continued to look for volunteers. The group in the front row did not heckle Brady at all. Brady just went after them. Some of the audience began to boo him at this point because Brady began to get very nasty out of nowhere. Mr. Brady you are not Don Rickles, Richard Pryor, or Triumph the Insult Comic Dog. Please stick to the wholesome comedy everyone loves you for. Brady also insulted a former contestant from Don't Forget the Lyrics. The contestant held up a picture of the two of them together hoping Brady would remember him, but sadly Brady didn't and he had no problem letting that be known. Come on Mr. Brady, you couldn't have faked it and made the gentleman feel good?

The worst moment of the show was the audience Q&A, which came shortly after the front row incident. Mainly this was because of the idiotic questions and comments that were made by the audience. One moron in the audience submitted the question "How long have you been black?" I have to give all the credit in the world to Wayne Brady for keeping himself composed when he found the man that asked that horrific question and responded with the best line of the night "For about as long as you've been an a******!" After that question, I felt Brady was really not into performing for this particular crowd anymore and rightfully so. It's really sad to see and hear that this racist drivel still exists in the world. I guess that explains what happened on November 8, 2016.

Overall, I would say the evening was not one of my favorites. The show was about 90 minutes long and only half of the show really entertained me. If Brady had been touring with the other members of Whose Line Is It Anyway?, it would have been unbelievably great. Since Brady was on his own, the evening should have provided a true balance of music and comedy, instead of it being an improv-extravaganza.

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