By Russell Wildermuth

Walking around campus and butting in on people’s conversations, you could honestly say that the University has some pretty comical students. Place those same students into a room with each other and ask them to come up with some kind of skit to produce a profitable comedy show and you might be surprised with the final product.

When people hear the words “comedy troupe” they might expect to see a bunch of stand up comedians performing on stage, pacing across the floor and telling jokes. He, he, ha, ha! You get the idea. Well, “Tuck Your Shirt In” brings you all the laughs and a whole lot more!

Creator of this humorous show is a University student by the name of Billy Scafuri accompanied by his good friend Chris Smith. Together, they are two fifths of a sketch team that they like to call “The Harvard Sailing Team.” Billy Scafuri hails from South Side High School and is busy completing his senior year here at the University. He is the head writer of the University’s humor magazine, Nonsense, and has spent some good time writing for “Saturday Night Live” last season. Chris Smith is an New York University alumnus and has performed dozens of shows with the Atlantic Theatre Company.

Along with three other talented performers, The Harvard Sailing Team has turned the “Stage Coach” in Merrick into a palace of laughter. Their skits appealed to all ages and not once did they need to introduce sex or profanity in desperation to produce a few chuckles, as other performers tend to do. Their antics were timely and appreciated.

The show started off with a friendly introduction to the viewers and then broke out into a choreographed dance. There was not a single person in the room that could have predicted that was going to happen. From that point on, viewers sat back and enjoyed a full hour of comedy as Scafuri and the gang kept the laughter coming.

Many times, when a joke barely makes the cut, your laughter is influenced by the mere sound of laughter around you. Watch an episode of “Seinfeld” and you’ll know how this works. How many times do you hear laughter added to the jokes? The cast of “Tuck In Your Shirt” had home field advantage in this category as the audience consisted of relatives and various close friends. Their presence was obvious during one skit which involved someone from the audience to come up on stage and participate in the act. Without hesitation, people simultaneously called out the same name and the “joker” made his way to center stage. Mothers in the front row certainly got a kick out of it all.

One strikingly odd characteristic about the “Stage Coach” is the shiny red seats that the audience sits in. First reaction: we must be in the Wizard of Oz! Luckily, there were enough seats to fit all of the audience. However, it is required that you call in early to reserve seating, in case the place reached maximum capacity and you were the unlucky one missing the show.

From card tricks with “Sam Duck” and mentally challenged Poker players to a mocking of “America’s Funniest Home Videos,” the situations were all very recognizable and not a single person had a hard time following the script. Lines came out clear and were very well rehearsed. Overall, the $10 cost of the show was nothing compared to the $10,000 worth of irreplaceable laughter. As a fellow University student, I would like to congratulate Billy Scafuri and the rest of the crew on a job well done.

“Tuck Your Shirt In” will be running in Manhattan through December. To be put on a mailing list for information about future productions, please send an e-mail to [email protected]

University Student Billy Scafuri and good friend Chris Smith combined their talents to produce their own sketch comedy team. (Image courtesy Billy Scafuri)