John Mulaney and his many specials are a mainstay in the comedic world. Seeing the king of comedy live, however, is an out-of-body experience — and it’s one that can’t be replicated by anyone else.
Mulaney needed no introduction, literally, as he casually walked on stage at Millett Hall at Miami University on Saturday. The headliner for Parents Weekend at the Oxford college, Mulaney strolled on stage with no prior indication to the audience and announced he scrambled around to find some openers.
Miami’s own TrebleMakers, a female a cappella group, and Just Duet, a co-ed a cappella group, each played what Mulaney described as “no more than two songs.” After the groups finished, Mulaney, armed with his typical suit-and-tie look, hilariously apologized in advance for the remaining 90 minutes of the show.
Part of what makes Mulaney stand out is his unparalleled stage presence, exemplified by his quirky mannerisms and quick wit. He spent a major portion of the show talking to people lucky enough to have gotten a front row seat, asking them about their lives and subtly roasting them.
Mulaney also enhances his stories by running and jumping around the stage, habitually emphasizing certain words to the point where it’s almost so Chandler Bing-esque and deadpanning that it’s laugh-out-loud hilarious.
The acclaimed comedian was no stranger to roasting the school he was performing at either. However, he didn’t solely rely on those jokes. The audience was obviously for Miami of Ohio students and parents, but he brought his usual treasure trove of stories that left the audience in stitches.
With his discussion of his sleepwear, which includes a Rob Kardashian and Donda West t-shirt, his conversations with his wife where they talk bad about their friends and his recounting of how he almost died in a taxi while in Cleveland, Mulaney spared no time for dry moments.
Though Mulaney pushes some very minorly offensive boundaries, like discussing his elderly grandmother’s right to vote, there’s no way he could ever truly offend audience members with the amount of charm and charisma he brings to the stage. It’s not just the personal connections he makes with audience members that makes him charming — it’s his smile, how he talks and how he has the audience hanging onto his every word.
Mulaney is the master of running gags. He never goes over the top with them, but he sprinkles in references to early jokes or connections with audience members so gracefully to where you remember the joke but aren’t annoyed by its constant reference. How he manages to achieve that is a mystery, but that’s just a piece of the puzzle that makes him the great comedian he is.
More to the point, it’s not just a Netflix or YouTube facade. Mulaney is truly as amazing in person as he is on the screen. The audience loved him, and those who haven’t seen him should try to find the time or means to do so because his persona, content and delivery will not disappoint.
