Backdoor Comedy Club

By Delano Farley
The Backdoor Comedy Club returned to WVUP after a two-year hiatus with comedians Randy Riggle and Josh Wade performing before a diversified crowd of students, faculty, and community members. The event was a success – and it was funny, too.

Riggle, of Pittsburgh, has performed in the ABC sketch comedy show and America’s Funniest People, and has written acts for comedians Jay Leno and Joan Rivers. At WVUP, Riggle used a variety of formats, including background music with an imaginary typewriter and a six-string acoustic guitar for musical impersonations.

The Pennsylvania native and Penn State University graduate warmed the crowd up with an opening act of entertainment that included near-perfect impersonations of musicians Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash and Bob Dylan as well as the well-known cartoon characters Elmer Fudd and Bullwinkle the Moose. His act was clean and appropriate for nearly all in attendance in the audience and acted as a smooth beginning for the transition into the act of sarcastic standup comedian Josh Wade of New York.

Wade, a comedian who regularly entertains on the New York comedy circuit, entertained the crowd with a more aggressive approach of standup comedy that included some profanity in his act. The comedian aimed most of his performing criteria at himself and his own experiences, but also used the audience in attendance within his performance to create a laugh.