It was standing room only for Suffolk’s sketch comedy group, Who’s Askin’, who once again put on a fantastic show Nov. 15, this time joined by Suffolk’s in-house rock band, The Common.
“This is the first time we’ve done anything like this since I joined the group,” said Killian Maree, the president of the comedy troupe.
“I was super excited for this collab; it made it feel like a real episode of Saturday Night Live,” Maree said.
The show consisted of both filmed and live sketches, as well as two performances by The Common. The show was hosted by a former member of the group, Claire Majewski, who also acted in a few of the sketches herself.
“It was honestly so much fun,” said Majewski.
“I feel like Who’s Askin’ has been wanting more of an audience for a while now, and they’re finally getting there and getting known on campus, and it was great to help them out with that,” Majewski said.
“I was worried about how much time I could give the group while also being in Ramblers, but the group was super welcoming and found a way for me to still be a member,” Majewski said.
The show began with a hilarious filmed sketch written by Vice President Charles Herman about a guy who keeps getting his lighters “bic’d” or taken from him. After the hilarious opener, members of the comedy group acted out several original sketches, and then it was time for The Common to perform.
To say that the band was a crowd-pleaser is an understatement. Manuela Maria, one of the group’s talented singers, began their set with an incredible rendition of Heart’s “Crazy on You.”
They also sang Weezer’s “Say It Ain’t So” and Def Leppard’s “Hysteria” in their first set.
“Who’s Askin’ reached out to us a few weeks before the event asking for us to be their musical guest for the show, but I’m not sure any of us realized that we were their first musical guest ever,” band member EC Repp said.
“I wasn’t really sure how it was going to go since this was very different from most of our shows, but it ended up being an incredibly fun show with a super receptive audience,” Repp said.
“Who’s Askin’ was incredibly kind and accommodating to us the entire night,” Repp said. “Working with them was a great experience, and I would love to collaborate again.”
After the rock band’s first set, the night continued with tons more hilarious filmed and live sketches, just like the real Saturday Night Live.
“I was really happy with how the show went because we’ve all wanted to do something like this for a very long time,” said Maree.
The Common’s second set consisted of more classic rock songs: “Kickstart My Heart” by Mötley Crüe, “Just” by Radiohead and “Bark at the Moon” by Ozzy Osborne. Each member of the band was amazing; they brought up the energy in the room and wowed the audience with their talents. Repp especially amazed the audience with her difficult guitar rifts, which she made look absolutely effortless.
This show was like nothing we’ve ever seen from Who’s Askin’. They are truly making their mark on the Suffolk performing arts scene.
“Having a host and a musical guest really gave the SNL vibe that they are going for,” said Majewski.
“I’m so proud of us as a group,” said Maree. “I really feel like we’re making the club into something we can all be really proud of, and I’m super excited for the direction the club is going in.”
If anyone is interested in hosting the next show, don’t hesitate to reach out to the club. There’s a link to a form in the club’s Instagram bio, @susketchcomedy, that you can fill out if interested!
