| RELATED INFO |
| * Purdue Convocations |
| * Lewis Black |
August 26, 2008
Comedian Lewis Black to perform at Elliott Hall of Music
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - |
Purdue's Student Concert Committee is presenting the performance, which is produced by Live Nation.
"Lewis Black is one of the most prolific and popular performers working today," said Laura Clavio, Purdue Convocations assistant director and Student Concert Committee adviser. "He executes a brilliant trifecta as stand-up comedian, actor and author. Black's live performances provide a cathartic release of anger and disillusionment for his audience. A passionate performer who is more an angry optimist than mean-spirited curmudgeon, he's perfected expressing what the rest of us cannot say in polite company."
Receiving critical acclaim, he performs more than 200 nights a year to sell-out audiences throughout Europe, New Zealand, Canada and the United States. He is one of few performers to sell out multiple renowned theaters including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the Brooks Atkinson Theatre, New York City Center and the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. In 2007, Black received a Grammy award for "Best Comedy Album" for "The Carnegie Hall Performance" stand-up CD released by Comedy Central Records.
In 2006, Black had a breakout year as an actor. He co-starred with Robin Williams in Barry Levinson's "Man of the Year" (Universal Pictures), appeared as "the fake dean of a fake college" in Steve Pink's "Accepted" (Universal Pictures) and as the harried airport manager in Paul Feig's "Unaccompanied Minors" (Warner Brothers). In addition, he lent his voice to the role of "Jimmy" in Bob Saget's parody, "Farce of the Penguins" (Thinkfilm).
In August 2007, he was the first stand-up comedian to perform in concert at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles. In December 2007, he was part of the Joint Chiefs of Staff's Christmas Show - along with Robin Williams, Kid Rock, Lance Armstrong, Ronan Tynan and Miss USA Rachel Smith - that entertained U.S. troops in Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait, Qatar, Spain and Italy.
In the midst of a rigorous touring schedule and several TV appearances, Black's first book, "Nothing's Sacred" (Simon and Schuster, 2005) debuted on "The New York Times" Best Seller List. He recently released a second book (Penguin, June 2008) titled, "Me of Little Faith." It is a humorous exploration of religion and faith in which he examines how the rules and constraints of religion have affected his life and the lives of us all, Clavio said.
"His hilarious experiences with rabbis, Mormons, gurus, psychics and even the joy of a perfect round of golf give Black the chance to expound upon what we believe and why - in the language of a shock jock and with the heart of an iconoclast," she said.
Tickets for Lewis Black are $42.50 for the general public and $30 for Purdue and Ivy Tech students and children under age 19; prices include a facilities fee.
Tickets are available at the Elliott Hall of Music and Stewart Center box offices, at (765) 494-3933, and through Ticketmaster at (765) 743-5151 and https://www.ticketmaster.com.
Writer: Christy Jones, (765) 494-1089, christyjones@purdue.edu
Sources: Abby Eddy, (765) 494-5045, aeeddy@purdue.edu
Laura Clavio, (765) 496-2913, lzclavio@purdue.edu
Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu
To the News Service home page