Dave Chappelle will perform Saturday, April 17 at a sold-out Emens Auditorium at 8:00 p.m. Darcy Wood, the associate director of marking of the Emens Auditorium, said the crowd will approach 3,300 to see Chappelle, famous for his role as a marijuana-addicted everyman in "Half-Baked" and his weekly sketch comedy show, "Chappelle's Show," airing on Comedy Central Wednesday nights at 9:30.
Chappelle is infamous, though, for addressing racism in his comedy. Some of his skits include a spoof of MTV's "The Real World," in which the lone white housemate was terrorized and booted off. In 2004, Chappelle also staged a "racial draft," in which "teams" of the major ethnicities "claimed" ethnically diverse celebrities like Derek Jeter, Mariah Carey and Tiger Woods.
On the Internet Movie Database, Chappelle said, "I still think people do have racial hang-ups, but I think one of the reasons I can joke about it is people are shedding those racial hatreds."
Jay Hochstetler, a freshman at Ball State, said Chappelle is his favorite stand-up comedian. "I think his show is hilarious and I think it's interesting that he talks a lot about race."
Chappelle is also becoming a huge draw on college campuses. Bob Myers, director of the Emens Auditorium, said, "He'll be at Indiana University the day after and that show is selling out as well."
After an informal campus survey and discussions with the University Program Board, Myers felt holding Chappelle's performance was a good fiscal decision.
"His comedy show is becoming very popular among the 18- to 31-year-old crowd. We felt there would be significant student interest," he said. "I also had some industry knowledge that his show had sold exceptionally well at Northern Illinois."
Before signing on with Comedy Central to produce "Chappelle's Show" in 2003, Chappelle appeared in the films "Blue Streak," "Robin Hood: Men in Tights" and "Undercover Brother."
Read More
Three Air Jam teams take home the win
October 12, 2012Nineteen teams shimmied, shook and flipped for a sold out John R. Emens Auditorium on Thursday night during the 25th annual Air Jam.
Bill Clinton Speaks at North Central High School
October 12, 2012Former President's Speech Could Have Effect on State Senate Race
