Tamika Alexander – Arts and Entertainment Editor –
While his demeanor may remind one of the famous comedian and actor Jim Carrey, Michael Blaustein, along with the two identical faces of the Lucas Brothers, Kenny and Keith, with a laid back act, filled the John Lyman Center for the Performing Arts with loud chatter and non-stop laughter this past Wednesday night as part of the LOL Comedy shows taking place this semester at Southern Connecticut State University.
Michael Blaustein was a member of MTV’s Punk’d.
“I was inspired by Jim Carrey,” said Blaustein, as he recalled the time in the 6th grade when he was asked to do an impression of Ace Ventura in front of a class of 8th graders. “I watched Ace Ventura over 300 times.”
Well-known comedians such as Dave Chappelle and Chris Rock inspired the Lucas Brothers to go into comedy, they said.
“We thought they were great,” said Kenny. “They put the bug in us.”
Although they are twins, the Lucas brothers didn’t get there start in comedy together, said Keith.
“Kenny started first in New York,” Keith said. “We both started out by doing open mic, to practice our acts and get comfortable on stage.”
Doing comedy together now, they said, they feed off of one another and let nature take its course when coming up with new material.
“We never want to take ownership over a joke,” said Keith. “We just let life’s experience be the foundation for our act and go from there.”
Also, getting his start into the entertainment industry in New York City, Blaustein said he started out at an open mic night and did “absolutely horrible.”
“Some of my idols are of course, Jim Carrey, Chappelle, Kevin Hart, Louis C.K. and Bill Burr,” he said. “They’re so truthful.”
Bill Burr will also be performing at S.C.S.U as part of the LOL comedy series on Nov. 3, 2012, according to the university website.
Performing on college campuses is just a small fraction of what the Lucas Brothers and Michael Blaustein have done.
“We sold a show to Fox,” said the Lucas Brothers. “A sketch show to Comedy Central and we were on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.”
The Lucas Brothers, Kenny and Keith, who performed at Lyman, were inspired by comedians like Dave Chappelle and Chris Rock.
Bowling with Questlove is one of their biggest accomplishments, they said in a joking manner.
“One of my greatest accomplishments,” said Blaustein as he talked about the time the New Boyz got ‘Punk’d’, “I would say is being a part of the Punk’d cast.”
The New Boyz will be performing at the university’s “Welcome Back” concert on Sept. 21.
Besides doing stand-up comedy, the Lucas Brothers want to eventually get involved in directing, writing, editing and movies said Kenny.
“I want to be respected in acting and stand-up,” said Blaustein. “I want to be something like Robin Williams. He has HBO specials and an Oscar.”
He wants the audience to leave entertained, said Blaustein. He wants them to have a feeling of happiness after seeing one of his shows.
“Comedy isn’t just about being funny,” said Kenny. “It’s about being clever and coming up with clever punch lines. You have to appreciate the silliness in life and not take life so serious.”
Telling jokes that were relatable, about things like not having money, being in relationships and even sometimes making fun of the audience allowed these three guys to keep the audience engaged and on a never-ending laughing spree.
“Yo, you so stupid,” said Blaustein, “is the ultimate compliment.”
