Maria Shehata is an Egyptian from Ohio — a combination of traits she said made her realize God was playing Mad Libs with her life.
One of three performers at BU Central on Saturday night, Shehata said many of her previous gigs have not been as successful as the one she had at Boston University.
Shehata has been a comic for three years and produces her own show twice a week at Joe Franklin’s Comedy Club in New York City.
“There’ve been rooms without stages, rooms without microphones,” she said.
She was joined by comedians Dwayne Perkins, a comedian for 13 years who has appeared on Late Night with Conan O’Brien and The Late Late Show, and Liz Miele, a comic for six years who has been featured in The New Yorker.
Fair game for the comedy show included the tame — relationships and arranged marriages – but also saw its fair share of jokes about Michael Richards and the dreadful halitosis.
Perkins, who does not drink alcohol, said when people who offer him drinks, it is like offering milk to a lactose-intolerant person or sugar to a diabetic.
“Buy me some cake,” Perkins said, as an alternative to buying him a round of drinks after the show.
The Laugh Out Loud comedy series has had success the past few years — not only for students, but also performers who find themselves laughing at their own jokes.
“This is a great venue for comedy,” Perkins said. “A lot of the comedy, a lot of the battle in terms of what makes a good show, is if the room is conducive.”
Students said they enjoyed the performance because they could relate to the material.
“It was really funny,” said College of Arts and Sciences sophomore Nicole Anderson. “I saw Dwayne Perkins before, and I really like his jokes. He had some he hadn’t before, and it was awesome.”
Even serving as the butt of one of Perkins’s jokes, CAS freshman Arcangelo Cella said he enjoyed the show. As the “English major,” Perkins mocked Cella’s sweater vest and intellect mercilessly on stage.
“It was in good humor,” Cella said. “It was a lot of fun.”
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