LAURA JOHNSON
A&E Assistant Editor
Tom and Dick Smothers have absolutely no relation to Flora Smothers, who donated the money for Smothers Theater. Still, they will be performing there once again to a sold out crowd this Friday, Sept. 15.
After over 46 years in the business, the Smothers Brothers comedy duo has had more than ample time to become an absolutely perfected laugh machine. With a blend of comedic and musical talents, they are no ordinary stand-up act.
According to Brad White, marketing and publicity manager for the Center for the Arts, the tickets were sold out by August 1, weeks before school year began. Consequently, some students did not have an opportunity to buy tickets.
“The Brothers were big in the 1960s,” White said. “As such, the audience is a little older. However, it is people from all over the community. The great thing about these guys is that everyone can enjoy them.”
Wendy Blair, public relations representative to the Smothers Brothers for almost 12 years, said the reason these siblings are so timeless is because they have just the right amount of comedy.
“The reason they have been able to stay around this long,” Blair said, “is because of their professionalism, their humor, which transcends generations, their musical ability and their overall performance ability.”
Their first public appearance, in 1959, was at the Purple Onion Theatre in San Francisco. Thirteen albums later, the brothers are truly professionals within the upstanding world of standup comedy.
The men have been headliners in various cities across the United States, including Las Vegas, Reno and Lake Tahoe, and they have played with such great symphonies as the Boston Pops Orchestra. After five decades of constant touring, and audience appreciation, it’s no wonder the gentlemen were honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
In 1967, they even got their own show on CBS called, “The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour.” Although they may seem tame now, they actually drew in a hip younger audience then, discussing politics, the presidency, and hippy society.
The fact that the Smothers Brothers threw in comments against the Vietnam War made their show one of the most controversial of the time. They used comedy as a platform for politics, instead of the other way around.
Junior Alexandra Minke, who has worked in the Smother’s box office for a year-and-a-half, will be going to see the masters of comedy with her mother.
“I saw them on a TV show a while back and was very intrigued by them,” Minke said. “They were incredibly funny.”
Because Minke works in the box office, she said was able to find out the Brothers were coming before most students. After her mom actually saw them in San Jose earlier this summer, she knew she wanted to see them live.
“I’m just excited to sit back, relax and just laugh a little,” Minke said. “It will be nice to see a whole show of theirs.”
Today, the show is a constant sell-out no matter what city in the brothers visit. It consists of the brothers switching off on bass guitar, singing and talking during the first and second half. Interrupting the routine is a visit from the Yo-Yo man, who is played by Tom, and voiced by Dick. Yo-Yo man will show off how easy it is to toss a yo-yo. After that, there will be a 15-minute featurette, telling how the Smothers Brothers first came to the stage.
On stage, the pair claims to have a sibling rivalry, and there is always one who claims that the other was always loved by their mother best.
According to Blair, Pepperdine University was chosen as a place to perform for its stellar location.
“Pepperdine is a great location for the duo because not only is it right outside of L.A., so people from the city and surrounding suburbs alike can enjoy it, but also, it doesn’t hurt that it has a beautiful campus,” Blair said.
In a world where comedians today believe they need to use as much profanity and bathroom humor as possible, to be funny, the brothers are a breath of fresh air. Although this doesn’t mean they aren’t ever controversial, the fact that their type of humor is still going strong today, and other more “colorful” groups are not, is rather a little bit funny.
The fact that this show, one of President Andrew K. Benton’s picks for this school years Pepperdine Fine Arts performances, is completely sold-out already is a testimony to the new level of entertainment fare the Center for the Arts is bringing to the community.
And, what better way to kick off the season, but with a sold out show?
09-13-2007
