Chris Gethard's Magic Box of Stories 3.4.09 @ UCB

Last night I went to a show that I've been thinking about going to for awhile. At first I just wanted to go because I liked the name 'Magic Box of Stories', and then I wanted to go because I realized that the host's last name spelled out GET-HARD. But I didn't go see it at first, because those were kind of superficial and stupid reasons to go pay to do something. After all this thinking with virtually nothing to show for it, Chris Gethard hosted a Harold night that I attended. In between each Harold (group performance, for those of us not familiar with the UCB), Gethard came out and gave the audience a little taste of what his show was like...and I was sold. Being the stalker that I am, I found out that he is from West Orange, NJ. Since I am from neighboring South Orange, at this point there was no way I was not going to this show. I recruited two friends (one from West Orange) to accompany me.

The main premise of the show is that a lot of crazy/awkward/funny/random shit has happened to Chris Gethard in his life and he wants to share these experiences with whoever will listen. He writes part of the experience down on multi-colored notecards and puts them inside a box (...a magic box) and lets the audience pull cards from the box, to determine what he shares that evening. I don't want to give away any of the stories, but to give you an idea of what you'll be getting yourself into, we heard about how he lost his virginity, drove down to Princeton to beat the shit out of someone he didn't know for "IM-bombing" him during his freshman year at Rutgers University, being raped by a girl and his short-lived career as a pro-wrestling manager (in my hometown of South Orange...woo woo represent).

As aforementioned, he asks the audience to pick cards. My friend, Danielle, yells out, "I want to pick it! I'm from West Orange too!". Which leads to him asking her how she knew this, leading to her pointing at me (also a stranger) and then the two of them realizing that they grew up litterally one block from each other, and Danielle realizing that she knows the person who he has described as, recently, having been arrested for child pornography. It was a great moment in time.

This show occurs semi-often at the UCB and is worth the 500 pennies ($5) it costs for admission. Check it out people.