Comedian and actor Nick Swardson will perform at this year's Spring Comedy Show at the Somerville Theater on April 7, Entertainment Board confirmed this week.
Swardson is best known for his roles in the films "Grandma's Boy" (2006) and "I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry" (2007), the TV show "Reno 911!" (2003−2009), his Comedy Central sketch comedy show "Nick Swardson's Pretend Time," and multiple Comedy Central specials.
Entertainment Board co−chair Chris Kudlack said the board had more flexibility in choosing the spring performer than in previous years because of extra funding left over after the expected fall comedy show performer, Michael Ian Black, withdrew from the appearance.
"Since the fall show didn't work out, we decided to have a little different approach and see first of all which comedians would be in the area and we could actually rely on to go to Tufts," Kudlack, a junior, said.
Entertainment Board co−chair Austin Glassner said the leftover funds meant they were able to upgrade from the lower−profile acts of previous years.
"Instead of trying to get two up−and−coming smaller ones [this semester], we tried to go for a bigger one," he said.
Kudlack said the board chose Swardson based on the popularity of his work in television.
"Looking through that list of comedians, Nick stood out very well because I know him very well, I've seen him on TV, his standup specials are hilarious, and I figured a lot of people … knew his name," Kudlack said. "He's just a hilarious guy. I figured that would definitely fill up the Somerville Theatre and be a success."
Glassner said that even if people do not instantly recognize Swardson's name, they will most likely recognize him from his work.
"He's kind of the thing where once you see his face, you know instantly who he is," Glassner, a junior, said.
Tickets for the show are now on sale at the Mayer Campus Center.
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