With a fluid and fast-paced style, tendency to burst into song-and-dance numbers and penchant for sassy sarcasm, Aziz Ansari’s knack for entertainment makes him a rising star in stand-up comedy. The ‘Parks and Recreation’ co-star treated Syracuse University students to a night of stand-up Friday night.

Ansari performed his comedy routine at the Oncenter War Memorial Arena as a part of the University Union Performing Arts series. Tickets were $15 for SU students and faculty and $30 for the general public. Press was not admitted to the show.

‘Aziz is a really up-and-coming performer,’ said Amanda Shaw, co-director of UU Performing Arts board. She added that Ansari received extremely positive feedback on UU’s survey of performers students would like to see. The board then arranged the show with Ansari to close the performing arts events for the school year.

Comedian Joe Mande, currently touring with Ansari, opened the show. UU considered the event a success because of its audience outreach.

‘It was the largest event our board has ever put on, almost three times the size of any previous show,’ said Jamie Berman, co-director of UU Performing Arts board. Roughly 4,400 people attended the performance, with the final count to be tallied Monday.

Ansari’s growing popularity generated hype on campus. Some attended the performance because they were familiar with Ansari’s comedic work.

‘I first saw him on the show ‘Scrubs,’ and I’ve been following him ever since. I just think his stuff is consistently funny,’ said KJ Mills, a sophomore in the L.C. Smith College of Engineering and Computer Science. ‘He really just appeals to our age group, and he says things that make sense to us.’

Farhin Rahman, a sophomore nutrition science major who attended the show, was thrilled for the performance because of Ansari’s quirky approach to comedy.

‘His style of humor is so different,’ she said. ‘The way he delivers his jokes is upbeat and enthusiastic, and he’s more energetic than a lot of other comedians.’

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Published on April 16, 2012 at 12:00 pm

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