The lights dimmed in Rudder Auditorium Sunday night before a series of comics took the stage, and though students burst with laughter over all of them, they were there for one thing only – Kevin Hart.
New to Aggieland, Kevin Hart took the stage with one question, “What Now?” However, the question wasn’t for the audience. It’s what his fans have been asking him. He explained how people will come up to him and ask about what his next big step will be after he’s achieved so much in the last few years, but now he has an answer.
Hart just finished filming his new movie “The Wedding Ringer,” which he was in College Station to promote, recently got engaged and now is looking for a new place to call home. Naturally, through these big life events, hysterical escapades have ensued that he portrayed to the audience of 2,500 Aggies. The crowd was asked multiple times to put phones away, because Hart was going to be performing completely new material, and that’s exactly what they got.
Hart displayed fresh, unheard material that was directed toward a room of friends, not just another college campus. Texas A&M was the 10th stop on Hart’s “What Now” college tour which he claimed is unlike any other promoting technique. He said he didn’t know of anyone else who was promoting directly to the college audience.
What was interesting about his performance was that the new material gave the audience an update on the current events of his life, but still alluded to past shows that fans originally fell in love with. Hart enthusiasts got an update on his kids, who, last we heard, were just beginning to talk and celebrating bouncy house birthdays. When talking about old material, Hart would use the anecdote like, “Like I’ve told you before,” as if we spoke on a regular basis. However, he only touched on this, making sure that new fans still felt in the loop.
Hart made it obvious that he is a family man in the way that most every joke he fired was in some way connected to his family or his interactions with them. This brought a down to earth vibe to his personality and in this way made a much stronger connection to the audience.
Hart seemed to be searching for what worked and what didn’t by the reactions of the audience, like every comedian does, but in this particular case, it seemed that Hart was testing material to see what could be cut, added or switched around. Several times, Hart would refer back to jokes made earlier in the show that gave a feeling that the performance was coming to a close, which left viewers anticipating a premature ending. Luckily, the show continued and truly came across very entertaining. Overall, the night was a smashing hit and Hart seemed to relish in the love that Aggies gave him.
Hart ended his show in a familiar way – singing his praises to the audience. Like always, he made it known that the show could not go on without his fans. Only this time, he especially thanked his demographic, the college students, to which he accredits a large part of his success.
Kevin Hart performs in Rudder Auditorium Sunday evening.
Photo by Tanner Garza