Joan Rivers Rocks the Crowd

Walking over to the Missouri Theater with my Joan Rivers ticket in hand the evening of Friday, March 15, I didn’t know what to expect from the show. I didn’t know if she was going to talk about fashion, her life, her career with humor on the side … or what! Even though I had no clue what I was getting into, I was still really looking forward to what she was going to bring to the stage. I watch her on “Fashion Police” on E! religiously, so I was sure that she knew how to entertain a crowd and bring out its humor.

What surprised me was seeing the wide variety of people that came to watch her show. I thought the theatre was going to be dominated by college girls, but I was proven wrong. There were actually several groups of older ladies who showed lots of excitement. The one who was sitting next to me asked if I’d seen “Joan and Melissa: Joan Knows Best?," which is River’s reality TV show starring her and her daughter. The show is about the conflicts they go through being mother and daughter, with the fact that Rivers is an international entertainment mogul. I told her that I hadn't, but I do love her on “Fashion Police.” And then it hit me. Rivers has successfully entertained females, from young adults to elderly, with her TV shows in addition to her three best-selling books.

When a voice suddenly came on announcing that her show is not intended to offend anyone in any way, shape or form, I had a feeling we were going to be presented with the comical Rivers we usually see on TV. A stand-up comedian warmed up the audience before Rivers came out wearing a long (and when I say long, I mean to the floor long) black and gold coat with pointy, black and gold heeled stilettos. She admitted that her outfit was planned especially for her performance in Columbia because she knew it was our school’s colors.

Rivers opened her show throwing out some jokes about celebrities ranging from Barbara Streisand to Angelina Jolie to the Kardashians. She was very active, too, walking all over the stage from each end, ranting about the people that get on her nerves (Anne Hathaway and Renee Zellweger, to name a few) and the people she hangs out with (including the legendary Cher and Kathy Griffin).

There also were moments during her show where she would just do things like getting on top of the piano and rolling around on the floor that made you wonder, “Is she really 79 years old?” I also noticed that when she would say something really offensive and horrible about someone, she would knock on the wooden stool that was set in the middle of the stage. Not to mention that it was also her only prop she used (if you can call it that since she didn’t really use it for anything).

Just when I thought the laughs would finally die down after an hour, as she ended the show, she came back on stage wearing her iconic pink feather coat that she used in her “Fashion Police” commercials on E!. She ranted a little bit more about her dog who recently died before giving the flower pots that were set on stage to a couple of people who were sitting on the front row. Then, she closed the show by taking off her clipped extensions! A total Rivers move.

All in all, it was an entertaining show to end a hectic school week. I laughed the whole entire time just watching Joan Rivers being Joan Rivers on stage. I would definitely recommend seeing her next time she’s in town — Columbia or your hometown! You’ll get a pretty good laugh out of her.

By: Sazanka Idris