Sheng Wang is trying to be a better person. During his Oct 11th set at the Englert Theater, he made light of the everyday struggles of being grown-up, everything from eating with your friend’s kids to cooking utensils you never use to still being just a little afraid of the dark. While this type of material is a bit well-worn, Wang’s relaxed persona and playful, emphatic delivery gives it a unique spin. He’s your funniest stoner friend, all weird takes and good vibes.
From the beginning, Wang made it clear that age has given him a new perspective on comedy. He began with jokes about eating more antioxidants and losing his skill on the monkey bars, material that clearly resonated with the mostly older audience. Although he touched briefly on more juvenile topics like edible bras, most of his set relied on what I call “adulting” humor: jokes that lean heavily on the shared understanding that sometimes, being an adult can be a bit absurd. As a nineteen-year-old (and I suspect the youngest person at the Englert that night), I understand that I am probably not Sheng Wang’s intended audience. I did find a few of his deliveries to be a bit cringeworthy, but for the most part, his oddball humor struck a chord with me, even if I couldn’t relate to much of his material; I found myself keeled over in laughter more than a few times that night.
The rest of the theater enjoyed the performance as much, if not more, than I did; nearly every joke was met with uproarious laughter. Occasionally during the set, I would hear one woman sitting behind me whisper to her friend through giggles, “That’s so real!” Towards the end of the night, Wang remarked on the demographic of people that tend to come to his shows. He complimented the audience on being such laid-back, friendly people, and thanked them genuinely for their love and support. As someone who’d gotten to the show early that night, I was able to observe a little bit of that audience dynamic, and I think Wang is right on the money. Quite frankly, I can’t imagine anyone getting rowdy or irate at one of his performances; he exudes a cool energy that you just can’t help but be calmed by.
However, to me, Wang’s biggest asset is his creativity: he frames mundane events like jury duty as wacky adventures that the whole audience can enjoy. In one particularly well-received bit, he described his experience backpacking through a forest with one of his friends. As he relayed his journey to the campsite, he told us how, as a part of the backpacking experience, he had to abandon his car on the side of the highway and walk the remaining twenty-six miles to the campsite. Wang trotted across the stage, commenting on how absurd it felt to him to hike when he had a perfectly good car: “I’m a Subaru!”
Overall, Sheng Wang’s time at the Englert was well-spent. I thoroughly enjoyed his performance— as well that of his opener, Kevin Camia, who did a delightfully self-deprecating fifteen-minute set to get the audience warmed up. Both comedians delivered big laughs, but Wang’s inventiveness and whimsy were the highlight of the night for me. I’m looking forward to seeing what he does next.
Like he suggests, I think he’ll only be getting better from here.
