Ryan Howard may have recently lost everything on NBC's "The Office," but his real-life doppelganger B.J. Novak's stock has only been going up.
Novak will perform stand-up comedy at Duke Feb. 28 in Page Auditorium, Duke University Union announced Tuesday. Dan Mintz, known for dead-pan comedy, will open the show.
"[Novak's] a really, really funny comedian. I think the show will appeal to a lot of Duke students," said DUU President Chamindra Goonewardene, a senior. "People we've spoken to are really excited about it. I think it's going to do really, really well."
Mintz is currently working with comedians like Demetri Martin who are "getting hot right now," said DUU Major Attractions Director Vincent Ling, a senior.
Ling said deciding how to spend the budget for shows was a long process. The committee considered everything from multiple small shows to one large production in Cameron Indoor Stadium. With finances "under a microscope" because of the economy, however, they decided the former option would be best, Ling noted.
"Instead of lumping our budget into one big show, we wanted to split it into smaller shows to appeal to a broader section of the student body," Ling said. "And I mean relatively smaller-they're still big shows."
Ling, who saw Novak in a comedy act over the summer, said he thinks Novak has a great routine and believes students will be excited that he is coming to Duke because of his role as a writer and actor for "The Office."
But landing a name like Novak was difficult because many performers are choosing to create new material instead of touring because of the economy, Ling said. He noted that a number of artists DUU considered for this semester were reluctant to commit to dates, but Duke is not alone in this-agents he has spoken with said all universities are having trouble booking shows.
Novak, however, committed to come to Duke on the same day he was contacted, Ling said, noting that he had initiated conversations with Novak and his agent over the summer.
"Last Friday we made the offer to him. He was working on set [for "The Office"], and as soon as he got off he got back to us," Ling said. "A lot of different offers kept falling through, and we finally got lucky."
Sophomore Yasser El-Abd said he was interested in the Novak act because he has been watching "The Office" since last year, but he did not realize Novak did stand-up comedy. El-Abd, however, said he may not be willing to shell out $18 for a ticket. Duke student tickets will be $18 and general public tickets will cost $26.
Goonewardene said he could not comment on the price of bringing Novak to Duke, but noted that if the show sells out, DUU will still have to subsidize a portion of the act's costs.
DUU plans to have at least one or two more big shows before the end of the semester, Ling said.
Senior Eric Holljes said he would be interested in attending the stand-up show because he likes the writing on "The Office" and knows Novak is one of its writers.
Ling said that when he saw Novak over the summer, the actor was a dynamic stand-up comedian with an interesting routine.
"I've seen him do things like puppet shows. He interacts with the audience a lot and makes lots of references to 'The Office'," Ling said. "He switches things up a lot with his stand-up act."
Duke student tickets will be available at the Duke Box Office starting Thursday, Feb. 12 at 10 a.m., and general public tickets will be available starting Friday, Feb. 13 at 10 a.m.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.