B.J. Novak at the University of Illinois

Friday, April 25th, 2008

B.J. Novak appears at the University of Illinois tonight at 7:30. The show is FREE!

B.J.’s live show is a treat. Besides being really funny, he always personalizes his show to the venue. Go if you can, then report back!

Link: Illini Union Board

Tipster: Luis

Posted in B.J. Novak

34 comments

Pages: [2] 1 » (Show All)

Oh. You are kidding me. I was in Chicago this weekend. Damn.
34 | Pam Scherbatsky Sun. Apr. 27, 2008 at 2:12pm
Here is a link to some of the pictures I took. I was about in the middle of the room so the pictures are not great, especially since he had the lights turned down for most of the show. I know BJ asked use not to post a ton of pictures online but I figured a couple would be okay for tallyheads. There are also some with him and shy puppet.
33 | skyash1588 (Heather) Sat. Apr. 26, 2008 at 4:47pm
What was the name of his opening act? He was really funny I just can’t remember his name for the life of me.
32 | Ethan Sat. Apr. 26, 2008 at 1:20pm
BJ was AWESOME!!! My friends and I got to the venue at 5pm for a 730pm show, were the second group in line and got first row seats.. he was late due to airports and traffic, but being at the union for 5.5 hours was WELL WORTH IT!!

BJ: COME BACK TO CHAMPAIGN SOON!!! :-)
31 | Lauren Fri. Apr. 25, 2008 at 10:25pm
T Diddy, that’s great that you got an autograph!

I wasn’t so lucky, but I still had a great time. I’ll post some office-related things he talked about…

-The Office spin-off hasn’t really been discussed yet with the writers. They haven’t yet decided what the spin-off will be about. However, BJ said that The Office would still maintain its quality and not “jump the shark”

-His least-favorite Ryan moment was when Ryan kept Jim’s desk in “The Merger”. He also said his mom didn’t like it when Ryan “wasn’t a nice guy.”

-His favorite characterizations of Ryan come from Gene and Lee. He really liked how those guys personified Ryan. He joked that he, Gene, and Lee would go to bars and listen for lines for Ryan to say on the show.

-One awesome Q and A was when a person in the back said, “I have a question…How dare you?!” (lol). BJ laughed and said “nicely played”

-BJ really enjoys the character of toby.

That’s basically what I can remember, hopefully someone else can explain in further detail!
30 | Cynthia Fri. Apr. 25, 2008 at 10:20pm
Yay, I’m so glad you guys had fun! Let’s see those photos!

B.J. is a sweetheart. :)
29 | tanster Fri. Apr. 25, 2008 at 9:59pm
so i got to get in for the last few minutes when bj was answering office questions. he ended on a group “TWSS”. but the real fun was when me and a few people waited for an hour in the rain for him to get autographs…and we got them! such a nice guy for him to do that…it made my night.
28 | T Diddy Fri. Apr. 25, 2008 at 9:57pm
I just got back from seeing the show. : )

B.J. Novak was amazing, it was well worth the wait.
27 | Gwen Fri. Apr. 25, 2008 at 9:26pm
What a night! Turns out BJ’s flight was delayed and Google maps told him it was a 19 minute drive down from Chicago. (segue into OnStar-is-not-GPS and I had “Dunder Mifflin Infinity” yelling-at-technology flashbacks)

I was growing tired of this new “Ryan” especially after last night’s episode, but charming and hilarious BJ convinced me tonight that he is indeed charming and hilarious and not a crackhead corporate nutcase (despite his similar appearance to Ryan last night, as he candidly pointed out). We heard about panda love, porn stars, how wonderful Paul and Mindy and Gene and Lee are, Shy Puppet and Wikipedia Brown made appearances, and he tested lots of new jokes on us with TTWS splashed about everywhere he could. He was very gracious and appreciative, which made the three hour wait worth it!
26 | Kathleen Fri. Apr. 25, 2008 at 8:56pm
Well, I’m one of the 550 in here waiting…it’s now almost 8:30 and it was supposed to start at 7:30. We’ve been watching episodes, but it’s kind of hard to hear. (not like I need to–I know all the lines). It’s too bad it had to thunderstorm in Champaign-Urbana today and more people couldn’t get to hear him! I can’t wait! I’ve got my DMI shirt on all ready to go! YAY IUB!!!
25 | michigankathleen Fri. Apr. 25, 2008 at 6:27pm
Got there at 6 and the line stretched all the way around the union…needless to say I wasn’t one of the first 550 :( they said he’ll be signing after the show, though, so I can still ask about his nuclear warfare theories :)
24 | T Diddy Fri. Apr. 25, 2008 at 5:17pm
not fair!!! i’m a senior in high school why couldn’t i be a U of I student NOW!!!!???!!!!!!! uggh i wish i would’ve known about this earlier. i SO would have taken the 2 hour drive down to champaign…Have fun all of you Illini people…and I’ll see you when BJ comes back next year!
23 | Sammie Fri. Apr. 25, 2008 at 3:31pm
My girlfriend is morbidly depressed because she doubts there would be any way we could get in if we left now. It’s about an hour away.
22 | Troy Fri. Apr. 25, 2008 at 3:28pm
Yeah, they’ve updated the Illini Union Board website and it confirms that the event is now being held inside. I’m nervous now…
21 | Gwen Fri. Apr. 25, 2008 at 3:20pm
For those of you who are attending, one of my friends was in charge of setting this up and she just told me it’s been moved inside, so there will only be 550 people let in. Get there early!
20 | Emily Fri. Apr. 25, 2008 at 3:08pm
I can’t wait! Only two and a half more hours! How early is everyone going to get there? I don’t want to miss it if they only let the first 500 people in. T.T
19 | Gwen Fri. Apr. 25, 2008 at 3:05pm
Tanster, thanks a million for posting this info!
I just changed my plans for this weekend so I can go tonight!!!
18 | caro Fri. Apr. 25, 2008 at 2:46pm
I live in the suburbs but am going to try to make it out there with some friends, also with my DM t-shirt!
17 | kazels Fri. Apr. 25, 2008 at 2:13pm
B.J., if you read this, swing by the University of Chicago before leaving Illinois. Please?
16 | Franchesca Fri. Apr. 25, 2008 at 1:50pm
I would get there at least an hour early. There’s a huge buzz going around about BJ’s show. It would be great to have it on the Quad outdoors, but the forecast predicts rain about 90 minutes before he starts.
15 | Luis Fri. Apr. 25, 2008 at 1:16pm