Issue date: 4/8/08 Section: Campus

Medill freshman Quinn Thacker had planned to camp out for tickets to see "Saturday Night Live" star Andy Samberg who will speak on campus April 15. And when she didn't reach Norris University Center until shortly before 8 a.m., just a few hours before tickets went on sale, Thacker was worried she'd miss out on the show.

"I had a 'Lazy Sunday,'," Thacker said, referencing the popular "SNL" skit starring Samberg and fellow "SNL" star Chris Parnell.

Though 90 people were lined up outside the Norris Box Office by 10:30 a.m., Thacker and more than 525 other students got their tickets Monday. Fewer than 75 tickets still remain for the event, said SESP sophomore Scott Topal, the Hillel Leadership Council's president.

Topal said he isn't disappointed tickets didn't sell out quickly.

"As much as it's great to get that kind of response, people shouldn't necessarily have to wake up at 7 a.m. to get tickets," Topal said.

The event, which is sponsored by NU's Fiedler Hillel Center, will take place in Ryan Family Auditorium at 8 p.m. Six hundred tickets were available for $5.

Hillel instituted the same ticket policy A&O Productions adopted for the Counting Crows concert: two tickets per WildCARD, one WildCARD per person.

Weinberg freshman Robin Levy said she was surprised there wasn't a bigger turnout for tickets. She waited outside Norris starting at 1 a.m. Monday, she said. When a custodian left the building at around 6 a.m., she and a friend sneaked into Norris and sat in front of the box office until the building officially opened.

"When I came for Flight of the Conchords, I didn't get a ticket, so I was like, whatever, I'll come early," Levy said.

While the format of the event is not yet finalized, it will include a discussion with the audience about Samberg's experiences, life and career, Topal said. Communication junior Shauna Perlman will moderate the event.

Thacker liked the idea of a conversation-style performance because it might give students a chance to "actually get to know the guy," she said.

"With a funny person, a conversation can be just as effective," she said. "It could even prove to be more entertaining. This could bring about some originality."

And as for the tickets still remaining, Topal doesn't expect them to last long.

"We're figuring based on ticket sales today and the interest of campus, they will sell out at some point (Tuesday)," he said.



c-salter@northwestern.edu

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