Senior Staff Writer Jake Torres attended Latenite’s 2024 Spring Anthology on Saturday, April 20th at 8 pm in the Lerner Black Box.

After a semester of trials and tribulations, Latenite Happens, and it happened with a bang.

For those unacquainted with peak, Latenite is a student organized sketch comedy and theater group that performs groups of “silly little plays” in the form of anthologies at the end of every semester. Due to ongoing events on campus, Latenite made the commendable decision of canceling their first show on the night of April 18 in addition to canceling their traditional prank show that was supposed to happen on April 20 as well. In addition to this, they planned on holding a community space in the Lerner Black Box after their show to give a place for people to talk and hang out. Latenite’s eboard did a great job at handling the situation given that it is run by students for students. I can imagine it must have been hard making the decisions.

This semester’s anthology was packed with eight awesome and tasteful, yet bizarre and erotic sketches: “Alma’s Owl”, “For the Love of Foosball, Frats, Feminism and Fair P(l)ay”, “Penis Man”, “Fleas on Rats”, “Witches Get Stitches”, “The Hellevator”, “Whiskey Milk”, and “Adderall Squirrel”.

“Alma’s Owl” allows the audience to experience the birth of the owl that resides in Alma’s robes through an orgasm-adjacent, some might say borgasmic (birth+orgasm), auditory and visual adventure.  “For the Love of Foosball, Frats, Feminism and Fair P(l)ay” takes the audience on a journey from the world of Foosball and Feminism to the world of Frats and unfair pay, our unfortunate reality. In “Penis Man” we follow a man battling a phallic curse as he encounters the catholic church. “Fleas on Rats” takes a dive into the past and plays with the tangentialities of society and challenges what you know about life.

“Witches Get Stitches” showcases the intersection between Mean Girls and the sexual tension in 1692 Salem, Masachussetes. “The Hellevator” mixes music, masculinity and mating all in a hospital elevator. “Whiskey Milk” tackles the complexities of two dudes lives on the bayou and cancer. “Adderall Squirrel” is exactly what it sounds like, plus a european. 

This semester’s anthology was filled with shorter yet more powerful and well shaped sketches. This semester’s sketches have felt as experimental as ever before, if not even more experimental in the best ways. The use of anthropomorphic, yet realistic fursuits throughout the show was quite tasteful and in perfect quantity. The costumes used this semester were actually so awesome and all the directors did an amazing job of making the audience feel a part of their world, especially in “Witches Get Stitches”. The candles and bonnets set the vibes perfectly. “For the Love of Foosball, Frats, Feminism and Fair P(l)ay” also did a great job of world building with its props and costumes, especially the wizard foosball player which was all necessary for the collision of two adjacent worlds.

This semester really put the “u” in sexual by allowing the audience to experience the sketches in the auditory and visible planes of reality. The sounds created by Alma during “Alma’s Owl” certainly shook Lerner to its core. The dancers’ movements during “Whiskey Milk” on top of the scarily convincing stereotypical southern voices painted a perfect picture of Dude 1’s sexual exploits. The lustful tension between the characters in “The Hellevator” was quite intense. And of course, while not overtly sexual, the moves busted by the squirrel in “Adderall Squirrel” could change your view about fursuits. 

Something to be noted about this semester anthology is the excellent use of music in multiple sketches. Musical parodies add another dimension to the typical sketch and it was well used! Both musical parodies this semester in “Penis Man” and “The Hellevator” carry deep emotion. The use of lighting by directors was fantastic, especially for the monologues and Chris Aguasvivas timed all the transitions great. 

Some standout actors this semester were Jack Cleeve (CC ‘25), Jonathan Hall (CC ‘25), Macey Stancato (CC ‘25), Ryan Puterbaugh (CC ‘24), Daisy Burkin (BC ‘26), Naila Julien (CC ’25), Roni Gal-Oz (CC ‘26), Norah Vlas (BA ’26), Jillian Sullivan (BC ’26), Ishaan Barrett (CC ’26), Jazmyn Weeks (BC ’27), Lucia Perri (CC ‘25), Sarah Silverman (CC ‘24) and Tess Inderbitzin (BC ’25). Cleeve and Hall perfectly embodied and acted out their roles as mildly homoerotic frat bros and Stancato’s presence as Abby Wambach felt powerful. Puterbaugh’s singing as Willy Joel, the almost penis man, was great and it must have taken strong power to not laugh while singing about genitalia for an extended period of time.

The entire cast of “Witches Get Stitches” all played their roles perfectly and it truly felt like the Mean Girls and Salem Witch Trials crossover I have been itching for forever. “The Hellevator” hinged on the tension between the characters Sullivan and Barrett played and it was executed superbly by both. The accents and physical comedy used by Weeks and Perri elevated (or hellevated) the silliness of “Whiskey Milk” to the next level. Silverman truly made “Adderall Squirrel” with the beautiful rendition of S.I.M.P (Squirrels in my pants for the uncultured) and feral vibes. Inderbitzin’s monologue was heartfelt, emotional and would hopefully go in the lore books in the world of Adderall squirrels.

As with every semester, there’s something for everyone at Latenite. Whether you like fursuits, a potential penis man, foosball players who gained penises, the bubonic plague, poop, horses, horse girls, the reverse St Jude children’s hospital sex position, Adderall, European people or anything else I mentioned earlier, Latenites got it. The Spring 2024 anthology was a nice step away from the stressful campus environment and ongoing events filled with the perfect amount of sillyness and sexyness.  

Unfortunately, because there were only 2 shows this semester and due to the current campus climate, you may not have been able to see Latenite this semester. If that’s the case I highly recommend checking out Latenite next semester. Stay up to date with their Instagram as the shows sell out super quickly, but there is always a stand-by line if you are unable to acquire a ticket. I’m looking forward to what Latenite cooks up next semester!

Squirrel on adderall bustin it down via Latenite