“It would be nice if your tampon structure soaked up water,” comedian Dana Goldberg commented on Thursday night, pondering the significance of the red “Covenant” sculpture located near the high rises on the University’s campus.
Goldberg performed to a crowd of almost 200 at Penn Hillel. The event was hosted by J-Bagel, “Penn’s Jewish Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transexual, Transgender, Queer, Questioning, Intersex, and Ally” group, according to its website.
Although Goldberg began her performance by highlighting a campus landmark, her material moved beyond Penn. Goldberg mentioned she recently moved to Los Angeles.
“L.A. is fake,” she said. “Even on a flight to L.A., half the people are made of recyclable materials. Have you seen Joan Rivers lately? If she pulls her skin any tighter, she’ll have a goatee.”
Goldberg also offered insight into her family life.
“You know what my mom taught us to say to strangers who offered us candy?” she said. “Tell them you have diabetes. What, like kidnappers don’t want to take kids with a blood sugar problem?”
Goldberg also offered love advice to the audience. “If you’re going to be with someone for the rest of your life, find someone who can make you laugh,” Goldberg said. “Or [has] money.”
Goldberg concluded her performance on a more serious note. Addressing the members of Penn’s LGBT community in the audience, Goldberg said, “Every single person in this room knows it gets better. If you know a young queer, talk to them and help them out.”
“She brought together a lot of diverse communities at Penn, which was fun,” College senior Hannah Connor said of Goldberg’s performance. “It was great to see J-Bagel bring such an important person to Hillel.”
College senior and J-Bagel Chairman Jason Goodman was equally enthusiastic about the event. “It was wonderful to see such a strong turnout from both the Jewish and the LGBTQ communities,” he said. “J-Bagel is stratified between these two communities, and it was great that we were able to bring them together for this event.”
Of her visit to Penn, Goldberg said, “knowing there was a lot of Jewish and gay audience members” influenced her routine for the evening. “I wanted to make sure I hit on material that was funny and that a lot of people could relate to.”
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