By MEGAN ELISON
Divine Comedy, a BYUSA club and sketch comedy group, will release a CD Saturday night with two shows in 151 TNRB.
The CD-release party will include performances by Divine Comedy and Voice Male, an a cappella group.
Although the group has released musical cassettes in the past, the new CD will mark the first time Divine Comedy has ever recorded comedy sketches. The CD features these sketches along with the traditional musical parodies.
Divine Comedy was formed four years ago when club president Randy Davis and friend Greg Peterson brainstormed the idea in speech class. Davis had gotten the idea while on his mission, when his brother sent him a video of a sketch at BYU-Hawaii that won first prize in a competition.
The founders then put up advertisements and held try-outs to find the other members of the club.
'In the beginning, they went out on campus and recruited audiences,' said member Jon Hamilton, 26, a BYU alumnus from Chicago, Ill. 'Divine Comedy has gained a following ever since.'
The most recent version of Divine Comedy includes seven members and performs once a month in 151 TNRB.
'It's a great mix of people (in the group) and yet we all just love each other,' said Davis, 24, a senior from Escondido, Calif., majoring in English.
One of Divine Comedy's purposes is to provide an outlet where students can enjoy themselves and laugh at life, Hamilton said.
'Our main purpose has always been to make sure that our shows are really good,' Davis said. 'We try to stay away from issues that are irreverent.'
The CD will feature some new material, as well as old favorites. Titles range from 'For the Strength of Youth Man' to 'The Sheepshank Rejection.' Song parodies include a take on Alanis Morrisette's 'You Outta Know,' entitled 'You Outta Floss,' and a version of John Mellencamp's 'Jack and Diane' about breakfast cereal.
'Some of the skits are so high energy that the cast would just break down laughing in the middle of a take,' Hamilton said in a press release. 'We all had a great time during recording and that really comes through on the CD.'
All of Divine Comedy's skits are pre-planned, not improvised. Club members practice an average of four or five hours a week, with more practice time the week of the shows.
Divine Comedy's most popular skit is a parody of the 'Star Wars' Trilogy, Davis and Hamilton said. In it, two cast members give a two-minute rendition of the films, complete with impressions of multiple characters.
The group will perform two shows Saturday, at 8 and 10 p.m. Tickets are $3 at the door.
The new CD will also be available at the BYU Bookstore for $6.99.
A review of the CD will appear in Monday's edition of The Daily Universe.