By Kimberly Rosales |Staff Writer|
Feisty funny woman, Anjelah Johnson brought the laughter by entertaining students and non-students alike Thursday night in the Coussoulis Arena at CSUSB.
The comedian, best known for her “Mad TV” Bon Qui Qui character and “Beautiful Nail” salon set, brought fans out by the masses Feb. 9 to watch her as she performed a routine based on her family, friends and experiences.
With the crowd already warmed up by opening comic Mal Hall, they deafeningly cheered and hooted as Anjelah hit the stage.
“Well hello. It’s good to be here,” she greeted the audience. “San Bernardino in the house!” she bellowed to a cheering crowd.
The night kicked off with Anjelah poking fun at CSUSB.
“They called me. They’re like ‘Hey do you want to perform at Cal State San Bernardino?’ And I was like ‘What? Cholos go to college?” Anjelah said, which got big laughs from students in the arena.
The crowd was enthralled about the time Anjelah experienced her own “Bridesmaids” moment, where she recalled being sick on her wedding day from taking “one too many substances” that did not sit well with her during the ceremony.
She spoke about dealing with the differences between her Puerto Rican in-laws versus her Mexican family.
“To me when I hear Puerto Ricans speak Spanish, it sounds like they have water in their mouth and they don’t want it to spill.” Anjelah said, which led to her first impression of the night.
The audience was in stitches when Anjelah began to do her impressions, starting with her encounters with Asians that included a grandma running over a dog and apologizing to it, a friend’s reaction when getting scared and being scolded for putting too much chili on her food at a restaurant.
Anjelah also did a great set on growing up and raised to be a chola. The audience related with her observations and experiences when interacting with a chola, from the way they speak to the way they dressed, even down to the sharpie eyebrows.
The climax of the night was when Anjelah did her Bon Qui Qui impression with a saucy and ghetto fabulous attitude.
“You see me here tryin’ to have a conversation here? Don’t interrupt. Rude.” she quipped.
She brought down the house when Anjelah beat boxed and sang Bon Qui Qui’s King Burger song, to which the crowd responded, “Heeeeeeeey!”
The audience loved the show and adored Anjelah. Fans had nothing but praise for the comedian.
“We loved it,” said four fans that traveled from Barstow just to see Anjelah perform.
“It was awesome. She’s charismatic and outgoing,” said student Anabel Mendoza.
There were rave reviews about her character impressions.
“She’s real funny. The main thing for me is her impressions which I first saw on Comedy Central,” said student Steven Tobar.
Fans waited a long time for a meet-and-greet with Anjelah, cheering and whistling as she came to take pictures with her adoring fans.
“Yes. I love this,” Anjelah happily announced as she looked out towards the excited crowd lined up just for her.
Comedian Anjelah Johnson made a lasting impression at CSUSB, she’s got a safe bet in a welcomed return.
