In 2024, Ithaca College topped the list of “Best Colleges for LGBTQ+ Students”, so when the Student Board of Activities reached out to Dukes after putting out their announcement on TikTok about a college tour, this event was certain to be a popular one. Sure enough, on Tuesday, April 15, over 200 students gathered in Emerson Suites for what was the most attended event of SAB in the 2024-2025 academic year.
Dukes is a sketch comedy duo based in Brooklyn, NY. Made up by Jane Wickline, a bisexual Gen-Z tiktoker whose dry humor got her to late-night TV, and Liva Pierce, a lesbian comedian who has a history in performing comedy sketches, improv, and stand-up nationwide. Their comedy was a perfect match to IC, in that awkward but confident and heavily queer humor.
I wasn’t too sure what to expect from the show. I probably could’ve done more research before showing up, but honestly, part of me was intrigued by the mystery that awaited. I had been following Wickline before she joined the Saturday Night Live cast and had always been a fan of her comedy style, but I never really kept up with her. Not enough to know what “Dukes” was all about, and I must say that I was pleasantly surprised. There was not one moment when the crowd wasn’t bursting with laughter or waiting in anticipation for the next dry punchline that somehow perfectly matched the Ithaca College vibe. But I’m rushing ahead. Let’s take some time to break down this show and why it was the perfect evening for any IC student to get some giggles out as finals season approaches.
I spoke to first-year Allison Dolan, one of the three co-presidents of SAB, who mentioned that the board knew this show would fit the college’s vibe. After finding the announcement on TikTok, Dolan said they wasted no time getting in touch with the Dukes’ team. Dolan said the process of getting all the logistics in order took a few months, but was smooth thanks to her co-presidents and Dukes’ team, who Dolan said were terrific and very communicative. Because of contracts, Dukes’ Instagram announced they were visiting Ithaca College before SAB had a chance to, which is how many people found out about the event.
“[Students were] in the comments of the post,” Dolan said. “They definitely know their target audience, so [that] was really helpful in building a lot of hype for the event.”
From the start, the opener, Mabel Lewis, built a great rapport with the crowd, setting the perfect energy to begin the night. Mabel Lewis –– who is also Duke’s manager –– was on point with her jokes. Her stand-up comedy act was tailored to the public, and it was clear that she had done her research. With jokes about the IC mascot and the unspoken bad blood between Cornellians and Ithacans, she got the crowd roaring with laughter, and even she was taken aback by some of the crowd’s participation, which provided jokes that were relatable but not clichéd. The air was filled with electric banter by the time that Wickline and Liva Pierce took the stage. Wearing a medieval scarf around their necks, the pair explained the origin of “Dukes,” before starting with one of the most popular songs (after Wickline preformed it on SNL) that retells the story of a random person who seems unaware of the fact that the party they were at is over and slowly reveals to the audience that they snuck in pretending to be someone’s plus one.
After Pierce and Wickline follow with a few more musical skits that range in weirdness like one where a chipotle-ordering-turned-magician-rap-battle-turned-foreplay-turned-proposal couple changes from one scene to another, managing to surprise the crowd at every turn, some of the other standouts were the two firemen who decided to pursue the profession after losing their double date partners in an accident involving a pizza oven, or the love story — that occurs over different decades and timelines -– of two strangers who happened to run into each other that day. Only an hour long, the audience is left savouring every moment, as excited about the sketch happening right before their eyes as they are about the anticipation of the next absurd scene that will unfold. There was not a moment when the room fell silent; it was easy to see how engaged the audience was, and that, like me, they wished it would never end. Ultimately, when it did, the whole room clapped (I believe there was a standing ovation) because “Dukes” was a show that truly spoke to the Ithaca College culture –– weird, funny, not to mention incredibly gay!
It was a night to remember and a night to celebrate queerness, weirdness, and silliness! I know it’s a show that was worth putting my homework aside for, to be there for an hour and allow myself to absorb the positive energy of the performances. I was surprised to see that it also captivated some of my friends, whom I never would have thought to see there, and who had only good things to say as we all walked out of Emerson Suites with a hearty smile.