Seth Meyers performs at Miami University for annual Family Weekend

On Friday, Oct. 24, Miami University kicked off its annual Family Weekend. As part of the weekend’s events, Oxford welcomed comedian and late-night talk show host Seth Meyers to Millett Hall as part of the university’s Performing Arts Series.

In the past decade, the Performing Arts Series has hosted numerous well-known comedians, such as Trevor Noah, Colin Jost and John Mulaney. Additionally, Meyers hosted back in 2015, marking 10 years since he was last in Oxford.

Meyers got his start on “Saturday Night Live” (SNL) as a head writer and eventually the co-anchor of the “Weekend Update” with Amy Poehler. After leaving the show in 2014, he became the host of “Late Night with Seth Meyers,” which is currently still on the air.

The comedian’s show was organized by Miami Activities and Programming (MAP), which began setting up the stage, chairs and concessions at 7 a.m. on Friday – the morning of the show. However, planning began months earlier.

Natalie Murnen, a senior speech pathology major and director of social media for MAP, said she started prepping for the event back in the spring of 2025.

“We have a lot of very strong, external connections,” Murnen said. “They started connecting [with Meyers’ team] back in March [...] After that, [the social media team] started making TikToks in June, and we really increased our posts in the last week.”

After MAP’s members helped everyone to their seats, Meyers took the stage. The SNL alum started his set by talking about driving to Oxford and the lack of highways that lead to the college town. The crowd erupted in laughter as the comedian leaned against the mic stand, a pose he frequently adopted throughout the performance.

Along with jokes about Miami, Meyers touched on his life in New York City, his parents and his kids growing into their father’s comedy skills. The talk-show host touched on aspects that many audience members relate to. Ashley Claver, a junior marketing major, echoed this statement.

“I really liked how [Meyers] incorporated a bunch of jokes about Family Weekend,” Claver said.

Along with the marketing student, Danny Baker, a sophomore robotics student, said he had never seen Meyers perform and was pleasantly surprised by his work.

“I thought he was funny,” Baker said. “I thought that since he was older, he wouldn’t relate to younger audiences.”

While the target audience was Miami students and their families, the comedian brought fans to Oxford as well. Alyssa Meyer, a student at Mount St. Joseph University, and her sister, Natalie, traveled from Cincinnati to come see the show.

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The sisters were introduced to Meyers at a young age, when he was a cast member of SNL.

“That’s where it all started,” Alyssa Meyer said. “I love his stand-up, [especially when] it’s about his kids.”

Despite being fans of his, this was the first time the Meyer sisters were able to see him live.

“I have a friend who goes here, who is also a big SNL fan,” Alyssa Meyer said. “She told me about it, and I knew we had to go.”

At the end of the night, students and family members alike made their way out of the gymnasium’s glass doors, still laughing over Meyers on stage, clutching the mic stand and telling the story of a lifetime.

pedenae@miamioh.edu