The Stone twins, Todd ’05 and Adam ’05, returned to campus last Thursday night to perform a comedic variety show, “Stone and Stone: Homeward Bound,” in Memorial Chapel.
The twins have recently entertained audiences at various clubs and theaters, many of which are in New York City, but “Stone and Stone” originated at Wesleyan during an event in which students shared various performances with the University community, the 10:10 series. The Stone twins performed the popular show on campus during their sophomore, junior, and senior years.
“I think it’s a great Wesleyan story,” Todd said of the show’s origin. “I feel like it connects us even closer to Wesleyan.”
Nearly two years after the twins graduated, volunteers like Dan Lachman ’09 and Vijay Chaudhuri ’07 put up posters around campus advertising the return of “Stone and Stone,” which was sponsored by Wes Entrepreneurs.
“I see ‘Stone and Stone’ as an entrepreneurial venture,” Todd said.
Todd and Adam treated a crowd of around 75 to an hour of laughs in Memorial Chapel.
At the beginning of the show, the Stone twins appeared on stage wearing matching suits, and Adam told the audience that he recently began dating a girl.
“She’s Israeli and I’m Jewish… so it’s kind of a big deal,” he said. “Her name is A-whore.”
Todd then discussed the racial ambiguity of Adam and himself.
“A lot of people think we are Greek… or Italian… or Jamaican,” he said.
Todd proceeded to tell a story of a recent conversation with an elderly uncle at a family reunion.
“I went up to Uncle Sammy and said, ‘Uncle Sammy, may you live every day as if it were your last,’” Todd said. “Well, he died the following day.”
The twins then pointed out differences between them, beginning with subtle differences and moving to the absurd.
“I’ve dated a model,” Adam said.
“I’ve done a homeless girl,” Todd said.
“I like dogs,” Adam said.
“I do drugs,” Todd said.
The twins shared several fictitious anecdotes throughout the show.
At one point, Todd explained that he rearranged his resume because someone told him that he needed to use stronger verbs, but that some of the verbs he used were too strong, such as “molested.” He said that he now works as a counselor at a day camp. Adam discussed the day “when [his] tongue went through the mirror” because he was not looking in a mirror—he was looking at Todd.
The Stone twins then acted out a skit in which Adam was a tourist in Todd’s native country, and Todd’s accent altered Adam’s perception of the word “beaches.”
“The great thing about our country is the beaches,” Todd said. “White beaches, beige beaches, black beaches.”
Todd explained that it is customary in his country for people to share the beaches.
“I have a friend who’s been getting on a Japanese bitch a lot lately, but he’s not sharing,” Adam said.
Following this skit, Todd sang the first of his two songs on the night, while Adam held up signs that were unrelated to the song, one of which accused Todd of molesting a pet.
Interpretive dancing and slam poetry followed, with lines such as, “Trying to cut it out but can’t because I’m wearing pants.” The twins changed into kilts later in the show.
Todd and Adam also told stories about their time at Wesleyan. Adam’s story involved getting an instructional DVD on dancing from Olin and getting caught by the sensors on the way out.
“[I received an] unexpected jolt in my testicles, and everyone’s looking at me like I just ate meat,” Adam said. “I didn’t say the jolt in my testicles was bad… just unexpected.”
Todd’s story was about being sick.
“I vomited once while here at Wesleyan, and it was at one of those naked parties,” he said.
Later in the show, Todd and Adam collaborated on a story that took place in their grandmother’s kitchen.
“I was playing with a ball, and I dropped my ball, and then Grandma said, ‘You know, one of you two should pick up that ball, because someone might fall and hurt themselves,’” Adam said.
“And then I remember saying, ‘Grandma, of the three of us, who do you think that someone might be?’” Todd said.
The twins also collaborated on several other anecdotes.
“I was walking alone… scared I was going to get raped,” Adam said.
“I told him… If you’re worried about getting raped, just remember, you can rape too,” Todd said.
“This gave me the confidence I needed,” Adam said. “Later on in the walk, I saw some bum who was looking at me, so I raped him!” Adam said.
The twins ended by sharing a realistic episode about meeting Ralph Nader in the bathroom of Memorial Chapel in 2005. Nader told them that they should have their own show, and the twins told him they already did.
“I thought that their innate ability—as twins—to work off of each other was what made them most captivating,” said Erica Lohe ’09. “Although I was initially a bit taken aback when they started spewing seemingly-nonsensical banter at each other and at the audience, once I figured it out, it became hysterical in its nonsense. I wish they had come up with more sketches about being at Wesleyan, but overall was extremely impressed with their stage presence and talent.”
Adam and Todd shared similar sentiments about returning to their alma mater.
“We love coming to campus,” Adam said. “And when we do… it feels like we’re still in college.”
“I love coming back,” Todd said. “I feel like we never left. I feel like no matter how many years will pass, we’ll always recognize someone and see a familiar face. There’s always a lot of great energy on campus.”
Todd and Adam will perform next at an Operation Smile Benefit in New Jersey on May 8 before returning to New York City on May 21 to perform at the Manhattan Jewish Experience “Monday Night Lounge” at 8:30 p.m.
“[It’s] great and encouraging to see that Wesleyan grads with what some snooty, big-school types deem ‘useless’ liberal arts degrees can come up with some really creative things to do post-graduation,” Lohe said.
Todd currently works at Inc. Magazine, and Adam works as a paralegal at a law firm, but the twins still find time to perform several shows each month. Adam offered advice to students looking to do something in the entertainment industry after graduation.
“Try to perform as much as you can and keep writing all the time,” he said.
Information about “Stone and Stone,” including a list of upcoming shows and several free videos, is available at stoneandstone.org.
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