The following text was originally published by
Maureen Harmon in the Denison Magazine blog.

It started as a rumor. With the 30th anniversary of Burpee’s Seedy Theatrical Company – Denison’s own improvisational comedy troupe – set for the weekend of April 18, Denisonians everywhere wondered if Steve Carell ’84 might show up in Granville to celebrate with his old Burpee’s friends. Then Friday night came, and sure enough, there was Carell (a.k.a., Michael Scott from NBC’s The Office) having drinks at Del Mar.

After being bombarded by students, the staff at the restaurant did their best to get their celebrity guest some privacy by roping off a section of the joint so the poor man could catch up with pals in peace. There were several Steve Carell sightings throughout Saturday at Brews, CVS (formerly Taylor’s), the Granville Inn — in fact, it’s pretty easy to track “Carell sightings” throughout town by Twitter feeds from students who caught a glimpse of the star.

But there was one place students were sure the famed alum would show: The Burpee’s Seedy reunion show in Swasey Chapel Saturday night. Students were already showing up at Swasey by 9 p.m. for the 10:30 performance. By 10, most of the seats in the were filled, and when the current Burpees finally took the stage to introduce the alumni, students and community members were crammed into the pews, some sitting on each others’ laps and lining the walls. The last Burpee alum to run out on stage was indeed Carell, and the crowd went crazy as flashes from cameras lit the room.

Over the next hour, the Burpees, some of whom hadn’t done improv in years, gave the performance of a lifetime alongside their famous cohort … and the audience was treated to an intimate performance with an A-List star. When the show ended, Carell was escorted out the back of the chapel, and just like that, he was gone to a Burpee’s Seedy post-party that reportedly lasted into the wee hours. By Sunday morning, however, breakfast at the Aladdin, a local landmark diner, was in order as it is for any Denison reunion taking place in Granville.

Credit for organizing the wonderfully whacky weekend that saw more than two dozen Burpee’s alumni gather in Granville goes to Erin Roberts ’02, who chaired the reunion, and co-chair Elliot Mitchell ’84.

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