Blue-collar comedy makes its way to Champaign Thursday with the performance of Ron White’s “Drunk in Public” tour. White is to perform at Assembly Hall at 7:30 p.m., and fans say they can’t wait to hear what he has to say.

“I saw his show on Comedy Central and I couldn’t stop laughing,” said Tori Bettasso, junior in LAS. “My friends and I bought tickets to his show as soon as we found out he was coming.”

White’s performance group, the Blue Collar Comedy Tour, features other popular comedians Jeff Foxworthy, Bill Engvall and Larry The Cable Guy. The tour lasted from January 2000 to March 2003, as the comedians performed before sold-out audiences in over 90 cities and earned $15 million, according to Ron White’s Web site.

After Comedy Central played the movie version of their performance, it became the most-watched movie ever on Comedy Central.

Jennifer Larson, assistant director of marketing for Assembly Hall, said they were very excited to be able to book White’s performance in Champaign.

“We’ve had everyone else from the Blue Collar Comedy Tour, so having Ron White come is just the last piece of the puzzle,” Larson said. “I’ve heard his tape, and it was hilarious.”

Even without Foxworthy and the rest of the tour, White has proven to be a successful comedian on his own. His comedy CD, “Drunk in Public,” sold more than 300,000 copies, and the show he is performing Thursday was ranked as one of the top 50 tours of 2005 in Pollstar magazine. White also has his own TV show on the WB, The Ron White Show, which is scheduled to air April 28 at 8:30 p.m.

Bettasso said she thinks his success has a lot to do with the type of jokes he tells during his standup performances.

“He has a really dry sense of humor and can make fun of anyone or anything, including himself,” Bettasso said. “He doesn’t try to be funny. He just is.”

Larson said she thinks White has become popular since Comedy Central began airing his performances, and said he can make a very diverse audience laugh.

“He’s definitely rough around the edges, and his comedy is for a very mature audience,” Larson said. “He travels with a redneck crowd for the Blue Collar group. He isn’t necessarily part of that loop, but this way he can appeal to lots of different groups of people.”

Life wasn’t always all laughs for White, however. White told the Denver Post that he began his career as a recovered drug addict who spoke to youth about sobriety at high schools and churches. It wasn’t until his co-workers talked him into performing at an open-mic night that White realized he might have a future in stand-up comedy.

“I knew the first time I did it that this was something I was really, really good at,” White said of his speeches at high schools in an article published by the Denver Post March 4. “The show just got funnier and funnier and funnier and funnier. I was always a funny kid. I was a funny drug addict. Then they started kind of complaining that addiction shouldn’t be quite this entertaining.”

Bettasso, like many other fans, said her favorite part of White’s performances is his story about being arrested and going by the alias “Tater Salad.” White’s sarcasm and quick wit aid him in telling this story in almost every show – never failing to make the crowd laugh.

“Funny things just happen to him,” Bettasso said. “Being sarcastic can get people into a lot of trouble, but it seems to be serving him pretty well.”

To prepare for Bettasso and other fans coming to hear White’s stories, Larson and other Assembly Hall employees have been advertising since the show was booked in November. The set-up for Thursday’s show could seat a maximum of 5,900 people, and she said they expect to see many community members there as well as students.

“The marketing department created print, TV and radio ads for Ron White just like we would for any show,” Larson said. “But getting ready for a comedian is easier than a concert, because there’s very few production requirements. Give him a microphone and a glass of water and he’s good to go.”

Luckily for Larson, White’s low maintenance background should make him easier to work with, Bettasso said. She said the laid-back atmosphere of his presentation adds a lot to his shows, as well.

“When you see his show on TV, you feel like he’s just a normal person. If he’s affected by success then you’d never know it,” Betasso said. “The whole tour group is hilarious, but he’s definitely my favorite one.”