“Saturday Night Live” and “Portlandia” actor and comedian Fred Armisen brought his talents to San Jose on Saturday night as the featured performer for Archbishop Mitty’s Black and Gold fundraising gala at the Signia by Hilton hotel. Dressed in a white denim jacket and jeans, Armisen didn’t do a traditional stand-up set but took the audience of more than 800 people on an absurdist, entertaining ride. He did some impressions, played guitar and drums and even mimicked the accents you’d find across the United States (yes, his accent from SNL’s “The Californians” was in there).
Of course, like every entertainer at Mitty’s signature event, he had to follow an impressive performance by Mitty students, who put on a musical revue that spanned the decades since the San Jose Catholic school opened in 1964. There was a Beatles medley to represent the ’60s, a Huey Lewis and the News tribute for the ’80s and a bit of Taylor Swift to bring us up to date. Mitty 2010 alum Matt Hall — who has appeared in the national tour of “Les Miserables” and played Olaf in “Frozen” for Disney Cruise Lines — made a guest appearance to sing “In Summer” from that show.
For 1992 — the year Mitty President LaTanya Hilton graduated from the school — there was a full rendition of Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody.” Yes, that seems wrong because the song itself is from the 1970s, but Doug Santana, Mitty’s director of performing arts, noted that it had a huge resurgenc.
