How awesome was Revenge of the Book Eaters? A ticket price breakdown

As far as bargains go, Oct. 7th's Revenge of the Book Eaters was like paying for a burger and being served filet mignon. Talented, witty and charming filet mignon.

Hosted at Town Hall as a benefit for 826NYC, the Dave Eggers-founded organization that offers free writing workshops to kids, the event lineup included musical performances by Department of Eagles, Thao Nguyen, Paul Simon and Angelique Kidjo subbing for a recently-injured Zach Rogue. A new Jonathan Franzen play was performed by Parker Posey, Bobby Canavale, Sarah Vowell, Patricia Clarkson and TV on the Radio bandmates Kyp Malone and Tunde Adebimpe. The Daily Show's John Oliver hosted.

As Ira Glass said—oh yeah, he was there too!—"This is the weirdest lineup of people you'll ever see." And for $55 for the cheap (but good) seats, it was a sight well worth the price. But how to describe such an evening? Here, calculated in proportion to the cheapest ticket price, are the highlights.

40% ($22): Paul Simon singing "American Tune," "Mrs. Robinson," and "The Boxer."

20% ($11): Kyp Malone reading the line, "Chillax, Potato," during a dramatic reading of an 826 student's story about a cave woman (named Potato, natch).

15% ($6.05): Patricia Clarkson's breathy turn as the state of New York in Franzen's play.

10% ($5.50): Angelique Kidjo leading the entire audience in a South African blessing song.

7% ($3.85): Department of Eagles launching into a beautiful rendition of "In Ear Park" after telling the crowd that its set would "be like a high school talent show."

5% ($2.75): Dave Eggers and Sarah Vowell translating a straightforward description of 826NYC into muddled Sarah Palin speak.

3% ($1.65): John Oliver cracking jokes about Galileo and Karl Marx, then musing on how he could only get away with them in such a smart crowd. Aw, thanks, John.

Related links:
News: Ira Glass, Paul Simon, others to host 826NYC benefit
News: Sam Mendes Helming Dave Eggers Film
News: Dave Eggers Benefits Exact Revenge