‘Todong Sample sa Araneta’: Vice Ganda pulls out all the stops

VICE GANDA: Weirdly reminiscent of acclaimed English stand-up comedian Eddie Izzard

Think of it as the De las Alas conundrum: When Ai Ai emerged as “Comedy Concert Queen” after a series of successful engagements at major concert venues like the Folk Arts Theater and Araneta Coliseum, she fused the audience’s expectations of concerts as song-dance spectaculars with comedy bar-style stand-up. It’s this template that other Pinoy stand-ups follow, with similar successes emerging in the likes of Allan K and Pokwang.

‘Gay gladiator’

Which brings us to the comedy concert of “Showtime” judge and emerging talk show host Vice Ganda. Titled “Todong Sample sa Araneta,” it succeeds his Big Dome debut last year, “May Nag Text.” Vice and his team pulled out all the stops for this one. For the opening number alone, Vice emerged out of a trap door on the stage and right into the air as he sang a mash-up of Katy Perry’s “Extraterrestrial” and Rihanna’s “S&M” while tethered to wires and wearing a silver lamé gown. But it’s Lady Gaga that seemed to have gotten Vice’s stylist Liz Uy inspired, as he performed for three solid hours in a succession of crystal-studded outfits that made Vice describe himself as a “baklang (gay) gladiator.”

Famous friends

Vice’s celeb friends went all-out to support him, to the point where he asked the audience if he was interrupting their ogling of stars like Kris Aquino, who was in a Lower Box seat, and Jinkee Pacquiao, seated out front. The ABS-CBN contingent was also well-represented, with studio bosses Malou Santos and Olivia Lamasan caught by the cameras, while Vice made passing mention of Cory Vidanes’ family also in the audience. The reveal of the presence of Malou, a sister of ABS-CBN president Charo Santos-Concio, was of particular delight to the audience, as Vice had just made note of all his celebrity friends in the audience by saying, “Wala na namang artista sa ABS. Mag-isa na naman si Ma’am Charo. Magbabasa na naman ng sulat iyon.” (“ABS is probably empty again. Ma’am Charo’s probably alone again, just reading letters.”)

As the theme of the night was “sample,” Vice’s guests also ran the gamut of young show biz’s most notable, from musician Xian Lim playing the piano as Vice sang a ballad, to Enchong Dee and Billy Crawford, both contributing dance numbers. Cristine Reyes performed a dance number in a spangly, barely-there ensemble, then tried the audience’s patience by shrilly screaming through a gag dance-off between her and Vice.

(Cristine, making the audience wish they were deaf is not a good thing.)

And then two surprise appearances: First, Derek Ramsay went up the stage, rather glistening, prompting a great one-liner from Vice: “Ang langis mo. Nag-mimilagro ka ba?” (You look oiled up. Is that oil miraculous?) When Coco Martin strode up for a song, Vice noted that they knew each other well before either of them became famous.

Facile, snappy

The facile, fast-moving show was a great showcase for Vice, who, surprisingly, messed up only twice: during the one time he read the Teleprompter to acknowledge the event’s staff and sponsors, and during the opening number, when he was clearly straining in songs that were not suited for his vocal range.

Which brings us back to the first paragraph: We would pay good money to watch a Vice Ganda show with none of these bells and whistles. Just a one-man, traditional stand-up show. Just him, his wit, fairly good-structured material and an interesting point of view. In his chatter, Vice Ganda is weirdly reminiscent of acclaimed English stand-up comedian Eddie Izzard, whose surreal material is famously improvised in every show. We’re willing to bet he could soar under those parameters—even without wires.