Six years after vowing never to return to the stage, the one and only Michel Courtemanche returned to the stage on Friday for the first gala of the 2022 edition of ComediHa! Firmly. And he did it like he never stopped.
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And just to add a quirk, it’s been 30 years since he hosted a gala. And he did it like an adult too.
Courtemanche kept control with his own style, with his gestures and it was nice to see him on stage.
Before he took the stage, as the lights went down, the crowd that had filled the Capitol to capacity began chanting “Michel, Michel, Michel.” Jacket, sneakers, dark glasses and graying hair, people stood to applaud him.
“I am 57 years old. Felt 93. It’s been a long time, hasn’t it? A lot has happened in 30 years,” he said, before discussing the sexless Mr. Potato Head and the violence we want to remove from cartoons, specifying that “cartoons,” It wasn’t true.
“It’s like, as an alcohol and poly-drug addict, I asked for the SAQ and SQDC to be shut down,” he said.
Courtemanche moments
Jean-François Mercier joined him on the boards to tell him that he had come to see his gala because he was convinced he would push the limits to give him a Will Smith-style slap in the face .
Exhausted and challenged by Mercier, Courtemanche decided to let go and say whatever he wanted, cursing.