Ovations, generous applause and open laughter – the audience was once again hooked on the ComediHa gala! Hosts: Dominic and Martin. A duo celebrates their 30th anniversary.
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For the second year running, the Louis Fréchette Hall at the Grand Théâtre de Québec was buzzing with energy. A very demonstrative audience for a successful and balanced gala evening.
As soon as they took the stage, people stood in great numbers to give a hearty ovation to the evening’s hosts. Ovations, there was one and the other. Almost all artists were entitled to it
“We’re celebrating our 30th career anniversary,” opened Martin Cloutier. “It felt like 70 to me,” his pal Dominic Sillon replied instantly. The tone was set.
The duo, who made their debut at the Dagobert on the Grande-Allée in 1993, were very present throughout the gala, opening the evening with a number about things that have changed in the last 30 years.
The “Pagette”, the mobile phones of the time, the Columbia House, which was the equivalent of Spotify, albeit with delivery delays.
“I ordered a tape of Samantha Fox and when I received it she was a lesbian,” noted Dominic Sillon.
With appearances in six editions, the duo did a good job. Approaching their fifties, we saw them in Marie-Ève Morency’s number, in a consultation with Jowanne, the stars’ psychologist, with Silvi Tourigny and Cathy Gauthier and with a multitude of guests in a section on grossophobia with Louis Champagne, Billy Tellier, André Ducharme, Jean-François Mercier, Neev and Anaïs Favron.
Photo QMI Agency, René Baillargeon
Mercier alerted the duo that they were celebrating their 30th birthday, but without humor.
“You know what the difference is between a stick-on model and Dominic and Martin. If I sniff the glue, it might make me laugh,” he said.
The humorist Neev, with his Moroccan and French roots, was right when he said that it was the Moroccans who invented the triathlon.
“You walk to the pool and come back on your bike,” he said.
PA Méthot was the big star of the first part of the gala. Hailed as a rock star, he received a standing ovation at the end of his number, in which he recounted his hospitalization while undergoing heart surgery in 2018.
Sporting a mustache he dubbed “Camper’s Movember” that he said wouldn’t last long, PA wowed the audience with the hilarious details surrounding the shave before his surgery.
Photo QMI Agency, René Baillargeon
One of the good performances of the evening was that of the duo Silvi Tourigny and Cathy Gauthier. A number in which the slim redhead introduced Carl, his twin brother and photos of their reunion.
When she announced that she should introduce us to someone very important to her, Martin and Dominic appeared on the boards. She snubbed them and told them they were already hosting the gala.
In response to those who wondered about the existence of this twin brother, Silvi Tourigny, interpreted by Cathy Gauthier, gave a frank and direct explanation and Carole with a C and not a K.
“It’s not because I’ve never talked about my anus that I don’t have one,” she said in his familiar tone.
François Massicotte provided a good portion of the reduced portions in grocery stores.
“I poured milk into my bowl of Rice Krispies and it cracked, cracked,” he said, referring to the fang in the ad that disappeared.
We were also treated to performances from Danick Martineau and Charles-Antoine Des Granges, making their ComediHa debut! Fest, Martin Perizzolo and Jean-François Mercier, who, in his familiar tone, recounted one of his adventures over the phone with a customer service representative.
Photo QMI Agency, René Baillargeon
Dominic and Martin closed the gala with their number Le Verre d’eau, which in the past has been presented with a repeat of slipping lyrics.
The ComedyHa! The festival continues on Saturday with hosts Cathy Gauthier and Silvi Tourigny. The guest list is well filled with Jean-François Mercier, Guillaume Lambert, Michel Courtemanche, Pierre-Bruno Rivard, Catherine Ethier, Dave Morgan, Josiane Aubuchon, Réal Béland, Thomas Bédard, Coco Belliveau, Martin Petit and Martin Perizzolo