Comedy Club 200 triumphs over downpour

The American Red Cross NMI Chapter’s 18th annual fundraising event at the Hyatt, dubbed Comedy Club 200, triumphed over the torrential rain Saturday night and reaped for the organization its most successful staging of the fundraiser ever.

ARC director John Hirsh said he was overwhelmed with the turnout of the event as it drew the highest number of people when compared to previous years’ events. The event attracted more than 1,600 people, he said, breaking their expectations.

“It’s an incredible turnout, broke out all the records,” Hirsh said, adding that this means that the organization will be able to assist more in its mission to help people in need.

Hirsh said the show’s success was also due to the charm and funny antics of their guest comedian, Frank De Lima.

Despite the rain, CNMI community members were dressed to the nines in their most elegant casual to semi-formal attire, not minding the fact that their shoes kept sinking into the grass that had turned into a semi-marsh by the time the affair ended.

A comic success

The evening could have failed spectacularly, what with the rain and the crowded conditions under the tents, but stand-up comic De Lima battled with the weather and emerged successful, forging ahead with perfect comedic timing that had the audience in stitches throughout the night.

De Lima did not falter. Guffaws, chortles and rolling laughter overflowed as he delivered wisecracks after wisecracks that were uniquely his own, including his rendition of a Chamorro song that was sung to the tune of the Broadway musical “Annie.”

Though he was not able to dress up as his favorite character of all time, Imelda Marcos, he was able to improvise with a stream of wigs and an endless patter that poked fun at denizens of his neighborhood in his native Hawaii. His one-hour show also became an interactive event as he called some members of the audience to the stage.

The comedian also rendered a few of his comic songs such as “Portagee Fight Song,” “Blah Blah,” and “Lucille.”

De Lima has been proclaimed the “Portuguese Prince of Hawaiian Comedy” because he is a quarter Portuguese, a quarter Hawaiian, with a pinch of Irish, Scottish, English, Spanish, French, and Chinese “tossed into his island genealogical stew.”

De Lima, who has been described as “the delightful, delirious musical comedian voted as Hawaii’s favorite entertainer,” said that last night’s event also marked his 30th year in the entertainment industry.

Third time winner

The biggest draw of the Saturday event was the raffle of the prizes at stake. Three-time winners Gonzalo Pangelinan and Linda David were the lucky holders of ticket number 1354, taking home the grand prize of $25,000. ARC organizers said this was the third time that the couple had won in the 18 years that the Red Cross has been conducting the fundraising event.

The 2005 Chevy Aveo went to ticket number 1046 by Monica Diaz, while the brand new 2006 Toyota Camry LE went to Donna Ada Untalan for her ticket number 1059. Lucinda Sablan went home $5,000 richer with her lucky ticket number 0019.

More than 30 raffle prizes were given away during the event. Bank of Guam, Microl Corp., Tan Holdings Corp., Atalanta Sosnoff, DFS Saipan, Ltd., Hyatt Regency Hotel Group, Power 99/The Rock, Continental Airlines, Northwest Airlines, Verizon, McDonald’s Saipan, and Bank of Hawaii were among the several donors for the event.