Ai-Ai goes out of this world

Ai-Ai de las Alas singing the Bohemian Rhapsody?!? Alone?!?! Get out?!?!

Well, that’s precisely it. Ai-Ai is going out in a big way. The Comedy Concert Queen ("I’m not a diva – pwede pa queen! Hee Hee!" she declares) is going all out at the Big Dome – no less – in a show titled Out of This World Na Me, Araneta Na Kasi!!!

"Concert of the year ang dating nito. Kahit hindi mukhang artist of the year ang magpe-perform," she screams at her disbelieving self. After all, the Araneta Coliseum is her dream concert venue. Only divas and concert kings and superstars have performed on its famed stage and fewer still can say that they were able to fill the mammoth, 18,000 capacity arena; no wonder it is considered every performer’s ultimate challenge. Although no stranger to performing at big venues – she staged SRO concerts at the Folk Arts Theater three years in a row, Araneta will be an all new exhilarating challenge for queen Ai-Ai.

"May aircon na kasi ang Araneta," she deadpans. "Kasi alam ninyo, pag nagpe-perform ako sa Folk Arts Theater, ganito ang mga tao (fans herself). Nakakadagdag sa tension ko so binibilisan ko ang show. At least sa Araneta hindi na sila magpapaypay."

After asking to be taken seriously (Respect Me in 1998), going salacious (Seduct Me in 1999) then getting physical (Abuse Me in 2000) in her fourth show, the comedienne promises to do things she hasn’t done in her 12-year career. Just how out of this world will she get?

"Makakakita kayo ng mga kahindik-hindik na numbers at oo, maghuhubad ako… pero cute! she winks.

For this concert, her most expensive so far, Ai-Ai is pulling all the stops. "Para itong Levi’s 501, very original," she assures. In keeping with the "out of this world" theme, she will open the show with the songs Venus, Age of Aquarius and Zodiac. Aside from her show-stopping Bohemian Rhapsody number with the Monserrat Chorale, the Taliban dance number with the Manoeuvres is expected to bring the house down. She will also be featured in a diva duel with soul singer Jaya and a special showdown with another queen, Pops Fernandez.

Then, what would an Ai-Air show be without the handsome men? ABS-CBN’s current heartthrob – The Hunks – will strut their stuff with the mischievous Ai-Ai. "Babastusin ko sila," she quips. She will, on the other hand, jam with the Side A band, who will serenade her with a medley. "Mga songs tungkol sa buhay ko," she says.

And what about Patricia Javier? What will they do? "Ah, si Patricia, it’s going to be a showdown," says the irrepressible Ai-Ai. The Whiplash Dancers will also perform.

The whole Araneta Coliseum’s stage, made up to look like a galaxy, complete with the planets, will open from all sides, arena-style. Ai-Ai will make her grand entrance hanging from a half-moon (!) and will descend and re-appear onstage through trap doors.

She will be dressed by Maxi Cinco and Arielle Agasang, but her costumes are Batoctoy’s especially (elaborately and exuberantly) executed for numbers calculated to take the audiences’ breaths away for a truly out of this world experience Ai-Ai vows to give everyone. Floy Quintos writes and directs the show.

Out of this World Na Me, Araneta Na Kasi!!! tickets are available at SM Ticketnet branches (911-5555), Backroom Inc. (435-1108, 435-1120) and JLF Organization (634-7776). The concert will be held on Dec. 1, 8 p.m. at the Araneta Coliseum. The show is a production of JLF Organization, Backroom Inc. and JV JBRS Entertainment Inc. and is for the benefit of the Golden Acres Home for the Aged and the Infirmed.

The concert is presented by 1237-00 Bayan Kollect sa America at Canada, in cooperation with the Manila Bulletin. Special thanks to ABS-CBN, the New Kamameshi House, Tapa King, Tokyo Tokyo, Douglas Nierras Powerdance Studios, Arielle Agasang, Aqua Soft Purified Drinking Water, Raymund Isaac, Thai In A Box, Pizza Hut and Flowerline. Official concert stations are Campus Radio 97.1 dwLS, 939 KCFM, Love Radio 90.7, 105.1 Crossover, Yes! FM 101.1, Monster Radio RX 93.1 and Angel Radyo 1026.