Standup comic Ron Josol leaves crowd of over 300 in stitches

Filipino-Canadian comic Ron Josol puts the crowd of over 300 on a laugh trip last Saturday evening in his last stop of his 14-country world tour at the Kensington Hall of the Kensington Hotel Saipan. (LEIGH GASES)

After an absence of 10 years, comic Ron Josol made his way back to Saipan and treated a crowd of over 300 at the Kensington Hall of the Kensington Hotel Saipan to a comedy show they shall soon not forget last Saturday night.

No material was off-limits for this Filipino-Canadian comic. Josol, a son of Filipino parents, told stories of how he ate balut (cooked fertilized duck egg—a Filipino street food) in elementary school on a dare and won $100, and also shared a raunchy story of the time he dated a “cougar” as an 18-year-old.

Throughout the night, he was not afraid to throw out racial stereotypes and raunchy comedic material that engaged the audience and had some of them red in the face either from laughter or embarrassment.

Local comics Netty Cee and Chynaman performed their equally hilarious opening acts and Santi “Big Boy” Sablan served as the emcee throughout the night,. Before Netty Cee and Chynaman came out though, a member of the audience, Fedora Camacho, was pulled up to the stage and gave a few minutes of improvisational standup comedy of her own—and won $100.

Laughter and happiness rang throughout the night. “Stand Up Comedy with Ron Josol” was made possible by Marpac. As part of its celebration of its 50th anniversary, the company donated a portion of the proceeds from VIP table sales to Make-A-Wish Guam & CNMI, which is dedicated to supporting children with critical illnesses.

Jay Santos, a board member of the Make-A-Wish CNMI, thanked Marpac, the other sponsors, and the audience before Josol’s main act.

Chynaman, for his act, dropped it like it’s hot and almost twerked on the dance floor with his walk-up song, then corrected himself and made like a man—fist bumping men sitting in the front rows.

He then proceeded to share his explicit “fantasies” of being on a stranded island with Billy Grow—whose wife was in attendance. In the end, before the climax of his story, a ship came out to rescue them—much to the disappointment of Chynaman and was greeted with screams of laughter from the crowd.

Ohren Ohry from First Hawaiian Bank said about the show, “I liked the experience. It’s nice to have an event such as this being brought to Saipan. One of the things I enjoyed about the show was that we could relate to his jokes, given the fact that we have such a diverse community and we embrace each other’s culture.”

Marpac resident manager Guy Pudney said he was very pleased with the turnout as well as the positive feedback from the crowd. He and Santos thanked everyone who watched the show, the sponsors Bud Light and Marpac, Bank of Guam, Shell, Power 99, Ideal Marketing, and Steve Shimizu.

“It was for a great cause, it was a great show with a lot of laughter, and we want to do it again. On behalf of Marpac and our 50th anniversary, we’re really glad to bring this show to Saipan and to benefit a great nonprofit organization,” Pudney said.

Josol told Saipan Tribune after the show that the crowd was bigger than when he came 10 years ago. “The crowd was a different energy—it’s half-Asia and half-America so it’s exactly who I am. The crowd was unbelievable and we felt like family.”

He said he’s flying home after his 14-country tour. “It’s been four months on the road but this is my favorite stop, Guam and Saipan. I’ve never felt this much fun and energy on stage—I love it.”

Chynaman said the evening “turned out great. People came out to see the comedians and, at the same time, I think the bond was the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Everyone enjoyed it and thank you to our supporters.”