Comedian Gabriel Iglesias’ signature routine used to be a comic protest: “I’m not fat, I’m ‘fluffy.’”
He even built his stage name, Gabriel “Fluffy” Iglesias, on it, titling his Comedy Central specials Hot & Fluffy, I’m Not Fat … I’m Fluffy and the most recent, Gabriel Iglesias: Aloha Fluffy.
Well, Iglesias isn’t as “fluffy” as he used to be. And his stage show has changed to reflect it.
“The show they’re going to see is 100 percent different from the last time I was there,” he says. “I [recently] retired my last set so this is a brand new one.
“I’m addressing the fact that I’ve lost 100 pounds and I’m a Type II diabetic,” he says. “I’m addressing what’s going on with me as far as health issues go and why I needed to lose weight.”
Iglesias, who headlines a four-comic, multimedia show at 8 p.m. Friday at Little Rock’s Robinson Center Music Hall, says his style hasn’t changed, or at least not much, since his last Arkansas appearances, in Fayetteville in May 2012 and at Robinson in April 2010.
“I’m still a storyteller,” he says. “Some sound effects, a little character voice now and then. I’m not juggling now.”
What folks will see on Friday night is not “just a curtain and a stool and a mic,” Iglesias says. “It is a full show. There are three other comedians on the show with me, and there’s a big production on stage.
“It’s a full production. I tell people it’s like WWE vs. the Food Network. There’s cameras, there’s projectors, there’s all kinds of stuff all over the stage.People are definitely going to get their comedy money’s worth.”
Iglesias says he did the black curtain/stool/mic on a bare stage thing for many years, “but now I figure [why not] take advantage of all the resources out there? Let me make the show as entertaining as possible, not just with my comedy but with as much as I can provide on the stage. [Without it,] I’d still be doing stand-up, I’d still be OK, but I’m all about making sure that people go, ‘Wow!’
“If you go see Metallica at an arena, you want there to be a little bit more than just them performing. You want your eyes to be entertained as well, not just your ears.”
And that’s important as Iglesias moves into doing more arena shows.
“I’m in a really good position right now where there’s a lot of exposure, and it’s allowed me to perform in better places,” he says. “I’m still keeping myself as grounded as I can but I do have a lot more options as far as where I can play.
“Last week I was in a 210-seat comedy club in Tampa [Fla.] called Side Splitters, and next weekend I’m going to be in the arena where the San Jose Sharks play, 14,000 seats.”
There’s a big difference, though, in how much pressure a comedian faces based on the numbers.
“If you’re going to play an arena, every bit, every single joke, everything better hit,” Iglesias says.
“People pay top dollar to see you in this type of setting, you’d better deliver.
“At a comedy club, it’s a lot more forgiving; 200 seats is very intimate, you can try out new material, you can get away with flubbing a line here and there. That’s how comedy jams.”
Iglesias says to expect a somewhat family-friendly set, from him, at least. “I keep the show fairly friendly, a little PG-13; the opening acts maybe not so much. So if they’re bringing kids, they may want to show up a few minutes late.”
And expect his portion of the show to go at least 90 minutes. “I like to go long,” he says. “So between me and my opening acts, the show could go two or even three hours.”Gabriel “Fluffy” Iglesias
8 p.m. Friday, Robinson Center Music Hall, West Markham Street and Broadway, Little Rock
Opening acts: Martin Moreno, Alfred Robles and Rick Gutierrez
Tickets: $52.70 plus handling charges
(800) 745-3000
ticketmaster.com
Style, Pages 29 on 03/11/2014