Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen are back in town.
Bravo TV host and producer Andy Cohen is about to reassert his love for Houston when his bestie joins the call.
“Hey, it’s Anderson. Sorry I’m late.”
Cohen and CNN’s Anderson Cooper are returning Friday with AC2: Deeper Talk & More Shallow Tales at Smart Financial Centre at Sugar Land. It’s an updated version of their touring show, which includes personal stories and questions from the audience. The pair likens it to a night out drinking with them, a bucket list item for many fans. And indeed, their late 2017 show had the chardonnay flowing among local housewives.
In a shout-out to Kim Zolciak, formerly of Bravo’s “The Real Housewives of Atlanta,” Cohen can’t help but point out that Cooper is tardy for the party.
It’s OK. We’ve already begun, Anderson.
Cooper: Well, as you should. As you are the star of the show, it should be about you.
Cohen: Well, I hope there was some breaking news or something that was keeping you away from this. By the way, are you aware that CNN just keeps the headline “Breaking News” up on the bottom of the screen now 24/7? Cooper: Oh, OK, Judge Judy. Wow, you’ve taken your Nuvigil this morning, or your Adderall or whatever. Cohen: Yeah, I’m comin’ in hot. Cooper: Well, let me give you a breakdown of that. No, they don’t keep it up 24 hours a day. Yes, it is often used. There’s a lot of breaking news these days. I’m sure, by the way, when Andy was a producer on “The CBS Morning Show,” they never used the breaking-news banner. I’m sure there was never a breaking-news banner on producer-makeover day.
Cohen: Yeah, we didn’t, because it wasn’t breaking news.
Cooper: I’m just saying your news judgment is questionable. It’s not like you have a lot of experience with actual news.
To summon a “RuPaul’s Drag Race” reference, the library is open. And it’s that type of exchange that typifies an AC2 evening. Cohen and Cooper have an electric, engaging chemistry. They rib each other mercilessly. And they frequently make each other burst into laughter.
They were, as is often told, set up on a blind date years ago and prefaced it with an introductory phone call. But Cohen broke one of Cooper’s cardinal rules: bringing up his mother, the late Gloria Vanderbilt, within the first minute.
They eventually struck up a friendship, which has now lasted 25 years.
The pair promises no serious stuff onstage and lots of new stories for fans. “Housewives” drama, of course, ranks high on the list of topics at every show. The Bravo reality franchise currently includes seven series, from “Beverly Hills” to “Atlanta,” “New York City” to “Dallas.” Crowds are frequently giddy with anticipation to ask questions about their favorite city.
Cohen says Houston “was as the top of our list” when they were mapping out the current tour.
“It’s my favorite city in Texas. I cannot say enough good things about Houston. And I’m not just sucking up to you,” Cooper says.
Cohen recalls their last visit in December 2017.
Cohen: All I know is we had a blast in Houston. I don’t know how it ended, but I know that after the show, we went out to a bar. I can’t remember the name of it. I just remember there were a lot of tall people there.
Cooper: There were a lot of tall people. I remember that, too. I’m not sure why that stands out. We’re not particularly short.
Cohen: But everything’s bigger in Texas.
AC2 began touring in 2015, partly as a way for the friends to spend time together, and now visit up to 15 cities a year. Audiences immediately took to what seemed to some an unlikely pairing. Cooper is the silverhaired CNN anchor and “60 Minutes” newsman who has moderated presidential debates and visited war-torn countries. Cohen is the “Real Housewives” king and new dad who laughs with celebrities on his Bravo talk show “Watch What Happens Live.”
It’s like a Cher tour with “not as many costumes,” Cohen quips. “But Anderson’s plastic surgery is iconic.”
Though they’re longtime pals, life on the road has been an eye-opening experience for both men.
“I think what stands out to me is Andy is the happiest, most outgoing and optimistic person I have ever met in my life. I wish I had one-tenth of that happiness. It is infectious when you’re around him,” Cooper says. “He chats with the TSA folks about somebody from the Atlanta ‘Housewives.’ And when he sits down, the flight attendants are quizzing him about the Beverly Hills ‘Housewives.’ Andy is in an ongoing conversation with, it’s probably not wrong to say, at least 100 people every day or hundreds of people every day.”
Cooper says the enthusiasm hasn’t rubbed off on him. But
Cohen disagrees, and it quickly develops into another lively exchange.
Cohen: You’ve gotten hammier as the tour has gone on. Anderson is so funny, and I don’t think people realize it. He’s a great storyteller. I’m more of the straight guy onstage than he.
Cooper: Well, I mean, searching for the straight guy on that stage. I mean, that’s, you know … I will say I’ve also realized, and it’s really not that this is anything new, but it’s just been confirmed to me that it’s best not to have Andy in charge of details, like, booking the flights or things like that.
Cohen: Excuse me?
Cooper: The one time I asked him to literally check us into a flight, he somehow lost our luggage.
Cohen: One time, and we’ve traveled around the world like 18 times.
Cooper: Right, and that was the one time I asked you to do something. So, lesson learned.
Cohen might have an excuse. He became a father this year with the help of a surrogate. Benjamin Allen, who Cooper says gives “great side-eye,” was born Feb. 4. Benjamin has yet to hit the road with dad. But Cohen and Cooper are quick to answer when asked to list must-haves on the road for one another.
“Anderson always brings this little black notebook where his notes are for our tour. I think, and I could be wrong, that he always brings this hanging bag that has a suit in it in case he ever has to fly somewhere to interview someone,” Cohen says. “And he always brings this sloth that he sleeps with in bed.”
They both erupt in laughter before Cooper explains.
“I was given at the show, by one of the people who came, a large stuffed animal of a sloth. I slept with the sloth, and I found it very enjoyable to have this very interesting sloth whose emotions I can’t really read. I can’t tell if it’s smiling or if it’s frowning, if it’s happy or it’s sad,” Cooper says. “I actually have the sloth in a chair in my bedroom, just kind of sitting there, judging everything. But I do not waste room in my bag to put a big sloth in.”
It’s then to Cooper’s turn to reveal Cohen’s ultimate travel accessories.
Cooper: I feel like wherever Andy goes, he has a T-shirt of The Grateful Dead with him.
Cohen: Ha, ha, I’m wearing one right now.
Cooper: Along those lines, Andy, can I say anything akin to that?
Cohen: You mean edibles? Cooper: Usually, in states where it’s legal, we’ll bring an
edible, which I don’t really know exactly what that is and I don’t really want to. But he tells me has edibles, which I always think of as just gummy bears and that’s how I’ve been able to sleep at night.
“Things are so divided, and politics seem to be everywhere,” Cooper says. “We really want it to be a night without politics and a night where anybody can just come and laugh.”
joey.guerra@chron.com twitter.com/joeyguerra