If you're one of the legions of men who say that it's so difficult to do comedy in today's climate, Margaret Cho would rightfully laugh in your face. As a woman, Asian American, and bisexual, she's been proudly part of the marginalized groups that often get punched down at since she started doing stand-up, and she's still here and thriving.
A fixture in the stand-up scene since the mid-'90s, Cho has never been demure when comedically attacking issues of politics, race or sexuality. There aren't a lot of comics who won awards from GLAAD and the ACLU, and Rolling Stone named her one of the "50 Best Stand-Up Comics of All-Time" for a reason. She's also been a blast adding comedic spice in acting roles, whether it be her Emmy-nominated turn as Kim Jong-il in 30 Rock or being the lesbian matriarch for the vacationing crew of gays guys in the excellent Hulu rom-com, Fire Island.
In anticipation of Cho's three-night stint at Spokane comedy club (July 7-9), we caught up with the iconoclast to chat about how stand-up has shifted since she started, drag queens, and being a matriarch of the comedy community.
INLANDER: One of things you talk about in the new special is the differences between being gay in the 1980s and being one currently. How have those cultural shifts impacted your approach to comedy?
CHO: I definitely don't have to explain myself as much. There's less, like, introduction. I mean, that also comes with doing comedy for a long time, and then a lot of people are coming to see me, as opposed to going out to, like, a night of comedy. That used to sort of happen. Now people who are fans of comedy go to see the comedians they like, and it's less about going to a comedy club — "Oh, we just want to laugh" — that kind of thing.
So there's less of an introduction, and there's also less of a sort of a caution. Like, "Oh, how do I present this?" And there's a lot more to talk about, as well. Generally, in comedy, we know so much common ground, there's less explaining about everything. So there's more that we know about the world together at once with social media, and the way that we understand common things. I think that's what's really remarkable.
Do you miss the '80s thing of having to win over a comedy club audience that doesn't know you?
No! I love having a familiar audience. To me, it's really special to get to perform for [people with] a similar sensibility, and also similar history. People that I've seen before. That's a huge honor.
They just keep coming back and back.
Yeah, I love it. I think that's really a vote of confidence. "Oh, you're going to see me again. You like what I've done. And so you want to see this show again." Over the years, they've had a good time with you. That's really special.
I really enjoyed Fire Island and loved how you were the "mom" for the gay friend group. It felt like a perfect fit because in a way you were sort of that motherly figure for that younger generation of comedians like Joel Kim Booster and Bowen Yang. You were someone they could look up to when they were growing up and not seeing hardly any queer or Asian American comedy representation.
It's very symbolic to our lives of being comedians, and also their journey through comedy and seeing me [and] realizing, oh, they could do this too. That I was their inspiration is my greatest, greatest achievement — that I was able to inspire incredible comedians like them to pursue stand-up.
What sort of things in the comedy world really hit your comedic sweet spot these days?
It's a lot of drag. Like the drag that was in Stand Out, whether it's Bob the Drag Queen or Trixie Mattel. It's comedians like Joel. It's sort of all of the things that Bowen got to do on SNL. It's really exciting. Comedy's in a really great place where we're seeing a lot of different kinds of representation. And it's so fun.
While there's certainly a lot more accepting forums these days, what's your artistic way of dealing with the other end of the spectrum — the people who feel more emboldened to be openly hateful in the modern climate?
Well, I think it's really just about trying to look at how ludicrous it is. Like this idea that we're trying to stop gun violence against children, whereas there's a whole faction that thinks drag is the problem. And that's like... [bursts out laughing]... drag is the most harmless, safe kind of community! It's the most ridiculous, silly, funny, ludicrous part of our community. The diversion tactic of trying to avoid talking about gun violence by talking about drag is really ridiculous and inherently hilarious. ♦
Margaret Cho • Thu, July 7 at 7:30 pm; Fri-Sat, July 8-9 at 7 & 9:45 pm • $25-$40 • 18+ • Spokane Comedy Club • 315 W. Sprague Ave • spokanecomedyclub.com • 509-318-9998
