Margaret Cho
I don't know if I can really express how much fun I had last night, but I'll try. We got to the Improv early and decided to endure the cold in order to get a good seat. We were outside for about 45 minutes and just when I was certain that I was going to have to get my feet amputated the doors opened to let the 8 p.m. show out. We shuffled in and I got the distinct feeling that the presence of Kennywood nearby must have had some effect on the operations at the Improv. The staff was very loud and militant and ordered us to turn off our cell phones, save our cigarettes for later, and to order two items. We were rushed to a table and you can't imagine my delight when I saw that we were literally five feet away from the stage.
Things got started promptly and a young man named Bruce Daniels came out to warm us up. I felt uneasy, as I usually do for opening acts, and hoped that no one would heckle him. They didn't need to, though, since he was very funny. His faux impatience while explaining various aspects of homosexual social life to the straight people in the audience garnered many laughs.
Then suddenly it was time for Ms. Cho. She came down the aisle and I got a good look at her. I don't often see people who I recognize from the big or small screen in real life so it's always very disarming for me. Cho is gorgeous. She is older now than the last time I saw her on TV but she still manages to light up a room. She wore an adorable mish mash of vintage clothing including a green Girl Scout uniform, fishnet panty hose, thigh-high purple leather boots and black and white elbow length gloves. She's also very thin, which made me furious with Hollywood for remembering how often the jackasses out there grill her for her weight.
She was somewhat intoxicated, as was made evident by a few random slurred words and some instances of her not maintaining her balance in her high-heeled boots. But she is a pro, and the audience was soon reduced to hysterical tears for the rest of the night.
Her performance was interspersed with more serious moments, more than she had allowed herself in the past. She reminded us of the state of racism, sexism and homophobia in America and how we needed to do something about it. She didn't preach, though. She merely stated her dissatisfaction and managed to put her distinctive comedic twist on it all. She touched on familiar subjects, such as her mother and father, her weight, dumb shit people say to her because she's Asian, and her frustration with Hollywood.
It didn't last nearly long enough and I wanted her to just keep talking for hours. When she finished I was one of the first people to jump to my feet and actually yelled, “YEAAAA!” I was so proud of her. She rushed down the aisle, literally inches from me, her eyes focused on the floor.
When she was gone I felt energized and renewed. My stomach hurt from laughing and I felt like I should send her a thank you note. She rules.
