Margaret Cho made her reputation with her mouth, which is as funny as it is foul.

The stand-up comic, who appears Saturday night at The Egg, has developed a cult following through live performance, various television appearances and several concert films. Through it all, she's found humor in cringe-inducing topics like exploring her bisexual side, the embarrassment of returning rented porn videos late, and even the chores associated with her menstrual cycles.

"If Richard Pryor had a period, he'd talk about it," she once declared.

Given her success, Cho's certainly never had a reason to shut up -- until now. But it's doctor's orders.

During late summer, the 40-year-old performer was diagnosed with nodes on her vocal chords and commanded to speak only when necessary, which means save it for performances.

In an interview conducted via e-mail, Cho explained that her vocal strain was the result of a number of factors, including stress and performing while sick. But the duties of her vocal chords -- and her mouth -- have expanded beyond just trash talk.

Margaret Cho is now a singer.

"I didn't start singing until I went on tour with Cyndi Lauper, who taught me a lot," wrote Cho, referring to the "True Colors" concerts in summer 2007. "I also picked up a lot of lessons along the way from different people, and my mother is a singer. So it is in the family."

She's also picked up the electric guitar -- a nice complement to the colorful tattoos or her biceps. "I have been playing for a little while, but am still learning," she wrote. "It's like a giant necklace."

Cho's current act is an evolving mix of spoken word and music with a risque atmosphere that resembles burlesque. As for the songs, they're all original and are being tried out in advance of cutting an album early next year, with the working title "Guitarded."

"The song lyrics are all jokes, but the music is very serious," Cho said. She included in her e-mail six lines of a song, but the rhymed couplets don't belong in a family newspaper. Cho has often cited Weird Al Yankovic as an inspiration -- an idol even -- so imagine his humor and add some four-letter words.

Some of the material has been appearing online, including at Cho's homepage (http://www.margaretcho.com). A recent video posting is the number "25 Random Things." It shows that Cho can sing with a seductive whisper, but seems to prefer belting it out.

"Singing is the most intuitive art form, I think," continued Cho. "It requires a lot more attention to your body than other things I have done, even dance!"

Like most women in modern society, Cho has certainly paid keen attention to her body over the years. One of the most wrenching segments of her film "I'm the One That I Want" is when she recalled in vivid detail her extreme efforts to lose weight while starring in the sitcom "All-American Girl," which ran for 19 episodes in 1994 and 1995. "I want to be skinny like the (stars of) 'Friends,'?" she whined.

Issues of body consciousness and weight also come into play with Cho's current TV show, "Drop Dead Diva," which debuted on the Lifetime channel in July. The unlikely scenario: a vapid (and skinny) female model dies and returns to life inside the plus-size body of a thoughtful and successful attorney, played by Brooke Elliott. As the lawyer's loyal and efficient assistant, Cho has a surprisingly humorless and secondary role.
Asked whether the show can be considered a comedy or drama, Cho replied, "It's a dramedy because there is a lot of humor in it, but for the most part it is a drama. I love the show and think it's truly revolutionary. When you look at women in movies and TV, it's an unrealistic view of what women really look like. With the show, we are promoting a real woman who is beautiful with real curves, has a real attitude and is fabulous."

Cho obviously has a lot to say, even if she can't speak. As for going silent most of the time lately, she said, "I kind of love it. I don't ever really want to say anything. I am really shy and reserved, so it suits me just fine."

A regular contributor to the Times Union, Joseph Dalton is the author of "Artists & Activists: Making Culture in New York's Capital Region."