Margaret Cho is a killer.

She wants to get you with the laughter.

On the simplest level, that’s the notion behind her evocatively titled new tour, “The Assassin.”

But Cho, a famously caustic Korean-American comedian, is anything but simple. Known for the often biting political commentary that permeates her acts, Cho’s choice of a title for her current tour is, no doubt, a jab at the current political atmosphere of America.

Cho, who is appearing in conjunction with Winter Party, will bring her both personal and political wit to Miami’s Jackie Gleason Theater on March 5.
She took a few moments to speak to the Express about her evolving sense of humor, her political activism and why she considers herself a trannie.

Express Gay News: Not surprisingly, your new show is provocatively titled. Tell us about it.
Margaret Cho: Well, it is a provocative title. It’s a provocative show. It’s about bracing ourselves in this new political atmosphere. But it’s about bracing ourselves for the positive, not the negative. It’s about trying to find some light in all the darkness that surrounds us, political and otherwise. I consider it upbeat.

Express: Upbeat? But aren’t you famous for being caustic?
Cho: (laughing) I’m getting older! I’m more inclined to be compassionate and not quite as sarcastic. I find I have more positive things to say now. I don’t think you have to be cruel to be funny. Although, let’s admit it, sometimes that can be fun.

Express: What’s it like to be a liberal political comedian in a time when the country is turning more conservative?
Cho: Oh my God, it totally makes me feel like more of a renegade. What I think are really middle-of-the-road ideas, like gay marriage and gay adoption, are now considered somehow radical by a lot of the rest of the country. There’s a huge moral question surrounding these issues that I think are obvious points like, ‘Can gay people be good parents?’ It’s so condescending.

Express: So does that make it easier or harder on you?
Cho: I think it makes it easier to be a political comedian these days, because the lines are so strongly drawn in the country now.

Express: Does much of the show address gay and lesbian politics?
Cho: I think just about everything in the show will speak to gays and lesbians, because that’s where I come from, I’m defined as a queer artist. I’m part of the gay and lesbian movement.

Express: In the past you’ve described yourself as bisexual. Does that remain accurate?
Cho: Well, I’m married to a man, and at home I am such a housewife! And yet I am so gay! But I’m a trannie, too.

Express: You’re a trannie? Am I getting a scoop here?
Cho: (laughing) Well, I’m a trannie because I’m so manly in a lot of roles in my life. I’m a very demanding boss and producer. Stand-up comedy is a very male profession. So in my day-to-day work life, I’m a man. But in my personal life, I’m such a woman. I love being a wife, and I want to have a baby.

Express: What does your husband think of you being a queer trannie?
Cho: (laughing) Well, he’s an artist, so his life is very queer, too.

Express: So, you’re a married, American-Korean queer trannie political comedian? That’s a lot to juggle!
Cho: Well, yeah, it’s a challenge incorporating so many identities into my life. (laughing) But as an artist, you have so many facets to choose from. And you know, sometimes you can go too far, but as an artist, you have to push the envelope, you can’t be constrained by being too sensitive. You have to let go of societal approval and just get to the best place you can as an artist.

Express: Do you consider yourself an activist as well as an artist?
Cho: Oh, I definitely consider myself an activist. My art has the same purpose as activism.

Express: And what purpose is that?
Cho: The political, important, serious purpose of expanding minds to embrace more progressive ways of thinking.

Express: Do you consider yourself a role model?
Cho: I don’t know if I am a role model or not, but I’d like to be. I’m very happy with what I’m doing and how I’m doing it. Isn’t that worth emulating?