LESBIANATION
BACK TO
MARGARET CHO		 Ten Minutes with Margaret Cho
08.03.07

By Tracy E. Gilchrist

Wickedly funny and fearless, Margaret Cho has been going to bat for the gays since most of us were still playing Five Minutes in the Closet with the opposite sex. Fresh off the True Colors tour, as its hostess with the mostest, Cho’s got a full slate of projects she’s delivering this year.

First up, Cho wrote and starred in the retro-eighties Bam Bam and Celeste—an homage to fag hags and the gay men who love them—releasing on DVD Aug. 14. Cho enlisted pals Bruce Daniels, Jane Lynch, Kathy Najimy and Alan Cumming for this road-trip movie that’s part Easy Rider and part Wizard of Oz.

Look for Cho’s burlesque-style variety show, The Sensuous Woman, to hit Off-Broadway in late September. Her celebration of the female in every form, incorporates, bellydance, comedy and burlesque. Los Angeles residents can check out special previews throughout August at the Gay and Lesbian Center.

Cho’s also trying her hand at directing with her film about bellydance, Two Sisters, which will hit the film festival circuit in 2008.

A hilarious button-pusher with a big heart, who’s a fiercely loyal ally to the gay community, don’t miss Cho giving The Clicks FTM trans lead singer Lucas some full-on steamy kisses in The Clicks new video. We caught up with Cho to discuss her love for True Colors’ creator Cyndi Lauper, her latest projects, and of course those hot kisses.


LN: True Colors seemed like a non-stop high-energy rush. Are you having any withdrawal symptoms now that it’s over?

MC: It was really hard to transition. It was like Rock and Roll Fantasy Camp. You’re on a bus with a bunch of the rockers. Food and alcohol is brought to you. All you’re required to do is rock

LN: You say all you had to do was rock but as the host, you really pulled it out and worked hard riffing between bands until they were ready. That seemed like a tough, if not rewarding, gig.

MC: It was a challenge never knowing how long it was going to go on.

LN: And what a line up. That must have been amazing to see night after night.

MC: I’m a huge fan of all the bands.

LN: I screened Bam Bam and Celeste. It’s a sweet romp. How much of that angst, outsider character was autobiographical?

MC: I didn’t grow up in the mid-west. I’m from San Francisco, so it certainly wasn’t as scary. But the isolation and the awkwardness…

LN: It’s a wonderful paean to the fag hag relationship. How old were you when you got your first gay boyfriend?

MC: About five or six. His name was Marco and he had a lot of beautiful antique dolls. He maintained them beautifully.

LN: Do you keep in touch with Marco?

MC: He moved to New York when I was six.

LN: Between Bam Bam and Celeste and True Colors you’ve had an ultra-eighties summer. You came of age in the 1980’s. Did you identify more with Cyndi Lauper, Madonna or Siouxsie from Siouxsie and the Banshees?

MC: Oh God. I think all three. They were incredibly influential. Cyndi for her playfulness. Madonna for her sexuality and Siouxsie was about my darkness. They’re all important archetypes.

LN: I read the moving tribute you wrote to Cyndi on your blog after True Colors ended. What is it about her that’s so infectious?

MC: She’s beautiful. She’s funny. She’s so in love with artists and so warm and supportive. She really loved all the people she brought together for the tour. She’s also very much in charge… she taught me how to sing.

LN: Rosie was slated for a few appearances on the East coast but following her hasty The View departure, you got her for the run of the tour. What was the response on True Colors upon hearing that Rosie would remain on the tour?

MC: It was great! I really love her. She’s a great stand-up comic. Rosie’s just magic. We had a blast on and off stage. It was great to be able to watch her.

LN: You had a pretty hot and heavy kiss with Lucas from The Clicks. I haven’t been on a date in a while and that was really steamy? Can we look forward to seeing more of that?

MC: I hope so. We just shot their video for their new song and I’m in it.

LN: I’ll be looking for it. You’ve got so many projects you’re working on. What can we expect from The Sensuous Woman?

MC: Stripping, burlesque and belly dancing. It’s about women who are beautiful and sexy. There’s some playing with gender and wild stuff and comedy.

LN: So it’s really a celebration of women and their bodies… I’ve read that you’re not struggling with your weight like you used to… that you’ve made peace with it and you’re really slim right now. How did you turn that corner of obsessing about weight into a healthy attitude?

MC: Belly dancing is really body positive. Healing through dance was a big part of my own transformation. It’s about dancing, and being, and movement. I used to use movement as a kind of punishing thing. I would eat and then work out really hard, so it was unpleasant and not fun.

LN: Can you tell me a little about Two Sisters?

MC: Sure. Two Sisters is a sweet little film about belly dance starring Yunjin Kim and Kathy Najimy. It’s going to festivals next year.

LN: I noticed that many of the cast from Bam Bam are also in Two Sisters, like Kathy Najimy, Elaine Hendricks and Bruce Daniels. Are you assembling a Christopher Guest-like troupe?

MC: I’d like to. I’ve been so lucky with the people I’ve worked with.

LN: One little political question… do you have a candidate you’re backing for 2008?

MC: I don’t know yet. I love Hillary and I really love Barack. But it’s really crazy when Rudy Giuliani’s the most pro-gay.