A negative experience with her first network TV sitcom in the mid-’90s, when she was famously forced to both lose weight and act "more Asian,” became sharp comic fodder in her stand-up routine, preserved in her brilliant 2000 concert film, “I’m the One That I Want.” Nearly a decade later, Cho is still blending the personal and the social and political in her observations on the myth of physical beauty. Her latest concert film, “Beautiful,” “explores the good, bad and downright ugly in beauty, and the unattractive politicians and marketers who shape our world.” Add to that Cho’s role in the much-buzzed-about new comedy about body image, “Drop Dead Diva,” now airing on Lifetime.

“I realize more and more how deeply issues of self-hatred, of not thinking you exist in the world, affect women,” she says by phone from the Atlanta set of “Drop Dead Diva.”

Although cultural topics are woven into Cho’s comic universe, Provincetown audiences will see her breaking into yet another realm of entertainment Aug. 24-31 at Vixen. Her shows will feature a mix of comedy and music. She promises comedy songs “in the vein of my idol, Weird Al Yankovich,” she says. But rather than parodies, Cho’s songs are original. Cho, who has been featured in several rock videos, is prepping an album that will feature guest appearances by Patty Griffin, Jon Brion and Grant Lee Phillips. At Vixen, she’ll appear with Selene Luna, part of Cho’s eccentric entourage that fans will know from “The Cho Show,” her VH1 reality sitcom.

Cho has also earned kudos for her musical work on tour with ’80s legends Cyndi Lauper, Debbie Harry and Erasure (along with indie faves The Dresden Dolls and The Cliks). She hosted Lauper’s True Colors Tour, benefiting the Human Rights Campaign, in 2007, singing backup on “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” while Rosie O’Donnell banged away on drums.

Skewering the myth of beauty with her trademark fierce and raunchy humor, Cho returned to her stand-up roots last year when she toured with “Beautiful,” capping it off with a show at Radio City Music Hall. “Beautiful,” Cho’s fifth concert film, began airing on Showtime last month. It premiered in Sydney, Australia, as part of the Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Festival, where Cho shopped for parade outfits in a drag store with Kathy Griffin and Lauper for an episode of Griffin’s reality series “My Life on the D-List.”

Cho, 40, has earned respect from peers and fans for producing her own work on her own terms in a variety of media. But she admits that “Drop Dead Diva” offered her the opportunity to grab an acting role that meshed with her sensibility. Producer Josh Berman saw her live show and thought Cho was perfect for the role of Teri Lee. She was the first actor cast.

“I fell in love with the script. This show comes along at the right time when there are so few opportunities for real women to see themselves,” she says. “It isn’t ‘The Hills’ or ‘Gossip Girl’ which most women don’t relate to.” “Drop Dead Diva” stars Broadway talent Brooke Elliot as Jane, a smart but not quite conventionally pretty woman who wakes up one morning and finds that her soul has been taken over by a gorgeous but dim model who’s killed in an accident. Cho has earned praise for her very funny antics and double takes as Jane’s trusted assistant.

“If you are not a size zero in L.A. you are practically invisible,” says Cho. “I’ve felt invisible my whole life. This show gives us visibility. Women watch with their mothers and their daughters. As I get older, I realize how important it is to talk about these issues. Drop Dead Diva finds a way to do that and bring joy to it.”

“Drop Dead Diva” features a roster of guest stars this season including Cho’s pal Rosie O’Donnell, Liza Minnelli, Delta Burke and Tim Gunn. “It’s a gay pride edition of ‘The Love Boat,’” says Cho.

A regular performer in Provincetown, Cho laments that it’s been a few years since she’s done a show here. She plans to find time to work on new material and pal around with close friend Ryan Landry. “I’m looking forward to biking through Beech Forest at night, and biking through town cemetery while Ryan tells scary stories,” she says. She will also officiate at several gay and lesbian weddings in Provincetown. A gay and lesbian icon for her passionate support of LGBT rights long before it was fashionable, Cho is a deputized marriage commissioner in her native San Francisco as well as a Universal Life Minister. “There’s been so much anger and tears and fighting over Prop 8,” she says about California’s notorious anti-marriage legislation. “To participate in these weddings is just so beautiful,” she says.