Margaret Cho has never been a comic to shy from hot topics.
“I'm talking about a lot of different issues — gay marriage and abortion and immigration, a lot about the theocracy and Christian conservatives,” says Cho, who appears in “Mature Content with Lisp” at 8 p.m. Saturday, July 29, at House of Blues Atlantic City.

Expect her Atlantic City show to be as in-your-face as if she were playing a big city club or a gay pride festival.

“I don't really change anything (for any audience),” she says. “I always play so many diverse venues that I really can't do that for anything. That doesn't make a difference for me.”
Along with some new material, Cho plans to pull out some of her greatest comedic hits, culled from past tours, including “Notorious C.H.O.,” “Revolution” and “State of Emergency.”

But her focus this year has been on a new event, “The Sensuous Woman,” a new-school burlesque show held monthly in Los Angeles.

“It's really about showing that women and men can be comfortable with their bodies, no matter where they are in size or shape or age or looks,” Cho says. “All of us have this capacity to be beautiful and sexy and have a good time. It's important to have images of different, good-looking people.”

The show, which Cho hopes to take to New York, San Francisco and other cities, is partly in response to what she perceives to be a narrow beauty standard depicted in mainstream media.

“We don't see that in magazines or TV or movies,” Cho says. “We don't have a clear image of what people look like or what sexy is all about. I think the show redefines that.”

Cho got her start the way most comics do, through the comedy club network. At 16, she appeared in a club in San Francisco called The Rose & Thistle, which was located above a bookstore owned by her parents. Her first big break came shortly thereafter, when she won a contest whose prize was to open for Jerry Seinfeld.

“It was very exciting and a big deal and this great experience,” she recalls.