The incomparable Margaret Cho will appear Off-Broadway in her new burlesque-style variety show The Sensuous Woman, set for a special limited four-week engagement beginning Wednesday, September 26 at The Zipper Factory (336 West 37th Street). Official Opening Night is set for Saturday, October 6.

Direct from performances in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Chicago, Margaret Cho brings The Sensuous Woman to New York. A new variety show starring the critically acclaimed comedian/actress Margaret Cho, The Sensuous Woman features an impressive line-up of the country's most renowned burlesque performers, along with hilarious stand-up and sketch comedy from emerging and established artists. Featured performers include Los Angeles belly dance and burlesque sensation Princess Farhana, emerging transgendered comic Ian Harvie, the ingenious burlesque performer Selene Luna, comic actor Liam Sullivan, New York downtown favorite Miss Dirty Martini, and sketch comedians Diana Yanez and Kurt Hall of the Gay Mafia Comedy Troupe of West Hollywood. The Sensuous Woman is directed by Randall Rapstine and choreographed by Kitty McNamee.

In describing her inspiration for this show, Margaret Cho explains, “The Sensuous Woman is an evening of comedy, dance and music celebrating women’s bodies. I have suffered from eating disorders and a horrendously distorted body image for my entire life, and I think the biggest reason is a lack of images of real women’s bodies. Where are they? We don’t see them in movies, on TV, in magazines. Instead, we are force-fed a steady diet of unattainable ideals, a tyranny of slenderness and youth, goals we can’t even aspire to, they are so far out of reach. When we see dancers who enjoy their bodies, who are sexy and having fun, it gives us permission to enjoy our bodies and to enjoy ourselves in the process. We are presented with a new ideal, not one that is about dieting ourselves down to a smaller size, but expanding our notion of what is beautiful and to allow ourselves to be included there too.”

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Margaret Cho has been performing stand up since the age of 16 and started her career opening for Jerry Seinfeld. Since then she has played nationwide to sold-out audiences in comedy clubs, theaters and on college campuses. Her one-woman show I'm The One That I Want was a hit Off-Broadway and toured nationally to critical acclaim, and was made into a best-selling book and feature film by the same name. In 2001, Cho launched Notorious C.H.O., a smash-hit 37-city national tour that culminated in a sold-out concert at Carnegie Hall. That live show was released as a feature film lauded by The New York Times as “Brilliant.” Revolution marked her third sold-out national tour and was nominated for a Grammy® for Best Comedy Album of the Year in 2003. The year 2004 saw the launch of the politically charged State of Emergency, hailed by The New York Times as “Murderously funny.” That show ultimately gave rise to Assassin, perhaps her most political and topical work to date. Assassin toured the US, Canada and Australia, aired on Here! TV in late 2005, and is currently available on CD (Nettwerk records) and DVD (Koch Entertainment). Cho’s first narrative feature Bam Bam and Celeste premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in late 2005, and has also played at the AFI

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Fest, Frameline, Fusion and the London Lesbian & Gay Film Festival (this film will be released on DVD nationwide on August 14, 2007). Her second book, a collection of essays on all subjects political and pop, I Have Chosen to Stay and Fight was published by Riverhead Books, a division of Penguin Group (2005). Her many television credits include her ground-breaking ABC sitcom All-American Girl. She has been honored by GLAAD, American Women in Radio and Television, the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund, PFLAG and the National Organization for Women for “making a significant difference in promoting equal rights for all, regardless of race, sexual orientation or gender identity."

Prior to the New York engagement, The Sensuous Woman will play in Chicago at the Lakeshore Theater from Wednesday, September 19 – Saturday, September 22. For more information, please visit www.MargaretCho.com.

The Sensuous Woman is presented in New York and Chicago (in association with the Lakeshore Theater) by WestBeth Entertainment. WestBeth Entertainment (Arnold Engelman, President) is a creative development and producing organization that for 29 years has consistently produced critically acclaimed work in theatre and other performing arts. Past productions include the sold-out national tours of Eddie Izzard’s Dress to Kill, Circle and Sexie; Billy Connolly’s Too Old To Die Young (Nat’l Tour, Canada); Lewis Black’s Nothing’s Sacred (Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall) and Red, White and Screwed (NY City Center); The Family Guy Live (NYC, Los Angeles); Graham Norton’s Know All and Red-Handed (Off-B’way, Nat’l Tour) and Wigfield featuring Amy Sedaris, Stephen Colbert and Paul Dinello (Off-B’way, Nat’l Tour), to name a few.

The Sensuous Woman will play as follows: Wednesday through Saturday at 8:00 PM, with late shows on Friday and Saturday at 11:00 PM. The Zipper Factory is located at 336 West 37th Street. Tickets are $45.00 (Wednesday & Thursday) and $55.00 (Friday & Saturday). Ticket fees may apply. To purchase tickets, visit www.thezipperfactory.com or call (212) 352-3101 or (866) 811-4111 (toll free).