Cho Business

By Kristina Dorsey

Published on 5/24/2007

EXPECT TO SEE A LOT OF Margaret Cho over the next few months.

First, at Mohegan Sun Cabaret, where she performs some stand-up. Then she's off to host the “True Colors” concert tour, featuring Cyndi Lauper, Erasure and Debbie Harry, all in support of the Human Rights Campaign, an organization that works for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender equality. Cho, who has said she is bisexual, will be multi-tasking for the shows: hosting, doing stand-up while stage hands set up for the next band, and even performing with some of the musicians (a dance number, for instance, with the Dresden Dolls).

Besides all that, Cho has been directing. Her most recent short film, “Two Sisters,” stars Yunjim Kim of “Lost” and Kal Penn of “Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle.” She has continued acting on TV, in a recurring role on Brad Garrett's sitcom “'Til Death” and in the Julianna Marguiles-Peter Krause miniseries “The Lost Room.”

Cho grew up in San Francisco and is from a Korean-American family. She broke through as a comedian in the early 1990s, working as an opening act for Jerry Seinfeld and appearing often on “The Arsenio Hall Show.” In 1994, she starred in her own short-lived sitcom “All American Girl.” Touted for being the first show with an Asian family at its center, it was cancelled quickly.

Cho returned to stand-up and then expanded her career. While her comedy can be in-your-face, Cho had a sweet voice and gracious manner in a recent phone conversation. She was willing to talk about anything:

On her tattoos: “I like them because they actually allow you to choose your skin color, which to me is pretty incredible. It's a political thing for me. It's technology allowing you to alter your skin color and alter your place in society. Because people who have tattoos are (considered) differently than people who do not ...

“My tattoos are very well thought-out. It's an ongoing art project. I plan that, by the time I'm 80, I'll be completely covered. Women my age — I'm 38 — in Hollywood are concerned about plastic surgery. But I'm putting all that money into tattooing because I think that's far more interesting. It is the same impulse. Women my age are now really about breast implants and liposuction. It's an impulse to change the body, and my impulse is the same.”

On her comedy: “One of the drawbacks, and one of the advantages, of being a minority in comedy is that you are really supposed to talk about yourself, about who you are and what you do and your identity. That's a major thing when you look at minority comedians. They kind of dissect their own culture. They don't have the opportunity or the luxury of being totally secular. The way to be is really to make an art out of what you do.”

On her stand-up at the Sun: “I will be on another major tour next year. I'm just working on a couple of other projects in between. I'm writing a new show. That's what I'm working on at the Mohegan Sun. ... Mostly what I'm interested in talking about is homophobia, talking about racism, talking about sexism and all the ways those things manifest. Being a minority, and a lot of different minorities, in the world is an interesting experience.”

On how her part in the “True Colors” tour came about: “I just got asked. I'm a fan of Cyndi Lauper's. I love her. I used to have that whole pink hair on one side, shaved on the other side. I just identified with her so much when I was a kid because I was so crazy weird. She was such a great icon for me. Now, knowing her, she's such a nice woman and a great inspiration. Knowing her and knowing a lot of the people on the show — I love everybody. It's a show I want to go see. And I'll get to see it every night.”

On what is she not doing? “I'm not cooking. I'm not cleaning. And I'm not doing laundry. Which I need to do badly, but I just don't. The basic things just go away if you're focused on working as an artist. You can't do all those housekeeping things, which are fun in their own way. But that's all sort of left to somebody else.”