ZACK ROSEN
Friday, April 04, 2008

Though Washington-area residents got to see comedian Margaret Cho host last summer's True Colors tour, the focus was more on the bands than on Cho's brand of civic-minded, raunchy humor. But on April 10 and 11, the queer Korean-American performer will appear at the Warner Theatre all by her lonesome.

Her new show, titled "Beautiful," tackles one of the themes that flows through most of Cho's comedy: the pressures of conformity and the advantages that come with being different. The show was born after a radio DJ interviewed Cho and asked what she would do if she was beautiful, if she was "blonde, blue-eyed, 5 foot 11, and weighed 100 pounds." True to form, her response was "I probably wouldn't get up in that case, because I'd be too weak to stand."

"He was talking about how that kind of person is beautiful, and I'm not," Cho tells the Blade. "That's really sad if that's the only kind of person you think is beautiful. I wanted to do a show about how beauty is for everyone, not just for one kind of person."

The show has a personal relevance. Cho's signature act, "I'm The One That I Want," detailed her experience starring in 1994 ABC sitcom "American Girl." Though it was lauded for being the first network show with an Asian-American cast, Cho was told by network executives that she was too Asian, not Asian enough and not an ideal weight.

"I've had a lot of issues, I've felt like I never fit in," she says. "It's hard if you're a woman and queer and Asian-American, there's not a lot of inclusion. You don't see images of yourself that often, so feeling beautiful is a political kind of thing."

Of course, it wouldn't be a contemporary Cho show without some political commentary. She's currently volunteering as a campaign surrogate for Barack Obama. Though she likes both Democratic candidates, she acknowledges that she "can't vote for both."

"I think Obama is really amazing, I'm really enjoying being involved in his whole campaign for change. I feel like I connect with him on racial issues, he's inclusive. I like his words to the GLBT community. I feel like he's someone that will be great for the country, so I'm hoping he is going to be president."

CHO WILL BE joined by opening act Liam Sullivan, who incorporates a number of identities into one comedic act. The Los Angeles-based performer is straight, but is best known for his character Kelly and her catchphrase, "Shoes…oh my god."

That signature line is from his song "Shoes," one of the most popular videos on YouTube, during which the dragged-up Sullivan-as-Kelly cannot slake his thirst for new and daring footwear. He lists predominantly gay comedy troupe Kids in the Hall as a key influence and says he has no trouble experimenting with gender roles in his comedy.

"I like to play both genders and mix it up within that," says Sullivan. "The Aunt Susan character, Kelly's aunt, she is more masculine than I am. I loosely based her on our current president, the way she talks, her cadence. I kind of like his swagger, I said 'Oh, that's fun.' Although I do play women I sometimes play women that are masculine or men that are feminine."

Sullivan started working with Cho through a series of happy coincidences. He approached her husband, Al Ridenour, to borrow a robot costume the latter had used in his own stage show. That put him in touch with Cho, who then appeared in one of Kelly's videos and sparked their professional relationship.