Margaret Cho

Cho: Whether Mother or Mutha, She’s Not Stopping

by Charles Karel Bouley (Karel, special to GED)

Margaret Cho is a comedy icon, but don’t tell her that. She’s a dynamo, staying busy for the (muffled tone here) amount of years she’s been in show business. Currently, she’s on tour with her “Mother” tour, in San Francisco at the Nob Hill Theatre Oct. 12th and in Los Angeles at the Wiltern December 6th. I caught up with her in LA., where her time is divided thanks to Lifetime’s “Drop Dead Diva” returning on Oct. 10th for yet another season.

“We film in Georgia you know,” she told me as we started to chat. “I get to be near Atlanta, which is great. It’s such a beautiful state.”

But is it great for a tattooed out proud lesbian?

“Atlanta calls themselves the San Francisco of the South, so it’s very queer and queer friendly,” she tells me. “But when you get outside, it can get a little dicey. But, I have found, that guess what, even conservatives can be friendly. Truly. Not all of them are haters, I think we have to get over that preconceived notion like they have to get over so many of us,” she continues.

The tour focuses on aging, on, basically, becoming our parents.

“I think we all do over time,” she continues. “I certainly have imitated my mother over the years, and really tried to be her. Now, I feel very close to her, in a great way, like I understand more. There’s something about aging, about owning your own skin, about living and being who you are.”

Things weren’t always that positive for Cho. When she came on to the national scene through her TV hit “All American Girl” everybody loved her parody of the American-Asian family. Everyone except the network. Behind the scenes they were fostering a culture of almost self hatred.

“It wasn’t very nice back then,” she recalled. “I was a different person, in a different place. They were all about changing me, my weight, my looks, everything. You know, I talked to Julie Chin about her surgery on her eyes. It was very emotional for her, not an easy decision to make. I understand it, the pressure to change, to conform, to bend. I was certainly put under it.”

Years later, as an out proud Lesbian the pressure would continue but for different reasons. Now, Cho is at a place she’s wanted to get to for a long time. But her status as a Gay Icon only increases, as she is a serious contender for a spot on “The View.”

“Look, I’d love to do it,” she says, reflecting on her guest stints on the show. “I came late in the replacement process, but there’s still hope, so, who can say. I love TV, and it is different now. ‘Diva’ is such a different show, it’s such a pleasant, dare I say, environment to work, accepting, loving, yes, business, but still, it’s great. I’m sure ‘The View’ would be the same.”

Always outspoken, even on the GLBT front, as the U.S. criticizes Russia over GLBT issues, Cho is quick to point out America still has its problems.

“The Russia problem is complex” she adds. “Dan Savage is right; we can boycott Russian vodka, that’s a start. We can do other things. The Olympics is another question. Should we go? Well, in many states in the U.S. queers can be fired, we still can’t get married in many states; we have a long way to go. And yes, in the last 10 years we’ve come further than the last 25 before, but there’s still so much more.”

More is what this San Francisco-born California native is used to giving, and is loving life right now doing it. From guest spots on shows like Arsenio or Chelsea Lately to her own TV and stage endeavors, she is at a high point right now.

“I love it all, but stage is where I really live, really come alive. The people, the moment, you never know what’s going to happen, and that’s the beauty of it. Plus the instant love, it’s unbeatable.

For a complete list of Cho’s performances, check out http://kenphillipsgroup.com/cho.htm

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