'Notorious C.H.O' Shocks, Leaves Audience Laughing
Comedy Show Lives Up To Anticipation
POSTED: 11:09 a.m. EDT October 12, 2001
UPDATED: 9:42 a.m. EDT October 15, 2001
A couple of weeks ago I got the pleasure of speaking with comedienne Margaret Cho, and last week she brought her latest tour, "The Notorious C.H.O.," to Vegas for a special night at the Hard Rock.
If you pay attention before the show starts, you'll get a taste for what is to come. The preshow music features many songs that would be banned from the nearest Wal-mart, and carry the strictest of parental advisory stickers.
Then her surprise opening act came out and dismissed any notions that this might be a show that could be broadcast on ABC. Legendary performance artist Vaginal Cream Davis is a very tall, black drag queen who arrived in an American flag dress. Her act consists of licking whipped cream and cherries off an audience member's feet. It sounds bizarre, and it is, but the audience ate it up -? no pun intended.
Then Cho took the stage with more than an hour of new material -- more of a traditional stand-up comedy routine than her one-woman show "I'm The One I Want" from last year. Bouncing around on topics as far flung as colonic hydrotherapy, her family, Asian stereotypes, drag queens, sex clubs, and a lot more that I can't mention in this column, Cho was relentless in her presentation --shocking and hilarious at the same time.
The tone of her routine harkened back to the glory days of Richard Pryor or George Carlin, comics who were as famous for their R-rated material as they were for their savvy talents. To be certain, Cho's material was not for a family audience. Things came out of her mouth that shocked me for a moment, and I thought I was way past the point of finding anything shocking. Of course, I got over it quickly and found myself laughing out loud.
Cho delights in skewering archetypes. Her five-minute riff on what it would be like if straight men had menstrual cycles was both insightful and pee-in-your pants funny, while the bit about an Asian store owner harassing her over an unreturned adult video had the audience on the floor.
Margaret Cho has developed a devoted following in the gay community, and a big chunk of her show poked good-natured fun at straight and gay stereotypes. Her story about the two drag queens she went to high school with was hilarious and touching, as she theorized that the men, now deceased, are her guardian angels counseling her on her fashion and boyfriend choices.
Unfortunately for the purposes of this review, the bulk of "The Notorious C.H.O." is not really appropriate to relate here. You'll just have to trust me that while sailors may be blushing over a lot of what she says, they'll probably be laughing hysterically at the same time.
She wrapped up the show with a rousing call to self-love action that in other hands could have come off as a bad episode of Oprah, but instead brought the audience members to their feet in approval.
Cho's strength as a comic performer lies in her ability to shine a light on topics that most people would shy away from. For instance, while most comedians tell jokes that attack gays and lesbians, she instead empowers them with her humor. The same holds true for women's issues, sex, culture and race, addiction, love, friends, and family, each covered in a surface of one-liners while digging at fundamental truths underneath.
"The Notorious C.H.O." tour is continuing nationwide through at least January. For a list of tour dates click here.
Also, her one-woman show, "I'm the One That I Want," is now available on video and DVD, and I highly recommend that you rent it. You can also buy her autobiographical new book with the same title.
If you pay attention before the show starts, you'll get a taste for what is to come. The preshow music features many songs that would be banned from the nearest Wal-mart, and carry the strictest of parental advisory stickers.
Then her surprise opening act came out and dismissed any notions that this might be a show that could be broadcast on ABC. Legendary performance artist Vaginal Cream Davis is a very tall, black drag queen who arrived in an American flag dress. Her act consists of licking whipped cream and cherries off an audience member's feet. It sounds bizarre, and it is, but the audience ate it up -? no pun intended.
Then Cho took the stage with more than an hour of new material -- more of a traditional stand-up comedy routine than her one-woman show "I'm The One I Want" from last year. Bouncing around on topics as far flung as colonic hydrotherapy, her family, Asian stereotypes, drag queens, sex clubs, and a lot more that I can't mention in this column, Cho was relentless in her presentation --shocking and hilarious at the same time.
The tone of her routine harkened back to the glory days of Richard Pryor or George Carlin, comics who were as famous for their R-rated material as they were for their savvy talents. To be certain, Cho's material was not for a family audience. Things came out of her mouth that shocked me for a moment, and I thought I was way past the point of finding anything shocking. Of course, I got over it quickly and found myself laughing out loud.
Cho delights in skewering archetypes. Her five-minute riff on what it would be like if straight men had menstrual cycles was both insightful and pee-in-your pants funny, while the bit about an Asian store owner harassing her over an unreturned adult video had the audience on the floor.
Margaret Cho has developed a devoted following in the gay community, and a big chunk of her show poked good-natured fun at straight and gay stereotypes. Her story about the two drag queens she went to high school with was hilarious and touching, as she theorized that the men, now deceased, are her guardian angels counseling her on her fashion and boyfriend choices.
Unfortunately for the purposes of this review, the bulk of "The Notorious C.H.O." is not really appropriate to relate here. You'll just have to trust me that while sailors may be blushing over a lot of what she says, they'll probably be laughing hysterically at the same time.
She wrapped up the show with a rousing call to self-love action that in other hands could have come off as a bad episode of Oprah, but instead brought the audience members to their feet in approval.
Cho's strength as a comic performer lies in her ability to shine a light on topics that most people would shy away from. For instance, while most comedians tell jokes that attack gays and lesbians, she instead empowers them with her humor. The same holds true for women's issues, sex, culture and race, addiction, love, friends, and family, each covered in a surface of one-liners while digging at fundamental truths underneath.
"The Notorious C.H.O." tour is continuing nationwide through at least January. For a list of tour dates click here.
Also, her one-woman show, "I'm the One That I Want," is now available on video and DVD, and I highly recommend that you rent it. You can also buy her autobiographical new book with the same title.
This Week's Trivia Question
Q. The El Rancho, located across from Circus Circus, was torn down last year. It didn't start out with that name. What was the hotel named originally? (ANSWER) The Weekly Trivia Question is sponsored by the Online Memorabilia Museum at Vegas4Visitors.comThe Full Story
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