Margaret Cho has never been one to shy away from controversy, or a challenge and it’s that kind of attitude and out of the box creativity that brings a fresh take to her stand-up comedy.
Cho, who will be performing here in San Diego at the Balboa Theatre Dec. 5, will be sharing her immense comedic talents with us on the day she was born. Yes, she will most likely spend time with her family who lives here, but for her it’s just another day of work.
“You know, I think for me, as I get older I don’t really think of my birthday in any kind of a celebratory capacity,” Cho said. “You get older and then you go, oh yeah, that! You know, you have so many, I have so many. So, it’s nice though. My family lives in San Diego, so that’s great. And yes, of course it’s a pleasant surprise!”
Pleasant surprise or not, she probably won’t have time to do much celebrating with her American and upcoming European tour.
“I don’t know … I don’t think I will get to really,” Cho admitted. “We are going to be doing shows, back to back like before and after, just sort of in the middle of the American leg of this tour before it goes to Europe. So, it’s very, um, busy.”
Tour life is actually something that Cho looks forward to. Life on the road seems to afford the comedian/actress/ singer/songwriter a chance to unwind and see a different side of her life. What Cho likes about touring is really the performance aspect of it.
“I think it’s just performance things, like it’s a performance and it’s live; it’s always really exciting to do this level of touring,” Cho said. “I just love it! I mean I have been doing it for like 30 years. It’s something I am very comfortable with and very proud of and it’s great! It’s fun and you can escape your other life; you can escape from responsibility a lot; you can kind of live in your own world and with your touring group which is always a great joy and I love that.”
Her tour will take her from San Diego to Los Angeles and then to Berlin. That’s right, she will be performing in the U.S. Dec. 5 and 6 and then Dec. 9 she will be standing up on a stage in Berlin and not returning to the U.S. until after the first of the year. She has been sure to mention that while New York City is not on this schedule she does want to make it clear that she will be there even though she may not know exactly what will be in the show or when it will be.
“I don’t know yet,” Cho confessed. “I want to do a couple of different things so I know that my tour will need to take a break after the European tour because I have to do Drop Dead Diva which is a show that I do for Lifetime in Atlanta, that’s a big thing. That will take up several months, so then I will come back to touring after that. That will hopefully pop in right after I finish Drop Dead Diva. I have to do New York though, it’s very important. So that will be great when I do.”
As for her San Diego show entitled Mother, she is very frank about the theme of the show and what audiences can expect.
“Well, it’s pretty dirty,” Cho said. “I think it’s pretty outrageous, and like for me, um, you know really raunchy, that’s really fun. I think it’s funny. Like I make myself laugh. I think that’s the best for me!”
She also said that while this show will feature her own mother it has a lot more to do with who she is now and where she is in her own life.
“[My mom] enters into it,” Cho admitted. “But it’s also about, kind of the state of being the age that I am which is almost 45, and that when you are in your 40s and beyond people sort of look at you as a mother figure, even though I am not a mom. I am definitely a maternal figure to a lot of people and so it’s getting to that status and that joyful part of maturity and I think that’s really cool.”
It’s clear that most audiences know Cho for her imitation of her mother, which is something her mom actually likes.
“Ah, well she thinks it’s really good,” Cho conceded. “She thinks it’s really exact and she thinks it’s a very, very accurate portrayal of her. She’s also very excited about my work and excited about my career. She just never imagined anything like that for me. I don’t think anybody would have so, it’s a really great thing for her and my whole family.”
Her gift for comedy seems to have been hailed by a few people in her own family including her father who writes jokes. Their comedy couldn’t be more different, but Cho admits that her father is a very funny man.
“My dad is really funny,” Cho said. “I think there are a lot of very ridiculous and funny characters in my whole family, but my dad especially. He’s really hilarious. He’s a comic writer and he’s really diverse in the things he does, but he’s really funny.”
She was also inspired by the comic genius of the late comedian Bill Hicks.
“I loved him,” Cho confessed. “I thought he was a wonderful man but was also very fearless. He really thought things out for himself in a way that was totally original and I think that is so great to have a really unique thinker and to be around somebody who thinks very much in their own way … he was a very special guy.”
With her ongoing tour and a green-lit sixth season of Drop Dead Diva, Cho certainly has a lot on her plate. But even with all of that she is still finding time to work on a third book and she just finished working on a film with rocker Joan Jett.
She admits that she is busy, but it’s a good busy and that she is looking forward to her return to San Diego.
“I am looking forward to coming back,” Cho said. “It’s a great place that I have played before and a place I love! It’s going to be fun.”
Tickets for Cho’s Mother show can be purchased online at ticketmaster.com or by calling 800-745-3000.
