It’s Pride, It’s SF, It’s Sandra Bernhard!
Every now and again a comic steps on stage and goes into a zone to deliver one of those once in a lifetime sets on stage that reminds the audience why we fell in love with them in the first place. Sandra Bernhard experienced such a moment last fall which she captured on tape to record her latest comedy album "I Love Being Me, Don't You?" released at the beginning of the Pride Month of June. It's in San Francisco. It's at the Castro Theatre. It's Sandra Bernhard. It doesn't get much better than that, folks!
As usual, nobody is sacred or safe in her rant on celebrities, the experience of teenage bullying and discrimination in Arizona, the realities of motherhood and lesbian partnership, and of course, gay San Francisco. With only 10 minutes to chat with Ms. Bernhard before moving on to her list of other notable (none as notable as this one) interviews, it seems we were able to cram a lot into our conversation including my trip to my therapist to get the balls to even chat with sometimes sharp-tongued comedic Diva. I lived through it to tell it, and you can live through her upcoming Pride appearance in San Francisco on June 24 and 25, just don't talk about those lips!
A scary reputation?
BeBe: You know I just came from seeing my therapist before speaking with you. You know you do have that reputation of being kind of scary during interviews, so I thought maybe I needed to go get some gumption before we spoke!
Sandra: I think that was a wise choice (laughs).
BeBe: I have, of course, listened to your new comedy album "I Love Being Me, Don't You?", and it is hilarious. You must do, what, 50-60, city stops a year. Why did you choose San Francisco and the Castro Theatre as the one to record your live album back in the Fall last year?
Sandra: You know what's funny? I didn't even know it was being recorded (laughs). Somebody was trying to steal my material... no, I'm kidding. The people who brought me there, Rooftop Comedy, they do that. They record comedy albums. And they happened to get it all set up. When I was done I said 'did they happen to record this' because I thought it was one of my great improvisational one offs. And they did, and we thought let's turn it into an album because I certainly could have never done it again. It was one of those nights where I was on fire!
Story continues on the following page.
Watch Sandra Bernhard on "The Rachael Maddow Show."
No one is safe
BeBe: Funny you say that, because I was thinking you should change the name of the album to "Bush Fire: You Better Watch Out" because you were on fire! (both crack up).
Sandra: You know once they hear it, they'll figure that out for themselves. You are absolutely right.
BeBe: Because no one is safe on this album. You hit upon the celebrities like Angelina Jolie, Joan Rivers, Jennifer Aniston, but my faaaavorite is Iman!
Sandra: Well, you know it's kind of a true story. She is renown for asking people for favors, and not returning them.
BeBe: So funny.
Sandra: But we love her.
BeBe: You know, in my own personal relationships, I like to hang around people with a sense of humor , those that are a little off kilter a bit. But I've always been afraid to get intimately involved with someone who is a comic because I think I will be apart of their comedy routine.
Sandra: Of course... (laughs). I understand that.
BeBe: You spend sometime on this album speaking about your partner, Sara (Switzer), and even your daughter, Cicely. When you get home at the end of the day, what's it like?
Sandra: Well, obviously it is a much different situation. We performers exaggerate our lives for entertainment sake. I think everybody knows that. I don't think people take it to heart. Especially, the people who are near and dear to me whom I adore. You are working your life out as a performer. From Picasso on down, you know what I mean?
Story continues on the following page.
Watch Sandra Bernhard on "The DL Show."
Being bullied...
BeBe: You spend time at the beginning of your set on the album talking about your time (not to be confused with incarceration) in Arizona growing up. My hat goes off to you on that. It is kind of like a prison term in Fresno.
Sandra: For sure... (laughs). I know.
BeBe: And one thing you talk about is how people perceived you back then. You mention your days of walking down the halls at school and people calling you names... skinny, and you even were called the dreaded "n" word. After listening to the recording, I wondered how you thought the usage of the "n" word came off?
Sandra: Well, I have used that word many times in performance. I came up under the tutelage of Paul Mooney who wrote for Richard Pryor (Bernhard spent time on "The Richard Pryor Show" in 1977). And the word has many meanings and many points of view. And it's true. It is what they said to me (nigger-lips, to be exact). So, when you experience that kind of, you know, it calibrates a kind of feeling and you feel at liberty to say it. It happened. You truly gain an understanding of people who are a color or race who have been through that and continue to go through that, and will always go through that.
BeBe: What I loved about it was that your delivery of the word had a sense of entitlement in a good way, if you know what I mean. It did.
Sandra: Right. Exactly.
BeBe: I was like those are my lips ( referred to with the word)... I own this right here.
Sandra: When you have been around that sort of stupidity you really gain a camaraderie with people who have to go through it all the time. A real understanding.
BeBe: Well, you are going to hit San Francisco again during Pride Week..Woo Hoo... at Marines Memorial Theater.
Sandra: That's right, darlin'.
BeBe: You will be here for two consecutive nights June 24 and June 25. When you play in a city where you do back to back performances, does it lose something for you the second night? I mean how do you stay fresh with the comedy where you generally pull so much from the surroundings and what not when the surrounding is somewhat repetitive?
Sandra: I am drawing a lot from that weekend (Pride). The celebration of the weekend and the history of San Francisco. There is so much that is inspiring for me when I am there. The first time I came there I was 10 years old. And all the subsequent times that I've been there at different points in my career. It's like revisiting all my different experiences in San Francisco. Also, having it be one of the cradles of civilization of the gay culture (inspires). Castro Street is one of the catalysts of the gay movement. It's one of the great cities. There is always something to draw upon.
BeBe: You are going on a pretty big tour with this album. It's gonna keep you busy for a bit.
Sandra: I'm always on and off the road. It' s apart of my life and income (heavy on the income side). It's always happening. So, yes, I'll be traveling throughout the year in conjunction with the album.
BeBe: I know you just got back from London a couple of months ago after not performing there for quite some time. Do you see yourself going back there soon with the release (June 7) of "I Love Being Me, Don't You?"?
Sandra: Hmm, I may not go back in a little bit because I've sort of played it (London) out right now. But I love it there. But I want to play Western Europe which I've never gotten to do. I'm working on that as well.
BeBe: Well, I really want to see you back on television.
Sandra: I am working on that, too. That's my number one goal in the next year. (Let's all say....YAY!)
BeBe: And what's this project you have going on with Mx. Justin Vivian Bond?
Sandra: We have a musical we are working on getting produced (music co-written by Jake Shears of Scissor Sisters) called "Arts and Crafts."
BeBe: I want you guys to open that here in San Francisco.
Sandra: You know that might be the thing to do. There's a big support team there. We're working on it. We're meeting with directors and some people. It is definitely in the works.
We can never get enough of Sandra Bernhard. Can we? Nah, we can't! I'm glad that San Francisco lent some magic to Sandra last Fall to help produce this comedic masterpiece called "I Love Bing Me, Don't You?". Is there more magic to come? Let's find out...
Sandra Bernhard appears June 24 and 25, 2011 at Marines Memorial Theater in San Francisco. For more info www.sandrabernhard.com and www.marineclub.com/theatre.php
Additionally, Sandra Bernhard headlines the main stage at San Francisco Pride Sunday, June 26, 2011. www.sfpride.org.
Her upcoming dates include: 7/16/2011, The Bull Run, Shirley, MA; 9/2-3/2011, The Crown and Anchor, Provincetown, MA. For more information visit her website.
Watch Sandra Bernhard on "The Wendy Williams Show."