October 1st, 1997 to October 7th, 1997

Comic Suzanne Westenhoefer

Nothing in Her Closet But Her Clothes

by Gregg Shapiro

Lesbian comic Suzanne Westenhoefer returns to Chicago Saturday, Oct. 11 (National Coming Out Day) for an 8 p.m. performance. The show is sponsored by Full Moon Productions, Girlbar and Howard Brown Health Center. Special "Circle of Friends" tix are available for $50, and includes front-section seats, a post-show reception with the comic, and a portion of these tickets will benefit Howard Brown Health Center. Call (312) 559-1212 or (773) 472-0449.

Gregg Shapiro: Do you foresee a sitcom, with you as either a performer or a writer, in your future?

Suzanne Westenhoefer: As a performer, not a writer. I can't be behind the scenes (laughs). I have to be in the front. I was not one of those kids who grew up doing theater, and also wanted to the do things in the background. I always wanted to be in the play, out front.

GS: Is there anything in the works?

SW: Yeah, there is, actually. There are so many of us that have things "in the works," that to tell you that is not that big a deal. I don't want to make it seem closer than it is. We are working on it. Absolutely!

GS: Is there the same sense of community among lesbian and gay comedians that one senses exists in the "old boy" network of comedians?

SW: I would say that lesbian and gay comics relate like siblings in a big family. We can scrap among each other and say bad things about each other. But if anyone outside the family tries to say anything bad about us, we would immediately come to their defense. I think we're very supportive (of each other).

GS: Do you think lesbian and gay comedians are treated with respect by straight comedians?

SW: I think that they are now, I think that that has changed. But just like anything else, we had to prove that we were funny first. Just being gay wasn't going to make us popular.

GS: Uproar, the label that released your album Nothing In My Closet But My Clothes, has just released Marga Gomez's album. Any chance that you will be hitting the road together on a tour?

SW: Marga and I are both what they call "headliners," and we have a very distinctively different brand of comedy. We're actually very good friends. I don't think so, but you never know. I wouldn't say no to it.

GS: I'm not a size-queen by any stretch of the imagination, but did you notice that the "Parental Advisory: Explicit Lyrics" label on Lea DeLaria's Box Lunch CD is about ten times the size of yours?

SW: That may be just the different producers. Maybe my producers are trying to sneak it in, and Lea's are proud (laughs). It's a different style of comedy for sure.

GS: Is it just a coincidence that both your CD and Ellen DeGeneres's were both recorded in Portland, Oregon?

SW: You know, I didn't even realize that hers was recorded in Portland. I can tell you that our audiences were probably different back then. She wasn't out yet, when she recorded hers.

GS: Does your girlfriend have a good sense of humor?

SW: Phenomenal. But, it's her sense of humor and not everyone always gets it. You have to sort of know her to appreciate it. But, yeah, she has a great sense of humor.

GS: And what about your family?

SW: My family? Yes. From way back. A very funny family. Not usual for Germans, but apparently enough Welsh blood snuck in there, so that we were able to laugh. We're not the stoic Germans that our last name might lead you to believe.

GS: If you weren't doing comedy, what would you be doing?

SW: Before I was doing comedy, I was a bartender. That's probably what I would have continued to do. Although, I always harbored the desire to go back (to school) and get a degree in clinical psychology and be a therapist. I'm sort of a co-dependent person who likes to listen to other people's problems and help them through it (laughs).

GS: Is there anything else that you want to let the people of Chicago know about you're upcoming show?

SW: They should come! It's gonna be fun. They don't want to be the ones to miss it!

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