As with Nothing In My Closet But My Clothes, her previous CD, I'm Not Cindy Brady ( Uproar ) features lesbian comedian Suzanne Westenhoefer's outrageous yet on— target sense of humor. Among the multitude of targets that Westenhoefer hits with her wicked funny and dead— on aim are frosty blue eye shadow, gay siblings, rumors, mistaken identity, gynecology, shaving, butch and femme, pets, schoolteachers, Mormons, the Amish, and Roanoke, Virginia, to name just a few.
She's in town Friday, March 3 for a show at Mountain Moving Coffeehousee ( for Womyn & Children only ) , 7:30 p.m., 1650 W. Foster.
Gregg Shapiro: On your new CD I'm Not Cindy Brady, you make a comment about the responsibilities of being a representative of the gay and lesbian community to the straight community when you are performing. How does it feel to be one of the community's most visible ambassadors?
Suzanne Westenhoefer: I like it. I feel good about it. I hope that other gay people feel like I'm doing a good job. I'm not one of those comedians who "happens to be gay." Fuck that. That is so lame and so tired and so last century. I'm gay, and so there's a responsibility that goes with that, and I take that on and I'm fine about it. You hope that the gay community is ( thinking ) , "Well, we're glad that you're representing us, too." Because it would really suck if they were like, "But we hate her being our representative." ( laughs )
GS: I think you're safe. I think you're doing okay.
SW: So far. There hasn't been any trouble.
GS: You also talk about the benefits for girls who play sports in high school. Did you play sports when you were in high school?
SW: No, no. HELLO! No I did not play sports. No way. I was in the theater, like every other fag should be. I keep forgetting I'm a lesbian.
GS: Have you been on more lesbian cruises as a passenger or performer, and which do you prefer?
SW: Never been on one as a passenger. Prior to my starting comedy, just as the gay cruises were starting, I didn't have ten dollars. Then I got hired on a cruise right as I began doing comedy. The first one was May of 䚭.
GS: Do you ever foresee a time when you would be a passenger on a cruise? SW: It's so funny, because my girlfriend and I have discussed. We're like, "Wouldn't that be nice?" But it just hasn't come up. This year we're doing two cruises ( for work ) . We're doing Rome to Venice in June, and then in July, we're doing Greece, Egypt, Israel. We don't usually do them so close together, but that's the way it is. Quite frankly, after you've done that, you're not going to be wanting to do a cruise again, as either a passenger or a performer, probably until next year.
GS: You have worked your lesbian sister into your routine. Are you aware of any other gay or lesbian relatives?
SW: Yeah, we had an uncle that never got married. They had this family folklore ( laughs ) about why he never got married. How this nurse dumped him when he was coming home from World War II kind of thing ( laughs ) . Meanwhile, here's this sort of Tony Randall— ish character with ascots and the Roman/George Clooney kind of haircut. Even I knew, at nine or ten, I was going, "Puhleeze!"
GS: You also talk about Martha Stewart, which is kind of a natural for lesbians, but I was wondering if you have ever seen Christopher Lowell on HGTV?
SW: No, but I bet my girlfriend has. HGTV is some kind of hell for me, because I don't want to fix things and I don't want to see them fixed, but my girlfriend loves that sort of project stuff.
GS: You also talk about how you're trying to do the "TV and movie thing," trying to get your own show, and you joke about how it's going. How is it going?
SW: I'm going out on auditions like every other actor. It's quite a crapshoot. The auditioning process is very difficult. It has nothing to do with acting. It has to do with being the right person at the right time with the right look on the day when the casting director is in a good mood. There are so many variable. I'm also working with people to create my own sitcom. That goes very slowly, obviously, but it's certainly in the works. Just like 10,000 other comics out here, plugging away, seeing how it goes, giving it the old college try, yay! I should have said "Rah!"
GS: Any chance for potential guest spots on existing shows such as Will & Grace or the new Ellen DeGeneres show?
SW: I'm auditioning. They haven't actually started auditioning anybody for the new Ellen show, and I really hope to be able to audition for that.
GS: My partner is also a school teacher. Since your partner is a teacher, I was wondering if you have ever been invited to do perform at Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network?
SW: Yeah. I did one of their big national conferences in Salt Lake City. It was a blast. I've probably done six or more events for them.
GS: There's a moment on the CD where you break off and start to sing... SW: I do?
GS: Yes, you sing the Patty Duke Show theme song. I thought, "Ooh, nice voice." Any chance that you'll be doing the Lea DeLaria thing and record some songs?
SW: No ( laughs ) . No one wants to hear that, she said smoking a cigarette and sounding like Bea Arthur.
GS: But think of what cigarette smoking has done to Joni Mitchell's voice.
SW: Good point. But she's also a stunningly brilliant songwriter ( laughs ) . So she has that to fall back on. Like Bob Dylan. No one wants to hear him sing, but the man writes the most amazing songs ever.
GS: Have you ever had the chance to meet Susan Olsen, who played Cindy Brady on The Brady Bunch?
SW: No, but the gentleman who produced the CD for me, David Drozen, honorary lesbian, he did. It was only about a month ago. She's doing some sort of radio show. He met her and I believe he gave her one of the CDs. I haven't heard yet whether she thinks it's a total funny thing or not, but I imagine she does. He said she was very nice and seemed to have a great sense of humor. It hasn't happened yet that I've met. I've only been mistaken for her, twice in my life, thank you.
