What words best describe Comedian Suzanne Westenhoefer? How about bold, bawdy, and just plain hilarious? Not afraid to ask tough questions that uncover the laughs underneath, Suzanne’s made a career out of telling the truth. And the truth is, life is funny.
And now, Suzanne takes it to the road one more time with her upcoming tour, most appropriately named, “Totally Inappropriate.” This new show will continue Suzanne’s tradition of working mostly unscripted, so when she hits the stage it’s an unpredictable, original night of comedy magic. Every night on the tour will feature new material inspired by her experiences in that city, some of which are created on the spot. “The audience and I participate in the creation of each night’s show,” she says, an interactive approach that makes her shows unique in the world of live comedy.
While she says she can’t promise dancing girls or magic tricks on her new tour, she does guarantee an hour and a half of “the same brilliant stand up comedy that I’ve been pumping out for 19 years.” And, she adds, “Each show on the tour will have its own version of inappropriateness, so you’ll need to come to a show and find out for yourself.” Upcoming stops on the “Totally Inappropriate” tour include shows in Ft Lauderdale, Denver, Alexandria, Va., Santa Ana, Ca., and Ft Worth, Tx.
Suzanne says the inspiration for her new show came from a joke between her and her girlfriend of six years, Jennifer. “We were each raised very differently,” Suzanne says, “And ever since we’ve been together she’s been shocked, horrified, and aghast at the things I’ll say. This includes everyday things like asking people about their sexuality in the bank line. She tells me I don’t have appropriate boundaries, so it’s become a huge running joke between us. “Suzanne hopes that “Totally Inappropriate” can progress from a stage show to something that eventually she can get down on paper, like a book, or perhaps, she says, “a comedy brochure.”
After entering the world of comedy on a dare, Suzanne has been delivering gay material in mainstream clubs to straight audiences and proudly performing within the LGBT community ever since. She became the first openly lesbian comic ever to appear on television when she was invited to perform on “Late Night with David Letterman.” She was also the first lesbian comedian to garner an HBO Comedy Special, which earned her a Cable Ace Award nomination. Now beginning her 20th year of side-splitting merriment, she continues to forge new ground while enjoying her well-earned reputation as a pioneer on the lesbian comedy scene.
Suzanne’s recent tour, “Finally legal… in a few states,” entertained audiences across the country, and was a headlining act on Sweet’s recent Caribbean cruise. Her latest venture, a starring role in the popular online web drama “We Have To Stop Now” is about to enter its second season, with the first soon available on DVD. Other recent shows of note include the GLAMA award-winning “A Bottom on Top,” and appearances on HBO, Bravo and LOGO TV.
For a complete list of tour dates, vist Suzannew.com/events/
Yesterday I hung out with a new lesbian comic who has her own “Vlog”. Not that I haven’t heard about them before, or tried very hard to watch them (why are they so long?) it’s just that it seems like “blogging” and “vlogging” are an historically amazing way for anyone at anytime to say anything about anyone. It’s completely unprecedented in our human past. A town crier could only be heard by a those in ear shot and a few too many smokes the night before and he could be done. His opinions left un-screamed, unnoticed. Op Ed writers had to answer to their newspaper owners and could be silenced by any advertiser who wasn’t in love with his/her ideas on whatever theme was exciting people that day. Guerrilla activists, cranking out their screeds underground have actually been put to death, or worse, been ignored by the masses.
