By Trav S.D.

One wondered how long it would take the burlesque revivalists to remember that the form is as much about comedians as exotic dancers. It may be a show-business first that, in her new variety show, The Sensuous Woman, Margaret Cho reveals herself to be both; she spins pasties and one-liners with equal aplomb.

Beyond that, she also proves herself to be something of a bizarro ringmaster. It is not a joke to report that this production contains a naked dwarf, a plus-size dancer pulling streamers out of her ass and a woman flaunting a prosthetic penis. That’s a remarkable comedy show when the most normal-seeming performer on the bill is a transgender comic whose routine is largely about lesbian cunnilingus.

While Cho’s ostensible message is a celebration of difference, you don’t feel hit over the head with this lesson—diversity is simply on display. “Funny” is the bottom line. There’s scarcely an act that isn’t as laugh-provoking as it is outré, from a gay rapper named “Lisp” to YouTube phenom Kelly, who sings a techno song about $300 shoes.

Anchoring it all is Cho herself, who opens the show with a hilarious and raunchy monologue about “Miss Larry Craig’s epic search in the men’s room for dick,” and closes it with a fan dance. A couple of segments of Asian-American shtick remind us how far her act has evolved since the early days, when her material was fairly tame and conventional. Those words could never be applied to The Sensuous Woman.

The Zipper Factory Dir. Randall Rapstine. With Cho and ensemble cast.

By MARILYN STASIO

With “S-E-X” spelled out in 3-foot-high lights at the side of the stage of the fabulously funky Zipper Factory, there’s no need to wonder what “The Sensuous Woman” is about. Giddy, gaudy and quite gay, this raunchy variety show sparkles whenever headliner Margaret Cho is front and center, alternating her standup gab with outre versions of classic striptease routines. (Yes, she does twirl her tassels.) Aside from the irresistible Cho, show’s appeal hangs on audience tastes for the individual burlesque strippers, standup comics and sketch comedians — some quite peculiar — on tap.

Famed since age 16 for her painfully funny stage confessions about growing up with a terrible body image, Cho eventually obliges her fan base (nailed down by “I’m the One That I Want” and subsequent touring shows) with one childhood flashback of being told by her father that she’d better be clever — because she sure wasn’t pretty.
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