This year is turning out to be a fantastic one for queer multi-hyphenate Margaret Cho.
In January, Cho appeared on “Celebrity Jeopardy” where she left fellow contestants Rachel Brosnahan and Seth Green in her dust, winning more than $50K for her charity of choice, Friendly House, and advanced to the semi-finals level of competition. Her successful Live and Livid comedy concert tour, now in its second year, has a selection of new dates. She has numerous movie and TV projects forthcoming. As if that wasn’t enough, Cho is releasing her third music album titled “Lucky Gift.” Even with such a busy schedule, Margaret was gracious enough to make time for an interview.
Margaret Cho is performing on May 16 in Fort Lauderdale at Lillian S. Wells Hall at The Parker. For tickets, visit margaretcho.com/tour/.
Margaret, I want to begin by congratulating you on your “Celebrity Jeopardy” appearance, which aired a week before this interview. I loved the way you dominated the “Global Pride” category.
Thank you [laughs]!
Then you ultimately advanced to the semi-finals, winning more than $50,000 for your charity, Friendly House. What was the experience like for you?
Thank you so much! That was incredible because I love the show. I've been playing it in my mind for all of this time. It was exciting to actually be on the set and then to meet Ken Jennings and then just to be able to do what I've been fantasizing about for such a long time. I loved being part of that.
“Lucky Gift” is your third music album. What do you get personally from making music that differs from doing comedy?
It's just a different form of expression. With comedy, you have words, but with music you have instruments, you have chords, you have tones, you have a voice, you have all sorts of different ways to approach art and communicating with music that comedy doesn't quite do. For me, it's really gratifying. I also just love to make music. I do it every day anyway, just like I do comedy every day. It's just a big part of who I am.
Apart from the title track and “Boyfriend From China,” for which you received sole writing credit, you collaborated with Garrison Starr and Roger Rocha on the remaining tunes. What are the individual attributes of Garrison and Roger that make them good co-songwriters for you?
They're both, musically, just genius. They have different approaches, and I really love working with both of them. I think they just bring out the best in me sonically. The intricacy of Roger’s musicality – he's phenomenal. Then Garrison comes at the writing with so much heart. She has a direct line to emotional truths with the way that she writes. I'm grateful. They're very different and unique as artists. I love working with them.
Do you think you’ll continue to collaborate with Garrison and Roger?
Yes, for sure. Always.
.jpg)
.jpg)
