[Comedy] No Secrets for Lesbian Comic | Jackson Free Press | Jackson, MS

[Comedy] No Secrets for Lesbian Comic

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When stand-up comic Suzanne Westenhoefer performs at New Stage Theatre on Friday, it will be her first performance in Mississippi. As she talks to me on the phone from her Hollywood home, she explains how excited she is to be coming to Jackson for a show.

"I don't know what to expect," she says with a laugh. "I just hope that we all laugh for 90 minutes and have a good time."

Westenhoefer grew up in a small Pennsylvania river town. She loves being the center of attention so she decided to get her BFA in acting at Clarion University of Pennsylvania. After graduation, she moved to New York City and became a bartender.

On a dare, she entered a comedy contest in the West Village at a well-known cabaret. She won first prize and began to pursue stand up comedy.

Westenhoefer, who is a lesbian, never liked the idea of hiding who she was in her comedy. Fourteen years ago, she was the only openly gay comic doing stand-up in front of straight audiences. "I've always promoted myself as an openly gay comic—that's the whole point," she says.

Westenhoefer explains that being open about her sexuality is an attempt to help the culture move forward. "In an obnoxious hallmark kind of way, you want to change the world and I feel strongly about that," she says.

Times have changed for the better since her early shows in New York, when she was performing gay comedy to straight audiences in popular clubs. Some clubs banned her as soon as they heard she was a lesbian. In clubs that did let her perform, she felt she had to be "super-gay" all of the time, and she sometimes had to explain "homosexual" jokes to her audience.

However, with an increasing number of openly gay comics, along with television shows and movies, Westenhoefer says the atmosphere today is much more relaxed. She can rap about her girlfriend, day-to-day lesbian experiences and even politics without causing an uproar.

"It seemed like the gay community was in the same place for 1,500 years throughout the '80s and '90s. Now change has happened fast," she says.

The gay community is evolving everywhere—even right here in Jackson. Ten years ago, it would have been difficult for a lesbian comedian to do a show here. "In Southern states such as Mississippi, I think that there are more liberal people than people care to admit," she says. She explains that in areas where conservatives predominate, most people just fall in line with that "obnoxious" crowd and pretend to bat for their team.

Despite her candor about her sexual orientation, Westenhoefer stresses that her shows are not geared toward a homosexual audience. In fact, she finds it particularly satisfying when heterosexuals can see themselves in her stories.

For example, when a man observes that he isn't the only one to get mad at his girlfriend for leaving the top off the toothpaste, or a straight woman can relate to Westenhoefer's stories about her mother.

"Just because I'm a lesbian comedian doesn't make this a lesbian event," she says.

As Westenhoefer continues to tour the nation with her comedy, her career is advancing in other ways. This spring, she stars in a new version of the classic game show for the Game Show Network, "I've Got a Secret." Westenhoefer will be a permanent panelist on the game show, which will air every night at 11 p.m.

Suzanne Westenhoefer performs at New Stage Theatre on Friday, Feb. 24 at 8 p.m. $25. 601-948-3533.

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