Opinionated and sometimes bawdy, comedian Margaret Cho isnยt afraid to reinvent herself. After a meteoric rise to fame in the early ย90s, she landed her own sitcom on ABC called All American Girl. The road got a little rough at that point. The show was ostensibly the first on network TV to have an Asian lead, and producers told her she was too ethnic and yet not ethnic enough. The network reportedly criticized the roundness of her face, leading Cho to try and lose weight rapidly, which affected her health. All American Girl was soon canceled, but Cho managed to turn lemons into lemonade by chronicling the experience in a Broadway show called Iยm the One that I Want.
That was followed by the more politically inspired State of Emergency. Her new tour, Beautiful, will premiere in Sydney, Australia, on February 27. Before the debut, sheยll be performing ยworkshopย shows in various cities, including Houston. Lucky us. 8 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. today and tomorrow. The Laff Stop, 526 Waugh Drive. For information, call 713-524-2333 or visit www.laffstop.com. $30.
Fri., Jan. 18, 8 & 10:30 p.m.; Sat., Jan. 19, 8 & 10:30 p.m., 2008
This article appears in Jan 17-23, 2008.