Obama Girls rollick the vote

Stand-up comic Susannah Perlman admits that taking her Obama Girls of Comedy show to a Raleigh rock club is a little like preaching to the converted.

The tour is designed to drum up support for Barack Obama in battleground states. But people paying for tickets to see the show Monday at the Lincoln Theatre probably won't be College Republicans.

If you think Perlman might be wasting her energy, it might help to know where she was when she got the idea for an East Coast Obama Girls comedy tour.

"I kept coming across these women who had amazing Obama material," Perlman said, but "it wasn't doing much good staying in New York."

So Perlman, who grew up in Pittsburgh but lives in New York, decided to take that material on the road. Any tour profit will be donated to the campaign.

The Obama Girls cast is a revolving one. In Raleigh, Perlman will be joined by stand-ups Michelle Buteau, Carolyn Castiglia (in glasses, right) and Claudia Cogan (holding a book). Among them, their credits include NBC's "Last Comic Standing" and appearances on VH-1.

Even though the women expect the bulk of their audience to be Democrats, "undecideds have taste, too," said Perlman, laughing.

And besides, the tour hopes to reach people outside the bars and coffeehouses where the women will be performing.

Maybe someone will come to the show, get excited about the campaign and decide to volunteer, donate or persuade their friends to.

"The power," she said, "can go beyond just what happens in the club."