Margaret Cho is ready to share her stories with Raleigh

Margaret Cho has range. The actress/comic/singer/provocateur starred in her own sitcom, “All American Girl,” is a fashion designer and even portrayed dictator Kim Jong-il on “30 Rock.”

Cho, who will deliver stand-up this weekend at Goodnights, reveals why entertainment will get weird again, what veteran performer she’s enamored of and why President Donald Trump is hurt by female comics.

Q: Is it true that Donald Trump’s attorney, pal and fixer Michael Cohen tried to persuade you to jump on the Trump bandwagon?

A: Yes. Michael Cohen tried to get me to jump on the Trump bandwagon.

Q: Why would he try to persuade someone as liberal as you to support Trump?

A: I don’t know. It’s so weird. Trump is supposedly a fan. This is my theory. When female comedians don’t like Trump, he’s incredibly offended. Look at Kathy Griffin and Rosie O’Donnell. Trump was tight with Joan Rivers. He loves comedy.

Q: You do it all, even sing. What old school entertainer inspires you?

A: I love the old Las Vegas model. I always loved Debbie Reynolds. She did it all. I want to do the same. I want to be able to sing, tell stories. I also loved Bob Hope, who I worked with a long time ago. You know who is cool is (Raleigh’s) Jon Wurster, who is the drummer with Superchunk and he’s a humorist. You can do it all.

Q: Who’s your favorite humorist in music?

A: Morrissey and Bob Dylan. Humor is really powerful in music. I love novelty acts like Weird Al Yankovic, who is so cool.

Q: Would you ever like to do a show like Sandra Bernhard and mix comedy and music?

A: I would love to have a band and do something like a Rolling Thunder kind of thing. It would be a blast. I want to keep pushing the boundaries.

Q: Will comedy and entertainment ever get weird again?

A: I think there is the potential for it to get very weird. There is that possibility since the world is a strange place.

Q: What are you listening to these days?

A: I’m into early Everything But the Girl. I’m deep into the Stone Roses and the Madchester scene. I’m also into power pop. I’m listening to a lot of Redd Kross.

Q: What’s up next for you in terms of projects?

A: I have a show in development on an Asian-American family that is in the marijuana business. We’ll see how that goes. For now, I’m coming into Raleigh to tell my own stories.

Details

Who: Margaret Cho

When: 8 p.m. April 26; 7:30 and 10 p.m., April 27 and 28

Where: Goodnights, 861 W. Morgan St., Raleigh

Tickets: $25 to $30

Info: 919-828-5233 or goodnightscomedy.com

This story was originally published April 27, 2018 at 5:56 PM with the headline "Margaret Cho is ready to share her stories with Raleigh."