Atlantic City Weekly

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Suzanne Westenhoefer, the first openly lesbian comic ever to appear on television, has been presenting gay material in mainstream clubs and proudly performing within the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community since entering the world of comedy on a dare in 1990. She went on to become the first openly gay comic to host her own HBO comedy special in 1994, which earned her a Cable Ace Award nomination, and is now beginning her 20th year of hysterical gaiety while enjoying her well-earned status at the forefront of the lesbian comedy scene.

Along with starring in Comedy Central specials throughout the years, Westenhoefer has had a starring role in the Web series We Have To Stop Now. Her numerous DVDs include Nothing in My Closet But My Clothes, I’m Not Cindy Brady, Guaranteed Fresh, Live from the Village and A Bottom on Top.

Westenhoefer spoke with Atlantic City Weekly a few weeks prior to her performance inside the Xanadu Theater at the Trump Taj Mahal this Saturday, March 27.

I heard you entered the world of comedy on a dare. What made you do it?

I was a bartender in Secaucus, N.J., and it was one of those things where everybody would say, “You’re so funny, you should be a comedian.” From there it became, “What, are you afraid to try it?” And then I was sort of like, “Well, no, I’m openly gay.” It was 1990, I was young and back then there weren’t really gay comics in the straight world, you know what I mean? [But] it was one of those things where finally, ultimately, some friends and people who were regulars said, “Don’t be a sissy — do it.” And that’s exactly what happened. I just kind of went, “Oh, OK, I’ll try it.”

At what point in your life did you start to realize you were funny?

You know, never. I didn’t think that I was like George Carlin funny or fall-down Stooges’ brother funny. I never thought of that. I just thought I had a smart answer for everything, and it was certainly something I got into trouble for as a kid. It certainly got me into a few arguments or got people to go, “Hey!” Then when you start doing it on stage it’s so different. Everybody expects it, they need it, they want it, they support it, and you’re like, “Wow, this is awesome.” 

Why did you choose to incorporate your lesbian lifestyle into your material?

Because I’d been an activist already for so long right when I came out. I came out in college and the thought of being on stage and being funny and telling stories and being truthful and not saying it — that was impossible, which was half the reason I never tried it in the first place. It was only once I was like, “Alright, I’m just gonna go and I’m gonna be open,” that I could do it. I could not have done it and pretended to be something other than what I was. I would have had nothing to say then for sure.

I heard you sometimes perform unscripted. How does that work? Do you tell yourself anything to get motivated before going on-stage?

It’s sort of what I do most the time. It’s kind of, I always say, extemporaneous. Some of it is stuff I’ve said before, some of it’s stuff I’ve never said. Some of it’s stuff I may have said last night, some of it’s stuff I said five years ago and never even thought about. There’s not an order. The audience and I sort of dictate it with what they’re responding to, what’s going on in the world, what’s going on in my life, what’s going on in the theater, what’s going on with all of us right then. This is a sort of guarded secret [but before going on stage] I say, “I have nothing to say to these people” over and over in my head, and then I have a billion things to say and it’s hard to shut up. I do not know why. 

Have you gotten any backlash from the gay or straight community?

I think the straight community, especially in the first 10 years that I was doing stand-up, was really uncomfortable, and they still can be. But obviously that’s changing. It’s changing like hourly. It’s awesome. And it was supposed to be. It’s perfect.

Watch Suzanne at Live at the Village:

Suzanne Westenhoefer
Where: Xanadu, Trump Taj Mahal
When: Saturday, March 27, 9pm
How Much: $25.50