Evenings Out

A double dose of funny hits the Improv

by Anthony Glassman

Cleveland--Apparently, it?s a great time to be a fan of standup comedy, queer and in Northeast Ohio. First, Wanda Sykes played Akron, now Loni Love and Margaret Cho are appearing at the Improv in Cleveland. But not together. That would be a little too much fabulousness for one show.

Love will be performing through September 30, while Cho will be in town on October 5 and 6.

Loni Love, in addition to her standup work, also appeared on Chelsea Lately, Logo?s Gossip Queens and other comedic television shows, although she shines best when it?s just her, a microphone and an audience.

She started off professionally as an engineer, which might explain her focus on the real world, but segued into comedy while living in Los Angeles. Since then, she has become an ardent supporter of the LGBT community, emceeing queer events in New York to raise funds to push pro-LGBT legislation.

Loni Love and the Lovers is her current tour. She performs and emcees a show with a number of her comedian friends. She?ll have two shows, 7:30 and 10:15 pm on Friday and Saturday, then just a 7 pm show on Sunday.

And while some people might not immediately recognize Loni Love from her thousands of appearances on VH1?s I Love the . . . specials, Margaret Cho is practically a household word.

It?s kind of hard to really chart her career; the highs have been pretty high, and the lows pretty low. The one thing that has remained constant is her unceasing coolness.

For years known as a prima fruit fly, massive fan of the LGBT community, Cho later came out as bisexual. One of her best-known jokes revolved around her mother?s realization that one of Margaret?s friends was gay. Using her Korean name, she asked, ?Moran, is he the gay??

To which Margaret replies, ?He?s gay, but is he the gay? That?s a lot of pressure to put on someone. ?I?m here, I?m queer . . . I?m the only one?? ?

Then there was the time her seemingly conservative mother told her about her theory that everyone is a little bit gay, then proceeded to tell Margaret a ?gay story? about her father when he still lived in Korea.

Along the way, she?s had her own sitcom, fights with network executives over her waistline, appearances in both indie and mainstream films (Dustin Nguyen?s wife in Gregg Araki?s Doom Generation, anyone?), and now is on Lifetime?s Drop Dead Diva as the assistant to the main character, a zaftig attorney whose body is possessed by the soul of a dead supermodel.

Her latest show is ?Mother,? the tour of which will be hitting the Improv. In her own words, it?s ?untraditional look at motherhood and how we look at maternal figures and strong women in queer culture. It?s probably my edgiest show to date, filled with riotous observations on race, drugs, sexuality--gay-straight-everything in between, celebrity, culture, politics ? nothing is sacred.?

She?ll have two shows on each night, one at 7:30 pm and one at 10:15 pm. A dinner package is available with the October 6 show.

For information or reservations to either Loni Love or Margaret Cho, or better yet, both, go to http://clevelandimprov.com or call 216-696-4677.

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