SANDRA BERNHARD
Damn
INTERVIEWING SANDRA BERNHARD IS A DAUNTING PROSPECT. Punching in the numher of her Moroccan hotel. images of her on and off stage personae flash through the mind. She’s the confrontational motormouth performer. brash and outrageoUs. She‘s the leshian who posed naked and painted silyer for l’luy/my. SlteK the confidante and cottsot‘l of the ultra—famous. She’s the nioyie actress who straddled .lerry Lewis. screechcd at De .\'iro and tortured Bruce Willis. Which of these indiyiduals will pick up the receiyer'.’
The answer. surprisingly and a little disappointingly is none of them. What we get is Sandra the charmer. Sandra the pussycat. and Sandra the consummate pro. In fact. 'professionaf is the word she uses most throughout the conyersation. l'nusual and refreshing in these times when eycryone from Britney to \Vhitney whitters on about their growth as an artist.
llere‘s Ms B on her Broadway dehut. I'm Still Here . . Damn II.’ which comes to (ilztsgow in June: ‘l’m really proud of it. It brought inc up to another leyel as a performer and a professional. It was just really cool.‘ And as for working with other people to realise her Vision. is she a tough taskmistress'.’ ‘l haye definite expectations. and I need people to he highly professional. but I also let people do their own thing. I’m not "controlling" in a negatiye way. My attitude is get the job done.‘
It‘s an attitude that‘s paying diyidends. with the new show garnering t'a\'es from exert the hardest-to-please critics (‘lrresistihle‘ — New York limes). Bernhard clearly feels she‘s found her spiritual home. ‘I always thought that l was going to end up on Broadway in kind of an old— fashioned musical comedy. so to he able to get there in a
show of my own was a )l ‘asant suriris sh ‘ A y..l‘. 1".“ 'Ialways says. [he most exciting thing was that I felt right at home 7 it didn‘t scare me.’ thought that l Despite the increased scale of the production. was going to
I'm Still Here . . . remains a highly personal
experience for its writer/star. "I‘his show end UP on
particularly was Very much my own yision.‘ she Broadway in
says. “)()‘é of it is drawing on my own life hut .
a lot of times it‘s not directly'almut me. it’s kmd Of an Old-
things I may haye experienced or ohseryed.‘ fashioned
. .Sillltllil hemg sandm. these things tend to. musical comedy..
tnyolye a somewhat high pioltle cast ol
friends and acquaintances. including a certain Sandra Bernhard
re—inyented grunge widow. — '\\'ith ('nurlm'y l.()\‘('. the entire piece is
about a series of missed meetings I was supposed to haye with
('ourtney.’ she reyeals. in the insouciant manner of someone
who has spent more than a decade hohnohhing with the rich
and infamotIs. ‘lt‘s also ahout changing yourself physically.
HaV'ng pUt the [broad' into changing your appearance and people's attitude towards you.
Broadway, BERNHARD (‘ourtney is like the catalyst for my ohseryations on this. It's a . . , . Very funny story. and it's 09‘} truc.’
bnngs her new b“: Show! I m St,” Maybe the real fun is to he had guessing what‘s in the
Here . . . Damn It! to Scotland. But other 1%.
has the decadent dlva turnec' Into Sandra Bernhard brings I’m Still Here . . . Damn It! to The
a grande dame? ‘."~l<)r<:s: Rob Fraser Pavilion, Glasgow on Sat 5 Jun.
14 THELIST 2/ v. . .- m