Sandra mouths off

Get ready, Colorado Springs — one of the most famous pairs of lips in America is coming to town as Colorado College presents “An Evening with Sandra Bernhard.”

From her “Plan B from Outer Space” tour, Bernhard’s one-woman comedy act delivers political insights, singing and a few tangents.

“It’s cabaret meets rock ’n’ roll,” Bernhard said during a recent phone interview.

She likes to call it her own little rock opera. And of course, no topic is off limits. Not religion. Not her disdain for the president. Not her affection for Hillary Clinton. Not even her well-known facial features. Once, in an appearance on “The Arsenio Hall Show,” she said, “I’m the only actress in Hollywood who didn’t pay to have these lips.”

With a career spanning 25 years, Bernhard has nearly done it all: stand-up comedy, writing, singing, acting, even a pictorial in Playboy.

At 52, she still has more raw energy than your average 19-yearold. Bernhard knew she wanted to be a performer since age 5, when she would perform for anybody who would listen.

“I make this connection with people night after night, and it’s such a unique situation. It really is what I was born to do,” she said.

Bernhard was raised in Flint, Mich. When she was 10, the family moved to Arizona. The youngest of four siblings, her father was a proctologist and her mother an abstract artist. She describes her childhood as a fun, great time because it was in the pre-computer, not-asoverwhelming age in which kids now are growing up.

At 19, she moved to Los Angeles and performed in the comedy club circuit, then worked on “The Richard Pryor Show.” Her outspokenness and often controversial satire were a hit with young fans and still are today.

“When I’ve touched on a nerve, I think it’s a positive thing; it gets people thinking,” Bernhard said.

Her big break came in 1983 when she starred as Robert De Niro’s partner in crime in the critically acclaimed film “The King of Comedy.” She followed that cult classic with the one-woman Broadway hit “I’m Still Here . . . Damn It!”

But Bernhard didn’t reach much of Middle America until she took a role as a waitress on “Roseanne” in the ’90s. It was one of the first openly lesbian roles on American television. She also appeared on “Will & Grace,” “Chicago Hope” and “Ally McBeal.”

The multitalented Bernhard also sings pop, jazz and blues, and has released several albums. She’s written three books, which are compilations of her essays and personal insights.

All that, and she knows that many people will remember just the lips.

EXAMPLES OF BERNHARD’S HUMOR

On a remark attributed to mother-of-the-president Barbara Bush during a visit to the Hurricane Katrina refugee shelter in the Houston Astrodome, in which she said the shelter was “working out well for them.”: “Barbara Bush has her finger on the pulse of America. I’m so glad she’s back and more compassionate than ever . . . “That’s right, of course people just sat around New Orleans, boring, uninspired, soulless New Orleans, and dreamed of someday relocating to the Astrodome. ‘Oh dear Lord, if only I could leave my unhappy existence and head on up to wonderful Houston and live with my friends side by side in a spacious football stadium, my life would be so much richer and complete.’”

On the Bush administration: “The real terrorist threats are George W. Bush and his band of brown-shirted thugs.”

On America’s great divide: “On one side you have book burners, congressional wives and Pat Robertson. On the other side, you have vulgar comedians, foul-mouthed rap groups and Dennis Hopper; all your choices should be so easy.”

On Love: “Love is the only shocking act left on the face of the Earth.”

SOURCE: quotesandpoem.com

details

Sandra Bernhard live

When: 7 p.m. Wednesday

Where: CC Armstrong Theatre, 14 E. Cache La Poudre St.

Cost: Free, but reservations are required; Call 389-6607