By Jae-Ha Kim
Chicago Sun-Times
Sept. 27, 1999
In her one-woman show “I’m the One That I Want,” Margaret Cho recalls how getting her own sitcom in the mid-1990s signified acceptance to her–for the first time in her life.
What she didn’t realize then was that acceptance came with a price.
During her one-year reign on “All-American Girl,” Cho would be ordered to lose weight, try to be more Asian, stop wearing her beloved mini-skirts, attempt to make her round face “less full,” and maybe, come to think of it, work on being a little less Asian now.
Cho did as she was told and, for her troubles, was rewarded with cancellation.
In the first of two shows Saturday night at the Vic, Cho told this story in such a riotous way that you almost forgot how humiliating it must have been to have your looks dissected by a roomful of strangers. And though she’s not the size 4 she was after she dieted her way into the hospital, Cho is by no means–and never has been–a fat woman.
“For me to be 10 pounds thinner is a full-time job,” she said, after repeating the irony of a reporter’s question: “Isn’t it true that [the show] asked you to lose weight to play the part of yourself?”
Hilariously, she pointed out that when her sitcom was canceled, she was “replaced by Drew Carey, because he’s so skinny.”
Decked out in a pair of black, bondage pants and a flirty top, Cho easily chattered onstage like the most popular girl at a party.
Though 30, she looks and talks like a college student. She also was blunt and well versed in colorful language, which she pointed out went against the stereotypical demure, Asian female. Also, “I didn’t play the violin, and I didn’t —-Woody Allen.”
Well-written and brilliantly performed, the fast-paced, 90-minute comedy show breezed by as Cho talked about her love for gay men, her need to survive (which overcame her desire to drink herself into oblivion) and the way Asians are portrayed in the media.
Referring to the 1970’s series “Kung Fu,” in which a very white David Carradine portrayed a Shaolin monk, Cho suggested that the series should’ve been called, “Hey, That Guy’s Not Chinese!”
Displaying instinctual comedic timing, Cho also weaved in poignant stories about her much maligned mother. The touching Mother’s Day story revealed that while Cho may enjoy mimicking her mom’s idiosyncratic mannerisms, she also shares a deep bond with the elder Cho.
(Photo by: Ron Jaffe)
