Arts
In her one-woman show, "Because I Said So Straight Talk from Ms. Sandra," Sandra Bernhard promises to both entertain and shock audiences at the Hopkins Center tonight with her humor and her sassiness.
Known for her work in comedy, film and television, Bernhard has been keeping audiences laughing with her burning social commentary for years.
Covering everything from politics to human relationships, she comes to Dartmouth fresh from New York with a completely new show.
Bernhard gained critical success with her Broadway hit "I'm Still Here Damn It!" in 1998 and subsequently released the music from the performance that same year.
Born in a suburb of Flint, Michigan, the sexually ambiguous entertainer has always been a media provocateur.
Bernhard is difficult to categorize and her acidic sense of humor has both offended and pleased many of her listeners.
Her stand-up comedy routines gradually evolved into her now typical one-woman multimedia shows.
When she was barely into her twenties, Bernhard decided to move to Hollywood, where she had no problem landing gigs at local comedy clubs.
A decade ago she gained notoriety off-Broadway with "Without You I'm Nothing" - her first one-woman show - and she became a hot property over night.
In 1992, Bernhard entered the living rooms of middle America when she joined "Roseanne" as Nancy, the likable loudmouthed lesbian.
She has since appeared on CBS's "Chicago Hope," playing a straight attorney, and hosted cable channel comedy specials on both A&E ("The A List") and HBO ("Sandra After Dark").
Bernhard began hosting "Reel Wild Cinema," a B-movie series on the USA Network in 1996, and co-starred (as a sex therapist) with Malcolm McDowell in the independent movie, "Somewhere in the City."
Her most recent show, "The Love Machine," attacked all facets of pop culture, including the Bushes, Madonna, cable television and even New York mayor Rudy Giuliani.
"Sandra Bernhard has Lenny Bruce's brooding menace and quick razor-sharp mind ... All musical styles of the past quarter century are evoked in Bernhard's shows: Broadway, jazz, country, rock, soul, Motown, disco, as ingeniously reinterpreted by a Jewish rapper.
