There's a reason Kate Clinton named her new comedy tour â┚¬Å”The Glee Party.â┚¬ÂÂ
The out comedienne is a fan of the popular FOX television musical series and her material is constantly inspired by the acts of the political Tea Party.
â┚¬Å”They say Glee solves things in 46 minutes and characters break out into song for no reason,â┚¬Â Clinton says from New York City. â┚¬Å”Tea Partiers think they can fix 30 year old government problems in two minutes and they're constantly breaking into some crazy-ass song.â┚¬ÂÂ
Clinton, a 30-year comedy veteran, brings her wit to King of Peace Metropolitan Community Church in St. Petersburg on Friday, Sept. 23. She spent most of the summer in Provincetown, Mass., and was enjoying some wet downtime in New York City when we called her to get her take on the 10th anniversary of the 9-11 terrorist attacks, the irresponsible usage of social media and the large amount of comedic material provided by the growing list of GOP presidential hopefuls.
WATERMARK: You describe yourself as a â┚¬Å”faith-based political humorist,â┚¬Â so what do you have to say about the religious right blaming New York's passage of same-sex marriage for Hurricane Irene and the recent east coast earthquake.
KATE CLINTON: Well, first off, I'd point out to those people that in the 2010 census, Provincetown was named the gayest town in America, per capita. P-town was spared during Irene. We had some rains and some win, but then the sun came out.
I'd like to tell Pat Robertson, and his religious meteorological predictions, that I only wish we were that powerful. We'd find much better ways to use our power, like to get rid of Proposition 8 once and for all.
As a New Yorker, are you excited about your state's recent legalization of gay marriage?
I am getting tons of invitations to come celebrate weddings in New York, or glorified civil unions. It's very exciting to have such a wild victory. Andrew Cuomo was amazing. We're all happy to call ourselves Cuomosexuals.
Do you have plans to marry your long time partner?
We talk about it, but we're not there. Frankly, we could elope tomorrow. Our lawyer has said it would be a good idea financially for us to do so. Isn't that romantic? â┚¬Å”Honey, do you want to save some money?â┚¬Â Ã¢â”šÂ¬Ã…”Oh dear, are you asking me to marry you?â┚¬ÂÂ
A lot has changed in New York, especially since the terrorist attacks of 9-11.
We're leaving town during the anniversary. Living through it once was enough. I was here on Sept. 11, sitting at my desk. My girlfriend was at the U.N. and she called and told me to turn on the TV. Our neighbor across the hall was a fireman and he never came back. I don't think people knew what to do. All we did was make food because it gave us something to doâ┚¬â€Âit got us through.
Was it hard to think about comedy after that?
It was hard to laugh. The past 10 years or so as a whole have been a challenge. I remember being in West Palm Beach during the 2000 election recount. I came and did material about that and people were silent. I did gay stuff and people roared. I was amazed that they loved the gay stuff but didn't enjoy the politics. We've come a long way. I also remember talking about the invasion of Iraq, which I wasn't in favor of. People left during that part and I just pretended they were going to the bathroom.
What do you think about the growing field of GOP presidential contenders?
I think they're bad for us but good for me, that is, if I were able to listen to [Michele] Bachmann. Her voice is like fingernails on a blackboard, or something worse. I want to say, â┚¬Å”Will someone talk to her and have her bring it down a notch?â┚¬Â She gets so cranked. Bachman, [Rick] Perryâ┚¬Â¦I certainly talk about them but I take them seriously.
What's amazing to me is that President Obama has said he has to raise a billion bucks to beat them. I'm thinking, â┚¬Å”Geez, $20 should do it.â┚¬ÂÂ
Yet they have a lot of support.
They have so much money behind them for a singular focusâ┚¬â€Âtrying to bring down a duly elected official. If I remember my American History, that's treason. They should be put in blocks out in front of the White House.
Do you think technology and social media have influenced that way of thinking?
There's very little responsibility for what is said online. It's anonymous and it;s so niche that everyone reads only the people who think like them. I'll say that for myself too.
My girlfriend makes me watch FOX news. That's not easy. A friend of mine was looking into senior care facilities recently and she said every one she went into was playing FOX news. I think Roger Ailes, the head of FOX, has put a tone or note into the broadcast to cause people to stay tuned. That's the only logical explanation.
And FOX is the home of Glee, which inspired the title of your tour.
You always look for something that has a common cultural language. People know Glee and I think it's so wonderful. Kids watch it and people watch Modern Family. Both do so much to normalize gay people and our situations. I don't think kids need those shows as much as the adults, though. Kids look at you like, â┚¬Å”you're upset about that?â┚¬ÂÂ
As a lesbian comedienne, do you find it hard to attract a male audience?
I always tell the boys that they won't be hurt or picked on if they come. It's very interesting actually. The past few summers I've performed in Provincetown I've had a lot of men in my audience. I love men because they just laugh out loud. It's been fun.
My act is absolutely for everyoneâ┚¬â€Âlesbians, gay men, straight people. I don't play in bars with mechanical bulls, but that's just a safety issue and some self-selecting. (Laughs)
I've done a lot of dinners, conferences and other emceeing and men will come up to me and say, â┚¬Å”Where have you been?â┚¬Â I just say, â┚¬Å”Hello!?!â┚¬ÂÂ
You've done films, documentaries, television specials… The only thing you haven't really done is a reality show. Would you do one?
I read something today actually about how reality television shows are as formulaic as pro wrestling used to be. I love that. I don't watch them and I can't imagine doing one unless the money was really good.
I'm amazed how frequently, like at dinners, people have this dirty little secrete of following some show like Big Brother or something. It's a whole new language and I'm always clueless. I take notes so I can act like I watch it. But life's to short for that kind of stuff.
What can your audience expect from your act when you're in St. Petersburg?
There are some basic themes. It's my job to keep spirits up and I've been doing that for 30 years. In the face of a depression, people ask why I'm so gleeful. It's really our only choice, and that's the frame of the show.
And who knows what will happen by then. Football will be started, new movies will be out and who knows what Gov. Rick Scott will be doing. Here's a guy with the lowest poll rating and he doesn't care. He talks about how he doesn't like government. Well if you don't like government go golfing.
Is there anything else you would like to say to our readers?
I'm happy to be coming back to Florida. And they can keep up with me online at KateClinton.com. That way they'll know my whereabouts.
So you want online stalkers?
Yeah, I didn't think about that. I kind of set myself up for that, didn't I?
S+H
WHO: Kate Clinton's The Glee Party tour
WHERE: King of Peace MCC, St. Petersburg
WHEN: Friday, Sept. 23 at 8 p.m.
TICKETS: YouGoGirlProductions.com
