Christine O'Leary just wants to have fun

Many locals believe Christine O'Leary lives near Tampa Bay. In fact, the comedian receives a respectable number of votes for â┚¬Å”Favorite Local Comedianâ┚¬Â in Watermark's annual WAVE Awards each fall.

However, the lovable funny girl actually hails from New England, where she lives with her â┚¬Å”Lusband, the term she lovingly uses to describe her long-term partner. After her first experience with St. Pete Pride in 2008, O'Leary remained attached to the area and the community. This year she returns as the Mistress of Ceremonies, and will be in the spotlight throughout Pride Weekend June 28-30.

â┚¬Å”You have incredible people in that community and I just want to be with people who thrive on being as great as they are,â┚¬Â O'Leary says. â┚¬Å”When you have so many people in one community it can be hard to shine a spotlight on all of them. But here you have the Tampa Bay community with such a high percentage of movers and shakers that it's an honor to be included!â┚¬Â

The love seems to be mutual. After performing at Laugher in Paradise in 2008, St. Pete Pride invited O'Leary back the following year, where she opened for Varla Jean Merman. O'Leary was one of the original hosts of Pride in Fashion its inaugural year and has returned for special eventsâ┚¬â€including the birthday roast of St. Pete Pride co-founder Brian Longstreth last year.

â┚¬Å”I really want to meet and have fun with anyone who wants me,â┚¬Â O'Leary says. â┚¬Å”That's really the truth. If you want to have fun, feel included and fabulous and feel special, I'm the girl you want to be near because I want to feel that way too.â┚¬Â

Whether she's behind a microphone performing her stand up routineâ┚¬â€which she'll do at the St. Petersburg Metro Center on June 30, the evening of the street festivalâ┚¬â€or simply chatting over a glass of wine, O'Leary is always ready with a punch line or funny observation. O'Leary says that's truly part of her personality.

â┚¬Å”If you know who I am, you understand what I got to bring,â┚¬Â O'Leary says. â┚¬Å”That's kind of who I am. I'm just waiting for the next party.â┚¬Â

Throughout the year, O'Leary travels to LGBT events around the country. She's performed at Omaha Pride, was a guest at Key West Pride and emcees fundraising events near her home in New England. It's a serious role to make people laugh.

â┚¬Å”To describe my role I think of Bette Midler in the bath house with the boys,â┚¬Â she says. â┚¬Å”I sing a little, dance a little, and find it hard to do both and not tinkle. I like to tell jokes. I literally get off on making people laugh. It makes people feel better.â┚¬Â

While she focuses on the laughter, O'Leary isn't unaware of the drama in the worldâ┚¬â€or the infighting that can sometimes erupt within the LGBT community. She has a theory as to why that infighting exists and is hopeful that it's something we can control.

â┚¬Å”We have a lot of drama in gay communities because we do not have equality in the world,â┚¬Â O'Leary says. â┚¬Å”So for me, I like to be the common, neutral party saying let's just rally for the good. Our folks have already been disenfranchised enough.â┚¬Â

O'Leary knows that belonging to the LGBT community in Florida can be toughâ┚¬â€especially concerning lawsâ┚¬â€but she also knows Floridians are organized and committed to enacting change.

â┚¬Å”Florida queers know what they're doing more than any other state I've been to,â┚¬Â O'Leary says. â┚¬Å”There's something generous about your hearts and spirit. But when you get mad, you get vicious, and that leads to action.â┚¬Â

As long as that viciousness is directed toward change, O'Leary applauds it.

â┚¬Å”I believe gay people have to be better to each other,â┚¬Â she says. â┚¬Å”Just because. Period. The end. Let the straight people, the Republicans and the crazy church people fight. Let's just have a good time.â┚¬Â

Each time she comes to St. Petersburg, O'Leary says she has an incredible time. The generosity of the community and the welcoming attitude isn't lost on her and she uses those experiences in her act.

â┚¬Å”I stayed at the St. Pete Guest House before and I was invited to naked yoga,â┚¬Â she recalls. â┚¬Å”I mean that was something I was happy to be invited to. So I wore my turtle neck and sneaked out the bathroom window.â┚¬Â

One of her favorite storiesâ┚¬â€although not from Floridaâ┚¬â€involves her encounter with Ozzy Osbourne while at a fundraiser outside the superstar's California home. She says she sneaked into the house to use the restroomâ┚¬â€and to poke around a little.

â┚¬Å”I wanted to see everything,â┚¬Â she admits. â┚¬Å”They have these huge, wrought iron arch doors with mirrors on them. So I'm looking at myself in the mirror and the door rumbles. I can tell someone is trying to get out of the bathroom. I lean in and say, â┚¬ËœI think it's a pull door.' Then, eight little black, square fingernails creep out and pull the doors open. I was like, â┚¬ËœOh my God, Ozzy, honey!'
â┚¬Å”It's fantastic to help someone out of the bathroom, but it's a little awkward when it's in their own house. You worry about them.â┚¬Â

It's stories like that O'Leary uses to make her routine relatable, she says. She says she's a story teller who happens to use comedy as a way to tell the truth.

â┚¬Å”True stories give people a way to relate or to feel lucky that they dodged that bullet,â┚¬Â O'Leary laughs.

St. Pete Pride is one of O'Leary's favorite events, and she says she's not just saying that because she's front and center throughout the festivities this year. The day of the promenade and street festival is about self-worth and celebrating who we are as individuals and as a community.

â┚¬Å”People work so hard to have this day where they can feel good about who they are just the way they are,â┚¬Â she says. â┚¬Å”You work all year to have those elements and I want to make it as fun as possible, especially for a community that cares so much about its gay identity. I want to shine all over you and as long as no one protests me returning, I plan to keep coming back. I feel claimed by you.â┚¬Â

More Info
WHAT: An Evening with Christine O'Leary
WHERE: Metro Center, St. Petersburg
WHEN: 8 p.m. Saturday, June 30
TICKETS: StPetePride.com