Sandra Bernhard Keeps Her Finger On the Pulse (This Weekend in Ptown)

Sandra Bernhard terrified me the first time I saw her. That was in 1983 in Martin Scorsese's "The King of Comedy" where she played a feral fan of a popular comedian (played by Jerry Lewis) whom she kidnaps along with an equally twisted Robert DeNiro. She went on to win a National Society of Film Critics Award for her performance, though received no recognition from the Academy - perhaps they were terrified as well.

The next time I came across Bernhard, she was starring in her solo show "Without You I'm Nothing" at a theater in the East Village. By now my fear had dissolved into unabashed admiration. Her performance in a series of character sketches was an insightful commentary on American culture during her lifetime up to that point. In it, she also sang luminous cover version of songs that ran from Nina Simone to Sylvester and Prince. Her film of the show remains one of the best of its kind.

Since then Bernhard has done sit-coms (most famously as one of the first out characters on TV on "Roseanne"); performed solo shows on Broadway; appeared on television talk shows, even hosting one of her own; walked runways and written best-selling books. She has feuded with Madonna, posed for Playboy and toured extensively. She comes to Provincetown this weekend for a performance at Town Hall on August 27 where she promises her usual blend of edgy humor and song. For ticket information visit this website.

EDGE spoke to Bernhard recently from New York where she lives with her partner Sara Switzer and daughter Cicely Yasin Bernhard.

New material

EDGE: How has your summer been?

Sandra Bernhard: Busy. Jam-packed summer. Not much time off this summer, which is OK. Got stuff to do. So it's all good.

EDGE: You were hilarious on "Difficult People" on Hulu recently. How did that happen?

Sandra Bernhard: I've known Julie Klausner for a long time, so she wrote a little part for me. It was easy and fun.

EDGE: Was the character you played based on Jill Soloway (the creator of "Transparent"? Doesn't she do a salon for Jewish people like you did in that episode?

Sandra Bernhard: Yes. Exactly. That is who Julie based the character on, but I don't know if Jill noticed it or not. She hasn't said anything yet.

EDGE: You are headed to Ptown this weekend. Is this a new show?

Sandra Bernhard: Yeah. It will have a lot of the material that I did this past holiday at Joe's Pub. I kind of put together new material all the time, but I do a big, big new show every year, which not many people can say. Since I play New York every year, it's nice to come in with fresh material, then I have it for the markets I was already in last year, like Ptown, then I have new material for this year.

A blank slate

EDGE: Things happen so quickly these days. Are you always updating your show?

Sandra Bernhard: Sure. That's on every level. Personal and globally and politically and musically. There are new songs I want to cover. It keeps me on my toes.

EDGE: What new songs will you be doing?

Sandra Bernhard: Oh, no, honey. I never tell the songs I do ever. I don't put out a set list because it takes away the fun. A lot of the material weaves in and out and tells a story, and it is fun when people come and it's a blank canvas. My criteria in choosing a song are that I have to connect emotionally with it. And I think, 'Yeah. That's a great song for me. I can bring something new to the song.'

EDGE: How do you keep your voice in shape?

Sandra Bernhard: I studied voice. I vocalize. I don't push my voice. I don't smoke. I don't drink. And I don't abuse my voice. I spend some time being meditative and quiet, and I am very healthy eater. I take a lot of essential supplements - minerals and vitamins - I think it seems to paying off.

EDGE: Recently I rewatched for about the millionth time 'Without You I'm Nothing' and it remains a brilliant piece of work that hasn't dated at all. Why do you think that is?

Sandra Bernhard: It's funny, it hasn't. It really wasn't super-political and timely in that way (that it would become dated). It is timeless. But that's what I do anyway - I try to take material and experiences that I'm looking back at that will be fresh today and fresh in 10 years. A lot of what I do is in the rear-view mirror, so it's autobiographical and timeless really.

Back to Broadway?

EDGE: You've done a couple of extended runs on Broadway. Are you thinking of bringing a show there again?

Sandra Bernhard: Not really. I think times have changed since I did my last long-running show. If it happens naturally I will do it, but it is really hard to pull that together. Broadway itself is really driven by the need to make money; but not always. I just had Jayne Houdyshell on my SandyLand talk show on Sirius today and she's in 'The Humans,' which is a very small off-Broadway show that kept extending and moved to Broadway, and she won a Tony Award for it. I guess it could happen again - me going to Broadway, I just haven't been thinking about it.

EDGE: And would you agree that Broadway is really just aimed at tourists these days?

Sandra Bernhard: There's that too. Shows are coming back because a lot of people didn't see them the first time around. But when 'Hedwig' came back around on Broadway, I thought, 'eh?' I mean it's great and I am glad people got to experience it, but there was nothing like seeing the original that was gritty and downtown and hot off the presses. I like things that have a little more authenticity about them.

EDGE: Have you considered acting in a play?

Sandra Bernhard: Well, you know, that would have been really hard because my daughter's been in school and it takes that much time and dedication to any one thing would have been really difficult. But now she's heading off to college in a few weeks, so now I am able to do a lot more. I will be able to travel and do a movie on the other side of the world. There are a lot of things I will be able to do I haven't been able to do for a while. If someone called me with a great part in a play and it was something good for my career and my creativity, I would do it.

EDGE: How about a musical?

Sandra Bernhard: Sure. I mean Bette Midler is going to do the next round of 'Hello, Dolly!' so I am not doing that one for now. Again, if there is something new that comes along - something cutting edge -- then great. At this point I would prefer that than blowing the dust off an old show. But I would love to do a musical.

It's a buffet

EDGE: Is your daughter's heading off to college a landmark for you?

Sandra Bernhard: Of course, it is for any parent. To get your kid to the place where they have the confidence and discipline to go off to a good school and have their future nicely unfold. That's really what it about.

EDGE: You've been in Ptown so many times. Do you remember the first time you were there?

Sandra Bernhard: No. Honestly I don't. The first time I was performing - when was it? I can't remember. I think it could have been in the 1980s. Honestly it's been too many gigs and too much travel, so I can't put my finger on it. I have been going there for a while.

EDGE: Do you address the current political climate in the show?

Sandra Bernhard: Not a lot. There's not much to say. It's so transparent. There isn't anything new to say about it except, 'really?' It is more about where we are as a culture then it is him (Donald Trump) because I wouldn't say he's a bit player, but in a way he is. And God-willing everybody will go out and vote, but I feel pretty good that it won't be a Trump landslide.

EDGE: I read an interview you gave not so long ago where you said you never really came out. Was that a conscious choice"

Sandra Bernhard: I just think I've been incredibly clear and political. My work has been about so much including sexuality and the blurred lines way before people were talking about that. That has kept my work interesting all these years. Playing this sort of like funny, crazy, swinging character that always infused my work with. Really to what end would it be for me to come about? Like getting maudlin and didactic -- yeech. I've been someone who has been right on the edge in every possible way for well over 30 years. I think my work speaks for itself. Just come see my work. It's a buffet.

On the radio

Mellow and groovy

EDGE: Is it ever difficult?

Sandra Bernhard: Sure, some people don't really roll that way, and then the pressure is on me. I don't have a problem with that. I am schmoozer. It's kind of what I do. I can pick up where people left off. I have always managed to make it work so far. No fights. Nobody has walked out on me. It's pretty mellow and groovy.

EDGE: Are you heading back for your run at Joe Pub's at the holidays?

Sandra Bernhard: I will be doing it again this year. It's just easy. I don't believe in traveling that time of year and I always perform on New Year's Eve. But it is harder and harder to just get a NYE's gig, so when I do my six nights at JP between the day after Christmas to NYE, it is llke a workshop. A lot of people are in from out of town - people who don't normally get to see me perform live -- so it's really fun. I get into the rhythm. I write a lot of new material and sing a lot of new songs. It's just a nice tradition.

EDGE: A New York cultural question - what do you think of hipsters?

Sandra Bernhard: Isn't it done? Especiallly in Brooklyn. No one can even afford to live in Brooklyn anymore. It is moving up to Queens and Detroit. All the hipsters are in Detroit. They are going to where they can afford to live the way we use to be able to live in New York and LA. Wherever the young people can afford to live is where it's happening. I always support when people are trying out their chops. I think it is important. They have to.

EDGE: You've seen New York City change dramatically over the years. Do the changes bother you?

Sandra Bernhard: Sure, of course they do. I don't want to see people squeezed out of a vibrant city. That means you're left with people that don't appreciate the nuance and aren't the artists and creative people. And are not the trendsetters. They're just people with a lot of money who want to live in a city with great food. Who doesn't want to live in New York? Everyone wants to live here but no one can afford to unless you are making $10 million dollars a year. It's a bummer.

EDGE: Did you get married to your long-time partner Sara?

Sandra Bernhard: My girl friend and I are not married. We became domestic partners before the whole marriage thing. It is all based on finances for us and me. And so far it doesn't make sense. The economics don't work out. So we are not married. But we're good. We're good as gold.

Sandra Bernhard appears on August 27, 2016, 8pm at Town Hall in Provincetown. For ticket information visit her website.