Ring in the holiday with new shows from the legendary Sandra Bernhard

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Comedian, actress and singer Sandra Bernhard is sharing stores, songs and more – delivered with her signature wit and whip-smart insight – in two shows coming up in December. Her Easy Listening tour, which kicks off December 8 in San Juan Capistrano, California, takes the audience on a journey through her many musical influences – from the Supremes to Tina Turner. Following that, she returns to New York's famed Joe’s Pub for her show Shapes and Forms for 11 performances from December 26-31. A beloved holiday tradition at Joe’s Pub for two decades, this year’s installment is fresh with new stories and songs, delivered in the American icon’s wildly funny, unfiltered and unforgettable style.

In addition to her electrifying live performance, Sandra has made a name for herself as an acclaimed actress. Her most notable film credit was the role of Masha in Martin Scorsese’s The King of Comedy opposite Robert De Niro, which won her Best Supporting Actress honors from the National Society of Film Critics. Among her many on-screen credits include appearances on Broad City, Difficult People, 2 Broke Girls, Brooklyn 99, You’re the Worst, Will & Grace, The Sopranos, and Roseanne.

She also recently appeared in Ryan Murphy’s series American Horror Story and the Emmy Award winning POSE. Sandra is also slated to appear – along with Margaret Cho and Kristen Schall – on season two of Percy Jackson and the Olympians. And, if that wasn’t enough, she is also currently in her eighth year hosting her weekly radio show Sandyland on SiriusXM, for which she won a broadcasting Gracie Award.

We had the chance to chat with Sandra about her upcoming shows, her influences and working with Ryan Murphy in our exclusive interview. We also put her in the hot seat for another installment of the Socialite Seven.

I wanted to talk to you first, of course, about your tours going on this holiday season. Can you tell me a little bit about the origins of the Easy Listening Tour?

Well, it's a show that I actually put together last year at Joe's Pub. I always put together a new show – and my shows are always just sort of a continuation, year after year, of what I'm observing culturally, politically and personally. They are travelogues through a year in my life. A lot of thought goes into the music and in terms of the material and the comedy, things just sort of evolve naturally because as you're moving through life…and you know, I do my weekly radio show on Sirius XM, Sandyland. That's sort of an incubator for new ideas and just sort of the immediacy of what's happening. So, I try to blend that all in to putting this show together. And you know, then there's little interstitials, and one-liners, and quick throwaways and observations. It's sort of a mélange of my life encapsulated in an hour and a half.

I'm always curious about the creative process as far as putting a show like that together. You kind of implied that it's kind of loosely structured. Do you actually write all of the material or is it off the cuff?

No, it's definitely not off the cuff. You can't, there's too many variables. The show is written, but it has the illusion of being improvisational because I think that makes it more fun. There are moments in the show which are improvisational, you know, night to night, and I try not to do the show the exact same way over and over again, but you've got to have that template in order to really just have places to go, and the music has to come at a certain time. You have a band, so it has to have structure so that it has impact and it's a polished performance.

You've got two shows touring this season – Easy Listening and then Shapes and Forms. What are the differences between the two shows?

Well, Easy Listening is a show I did last year, but I've only ever done it in a couple of places because I didn't perform that much last year, and the new show at Joe's Pub is just new material and new songs. And, when I go back out on the road in the spring, it'll probably be a combination of both shows. That's just sort of how I do it. It's not like I don't write jokes per se, but I write pieces and material and I curate new songs. And, obviously, there's a lot happening right now, so that will be addressed but you never know. I mean, week to week, day to day, minute to minute, it's always subject to change. So, I can't say that I'm going to go in with last week's emotions in December because I won't.

There's a lot of music in your shows. Who are your musical influences?

Oh, they're so eclectic, you know, I mean, from the ridiculous to the sublime. Of course, the standards, the Carole Kings, the Laura Nyros, the Joni Mitchells, the Stevie Nicks and then there's things that I find…sometimes it's heavy metal, sometimes it's Chrissie Hynde, sometimes it's Lana Del Rey, you know, it's just what sort of hits me…there would be sort of a juxtaposition of a piece that I'm doing in the show, a spoken word piece, you know, and it's hard to describe how that manifests, but it just sort of kind of comes to me.

Who influenced you when you were coming into the comedy scene?

Well, I mean, you know, it was more comedic acting like Mary Tyler Moore and a little Carol Channing and Carol Burnett and Lily Tomlin and Bette Midler. I love Liza Minnelli. She's not a comedian, per se, but she's intense and she's reflecting something bigger than just one-liners. That wasn't really ever my thing. I mean, yeah, I grew up on Phyllis Diller, and those kinds of comedians, not to mention all the misogynistic men in comedy, which seems to go on and on, you know, like Jerry Lewis. I worked with him in King of Comedy. But I mean, do they influence me? Yes, but not because I'm inspired by them, but just because you take in the whole landscape of American culture and you blend it and that's what I continue to do. I critique it also. So, you know, some of it is the influence in the sense that I think that people have moved on from it, but that's where it came from.

I can't not ask you about working with Ryan Murphy because I loved Pose so much. How did you get involved with that show? And was your part on Pose written for you?

No, they weren't written for me. I actually, I ran into [show co-creator] Steven [Canals] and Our Lady J at the airport and we started talking. I was just like hey, I really love the show. If there's anything that comes up that'd be right for me, let me know. They happened to be casting Nurse Judy at that exact moment and they ran it past Ryan Murphy who I’ve sort of known for years and he's always been a big fan and apparently he said yeah, that's a great idea and then they made my deal and I started shooting it. So, maybe they tailored it to me a little bit, I don't know, but it wasn't written for me. They didn't seek me out.

You just fit into the role so well.

I know! I mean they should have sought me out because I was perfect for it, but it worked out anyway.

What was the experience like working with Ryan Murphy?

Well, you don't really work directly with him that much. He's not around that much. He's off doing other things, other projects. I think he directed maybe one or maybe two of the episodes of Pose, but I don't think he directed anything on the season of American Horror Story. I've hung out with him socially and I don't think he's somebody you really get to know very well. He's got a lot going on and he's got a lot of layers, but he's certainly an interesting character.

You’ve played so many roles across different television and movies. Do you have a favorite part that you've played?

Well, I mean, I like everything. There's a lot of stuff coming out this year that hasn't come out yet that I'm excited about. There are newer things that I really enjoy doing, but most of the time they're roles that seem like they might be a little bit of a stretch for me and that's always fun because it's a challenge and it’s just fun to get to stretch your emotions.

You're going to be on the new season of Percy Jackson along with Margaret Cho. What was that experience like?

Yeah, that was me and Kristen Schaal. It's just a couple of scenes. It's funny. You know, obviously it's all like kind of sci-fi-ish, so we're all in extreme FX hair and makeup. And we played the Gray Sisters, these three kind of witches that are taking these kids for literally a ride. That was really fun because I'd never been in FX makeup before and I was like, oh, this is crazy. And I loved it. It was so cool. And it's just a cool little cameo for us.

Are you interested in science fiction and fantasy genres?

Not at all. It's my least attractive sort of genre but it was fun to be a part of it.

Between acting and performing live, do you prefer one over the other or do you enjoy them equally?

Well, it depends on the project in terms of acting because if it's a, if it's a project where you just arrive, get in hair and makeup and go right to work, I really love that. But if it's a situation that's sort of like you're sitting around waiting, I hate it because I feel it's sort of like a waste of everybody's time. And, also, you can't really hit your stride so easily when you've been sitting for seven or eight hours, you can't just snap to. So, I would say overall, I prefer performing live, but I mean, if somebody cast me on a series, I'd be happy to do it because it's easier. It's less travel. It's more money. They're both hard in their own way, but in terms of satisfying my creative impulse, probably my own shows, I would say over override the acting, but I like both.

You've written books, you've done one woman shows, you've done TV and movies. Is there anything left that you haven't accomplished that is still on your bucket list of things to do?

Well, I mean, I've actually written a lot of shows that haven't gotten done. So that's frustrating. And I have a project right now that I've written with my friend Judy Gold, who's a comedian, that's taken a really long time. It's been held up a lot because of the writers’ strike and stuff. I’m hoping soon we'll get to pitch it and we'll see where it goes. I mean do I feel really hopeful about it? No, because so few things number one get bought and number two get actually produced that I don't know. It's a crap shoot, but I would like that to happen. I'd like to create a show and be in it.

Sandra Bernhard Answers the Socialite Seven

What is your biggest pet peeve?

My biggest pet peeve. Hmm. I think people who complain too much. I don't think it's constructive. I mean, it depends who they are because some people complain and they're funny about it, other people complain and don't ever do anything to change what they're complaining about, so that to me is sort of like, okay, let's just start with what you want to change and then work our way forward.

What is your most cherished possession?

Well, I have a few things that have been passed down from my family. My mother's art piece is called Blue Dome Cyst. She, my mom was a painter. That's probably one of my favorite things. I had to kind of like get it back from somebody, so it was a big deal to get it back – and now I have it. I look at it all the time and thank God I got that back. It was based on she'd had a cyst removed and they called it a blue dome cyst. So, it's sort of an explosion of I guess what would come out of a cyst if it was cut into, but I think it's just her imagination.

Who would your fans be surprised that you are a fan of?

I mean, I love Barry Manilow. I think he's so talented. I don't know how surprising that’d be.

What superpower or talent would you want to wake up with tomorrow that you don't already have?

The ability to become president without any of the feelings I have right now about it… which is I would never do it…that really wouldn't be a superpower. And if I had all the things in place that I could do it, I would love to do it but I don't, so I never would.

What are three things you can't live without?

I guess working out, going to the gym, which is keeps me really balanced. My very simple but delicious farm to table organic diet – I try to really balance out. And my friends.

What is your idea of perfect happiness?

I don't think there is such a thing as perfect happiness. I think there are glimpses of it. And I think that when you have a day when you can just like purge all your fears and negativity and influence of the outside world, I think that comes as close as you can be to being happy.

What is the best piece of advice you've been given?

Well, I mean, I got a lot of great advice from my mentor, Paul Mooney. And a lot of that was just like, every time you walk on stage to shed your skin and be more and more real and authentic. And that's something that almost every time I walk on stage, I think about that because you can always be closer to your core than you've ever been before when you walk on stage and perform. And so, that's something that I really value and it's made me a better performer over the years for sure. I would advise that for anybody who's performing live. It's like be in the moment. Really look at what's around you be present and strip away all the layers of artifice.

Get Tickets to Sandra’s Easy Listening Shows:

December 8 – Coach House – San Juan Capistrano, CA – Tickets here
December 10 – Sweetwater Music Hall – Mill Valley, CA – Tickets here
December 13 – Oscar’s – Palm Springs, CA – Tickets here
December 19 – The Wallis – Beverly Hills, CA – Tickets here

Get tickets to the Shapes and Forms shows at www.joespub.org. Check out Sandyland on SiriusXM and follow Sandra on Instagram, Twitter, Spotify and on her website.