LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth |
A Night of Comedy with Judy Gold |
by Fay Jacobs |
Fay Jacobs, Letters feature editor, spoke with lesbian comic Judy Gold recently to discuss her August 5 and 6 appearance at the Rehoboth Beach Theatre of the Arts with her one-woman show 25 Questions for a Jewish Mother. Judy is a stand-up comic and actress who has won two Daytime Emmy Awards for her work as a writer and producer on The Rosie O'Donnell Show. She has also been involved in many projects in various roles, including the television series All American Girl and HBO's At the Multiplex segments where she asks humorous questions of unexpecting moviegoers.
Her one-woman show 25 Questions for a Jewish Mother, (also a book) co-written with Kate Moira Ryan, is based on a series of interviews with more than 50 Jewish mothers in the U.S. Their stories are interspersed with anecdotes about her own mother and her life as a lesbian mother of two sons. It ran in New York City in 2006. Her new show is called Mommie Queerest. FJ: Hi Judy. I feel like I already know youa Jewish Lesbian from New Jerseywe have lots of those here. JG: I know, it must have been something in the water. There are so many of us. FJ: You are a quadruple threat with standup, movies, CDs and a bookwhat's the most fun? JG: Being on stage. It's the most gratifying of all. FJ: How did you get into standup? JG: I was at Rutgers and we were doing a Secret Santa thing in the dorm. Mine put a note on my door saying, "You have to do standup and put all of the people on our floor in your act." It was like God had spoken. I spent days writing jokes and then did them in the loungepeople laughed and I got a high like nothing ever before. I was hooked. FJ: So...tell us a little about what to expect from your show 25 Questions for a Jewish Mother...I'm one myself. JG: The only sure thing I can say is that it will not be what you expect. It's very different and it's a show I am so proud of. My co-author Kate is a lesbian but not Jewish. But she's married to a Jew. She gets it. The show is basically started with "what does every Jewish girl talk about to her mother." There are people who say we are promoting a stereotype, but honestly, Jewish mothers have been protecting and over-protecting their children for thousands and thousands of years, across the desert, getting kicked out of places, the survival instinct is there. FJ: Yeah, I think its genetic. JG: We talked with Jewish mothers in their 30s to their 90s and asked them each 25 questions. There were white Jewish mothers, Black Jewish mothers, converts, all kinds of women. The answers were amazing and they changed my lifeI went from "Is this a stereotype, to where do I fit in with this group of great women." This show dispelled any internal prejudices I had. And of course, some of the answers are hilariously funny. FJ: What makes this topic so funny, and what dimension does being a lesbian Jewish Mother add to the mix? JG: Well, it's about family. That says it all. And you never know what's under the surface. It's so universal. We did a show where somebody came up to me and said "I'm a Baptist but I have a Jewish Mother." I wasn't surprised. FJ: Saw you did Law & Order SVU, inquiring lesbian minds want to know, what's Mariska like? JG: Lovely, really lovely. She was great. In one episode I played a forensic gynecologist. FJ: Okay then...I'm not even going to ask! Moving right along, I see you also did Vagina Monologues. Did you get to do the skit where you had to shout the "C" word? JG: No, only because they always pick the cast member that would be least likely to say something like that. Definitely not me. FJ: Do you have some backstage gossip from The View for us? You've been on quite a bit. JG: Yes, I've done the show several times and they have been nothing but terrific. Even Elizabeth. I am so sorry. FJ: You're killing me here. So, have you ever been to Rehoboth Beach? JG: No. FJ: You are probably the only Jewish Lesbian from New Jersey who's missed us. JG: Well, I'm coming August 5. Looking forward to it. Tell everyone that you don't have to be Jewish to enjoy the show. It's poignant and also hysterically funny, but being Jewish is not necessary for a really good time. FJ: I'll send all the Jews, the lesbians, our Christian friends with protective mothers, any Muslims we know, and especially all those Jewish gay men flocking to Rehoboth. All the gay men in fact. We'll put out an all-points bulletin for everybody who has ever had or known a mother. Thanks for taking the time out from your rehearsal to talk. See you in August! JG: See you then. For tickets to 25 Questions for a Jewish Mother coming to Rehoboth on August 5 and 6, visit www.siegeljcc.org or call 302-478-5660. |
LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth, Vol. 19, No. 09 July 17, 2009 |