Marga Gomez’s New Year’s Eve Spectacular: The New Year’s Comedy Blastoff

Host John Fisher and comic Marga Gomez

Marga Gomez sold out two New Year’s Eve Comedy Spectacular shows to benefit Theatre Rhinoceros at the Victoria Theatre in the Mission on Dec. 31. She cleverly asked first for gays, then lesbians, and then bisexuals to applaud. Then she tailored her humor to match the audience’s majority of lesbians, and she told a series of intense vagina jokes.

The media was lavishly praised from the stage for its successful promotion, and Gomez had a lot to with it — with her hilarious responses to writers’ questions. One example was that she said that she had a rough 2010, spending three months on Facebook.

There are few hosts in the Bay Area as exuberant as John Fisher, who was also the show’s producer. His enthusiasm helped to dissipate the audible disappointment that occurred when he announced that opening act Casey Ley’s flight to San Francisco was blocked by a blizzard. Ley’s fine comedy is matched by his cute smile and uninhibited material.

Filipino-American comic Nico Santos was the last minute replacement for Ley, and he gave a lower energy array of jokes to the 7PM show than he gave to the 9PM show. He did receive loud laughs for his description of a Filipino Christmas cake that someone had scrawled “Happy Birthday Jesus” next to the candles.

The middle act was transsexual comic Natasha Muse who quickly mentioned the disparaging titles that have been attached to her that include: Lady Boy, She Male, and Shim. She said that she prefers to be called Natasha, which drew some laughs and clapping. Muse said that people find transsexuals interesting, especially right after they have had sex with her, and that a film favorite of hers is “300” which she said is gay porn masquerading as an historical movie.

Marga Gomez began her set by announcing that it was her 10th and final New Year’s Eve benefit for Theater Rhinoceros, and that she was “quitting at her sexual peak.” Her fantasy for the next New Year’s Eve is to be immersed in a bubble bath with young women twins.

Gomez was full of surprises, and she did not criticize Sarah Palin for her mindless reactionary politics and her denial of evolution (she speaks often of seeing a human footprint inside of a dinosaur’s at a creationist roadside “museum”), her gun-craziness, or her annoying sarcastic tone of voice when belittling liberals, but she savaged her for her spending $200,000 on campaign clothing.

Gomez’s continuing assault on the digital takeover of our lives manifested itself in this show when she thanked iconic entertainer and charity fundraiser Juanita More for her beautiful mailed holiday card, and trashed the sending of emailed greetings. And she delved into social commentary when she described the trendy gay party guys who have dumped their non-dancing lesbian friends, including Gomez, for straight women who have the same male body part interests and mood elevation tastes.

O'DJ

Then she introduced the event’s DJ who calls himself O’DJ, and pointed out that he volunteers his fine services for numerous non-profits. DJ O’DJ usually causes the most primal male lust because of his good looks and magnetism, but at this show his faux fur hat and vest that showed off his arms, and the sprayed-on silver pants caused a lust mixed with confusion.

Gomez has come a long way from her early shows at the Valencia Rose and Josie’s Juice Joint, where this journalist enjoyed her humor, and she will be starring in multiple future performances. Check out her website at margagomez.com.

Comics Casey Ley, Marga Gomez, and Natasha Muse promoting their New Years Eve Spectacular on Castro Street on December 18

Lesbian Latina Comedy Spectacle

Lesbian Latina Marga Gomez reached a new height in her career as an edgy comic at her New Year’s Eve show at the Victoria Theater in San Francisco. The event was presented by Theatre Rhinoceros, and Theatre Rhino’s artistic director John Fisher was the bouncing, twirling MC who clearly enjoyed himself on stage between acts.

Theatre Rhinoceros is the oldest LGBT theater organization in the world, and this journalist has covered their shows since the beginning at the Black & Blue South-of-Market gay bar.

Three funny comics warmed up the crowd for Gomez, and extraordinary DJ and sound man Mark O’Brien provided excellent-quality music and the best directed speakers for the Victoria Theater. His kinky black vinyl jumpsuit drew lots of attention and some wisecracks from Gomez.

New Yorker Ben Lerman was disarmingly wholesome-looking until he cut loose with an online sex song while playing a ukulele. Transgender stand-up comedian Natasha Muse impersonated some mouth-breathers who have asked her personal questions, to a devastating effect. Very gay David Hawkins was hilarious with his expressive body language.


Headliner Gomez sauntered onto the stage to waves of applause, and the approximately 60% female/40% male crowd showered her with affection for just about every joke and observation in the show. Her joy is obvious and her enthusiasm is contagious. She poured on the emotion and concern for a headless family of manikins that she had seen in a Banana Republic window, and she related them to the headless masseurs in the back of the Bay Area Reporter. And she praised the San Francisco Bay Times and Bay Area Reporter for covering news with an LGBT angle.

The denizens of certain Mission neighborhood cafes admire Gomez for her satirical demand to be the head of a group of Latinas and Latinos who do not speak Spanish. And a high point of her show was her expressing her pride in hearing about a Latina Supreme Court Justice. And then in true Marga fashion she spoke about falling for Fox TV propaganda in expecting a stereotypical Latina display before a congressional committee. She brought up provocative questions about cheating on her partner while dreaming of a ménage with two film stars and how important it is to take long-haired lovers’ sex signals seriously. And she spoke out boldly against Crunch Gym Pilates princesses, ageism, Walgreen’s sweat pants, and marijuana virgins.


Gomez’s career took off in the early 80s at the Valencia Rose and this journalist spotted her then as a quirky and unique talent. Whoopie Goldberg also performed there before "The Color Purple" was released. Speaking out for leftist politics and against racism while wrapping it all up in a wry recognition of humanity — and a need to MC at small and gigantic LGBT Pride events — has made Gomez an icon and a treasure.

There was a surprise faux Midnight celebration at 7:39 PM with Gomez and her co-stars, and then the 7:00 crowd cleared out to make room for the eager 9:00 audience.

The show was spectacular and Gomez’s fans will be scanning the internet for news of her next show at margagomez.com.

[Photo captions: 12/31/2009 — Comic Marga Gomez at her New Year's Eve show at the Victoria Theater in San Francisco. Several hilarious high points included Gomez's pride about a Latina Supreme Court Justice, and she joked about stereotypes seen on Fox News. A huge crowd roared at the edgy relationship and political humor.]

A Show, a Discussion, and a Q&A with Armistead

Acclaimed “Tales of the City” writer Amistead Maupin appeared on May 17, 2009 at a Theatre Rhinoceros and Word for Word Performing Arts Company triple play show at Theater Rhino’s 16th Street locale for a “three on a Party” presentation, on stage through June 7.

Calling Maupin “our muse,” Theatre Rhinoceros Executive Director John Fisher affirmed his admiration for Maupin’s work while the two relaxed on stage chairs after the play performances.

Repeated references in Maupin’s tales to new age obsessions drew nervous knowing laughter from the audience, and the revelation that he was so conservative in his youth that he worked for Jesse Helms drew muffled gasps. Maupin explained that closeted gays submerge their sexuality in homophobic and hateful surroundings to “keep the lid on.” He let on that conservatives do not mind gays, as long as they hate themselves. Moving to San Francisco was a conscious effort for sexual evolution and for freedom from inhibitions.

An allure of “Tales of the City” was that the gay lead character did not die in the end, and that gay sex can be uplifting and fulfilling. San Francisco is on display with all of its beauty, outrageous characters ---
many of whom are sexual acrobats, and the guessing of which character relates to a real person, and who they interact with kept interest surging when “Tales” was a serial in the San Francisco
Chronicle. But the gay men and their friends who swarmed onto the #8 Market bus in the morning and tore through their Chronicles to read the latest installment of the “Tales” did not know that prudes at the newspaper censored Maupin for certain words and situations. Maupin said that he saves 300 trees a year by reading the Chronicle online, and he said sorrowfully that he is part of the problem that newspapers face now.

It was a warm evening and the auditorium was stuffy, but the audience stayed throughout the three-hour, three-part play presentation and to witness the discussion between Armistead Maupin and John Fisher, a Q&A, and a reception that featured Maupin’s friend, artist Don Bacardy, who was Christopher Isherwood’s lover. Their attention was awarded by Maupin’s revelation that he is working on his 8th “Tales of the City” novel.

When asked, Maupin said that marriage equality is inevitable, though gays have never needed a certificate to signify their commitments. And he said that a commitment can be separate from fidelity. As for gays in the military, Maupin related the blatant homoeroticism that he experienced in the navy. Gay naval tailors even enhanced the butts of gay sailor’s uniforms to intensify their allure.

Asked about Tennessee Williams, whose play and one by Gertrude Stein preceded Maupin’s during the evening, he said that while he was in the closet he avoided Williams’ work because of all the beatings and stabbings of gay men trying to sexually devour “rough trade.” This was a continuous shock on stage that night. After coming out Maupin admired Williams’ work and met him at a party in San Francisco. The dangers of fame was evident at the event as young men jumped next to Williams to have their picture taken, as if they were acquainted with the playwright. Later Maupin and Williams shared a quiet moment outside with a hemp treat.

A reference in Armistead Maupin’s play “Suddenly Home” to a Gay Shame and ACT UP protest at Nordstrom’s in 1988, where 300 activists swarmed onto the spiral escalators to chant about the firing of an HIV-positive employee, is among the best of the pictorial flavor of Maupin’s literary art. Maupin’s play is the third in the three-some, and it is the most accessible.