ST. PETERSBURG - Comedian Margaret Cho's message to 1,254 fans was loud and clear Thursday at her Mahaffey Theatre performance: Don't be afraid to give people too much information, speak up for yourself and by any means necessary, go there.

Cho's current show is titled Cho Revolution. The comedian has always made it her business to speak for minorities, be they Asian-Americans, the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered community, or any other oppressed folks.

Cho's risque humor blends politically charged commentary with tidbits from her racy personal life - no one can quite pinpoint Cho's sexual orientation, least of all Cho, and that seems to suit her just fine.

Dressed in a red and purple vintage chinois dress, and donning - at least for a while - a fiery red wig, Cho covered timely topics ranging from President Bush's inability to pronounce the word "nuclear," the media brouhaha over the Dixie Chicks' war views and the rampant eating disorders among our culture's young women - and Cho's gay male friends.

The crowd roared most over Cho's candidness with taboo topics. The comedian discussed a recent breakup with a not-so-good-lover, pantomiming a scene of their dull sex life as the audience howled.

The bit perfectly exemplified Cho's modus operandi: pushing things beyond the limit. Just when you think Cho can't possibly propel a lurid routine any further, she takes it up - or down - a notch.

As burlesque as Cho's humor is, it's cutting and smart. Cho recalled feeling like an outsider in grade school in California, the child of Korean immigrants, who always had odd foodstuffs in her lunchbox.

"The other kids would have granola bars and Capri Suns," Cho said. "I'd have squid. And peanuts." Cho waited for the audience's laughter to die down. "You can't trade that."

Cho is expert, too, at catching fans off guard.

Cho admitted to regularly tuning in to The Anna Nicole Smith Show, saying she attended Smith's Christmas party after being personally invited by the star. Cho ridiculed Smith for her drunken behaviorat the party, gossiping about Smith and imitating her as a slobbering fool.

"Finally, I couldn't take it anymore," Cho told the crowd, "so I slammed her against the wall and made out with her for 10 minutes."

Cho acknowledged her candidness about who she is makes her a "problem dinner guest." Cho makes companions skittish with her table talk. She imitated a nervous guest giggling, telling Cho she's giving too much information, pleading with her, "Don't go there."

Cho's face fell stony.

"Don't go there? I live there."

Cho demanded that we all "go there," or else risk having it seem like we "were never there in the first place."