By WILIAM WOLF
I thought I’d seen everything, but a striptease by a 3 foot 10 inch little person, as they say in politically correct jargon? There was Selene Luna doing her zestful, sexy strip in “Margaret Cho’s The Sensuous Woman,” and from the neck down her body is perfectly proportioned for her size. Cho, in addition to her hilarious standup routine, brings with her a revue of a wild assortment of characters, with burlesque-style emphasis.
Even Cho herself gets into the take-it-off act, including the feat of twirling tassels with her breasts, and when she gets down to the last bit minus the g-string, you are in for a ribald, riotous surprise.
This is an anything goes, foul-mouthed, down and dirty satirical production that at is peak moments offers much hilarity, but obviously it is not for the prissy. Cho’s fans scream with delight, and if you are keyed to her brand of humor, there is much to enjoy. In her standup routines she takes on a variety of targets, political and otherwise. Her in-your-face vulgarity tweaks hypocrisy. She mocks Senator Craig’s self-described wide stance sitting on a toilet at the airport, but she’ll also express pity for people who can’t come out of the closet.
I can’t describe some of her funniest routines because they are so raunchily explicit. Those who have seen her on cable television will get the drift, only on stage she is even freer. Her avowed aim with this burlesque style show is to celebrate women’s bodies, and as with Luna, they come in all shapes. Not all in the show are women.
Her contingent includes Princess Farhana, Kurt Hall, Ian Harvie, Ryan Heffington, Kelly, Diana Yanez and Miss Dirty Martini, with Randall Rapstine directing and Kitty McNamee handling the sprightly choreography. Some of the rap routines get boringly repetitive, but overall, for those who dig Cho’s sense of comedy, the show offers plenty of rowdy fun. At the Zipper Factory, 336 West 37th Street, $45-$55. Phone: 212-352-3101.