Sandy Helps You 'Feel the Bernhard' at Joe's Pub

The inimitable Sandra Bernhard returns to Joe's Pub at The Public with her all-new show "Feel The Bernhard" for her annual year-end residency, which starts December 26 and leads up to her New Year's Eve spectacle. She spoke to EDGE about her upcoming run, and while she wouldn't drop any spoilers about her new jokes, she said that her fans would leave happy.

"I don't tell jokes; my material is really so eclectic and stream of consciousness that I can't take it out of its live performance context," said Bernhard when asked for a few teasers. But she did promise to deliver a lot of one-liners, offbeat but quick observations to make the crowd laugh.

"Feel the Bernhard" is Sandra Bernhard's latest show. Not unlike Bernie Sanders, Sandy has had it with the 1 percent. If you're sick and tired of being held down, join the 99 percenters for a revolution, Sandy style.�As The New Yorker wrote "Sandra Bernhard teaches the children -- all those burgeoning spoken-word artists and monologists -- how to perform observational comedy with style, and right on the political edge."

Lest you think the show will be for political eggheads, Bernhard promises it will be "very light on politics. I think everyone is very clear on where we are at politically. I will touch on certain topics, but not tackle any actual politicians. I don't want to add to the ongoing deluge."
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Performing with Bernhard will be her band�The Flawless Zircons, who play with her at sold-out venues in New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago and all points in between.�Although she wouldn't reveal the songs she's chosen, she promised that some great music would be on the menu.

"Of course, I'll sing -- there's always a musical element with my band, the Flawless Zircons -- and it will be an evening of entertainment, fun and music," said Bernhard.

Of last year's holiday shows at Joe's Pub, Broadway World wrote, "Sandra Bernhard takes no prisoners and pulls no punches. She drops enough F-bombs to blow the city to smithereens. And if those don't do the job, she will set the place afire with her white-hot intelligence. She is authentic, unapologetically pissed, heartbroken, and of course, hilarious."

Although Bernhard doesn't have much time off for the holidays -- she's doing her radio show up to the day before Christmas Eve -- she plans to spend what time she does have with her friends and family.

"I'll just be celebrating with my daughter, my girlfriend and her mom, and if any friends want to pop by, I'm making dinner," said Bernhard. "The following day, I start my run at Joe's Pub, take the weekend off and go back to my radio show, and then fly out to L.A. to do 'Brooklyn 99' and my other gigs. I have enjoyed the luxury of staying at home and not traveling much this year, and I realized I can keep my life healthy and calm by just going to the gym, and having dinner with friends."

In early September, Bernhard launched her own hugely popular daily show "Sandyland" on SiriusXM Radio's new Radio Andy Channel (102), headed up by Andy Cohen. Her strong opinions and unique perspective, along with her provocative, spontaneous conversations with a wide spectrum of guests from the worlds of entertainment and fashion, have made "Sandyland" a success in just its first three months.

"Me and Andy Cohen have been friends for a while, so when he came by this summer and said he was launching a new channel, and would I be on it, I said, 'Okay, I'll give it a shot; it's not like I can't do other projects and acting as well.' Radio is a great outlet, without limitations," said Bernhard. "I have had amazing guests, from downtown New York performers to big stars and literary giants. We've had some very compelling conversations, and kept it fun. It's been really easy to write new material and give off-the-cuff remarks, some of which will go into my new show at Joe's Pub."

Bernhard said she's also enjoyed curating her five new songs per show, picking music that goes from one spectrum to the next, music that she feels is "worth hearing." She also likes the feeling of producing the show's content herself, saying she thought it would be daunting, but has settled into it.

Bernhard also returned to television this past year, with a recurring role on the hit CBS TV sitcom "2 Broke Girls" that aired in the spring. She also guest-starred on episodes of Fox TV's "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" as the character Gina's "eccentric and offbeat" mother, Darlene Linetti.

"My story arc on '2 Broke Girls' is done, but I'll be back on 'Brooklyn Nine-Nine'," assured Bernhard. "I'm supposed to go out to L.A. and shoot some episodes soon. It's fantastic because it's great exposure, and as it's these are in constant syndication, they've already played my episodes a million times."

In 2014, Bernhard guest-starred on ABC Family's original drama series, "Switched at Birth" in a recurring role as Teresa Lubarsky, a groovy art professor at a local college where Bay (Vanessa Marano) is taking classes. The Peabody Award-winning family drama returned for its third season in January, 2014. As most people are aware, from 1991-1996 she played Nancy Bartlett, the first openly-gay character on a network sitcom, on "Roseanne."

And although New Year's Eve is for amateurs, Bernhard said she was glad to be spending it singing to her fans. Instead of making sweeping resolutions for 2016, Bernhard said that taking things slow and steady was the way to go.

"I always do a New Year's resolution, every day," she said. "I look at what needs to be adjusted in my life every day. It's impossible to make overarching changes all at once, but you can fine-tune things and make changes that really affect your life day to day. It's a much healthier way of going about it."