Suddenly
Sandra
Bernhard's one-woman show "Ii-n Still Here ... Damn It!" runs through Feb. 28.
Flint native Sandra Bernhard
comes into her own on Broadway.
mance, in which she crosses all bound-
aries, Bernhard, 43, dishes the dirt on
high-profile showbiz folks. Recipients
of her sharp tongue are the likes of
Courtney Love, Mariah Carey and, oh
yes, Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman.
She also pokes fun at her family, talks
about motherhood, recites a few poems
and belts out some powerful musical
numbers.
"I take risks with my material," the
comedian admits. "Everyone has [his
or her] take about celebrities in the
public eye. But I believe in telling it as
I see it. It's not always popular, but it's
honest."
Off stage, Bernhard is nothing like
her brazen, angst-driven persona. A
new mother of a 5-month old baby
girl, Cicely, Bernhard is like many
other working moms trying to balance
a career and child rearing. In fact, at
Tea and Sympathy, a cozy but crowded
New York West Village eatery where
Bernhard came to talk about her life
and her play, it was her baby that was
foremost on her mind.
"I love being a mother, and
although I never tried to imagine what
it would be like, I knew I would enjoy
it," says Bernhard, who gave birth to
Cicely in Los Angeles by Cesarean sec-
tion on July 4.
Bernhard, who was looking excep-
tionally trim and fit, said her thinking
about motherhood changed before the
pregnancy, not after. "If I didn't have a
transformation, then I wouldn't have
conceived to begin with," says
Bernhard, pushing her thick, curly
auburn shoulder-length hair away from
her eyes.
"I was on a path letting go of fears,
doubts and uncertainties, and was
finally at a
comfortable
place in my
life to
become a
mother."
She refus-
es to say who
the father is
or whether
he is Jewish.
But she says,
"he will indi-
rectly have a
part in Cicely's life." Whatever that
means, she does not elaborate.
Bernhard says she has a lot of sup-
port from family and friends, and
hopes to instill in her daughter down-
to-earth values. "I want Cicely to grow
up loving her neighbors, respecting
everybody, living without prejudice
and accepting of all people, regardless
of their lifestyle.
"People talk about family values,
but unless you instill in your child an
importance to accept everybody, all the
rest is baloney. You have to live in a
world filled with all kinds of people,
and unless
you can
accept the
differences,
you aren't
going to be
truly success-
ful."
She says
she does not
consider her-
self to be a
role model
for single
moms. "I don't think any celebrity
mothers do," says Bernhard, who is
tired of being compared to single
moms Madonna, Rosie O'Donnell and
Jodie Foster.
"It's a big responsibility to have a
child, a personal thing, and it shouldn't
matter how the rest of the world per-
ceives you. If it turns out I am an
influence, that's fine, but that was sure-
ly not the inspiration to have a baby"
Oddly enough, Cicely was named
after an orangutan. "My friend and I
were watching this television show
about saving orangutans, and there
were two adorable female orangutans
named Cicely and Gwendolyn,"
Bernhard explains. "I liked the name
Cicely, and said if I had a girl, that's
what I would name her."
She smiles, and continues to talk.
"Cicely's Hebrew name is Rachel, and
she was born on the Sabbath," she
says. "This has special meaning to me,
because there is a lot of energy on
Shabbat."
It's not surprising that Bernhard is
pleased her daughter entered the world
on the Sabbath, since observing Jewish
12/4
1998
Detroit Jewish News
79