Bernhard’s Back at Guild Hall with 'Sandemonium'
Ever since she burst onto the comedy circuit in the late 1970s, Sandra Bernhard has sustained a singular career in film, television, music, radio, and, especially, live performance. When she brings “Sandemonium,” her new one-woman show, to Guild Hall on Saturday evening at 8, audiences can expect a unique and provocative mix of cabaret, stand-up, rock ’n’ roll, and social commentary.
Like “Sandyland,” her daily radio show on Sirius XM’s Radio Andy channel, her live performance won’t shy away from politics, “but I try to keep my shows upbeat and fun and smart,” she said. “ ‘Sandemonium’ is really a blend of things I find offbeat and amusing. It moves very quickly from story to story, all interwoven with music and songs. It covers a lot of cultural topics without my trying to pretend I know more than anybody else.”
Ms. Bernhard’s commitment to evolving as a performer and person has enabled her work to maintain its edge. “As culture moves through the blender and things shift, so does my work. Relationships, having a child, and friendships and family all get sort of thrown in. That keeps the shows fresh and my perspective from getting beaten down and cynical and jaded. Now, more than ever, people look to the performers they’ve gone to for years to bring them up and be a kind of constant in their lives.”
In addition to her radio and live shows, Ms. Bernhard is focused on acting. She guest starred on an episode of “Pose,” a new show produced by Ryan Murphy on FX, which will be airing in the coming weeks. “I’m always going up for acting roles, and I’d like nothing more than to end up back on a series that I’m excited about.” Among her film credits is Martin Scorsese’s “King of Comedy,” for which she received the best supporting actress award from the National Society of Film Critics in 1984.
Ms. Bernhard was born and raised in Flint, Mich., and has been a persistent critic of the water crisis that began in that city in 2014. Last week, she had as a guest on her radio show Mona Hanna-Attisha, the pediatrician who first exposed the crisis.
“I’m looking forward to coming back out to the Hamptons,” she said. “It’s a combination of work and relaxing, and it’s always a treat.” Tickets for “Sandemonium” range from $50 to $150, $48 to $145 for members.
An Evening of Cole Porter
Guild Hall will present “Let’s Misbehave: The Music and Life of Cole Porter” on Sunday at 7 p.m. The program will feature four stars of musical theater, Anna Bergman, Todd Murray, KT Sullivan, and Lee Roy Reams, whose performances will be interspersed with reflections on their relationship to Porter’s music.
The show is produced in association with Patricia Watt, who said the evening is dedicated to Lee Davis, an authority on the American musical and longtime Westhampton resident who died in 2011.
Tickets are $40 to $75, $38 to $70 for members.