Out and proud comedian Judy Gold is returning to the Windy City, and this time it’s for several shows at the Big Gay Cabaret. Her standup act is legendary and includes specials on Comedy Central and HBO, among other networks.
Gold has created three comedy albums over the years: Kill Me Now, Conduct Unbecoming, and Judith’s Roommate Had a Baby. Her acting credits include roles in Girls5Eva, Broad City and Search Party.
Her one-woman show based on her book Yes I Can Say That! was directed by BD Wong and premiered in 2023.
Gold talked by phone before her arrival about her longtime career and the state of the world.
Windy City Times: Hi, Judy, long time no talk!
Judy Gold: How are things?
WCT: I have news for you. I took a DNA test and discovered that I am 1.6 percent Jewish.
JG: Okay, cut the shit, you are not in the club! You need more than that to join us. I have a whole joke about this in my act, by the way. Were you excited about this discovery?
WCT: Yes. To me, it just shows that people are all a mix of different things.
JG: Right, there must have been a Jew in there at some point…
WCT: I am mainly Eastern European.
JG: Same.
WCT: You went to Israel recently didn’t you?
JG: Yes, I was there two weeks ago. I was performing for the Koby Mandell Foundation, which is a camp for families and kids with PTSD from the war. They are overloaded with people from what is going on. This was my fourth visit there, and I wanted to go because I wanted to see for myself what it was like. There’s too much misinformation here, so I wanted to talk to people, which I did. It was nice not being gaslit with false information.
One thing I found was they were all focused on bringing the hostages home and they want peace. I suggest that people go there and see for themselves, especially those who have never been to the region, but think they know all about it.
WCT: Let’s switch it up and talk about the Big Gay Cabaret. What are you singing?
JG: I am not singing. What, are you nuts?
WCT: [laughs] It’s a cabaret so I thought maybe you would sing like Patti LuPone.
JG: Well, I work in cabaret rooms all the time because I love it. Cabarets are a combo of theater and a comedy club. It can be classier and more intimate than some comedy clubs though. The people that attend are into theater, so that makes it interesting. The difference between the two is that in a comedy club, you have to get them to listen to you and in theater, you have to keep their attention. That is what is so great about a cabaret.
WCT: This will be an audience full of the LGBTQ+ community, so more supportive than some places you have performed in. I saw you at Zanies with straight, white girls in the front row many years ago.
JG: Now they are coming to Provincetown for their bachelorette parties. Everyone loves a drag queen now, and straight girls are not the reason drag originated.
WCT: Straight girls have taken over the drag shows at Play in Nashville and many of my gay friends won’t go there anymore because it’s obnoxious. It won’t be like that at the Big Gay Cabaret. Claybourne Elder recently put on one of the best cabaret shows I have ever seen in that space.
JG: Oh good.
WCT: Is that you singing in the intro to your podcast?
JG: Yes, that is me.
WCT: Well, then you could totally sing at this show.
JG: I don’t have anything prepared, but I still have a few days to think about it, so maybe.
WCT: What topics will you talk about at the show?
JG: I don’t know yet. I don’t want to write hypothetical material about the winner of the election.
WCT: I saw you in the documentary Outstanding: A Comedy Revolution and it made me think of what a pioneer you have been over the years for the community.
JG: Thank you. Page Hurwitz is great. She wanted to tell this story and told me that she wanted me to get the credit I deserved for it. That was so sweet.
I didn’t think about it when I was doing it back then. It is who I am, and I was not going to hide it. What kind of message would that have been to my family?
I have to say when people come up to me now and say they have watched me for a long time I feel that I finally have made a difference.
WCT: We didn’t have as much queer representation at that time in comedy. Sandra Bernhard was one of the few and later Wanda Sykes.
JG: It’s the people who were working in the straight clubs that paved the way for others. I am thankful for Arsenio Hall who had me on his show to perform.
WCT: How is your family? You always have good stories about them in your act.
JG: Everyone is great. The kids are 23 and 28 years old now. I will be talking about Elysa, my lover, for more material in the show.
WCT: Your kids are raised now and your job is done.
JG: Yes, they are no longer my little babies, but in some ways they are still my babies.
WCT: Are they coming with you?
JG: No, they are not, but Elysa is coming. She doesn’t even usually come to my shows but her niece lives there. She usually only comes with me when I am performing at a resort. It was fun for her in the beginning to go on tour, but she got over it really quickly.
WCT: Isn’t it isolating being on the road sometimes?
JG: Yes, I hate it and it’s been 42 years baby!
WCT: Wow, and your podcast is weekly on top of that?
JG: Yes, It’s Judy’s Show with Judy Gold every week. I wrote a book titled Yes, I Can Say That: When They Come for the Comedians, We Are All in Trouble, and it’s about free speech. It was made into a Broadway show last year and I am preparing to bring it on the road. I am always writing and performing a lot, along with being my activist self.
WCT: I was never an activist before, but these days we all have to be.
JG: Yes, we have to speak up. Our voices are so important, especially in fight after fight. I have been at protests and marches, sometimes with my children. I have had to deal with inequality and women’s rights for a major part of my life. To see people try to take these rights away has been tough.
WCT: The fight continues and let’s hope for the best. I will see you at the show.
JG: Please come hang out after the show and you can meet Elyssa.
WCT: I would love to!
Gold stands to shine at the Venus Cabaret Theater, 3745 N. Southport Ave., on November 8, 9 and 10. Visit biggaycabaret.com for tickets today!