Sandra Bernhard, Lea DeLaria, & Scott Thompson to Star in SO OVER THE RAINBOW at Le Poisson Rouge, 6/29

Sandra Bernhard, Lea DeLaria, & Scott Thompson are set to star in SO OVER THE RAINBOW, for one night only on Saturday, June 29th at 8:00PM, at Le Poisson Rouge, 158 Bleecker Street. To purchase tickets: http://www.lepoissonrouge.com Tickets: $45-$35

These three have been a thorn in the side of both staunch conservatives and "right-on" liberals since their careers began. Now they are coming together, so to speak, to celebrate Gay Pride in the only way they know how. SO OVER THE RAINBOW is a hilarious hour and a half assault on your senses featuring music, standup, and characterizations!

Sandra Bernhard began her career at L.A.'s famed Comedy Store in the '70s, and since then has written and starred in numerous one-woman shows, acted in movies and on television, recorded albums and authored books. Her first one-woman show, the groundbreaking Without You I'm Nothing, ran for 6 months off-Broadway in 1988 and served as inspiration for the film and Grammy-nominated album of the same name. The critically acclaimed I'm Still Here... Dammit! opened off- Broadway in 1997, moved to Broadway a year later, and was filmed for an HBO special. The New York Times described Bernhard as a "living, breathing bonfire" and applauded the show, calling it "an angst driven, foul-mouthed, poison-laced joy ride that banks and careens frenetically through the worlds of fashion, celebrity, rock, and religion." In 2006, Bernhard's Everything Bad and Beautiful also opened to raves. "Give the dame her due, it's invigorating to be in the presence of a true original." (New York Times, 6/06) Her most recent show, I Love Being Me, Don't You? played to sold-out crowds for an extended run last summer in Los Angeles. The album version of the show was released on Rooftop Records last fall, and she has been touring it with since. "She has chutzpah to spare, but it's her articulate intelligence that earns our attention ... It's [her] combination of glamour and accessibility that accounts for Bernhard's enduring appeal," wrote the Los Angeles Times. From 1991-1996 Bernhard played Nancy Bartlett-the first openly gay character on a network sitcom-on Roseanne. And she has had guest starring or recurring roles on numerous other shows, among them: Good Christian Belles, Hot in Cleveland, The New Adventures of Old Christine, Crossing Jordan, Law & Order: SVU, Will&Grace, The Sopranos, The L Word, Ally McBeal, The Larry Sanders Show, and The Richard Pryor Show. She has appeared more than 30 times on Late Night with David Letterman and has been a regular guest of Howard Stern's since the early '80s. Bernhard's film credits include Martin Scorsese's The King of Comedy, for which she was awarded Best Supporting Actress by the National Society of Film Critics, Nicholas Roeg's Track 29, Hudson Hawk, Dinner Rush, and Dare. Bernhard's music albums include: I'm Your Woman (Polygram, 1986), Excuses for Bad Behavior (Epic, 1994) and the world music album Whatever It Takes (Mi5). She has also sung with or opened for various musical acts, including: The Pretenders, Cyndi Lauper, and the Scissor Sisters. Other notable performances include her participation in the Stormy Weather Benefit, the Rainforest Benefit, and The Elton John Tribute for Broadway Cares. "She has musicality to die for," the L.A. Times wrote recently, "a voice that swoops from the bluesy basement to a top-floor falsetto and a campy soulfulness that can compellingly reinterpret the Isley Brothers' "That Lady" or just go nuts with "Lady Marmalade." Bernhard has also written three books: Confessions of a Pretty Lady (Harper&Row, 1988), Love, Love and Love (HarperCollins, 1994), and May

I Kiss You on the Lips, Miss Sandra? (William Morrow,1998). Her work has also been published in numerous magazines, including, The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, Conde Nast Traveler, Rolling Stone, Interview, and Spy. "A performer of stunning originality. Funny but foxy, super smart and slightly mad!" (WCBS) Bernhard's live performances are a thrilling hybrid of stand-up comedy and rock 'n roll, a raucous mix of political satire, pop culture commentary and cabaret. "The experience is like hanging out with a hip and funny friend who never fails to lift you up with her outrageous freedom." (Los Angeles Times, 8/11)

Lea DeLaria has distinguished herself in every form of entertainment that she touches. She is a Jazz Musician, Broadway Diva, Actor, Writer and Standup Comic. It is plain to see why Ben Brantley describes Lea as "every inch a star!" Her book "Lea's Book of Rules for the World," is in its fourth printing. Lea is currently performing as 'Vera Charles' alongside Andrea McArdle's "Mame" at The Bucks County Play House. She was the first openly gay comic to appear on television in the United States (Arsenio Hall 1993). From that point forward Lea toured the world with her one of a kind blend of cool Jazz and in your face comedy, sometimes causing stirs as when she was officially "criticized" by congress in 1993 but usually winning accolades such as a Regional Emmy for "The World According to Us," "Best of the Fest" in both The Edinburgh and Wellington Theater Festivals as well as being the first to be given a one-man show at Just For Laughs. In 1998 Lea won An Obie Award, Theater World Award, and a Drama Desk Nomination for her performance as 'Hildy' in "On The Town" and since then She has been a regular face in the NYC Theater scene performing both on and off Broadway ("The Rocky Horror Picture Show," "The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told," "Little Abner," "Little Fish," "Happy Days," "Cinderella," and many more) playing both men and women, gay and straight! Besides her comedy specials on HBO, SHOWTIME and COMEDY CENTRAL, Lea's acting work in television is as unique as it is varied. She recurred as 'Madam Delphina' and 'Prof. Fina' on "One Life to Live" for over a decade. She has appeared on "Matlock," "Friends," "Saved by the Bell," Will and Grace," "Law & Order: SVU," and is the voice of 'Helga' in "The Oblongs." Lea is also recently a series regular on The Netflix original series, "Orange is the New Black," which premiers July 11th, and portrays 'Ms. Bruntford' in the made for TV musical "Dear Dumb Diary," which will air on The Hallmark channel Labor Day weekend. Lea has cameoed in major films such as "The First Wives Club," but most often plays the lead in independent films such as, "Rescuing Desire," "Mercury in Retrograde," Homo Heights," "Fat Rose and Squeaky," and is probably best known as 'Angie' in "Edge of Seventeen." She has 5 records out on The Warner Jazz and Classics label and has given concerts in Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Sydney Opera House, Royal Albert Hall, Festival Hall, Chicago and Boston Symphony, The Hollywood Bowl, and was the featured vocalist for the 50th Anniversary of The Newport Jazz Festival.

Scott Thompson currently stars as Jimmy Price, a master of forensics & technology with on NBC's "Hannibal." Well- known to fans as a member of the famed Canadian sketch comedy troupe, "The Kids in the Hall," Thompson is a versatile actor, writer, personality and stand-up comedian. After being discovered by Lorne Michaels in 1987 while scouting for "Saturday Night Live," "The Kids in the Hall" went on to have an HBO/CBC television series that ran from 1989 to 1995 in both Canada and the United States. After their television series finished in 1995, Thompson and the boys went on to write and star in their own feature film "Brain Candy," which has become a cult favorite. In 1995, Thompson and fellow writer Paul Bellini penned "Buddy Babylon," a fictional memoir of one of Thompson's most beloved characters, the acid-tongued raconteur Buddy Cole. From 1996 to 1999, Thompson appeared as a regular on the revolutionary comedy series "The Larry Sanders Show" as Brian, Hank Kingsley's gay assistant. In addition, he played a recurring role as Elliot the dog baker on NBC's "Providence," and in 2001, he produced and co-wrote the award-winning Showtime documentary "Uncle Saddam. He has appeared in such motion pictures as "Hijacking Hollywood," "The Pacifier," "Mickey Blue Eyes," "Prom Queen" and "Run Ronny Run." A much sought-after talk show guest, Thompson has made numerous appearances on such shows as "Politically Incorrect," "Conan O'Brien," "Jimmy Kimmel," "David Letterman" and "Jimmy Fallon." In 2004, he went undercover as former war correspondent, Danny Husk, on the improvised comedy series "The Husk Report" on Fashion TV. Then in 2005, he hosted the landmark reality series "My Fabulous Gay Wedding" for Global Canada and Logo in the U.S. He took on the host's role once more the following year with the CBC series "Pop Up Royals" as Queen Elizabeth II. In 2008, the Kids went on the road again with a brand new comedy show consisting of entirely new material. The venture was so rewarding that the quintet decided to create A New Television show, which became an eight-part miniseries entitled "Death Comes to Town." It aired earlier this year on CBC in Canada and premiered in August on IFC. The series marks the return of the audacious comedy troupe to U.S. television for the first time in 15 yearS. Thompson tours regularly as a stand-up comic and has guested in such popular series as "Reno 911," "The Tim and Eric Awesome Show," "Aqua Teen Hunger Force," "Carpoolers" and "The Simpsons." He also regularly hits the boards with his new one-man show "Scottastrophe" and hosts the popular podcast "Scott Free" on iTuneS. Thompson published his first graphic novel, "Danny Husk: The Hollow Planet," with Frozen Beach Studios and IDW. The book is a comic high-adventure about his mustachioed alter ego, Danny Husk, the affable executive he created in "Kids in the Hall." He has also finished three short films, which he produced, wrote and starred in called "Fifty Two," "Four Pounds," and "The Immigrant," which was received with critical acclaim and won Best Film at the L.A. short film festival. These pieces Mark Thompson's debut as a short filmmaker.

Photo Credit: Linda Lenzi

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