Westenhoefer looking forward to being in Eureka

Suzanne Westenhoefer

Comedienne Suzanne Westenhoefer is looking forward to returning to Eureka Springs this week as she tours with Ani deFranco on the "Vote, Dammit!" Tour and the Indigo Girls.

Westenhoefer was here about two years ago as a solo performer and talked to a full-house in the City Auditorium.

Tickets have been sold out for their Thursday night performance here for several weeks.

In a telephone interview, she talked about the first trip here. She was sitting in her guest house in Los Angeles and grumbling about the heat. Temperatures had risen over 100 for five days in a row.

"I had this bad picture in my head of Arkansas," she said. "I had no idea what it looked like. Eureka Springs was phenomenal, the stores were adorable, the guest house where I stayed (All Seasons Inn) was wonderful, it was all magical."

One aspect that did take her back a bit was seeing the Christ of the Ozarks statue from the front door of the inn.

"That thing is so big it makes the Hollywood sign look like a bumper sticker," she said.

Eureka Springs is the only Arkansas stop on deFranco's tour which started across the country Sept. 10.

Westenhoefer will join the tour for four shows - Eureka Springs, New Orleans, Memphis and Sioux City, Iowa.

"I don't really know Ani," she said. "I met her about nine years ago. We seem to be booked into places just ahead or behind each other. We leave notes for each other. I really respect who she is."

Westenhoefer doesn't usually tour with other performers.

"Comedians don't play well with others," she said. "We want to be the stars.

She had done a pro-choice rally in April with the Indigo Girls. She told them about the coming deFranco tour.

"They wanted to come along. It was their idea.

"For this tour, we are all solid headliner acts," she said, "but this is really important. This message isn't just about music and comedy.

"We went to get out and see the people and get them out to register and vote. This may be one of the most important elections of our lifetime."

Her opinion of President George W. Bush?

"No one should be that challenged and rule this country."

Westenhoefer has been political since she started performing in public 14 years ago. She made show business history as the first openly gay comedienne.

"I was pretty vocal and very politically active, even in the beginning," she said. "A lot of club owners didn't want me to be 'out.' They didn't want me to talk about it.

"How different we all are 14 years later. Kids who are 20-25 years old in my audiences don't understand how hard it used to be.

"They have grown up in a world where women are wearing pants and playing sports. In the 1970s, we weren't allowed to play sports.

"I ask them if they are feminists or believe in feminism. When they say 'no,' I tell them to thank the feminists for being able to wear pants and play sports.

"As a political person, I have seen so much racism, sexism, homophobia, phobias of all kinds. I have to work until I drop fighting to get rid of these phobias.

"Everyone does what they can, big or small. I have got to do something to leave the world a little better than I found it. I have got to do work of value and this is it."