I was thrilled to reconnect recently with beloved comedy legend Kate Clinton. The former high school English teacher first did stand-up on a dare in 1981, then went on to headline nightclubs, festivals, television, Broadway, Cyndi Lauper’s True Colors Tour in 2008, as a proud out woman.
I first met Kate – who turns 77 on November 9 – when I hosted a public Q&A with her at Montreal’s downtown Chapters bookstore during her summer 1998 book tour for her first collection of essays titled Don’t Get Me Started. I was young and nervous and Kate – a personal hero – put me at my ease and made me feel like a million bucks. “Richard – don’t stop!” Kate wrote in my copy of Don’t Get Me Started.
I wrote an annual Kate Clinton column for many years, our last was in May 2016 to preview her Wake Up Call show that she performed at the Crown and Anchor in Provincetown that summer. Following her 2017 Zombie Apocalypse tour, Kate put her career on hold to spend more time with her life partner of 35 years, legendary American LGBTQ+ civil-rights activist, lawyer and writer Urvashi Vaid who died of cancer in May 2022.
Kate returns to the stage for the first time in seven years with two concert fundraisers for the Provincetown Commons on October 19 at the historic Town Hall in Provincetown, during the 40th anniversary of Women’s Week. Both shows benefit the Urvashi Vaid Changemakers Fund at The Commons on Bradford Street. The Commons is also home to the Kate Clinton & Urvashi Vaid Community Room.
We recently sat down for a candid Q&A, Kate’s first interview in seven years.
It’s so great to hear your voice again, Kate.
KATE CLINTON : Thank you. You too!
You and Urvashi were partners for 35 years. Can you share with us how you are doing?
KATE CLINTON : It’s been really painful. It’s all the things everybody says about grief and how physical it is and all of that, but at the same time, you know, I had 35 wonderful years with her. The pain is not equal to the love. I’m grateful, and I’m a little pissed that she left early.
Your two October 19 concerts benefit the Urvashi Vaid Changemakers Fund at The Commons. How did this project come about?
KATE CLINTON : Urvashi was part of the group that got together to do something for the town, and they came up with this idea of The Commons which has become a wonderful place for artists, for people to create and show art, and for the community to gather and have lots of different kinds of meetings and parties. She was involved from the beginning, and they’ve taken it and done great things. Urvashi contributed so much to the community, this is a great cause to support.
These are your first shows in many years.
KATE CLINTON : My dear friend, publicist and producer of the shows, Michele Karlsberg told me, “It’s been seven years since you performed!” I was like, “No!” I could not believe it.
How do you feel about returning to the stage?
KATE CLINTON : I’m excited and nervous. It’s different because all of a sudden I’m doing two big shows. Usually, for many summers, I had the luxury of working on a show all summer long, then going on the road with it. A lot of people have been saying to me, “Kate, have you ever thought of going to therapy?” Or I’d be somewhere and they’d give me the card of their therapist. And I thought, well, I’m going to do my own therapy and do a show.
And here we are.
KATE CLINTON : It’s been great, but to write political material – by the time we get to October 19, there’s no telling who will even be running! (Laughs)
Montrealers love Kamala Harris who lived in Montreal for a few years while her mother taught at McGill University. Kamala attended Westmount High where she graduated in 1981. She even speaks French!
KATE CLINTON : So Kamala announces, then everybody’s excited, then they say she’s not getting the bounce. It’s like, people, this is completely different. As a woman running – a woman of colour running for president – she’s doing a great job not putting it out there like that’s the main draw. But I am! It’s incredible. Pinch me!
It’s been 40 years since the Walter Mondale – Geraldine Ferraro Democratic ticket in 1984. There has been plenty of progress since then, but a lot hasn’t changed.
KATE CLINTON : Exactly. The 40th anniversary of Women’s Week is a reunion for lots of people who have come to Women’s Week over the years. There is a sense of recharging at Women’s Week, but I also have a sense that Women’s Week this year is kind of like an underground. These gals are preparing like we’re running through the drill. We’re getting ourselves ready to go the final few steps with Kamala. We’re ready. Don’t mess with us!
You did stand-up for the first time in 1981 on a dare.
KATE CLINTON : Yes! It was in a small club, a lesbian bar called The Lemon Tree in Syracuse, New York. I had been talking about wanting to try stand up, and my best friend said, “Okay, I’m sick of it. I booked you in a club, and you’re on in a month.” I performed for 80 or 90 of my best friends who laughed at everything. The big test was about a month later. Somehow I had gotten a gig at a lesbian bar in Boston which had an upstairs performing room, but the audience was very quiet. Suddenly there was this great salty voice from the back of the room. She said, “You’re on your own now, darling!” It was like, yeah, I am. For all you great people. It was my original test. Then I took it on the road.
You were out when few others were. You helped blaze a trail for the likes of Rosie O’Donnell and Lily Tomlin. How do you stack up the progress that we’ve made as a community since those days?
KATE CLINTON : Well, first of all, Lily was the original. She was absolutely amazing. And Rosie was coming out. Those were exciting days. The progress that we’ve made has made our movement much bigger. What we really wanted to happen is happening. For older gays and lesbians, there’s a sense that we had to be really tight to protect each other during those early days. The community is much broader now thanks to this digital age.
What are your plans after your October 19 shows?
KATE CLINTON : What do you think I should do? I don’t know. What do you think, Richard?
Girl, I’m hoping you’ll go on tour!
KATE CLINTON : We’ll see. It’s a lot of work. But I have agreed to be an emcee for a couple of conferences.
How does it feel to be a living legend, an icon – because you are, Kate!
KATE CLINTON : It’ll be good to get up and be reminded because the people in my building here in New York think I put my trash out too late. You know what I’m saying? I’m just happy. I love making people laugh.
INFOS | Kate Clinton headlines the Provincetown Town Hall on October 19 at 3 pm and 7 pm. Visit https://www.kateclinton.net and https://www.provincetowncommons.org.
