I'm the One That I Want (Live In Concert)

Album Review

I'm the One I Want: Live in Concert celebrates Margaret Cho's Broadway one-woman show and it's classic Cho. This homecoming gig not only solidifies Cho's spot in comedy, but her witty, ironic self is in true form. Cho goes through her general agenda of breaking down social and racial stereotypes on this four-disc set, and comes out smiling. She spoofs society's ill acceptance of gay behavior and pornography, making it OK to laugh at such ignorance by using examples from popular culture. Somehow, people understand her and accept her regardless of how harsh she is. Poking fun at fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld and proclaiming herself a "f*g hag" is only the extent of it. Cho's ability to laugh at herself without coming off as self-deprecating in the lowest sense is what she's truly about. Given her experiences that range from being a "young star" in her short-lived television sitcom in mid-'90s to being a Korean-American female touring the country alone in order to make a living as a comic, Cho identifies with common people. Cho has become a role model for those who are afraid to say something. She never asked to be anything. She just hoped someone would listen, and I'm the One That I Want is proof of her tenacity. [High Bridge issued a four-CD edition in 2007.]