Suzanne Westenhoefer: A Bottom on Top

Four women who are lesbian comedians perform and, offstage, talk about their lives: parents and childhood, coming out, becoming comics, the arc of their careers, and its rewards. Marga Gómez is Cuban-Puerto Rican, from New York City. She mines cultural differences, her hobby horse, and National Coming Out Day. Kate Clinton, lapsed Catholic, gets laughs there and from the comedy of the sex act. Karen Williams, African-American from Berkeley, talks about aging and about the need to tell her story. Suzanne Westenhoefer inherits her grandfather's humor, and she jokes about Martha Stewart and airport security. Each is serious about the power of humor to reveal what's at her core.

Craving laughs? Karen Williams brings her irreverent humor to a sold-out audience at the Knitting Factory in Hollywood, Calif. A pioneer in lesbian stand-up comedy, Williams talks about dating younger woman, the bygone days of tireless sex and more. The laughs continue with stories from a lesbian sex workshop, troublesome airline travel, the conundrums of Internet dating and other exploits. It's a sidesplitting hour of delicious humor.

Gay comedienne Vickie Shaw wears her Texas roots -- and her sexuality -- loud and proud in this sold-out stand-up special filmed live in Long Beach, Calif., at the Vault 360. (The show also includes a special appearance by Vickie's son, Matthew, and her longtime partner, known simply as "Sgt. Patch.") Touching on everything from men to menopause, Vickie tells it like it is with her trademark brass and sass.

Out-and-proud comedian Kate Clinton celebrates her 25th anniversary of performing in this blend of stand-up footage, behind-the-scenes clips, interviews, footage of Clinton reading from her book, What the L?, photos and more. With her trademark cutting political satire and clever one-liners, Clinton always puts on a dynamic and hilarious show. Lily Tomlin, Melissa Etheridge, Billie Jean King and other celebrities join in the fun.

Laughing Matters...More! is a reality-based romp that blends the routines from four of lesbian stand-up comics with personal interviews. It features Elvira Kurt, a Second City alum named Canadian Female Comic of the Year and writer for Ellen DeGeneres; Sabrina Matthews, a regularly featured performer on Comedy Central; Renee Hicks, the first African- American woman nominated Best Female Stand-up at the American Comedy Awards; and the Southern-Baptist-lesbian-mom-turned-crossover-comic, Vickie Shaw. This film takes a "reality" approach to showcasing the comics, capturing their on-stage performances, and their personas off-stage in behind-the-scenes footage, one-on-one interviews and recurring segments where all four converge for spontaneous and improvised discourse.

After searching for nearly a year before casting for the fourth installment in her award-winning LAUGHING MATTERS series, director Andrea Meyerson has put together an outstanding cast of the new up and coming comics on the LGBT comedy circuit. Shot in her winning formula that interweaves stand-up material with candid interviews, viewers are given the opportunity to at once laugh and simultaneously meet the person behind the comedy. Featuring Edison Apple, Gloria Bigelow, Ryan Hill, Daniel Leary, Bridget McManus and Amy Tee, all delivering performances so hilarious, you will soon forget they're the new kids on the block!

In the early days of the pandemic, Andrea Meyerson, founder of Women On A Roll, launched an online platform for lesbians and queer women. She called it Women On The Net. Five nights a week, Meyerson provided a place for women all over the world to gather and share a wide range of entertaining programming. Feelings of isolation and loneliness were replaced with joy, laughter, and new friends - all via Zoom. An Unexpected Community captures the magic these women shared during one of the most challenging events in our lifetime.

The comedic flair of these glamorous drag queens will certainly captivate and charm you! The bold, the beautiful and the bawdy legendary performers put their unique talents to work offering up biting humor through stories and song.

Karen Williams burst onto the San Francisco Bay Area comedy circuit in the early 1980s. As the country’s first openly lesbian Black comic to use specifically lesbian material, Karen’s humor was unlike any other. A feminist and LGBTQ+ rights activist, Williams became known for her quick repartee and insightful commentary. But while her popularity as a performer grew, off-stage she was a single mom, struggling to raise her children. In 1988, Karen founded the HaHa Institute, dedicated to helping others find healing through humor. Award-winning director Andrea Meyerson brings Karen Williams' story to the screen, covering her hard-fought battle to break into male-dominated comedy clubs and the joy that has guided her through it all. Rarely-seen vintage performance footage woven together with interviews from family members and industry colleagues—including Kate Clinton, Marga Gomez, and Diane Amos, as well as Karen herself—reveal the life of this amazingly creative and prolific woman.

What happens when your desire drives you in the wrong direction? Revved up by passion and ignoring all the signs, three people set out to fulfill their fantasies. Fasten your seat belts, this ride may wind up on a very bumpy ONE WAY STREET!

It's no secret that stand-up comics are a tortured lot, and in this documentary filmmaker Andrea Meyerson pays special tribute to some of the most talented - and tormented - gay comedians around. While some gay comics seek to refute common stereotypes, others thrive on them. From comedy queen Bruce Vilanch - who has penned the jokes for sixteen Oscar telecasts - to Texas football fan Scott Kennedy - who watches the games for much more than the touchdowns - these are the talented folks who eschew contemporary taboos to take an honest look at everyday gay life.

Gay and lesbian comics are out looking for laughs in this stand-up special.

Jessica Bair, a longtime LGBTQIA+ rights advocate with Human Rights Campaign, shares her struggle to remain in her Mormon faith despite coming out as transgender.

Watch Jennifer Leitham perform and it's obvious the striking redhead is an original. When this world-famous jazz bassist takes center-stage, her entire body dances with the bass as her long, fiery hair whips and bobs to the blistering pace set by her fingers. She's a special talent made all the more unique because Jennifer Leitham began her life and career as John Leitham. I STAND CORRECTED charts Leitham's rise as a virtuoso of the upright bass and reveals how she risked everything with her decision to undergo sexual reassignment surgery. An intimate study of Leitham's life, the film explores the fears she wrestled with as she rose through the ranks of the jazz world, and celebrates the joy she discovered after embracing her female identity.

What happens when a person must make a life-changing choice about the reality of who she loves? In 1977, Anita Bryant's anti-gay campaign, the 'Save Our Children' coalition was formed. The next year, while living in Florida, Ronni Sanlo came out as a lesbian and five months later she lost custody of her two young children. Narrated by Meredith Baxter (both on and off screen), LETTER TO ANITA offers insight into the life experiences of Ronnie Sanlo. From having her children taken away, to becoming an activist for the LGBT community, Ronni's journey finall leads her to resolve and peace in the simple act of writing a letter.

What started as a way for some very business-savvy women innkeepers to extend the tourist season in P-Town (Provincetown, Massachusetts) in the fall in 1984 has now grown from a Women's Weekend into one of the premiere lesbian destinations known as Women’s Week. Without the luxury of social media or even email, the women hand-wrote letters to all their past guests, inviting them to come enjoy the beautiful autumn scenery—with a clambake and some local entertainment thrown in. Director Andrea Meyerson takes viewers on a fascinating 30-year journey, through archival footage and photos, interviews with celebrities and founders, and current events and performances, offering a historical—and hysterical—look at what a handful of innovative women can accomplish.