Bridget Everett Talks with Michael Schulman

Summary

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Podcast Summary: The New Yorker Radio Hour

Episode: Bridget Everett Talks with Michael Schulman

Date: November 27, 2018
Host: David Remnick
Guest: Bridget Everett (comedian, actress, cabaret performer)
Journalist: Michael Schulman

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Overview

This episode features a candid and lively conversation with Bridget Everett, the boundary-pushing comedian, cabaret star, and actress, in discussion with Michael Schulman during the New Yorker Festival. The pair delve into Bridget’s dynamic stage persona, her origins in Manhattan, Kansas, her entry into New York’s cabaret scene, creative collaborations with Michael Patrick King and Amy Schumer, and her dramatic turn in the film Patty Cakes. The interview is filled with raw humor, reflections on ambition and body confidence, and memorable anecdotes that capture Bridget’s vibrant spirit.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Dual Lives: Stage Bridget vs. Off-Stage Bridget

• Stage Persona vs. Real Life:
  • Bridget reflects on her growth as an artist, admitting that as her "stage Bridget" became wilder over time, her personal self grew more reserved and introverted, craving downtime at home with her dog and documentaries.
    • "The more I'm like on the couch with my Poppy. I can't wait to... I'm so happy to be here, but I can’t wait to go home and get on the couch and just... I like to watch documentaries and Homeland" (03:32)
  • She sees performing as a way to channel intense energy she doesn’t otherwise express.

2. Growing up in Manhattan, Kansas

• Bridget gives a glimpse into her upbringing as the youngest of six, her family chaos, and how she found herself an odd, “cool weirdo.”
  • "I'm youngest of six kids, and like, we all thought we were the Kennedys, but really we were just like street rats, but, like, popular." (05:45)

3. Musical Roots and Influences

• Her mother, a music teacher, exposed her to music early; family singalongs around the piano (with “Blue Nun” wine for the kids) were a staple.
• Musical idols included Barbra Streisand, Barry Manilow, Debbie Harry, Freddie Mercury, and Michael Jackson.
  • "We used to get drunk and sing around the piano... when we put on Barry Manilow, I mean, that was it for me." (06:17)

4. Formal Training and Discipline

• Studied opera voice at Arizona State University, learning both technical vocal care and the discipline required for serious singing.
  • "I do a lot of vocalizing... what it taught me was that you really have to care for your instrument." (07:22)

5. The Move to New York and Cabaret Epiphany

• Bridget moved to NYC aiming for a stage career, starting with children’s theater (which she loathed).
• Her transformative introduction to the downtown cabaret scene came through seeing acts like Kiki & Herb and Justin Vivian Bond — a crucial moment that let her see cabaret’s legitimacy and power.
  • "I just didn't know that... cabaret existed. I was just like, holy shit. This is like karaoke, but, like, legitimate." (08:54)

6. Breakthrough Collaboration with Michael Patrick King

• Her adaptation of her act led to a show, At Least It's Pink, catching the eye of Sex and the City creator Michael Patrick King.
  • "As soon as I came on stage, 30% got up and left, but Michael stayed, and so did Norman Lear. And Michael was like, I want to work with you." (09:56)
• Resulted in her cameo in the Sex and the City movie:
  • “I play, like, drunk party girl and... she's interviewing assistants, and she's like, are you drunk? I'm like, a little bit. But he's like, I wrote you a part. I'm still gonna make you audition and don't fuck it up.” (10:39)

7. On Auditions, Control, and Anxiety

• Bridget avoids traditional acting auditions, citing anxiety and physical symptoms. She craves creative control, declining even promising opportunities due to discomfort.
  • "When I audition for things, I get chronic... I get really sick and nervous and overwhelmed." (11:34)

8. Friendship and Collaboration with Amy Schumer

• Bridget and Amy became close at Montreal Comedy Festival, bonding over humor and Chardonnay.
• Amy is credited for proactively lifting up others, offering Bridget opportunities on Inside Amy Schumer and beyond.
  • "She’s like, I want you to be on the show, and I want you to close every season. She's like, I think you're really special, and I want the world to see you." (12:32)
• Their offstage dynamic is one of comfort and equality, marked by chill nights, wine, and reality TV — not the “alpha/beta” dynamic sometimes portrayed.
  • "We just hang out. We just take off our bras and drink wine and watch 90 Day Fiancé." (15:01)

9. Body Confidence and Performance

• Body confidence isn’t a political act for Bridget, but an authenticity imperative — inspired by her mother’s disregard for conventional modesty.
  • "It's my body and who gives a fuck?... If I'm like an audience member, I want to see people just, like, fluid in themselves and not telling me why I need to be fluid in myself." (15:51)

10. Role in Patty Cakes and Dreams Deferred

• Bridget discusses portraying a frustrated mother in Patty Cakes whose own disappointments drive her to tear at her daughter's ambitions.
  • "I spent a lot of years, like, wanting my dreams to come true... I get the urge to want to tear somebody down, even when you love them because you don't want them to slip away." (18:24)
• She recognizes that she could have become a "failed" version of herself if she’d stayed in Kansas and not pursued performing.
  • "If I was still in Kansas and I wasn't singing and I wasn't doing what I wanted to do, that's exactly who I would be." (19:15)

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Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• On Stage Persona:

  • “Every show is like a first date. It's like you're just, you're meeting somebody, you're falling in love, or you're not falling in love, but you're hoping you get laid.” (05:06)

• On Early Family Dynamics:

  • "We all thought we were the Kennedys, but really we were just like, like street rats, but, like, popular." (05:45)

• On Performing at Joe’s Pub:

  • "I want to make me move. Always going to be enough... Sometimes you're going to have to lose... Ain't a bear was waiting on the other side." (Impromptu singing, 04:33)

• On Auditioning:

  • "I like to be in control. And when I audition for things, I get chronic... I get really sick and nervous and overwhelmed." (11:34)

• On Amy Schumer:

  • "But the cool thing about Amy is she really does work to lift up people around her... I don't know that I would ever do that for anybody except for Poppy, you know what I mean?" (12:32)

• On Body Confidence:

  • "It's my body and who gives a fuck?... That's what brings me joy and that's why I like to do it on stage. I feel like we're celebrating in the moment that we're all okay." (15:51)

• On Playing Patty Cakes' Mother:

  • "Sometimes, mostly I'm always really happy when my friends have success. But I get the urge to want to tear somebody down, even when you love them because you don't want them to slip away." (18:24)

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Selected Timestamps for Key Segments

| Time | Segment / Topic | |-----------|--------------------------------------------------------------| | 03:32 | Bridget on the difference between on-stage and at-home self | | 05:45 | Childhood in Kansas; being a "cool weirdo" | | 06:17 | Musical family and early influences | | 07:22 | Impact of opera training | | 08:54 | Discovery of cabaret and its influence | | 09:56 | Meeting Michael Patrick King and Sex and the City cameo | | 11:34 | Aversion to traditional auditions and need for control | | 12:32 | Friendship and professional partnership with Amy Schumer | | 15:51 | Approach to body confidence and performance | | 17:14 | Clip and discussion of Patty Cakes role | | 18:24 | On dreams, resentments, and alternate life paths | | 19:15 | Seeing Patty Cakes' mom as her possible alternate self |

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Conclusion

This episode offers a raw, hilarious, and deeply human portrait of Bridget Everett. Through stories, laughs, and biting honesty, listeners learn how vulnerability, resilience, and authenticity have shaped her into the celebrated and singular performer she is today.

Transcript

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From One World Trade center in Manhattan, this is the New Yorker Radio Hour, a co production of the New Yorker and WNYC Studios.

[David Remnick]

This is the New Yorker Radio Hour. I'm David Remnick. Now, you're in for a real treat today because we'll be spending this episode with the comedian, actress and cabaret performer Bridget Everett.

[Michael Shulman]

It's Bridget.

[Bridget Everett]

Hi. Hi. I had to. I brought a plus one. She won't bother anyone.

[David Remnick]

The plus one was Everett's dog, Poppy.

[Michael Shulman]

Hello, Everett.

[Bridget Everett]

I really brought a plus two. Sorry about the skirt and the bra. It's a little peekaboo. Just to show people that I'm still fun.

[Michael Shulman]

Welcome to the New Yorker Festival.

[David Remnick]

Now, if that's not clear enough, Bridget Everett runs a little Salty. Salty's the word, I guess. So heads up. Some of this might be awkward with the kids around. Or with the parents around, for that matter. Here she is with Michael Shulman at the New Yorker Festival.

[Michael Shulman]

Bridget Everett is a singer, an actress, a comedian, a cabaret star, a force of nature and a way of life. She's performed everywhere from Carnegie hall to Adelaide, Australia, and of course at Joe's Pub, where she appears regularly with her band, the Tender Moments. She's been in the films Trainwreck and patty cakes on TV and inside Amy Schumer and girls. And starting October 14, she stars in the new HBO comedy Camping, to quote the New York Times, multiply the mouthy flesh jiggling early bette Midler by 100. Give her the super plus sized figure and fashion sense of Divine, the John Waters diva and the manners of a Flintstone. And you've got a rough approximation of Bridget Everett. Let's give her a hand.

[Bridget Everett]

I'll clap for that. That's good.

[Michael Shulman]

Also, can I have some Chardonnay?

[Bridget Everett]

Yeah, you know, a little bit. I can't part with all of it because I'm on a diet. You want more?

[Michael Shulman]

No.

[Bridget Everett]

Okay. There's more if you want it. You sure? Okay. You let me know. Are you nervous, Michael?

[Michael Shulman]

I'm fine.

[Bridget Everett]

Okay.

[Michael Shulman]

A couple years ago I called you for an interview and you were on a nude beach with Amy Schumer. Yeah, but we had a nice chat and you described your stage presence to me as, quote, a crazy maniac who doesn't get laid. Enough so I have to put my sexual energy somewhere. So how much of that person that we see on stage is you? How are you? Is there a different Bridget who is home in the end of the night and. Completely different. How do you contrast the two?

[Bridget Everett]

Well, I feel like the longer I've been, the more I've been doing the stage Bridget and the wilder she's gotten, the sort of more. The more I'm like, on the couch with my poppy. And I can't wait to. I'm so happy to be here, but I can't wait to go home and get on the couch and just. I like to watch documentaries in Homeland, but there's no new season, so I had some time in my schedule, so I'm here. But I mean, it used to be like, it's like when you're starting, it's like you're just like, you want people to listen to you, right? And I felt like I had to just go so wild and go so big and so crazy, but that's also kind of who I was. And of course, now I'm 46, so, you know, now I'm not as fun as I was in my 20s and 30s. But the stage bridge, it's still is.

[Michael Shulman]

You have an incredible ability to interact with your audience. I have just seen Joe's pup get whipped into a total frenzy.

[Bridget Everett]

I've always thought, I want to make me move. Always going to be enough. You battle. Sometimes you're going to have to lose. Ain't no matter how fast I get there ain't a bear was waiting on the other side.

[Michael Shulman]

Did you have to learn that skill? I mean, how did you figure out how to do that?

[Bridget Everett]

The stuff on stage, when I'm singing the same songs and tell them the same story, that's like, it's just a device to get to know who's there. And it really is. Like, every show is like a first date. It's like you're just. You're meeting somebody, you're falling in love, or you're not falling in love, but you're hoping you get laid. You know, just people. She.

[Michael Shulman]

So you grew up in Manhattan, Kansas?

[Bridget Everett]

I did.

[Michael Shulman]

Did you fit in there? Were you. Did you stick out like a sore thumb? I mean, what was your relationship with Manhattan, Kansas?

[Bridget Everett]

I was, like, wild. I'm youngest of six kids, and like, we all thought we were the Kennedys, but really we were just like, like street rats, but, like, popular. Like, I mean, this is like, not cool, but I was homecoming queen, you know, I was like A weirdo, but also kind of cool. You can't say that anymore, you know, it's not cool to be cool.

[Michael Shulman]

And can you tell us about how you started getting interested in music and singing? Who are the performers that you worshiped when you were young and wanted to emulate?

[Bridget Everett]

My mom's a music teacher, so we used to get drunk and sing around the piano. And like, from a young age, like, that was one of the cool things about my brothers and sisters. Like, they would give me a little bit of Blue Nun, which is, if you don't know, is a sweet white wine suitable for children. But that was like our. That was like the only time we all got along. But also we would listen to like, a lot of Barbra Streisand, who, like, I was like, okay, whatever. But when we put on Barry Manilow, I mean, that was it for me. And then also had a real hard on for Debbie Harry. Cause, like, I thought she was just so cool. And then like, Freddie Mercury and then always Michael Jackson.

[Michael Shulman]

You went to Arizona State University and studied opera voice, right?

[Bridget Everett]

Yeah. That's where people go.

[Michael Shulman]

So is there stuff that you learned in opera training that you still use?

[Bridget Everett]

Yeah, I don't fuck around. I do a lot of vocalizing. I do all that. But other than that, basically what it taught me was that you really have to care for your instrument. And when you see me singing, sucking down a hot dog down the back of my throat, she doesn't care. But I really do. I really. I spent a lot of time. And I'm very obsessed with, like, that. It just works.

[Michael Shulman]

When you moved to New York, what was your plan. What was your life plan for moving to New York? What did you see for yourself?

[Bridget Everett]

Just get a job. I really was like, oh, let me see if I can get my equity card and get something like children's theater tour. And I did. I did a Hansel and Gretel bus and truck tour. I got a job pretty quickly. It was awful. It was total hell. I hated everybody in there. I learned a lot about myself. But, like. But I was like, is this. I moved to New York to be in this fucking bus and sing for second graders in fucking, like, Mississippi. Like, tell them to get Hansel to jump over the river, which is like a piece of cardboard with, like, some blue taffeta and like, we're waving. And like, swam, swam, swam. I'm glad things have gotten better since then.

[Michael Shulman]

So how did you go from being a children's theater actress, waitress, singing karaoke, to having your own act My friend.

[Bridget Everett]

Zach, who I lived with for, like, two months, took me to go see Kiki and Herb at Fetz. Like, I just didn't know that, like, cabaret existed. I didn't know, like, you know, Justin, Vivian Bond is, like, a hero and an icon, and, like. And the things that I would see. I was just like, holy shit. This is, like karaoke, but, like, legitimate. And I need you more than ever? And if you'll only hold me tight? We'll be holding on forever? And we'll only be making it right?

[Michael Shulman]

If we can just hold on together.

[Bridget Everett]

We can make it to the end of the line? Your love is like a shadow on me all of the time.

[Michael Shulman]

And then I remember you did a show called At Least It's Pink in 2007, which was directed by Michael Patrick King.

[Bridget Everett]

Right.

[Michael Shulman]

The creator of Sex and the City. So how did you. How did you get involved with him as a collaborator?

[Bridget Everett]

I just, like, adapted my karaoke set to, like, a real show, and we end up going to the Aspen Comedy Festival. They told Michael to come see me. And I remember it was like, Michael Patrick King was there. Norman Lear was also in the audience, and it was, like, 1,000 people. And I was so nervous. And as soon as I came on stage, 30% got up and left, but Michael stayed, and so did Norman Lear. And Michael was like, I want to work with you. And so Kenny and I went to la and we sat with him and we figured out a show, and. And that's kind of like, where my life started to change.

[Michael Shulman]

And is that also how you wound up in Sex and the City movie?

[Bridget Everett]

Yeah, he wrote me a part. It's like, a very small part. I play, like. I interview for, like, a job. I'm like. I play, like, drunk party girl and, like. And she's interviewing assistants, and she's like, are you drunk? I'm like, a little bit. But he's like, I wrote you a part. I'm still gonna make you audition and don't fuck it up.

[Michael Shulman]

So we actually have the clip of your part in Sex and the City movie.

[Bridget Everett]

Oh.

[Michael Shulman]

So this is when Carrie is interviewing for personal assistance.

[Bridget Everett]

I love your books. Your shit's brilliant. Um, Kathy, you seem drunk. A little bit. Never made to bed last night. But I type like a motherfucker.

[Michael Shulman]

Yeah. So did you go out and audition for kind of regular acting jobs as this was all happening?

[Bridget Everett]

No. No, because I like to be in control. And when I audition for things, I get chronic. I get the shits. Really. I get really bad. I get really sick and nervous and overwhelmed. And, you know that movie Lady Bird I met with Greta Gerwig? And she's like, well, I just want you to come in and read. And I was like, no, joke's on me.

[Michael Shulman]

So one of the people who's been. Who has completely seen your talent and been able to use it to great effect and bring you to a huge audience is Amy Schumer. So how did you. How did you become friends with Amy Schumer?

[Bridget Everett]

At the Montreal Comedy Festival, we were on the same flight. She said that we'd met, like, years before, and I was a bitch to her, but I just don't believe it. I just don't buy it. I'm so desperate for people to like me that this is absolutely not possible. But I would just like those kinds of things. I'd just, like, go and hang out in my room and drink wine and watch porn or documentaries. And she's like, come down and let's talk to some people. Let's mingle. And then. And we just became really fast friends. We both love chardonnay. We both have this similar sense of humor. But the cool thing about Amy is she really does work to lift up people around her, like she wants to. She put me on her show. Inside Amy Schumer is, like, a really big deal, you know, and she's like, I want you to be on the show, and I want you to close every season. She's like, I think you're really special, and I want the world to see you. And I don't know that I would ever do that for anybody except for Poppy, you know what I mean?

[Michael Shulman]

So we have a clip from Inside Amy Schumer. This is the Shumarenka tennis match. Bridget Everett is just three points away from winning her fourth Grand Slam.

[Bridget Everett]

Remarkably, she has not allowed Shumarenka a single game in this match. And yet I can't take my eyes off of Schumarenka's unique style on the court.

[Michael Shulman]

I agree, Patrick. Schumerenka has a charisma on the court that just pulls you in.

[Bridget Everett]

I think one reason why Schumarenka is having such a difficult time in this match is the distraction factor of Everett's grunting. Oh, God, it's disgusting. I mean, they should really ban it out. Heaving and sweating like a Clydesdale, Everett makes the shot. Let's take a look at the instant replay.

[Michael Shulman]

So great. So do the two of you, like, in your friendship, have any of that dynamic of kind of like the alpha and the beta or.

[Bridget Everett]

What do you mean?

[Michael Shulman]

Well, in that skit, she's sort of like the type A personality or whatever. She's a sort of.

[Bridget Everett]

Oh, you mean she's hot and I'm sponsored by ground beef.

[Michael Shulman]

Yeah, and you're like the hot mess. I mean, is it like that when you hang out?

[Bridget Everett]

No, we just hang out. We just take off our bras and drink wine and watch the 90 Day Fiance. Like, we, you know, certainly she's really successful and she's beautiful and loaded. She picks up the checks. But we just, we hang out and we chit chat and it's pretty balanced.

[Michael Shulman]

I was watching a clip of you being interviewed by Larry King, which is already pretty great, but he said at one point, you have a lot of body confidence, which is just like. I just can't imagine that Lion King is ever phrased that question before than any of his other guests. Did you always have body confidence or was it an evolution of embracing that or what?

[Bridget Everett]

I mean, again, it's just like being on stage is like being the person that you wish you were all the time. And when I was growing up, my mom used to. We would go to the grocery store and she would just wear, like, her night dress with nothing underneath it, and we'd go to Food for Less and she just didn't care. So, like, for me, that sort of just like, not caring. It's not about, like, look at me, honey. Look at my curves. Yes, Queen, yes. It's like, it's more about just like it's my body and who gives a fuck? You know what I mean? Like, that's all because I do appreciate the people that are just like, I'm here. I'm giving testimony to, like, all the other big girls out there. And I don't, you know, don't hate yourself. But, like, if I'm like an audience member, I want to see somebody on stage or see somebody in real life. I want to see people just, like, fluid in themselves and not telling me why I need to be fluid in myself. That's what brings me joy and that's why I like to do it on stage. I feel like we're celebrating in the moment that we're all okay.

[Michael Shulman]

So I want to, before we run out of time, talk about Patty Cakes because it was such a great movie, such a great role for you.

[Bridget Everett]

Thanks.

[Michael Shulman]

This is a scene with you and the title character, Patty Cakes, and you play her mother. So let's just take a quick look at this scene from Patty Cakes.

[Bridget Everett]

Ma seems depressed. You don't take her out during the Day when I'm at work. Maybe get her away from the television, let her live a little bit. No, I'm busy. You're busy? I'm grinding. What the fuck is grinding? Cause I know my music. You know your music? Well, since when do you do music, honey? Well, you don't have a musical bone in your body and you sure as hell can't sing. What kind of music are we talking about here? I've been rapping. Rapping, rhyming, MCing, you know. Really? Jerry and I just booked our first recording session. What's your rap singing here? What are you, like, Dewey, Dewey Dumb Drops or some shit? I'm actually going as Killipee.

[Michael Shulman]

So this is a character who kind of once wanted to be a singer, but kind of hasn't fulfilled her dream that he was. And so she's. Her way of dealing with that is destroying Patty Cake's ambitions to be a rapper?

[Bridget Everett]

Yeah.

[Michael Shulman]

Was there stuff you had to draw in from that that was different than just being your fun loving self on stage? I mean, how did you tap into that, the sort of resentment of the character?

[Bridget Everett]

I don't know. I feel like dreams are complicated, you know? And, like, I spent a lot of years, like, wanting my dreams to come true. And, like, sometimes, mostly I'm always really happy when my friends have success. But I get the urge to want to tear somebody down, even when you love them because you don't want them to slip away, you know, or that you don't want them to have something that you never had. So, you know, but I just spent a lot of years wanting those things and never having them, so it wasn't too hard.

[Michael Shulman]

Do you think of this character as maybe like a version of yourself who had never moved from Arizona or who had never quit waitressing or that you, like. Do you see this person as a kind of an alternate life that you could have led?

[Bridget Everett]

Yeah. If I was still in Kansas and I wasn't singing and I wasn't doing what I wanted to do, that's exactly who I would be. And I would be that drunk and I would be at that bar. Hopefully not with those nails, but I would be that person. Thank you, Bridget. Amazing.

[David Remnick]

Bridget Everett talking about the 2017 film Patty Cakes. She talked with the New Yorker's Michael Shulman. I'm David Remnick, and that's our show. I hope you'll join us again next week. It might be a little less dirty and more serious. You never know. But we'll try to have some fun. Till then, stay in touch with us on Twitter New yorkerradio.

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