Whether it's on the big screen ("Madea's Family Reunion," "Dirty Laundry," "The Preacher's Wife," ) television ("Jackie's Back!" "Strong Medicine, ""Girlfriends") or on stage ("Dreamgirls") in her own one-woman shows ("The Diva is Dismissed," "Bipolar, Bath and Beyond"), Jenifer Lewis is a force of nature and someone whose talent I greatly appreciate.
It was such thrill to talk to her at the Les Girls breast cancer fundraiser Monday night. She is as thoughtful as she is talented and says more in just a few minutes than a lot of people say in an hour. I had missed the annual Divas Simply Singing Benefit on Saturday night and Jenifer said: "You did? You missed it, and I showed up! Did 'Black Don't Crack."
Among the lines from that night: "Harriett had the railroad. Sojourner had the truth. We got Condoleezza in the White House but the girl should fix her tooth."
I told her how much I had enjoyed the film "Dirty Laundry" which screened a couple of summers ago at Outfest and wondered when the heck it would be in theaters. She said the release is now set for Dec. 19. But she hasn't been sitting around waiting for its release, not with live performances of "Bipolar" for 10 Saturdays at the LA Gay and Lesbian Center Reneberg Theatre, raising a lot of money for the center.
"I'm taking the show to New York late next year, I'm not sure exactly when yet. My daughter's 20 now, in her third year of college and I just want to be with her. I'm kind of over it. But when I do it, I enjoy myself - I'm not THAT over it. Let's face it, I am Jenifer Lewis. (laughs) I have a volume of work, a volume of work and I'm very grateful, I'm very happy to be in this business - it's what I do, how I breathe."
I wanted to know why it is that gays love her so much. I love her answer: "I think like Judy Garland and any other diva, the gay boys and girls, they relate to not only the ambition and the difference. We're not of the world, we're different. We are. I think we also relate with the struggle, the struggle of being different. We don't live normal lives, there's nothing normal about us in different lives and I think they see that. There's a crispness in knowing who you are and doing what we do..."
At this point, Sam Harris walks up to give Jenifer a big hug and he's gotta go in so I have to cut short the chat with Lewis to talk to Sam. Such problems.

Anyway, here is a clip of Jenifer's performance at the Diva's show: