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Crosscurrents

Comic relief: performing through tragedy

Comedian Marilyn PIttman
Comedian Marilyn PIttman

Marilyn Pittman is one of San Francisco's first openly gay comics, rising to fame during the AIDS crisis, and known for bringing hilarity through her blunt, "tell it like it is" comedy.

But in 1997, tragedy struck, when her father murdered her mother, and then committed suicide. After that, Pittman went through her mother's journals, and her father's love letters, seeking answers as to why it happened. She asked questions like "did they really love each other?” and "could we see this coming?”

Pittman has turned tragedy into performance in the form of a one-woman show at San Francisco’s Marsh Theater. KALW's Hana Baba sat down with Pittman to talk about "It's All the Rage.”

This story originally aired on June 1, 2010.

Crosscurrents
Hana Baba is host of Crosscurrents, KALW's weeknight newsmagazine that broadcasts on KALW Public Radio in the San Francisco Bay Area.