Keynote Speaker Sandra Bernhard Takes Condoleezza Rice and Barbara Bush to Task at Human Rights Campaign's Annual Pacific Northwest Dinner;

Keynote Speaker Sandra Bernhard Takes Condoleezza Rice and Barbara Bush to Task at Human Rights Campaign's Annual Pacific Northwest Dinner;

One-Woman Show 'Without You I'm Nothing' Released on DVD for the First Time

NEW YORK, Sept. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- SANDRA BERNHARD -- iconoclast, actress, author, comedienne, singer -- was the keynote speaker at the Human Rights Campaign's Pacific Northwest Dinner in Seattle on Saturday, September 17. SANDRA mixed humor, hope, and outrage as she spoke about everything from Dick Cheney ("just plain mean") to personal responsibility and single motherhood in New York at the annual event for the nation's largest advocacy group for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights.

Attended by 800 guests, the event -- which in the past has featured speakers ranging from Howard Dean, former President Bill Clinton, and Rev. Jesse Jackson to last year's keynote speaker, comedienne Lily Tomlin -- raised money for the Human Rights Campaign's local and national efforts to promote equal rights.

Among the targets of SANDRA's barbs were Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Barbara Bush, and the Iraq War. SANDRA opened her address with an imagined conversation between herself and the Secretary of State. "Sandra, I'm just feeling so isolated," confided SANDRA's Rice. "I'm gay, I'm black, I'm a woman."

"Barbara Bush has her finger on the pulse of America. I'm so glad she's back and more compassionate than ever," SANDRA added, referencing the former First Lady's recent comments about Hurricane Katrina victims. "That's right, of course people just sat around New Orleans, boring, uninspired, soulless New Orleans, and dreamed of someday relocating to the Astrodome. 'Oh, dear lord, if only I could leave my unhappy existence and head on up to wonderful Houston and live with my friends side by side in a spacious football stadium, my life would be so much richer and complete.'"

SANDRA was equally nonplussed with America's disinterest in the war in Iraq: "Everyone is so busy waiting for Amy Grant to come to their town with her three wishes, they managed to forget about all the pain and heartache."

Meanwhile, SANDRA's critically acclaimed 1989 one-woman show WITHOUT YOU I'M NOTHING is being released on DVD for the first time by Sony/MGM.

SANDRA's most recent one-woman show, EVERYTHING BAD AND BEAUTIFUL, earned rave reviews during its three week run at the Silent Movie Theater in Los Angeles in March of this year. The Los Angeles Times called it "an electrifying fusion of lethal satire and sizzling rock 'n' roll," while Daily Variety described the show as "wickedly funny (and surprisingly heartfelt)."

Stay tuned for upcoming tour plans, and check http://www.sandrabernhard.com/ for more information.

Source: Sandra Bernhard

CONTACT: Dept. 56, +1-818-702-6253, fax: +1-818-883-4941, tmumba@aol.com

Web site: http://www.sandrabernhard.com/

------- Profile: Ent