''Out There'' is a series of two television comedy specials, broadcast by

Comedy Central Comedy Central is an American basic cable channel owned by Paramount Global through its network division's MTV Entertainment Group unit, based in Manhattan. The channel is geared towards young adults aged 18–34 and carries comedy programming ...

in 1993 and 1994. The specials centred on performances by openly

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is a ...

and/or gay-friendly comedians, primarily

stand-up comedy Stand-up comedy is a comedy, comedic performance to a live audience in which the performer addresses the audience directly from the stage. The performer is known as a comedian, a comic or a stand-up. Stand-up comedy consists of One-line joke ...

but also including some

sketch comedy Sketch comedy comprises a series of short, amusing scenes or vignettes, called "sketches", commonly between one and ten minutes long, performed by a group of comic actors or comedians. The form developed and became popular in vaudeville, and is ...

. The first special, hosted by

Lea DeLaria Lea DeLaria (born May 23, 1958) is an American comedian, actress, and jazz singer. DeLaria is credited with being the first openly gay comic to appear on American television with her 1993 appearance on ''The Arsenio Hall Show''. She is best kno ...

, aired in December 1993 following its recording in October on

National Coming Out Day National Coming Out Day (NCOD) is an annual LGBT awareness day observed on October 11, to support lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people ( the LGBT community, sometimes also called the queer community) in "coming out of the closet". First ...

. Performers appearing in the special included

David Drake David A. Drake (born September 24, 1945) is an American author of science fiction and fantasy literature. A Vietnam War veteran who has worked as a lawyer, he is now a writer in the military science fiction genre. Biography Drake graduated Phi ...

, Mark Davis, Bob Smith,

Melissa Etheridge Melissa Lou Etheridge (born May 29, 1961) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and guitarist. Her eponymous debut album was released in 1988 and became an underground success. It peaked at No. 22 on the ''Billboard'' 200 and its lead ...

Marga Gomez Marga Gomez is a comedian, writer, performer, and teaching artist from Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street (Manhattan), 15 ...

Ian McKellen Sir Ian Murray McKellen (born 25 May 1939) is an English actor. His career spans seven decades, having performed in genres ranging from Shakespearean and modern theatre to popular fantasy and science fiction. Regarded as a British cultural i ...

, Steve Moore,

Kathy Najimy Kathy Ann Najimy ( ; ar, كاثي ان نجيمي ; born February 6, 1957) is an American actress and activist. She is best known for her roles in the films ''Soapdish'' (1991), ''Sister Act'' (1992), '' Hocus Pocus'' (1993), ''Hope Floats'' (1 ...

Phranc Phranc (born Susan Gottlieb; August 28, 1957), is an American singer-songwriter whose career began playing in several bands in the late 1970s Los Angeles punk rock scene. Her musical style later shifted during the 1980s as a solo artist, into ...

Suzanne Westenhoefer Suzanne Westenhoefer (born March 31, 1961 in Columbia, Pennsylvania) is an American out lesbian stand-up comedian. She starred as a panelist on GSN's 2006 remake of ''I've Got a Secret'', which featured a panel of gay celebrities who had to gue ...

Bea Arthur Beatrice Arthur (born Bernice Frankel; May 13, 1922 – April 25, 2009) was an American actress and comedian. Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York City, Arthur began her career on stage in 1947, attracting critical acclaim before achieving ...

and

Pomo Afro Homos Pomo Afro Homos (1990–1995), short for postmodern African American homosexuals, was an African-American gay theater troupe founded in San Francisco by choreographer-dancer Djola Bernard Branner, actor Brian Freeman, and singer, dancer, and actor ...

. The second special, hosted by

Amanda Bearse Amanda Bearse (born August 9, 1958) is an American actress, comedian and director. She starred in the 1985 supernatural horror film ''Fright Night'', and later starred as Marcy Rhoades D'Arcy in the Fox sitcom '' Married... with Children'' (1987- ...

, aired in 1994 on National Coming Out Day,John Crook
"Gay comedy highlights Out There II special"
''Bedford Times-Mail'', October 7, 1994. with performers including DeLaria, Davis,

John McGivern John McGivern (born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin) is an American actor and writer, known for playing Bruce McIntosh in the Disney film ''The Princess Diaries'' and many commercials for companies such as Kohl's department store, Sears, and Philadelphia ...

Kate Clinton Kate Clinton (born November 9, 1947) is an American comedian specializing in political commentary from a gay/ lesbian point of view. Early life and education Clinton was born in Buffalo, New York. She was raised in a large Catholic family in th ...

Elvira Kurt Elvira Kurt (born December 9, 1961) is a Canadian comedian, and was the host of the game show '' Spin Off''. She hosted the entertainment satire/talk show ''PopCultured with Elvira Kurt'', which began on The Comedy Network in Canada in 2005. That ...

, Frank Maya, Scott Silverman and

Cybill Shepherd Cybill Lynne Shepherd (born February 18, 1950) is an American actress and former model. Her film debut and breakthrough role came as Jacy Farrow in Peter Bogdanovich's coming-of-age drama ''The Last Picture Show'' (1971) alongside Jeff Bridges. ...

References

External links

* * 1993 television specials 1994 television specials 1990s American television specials 1990s American LGBT-related comedy television series Comedy Central original programming LGBT-related television specials {{LGBT-tv-stub