Sharp-witted, brilliant and controversial comedienne Margaret Cho is returning to her stand-up roots, with her brand new one-woman tour, “Beautiful.”

“Beautiful” is presented by LOGO, the cable television channel that has programming aimed toward the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. In the show, Cho dissects the nature of true beauty.

“It is all about loving yourself and feeling beautiful,” Cho said. “I did this radio interview, and the host asked me, ‘What would you do if you woke up tomorrow and you were beautiful? What if you woke up and you were blonde, you had blue eyes, you were 5 feet 11 inches, you weighed 100 pounds and you were beautiful? What would you do?’

“I was so offended then [and] thought that it was sad that he only thought that kind of person is beautiful-because I think everyone is [beautiful],” Cho said.

The show focuses on sexuality, women’s body issues and unrealistic ideals of beauty. “Beautiful” carries a strong take-home message: Beauty can be found in everyone, in all walks of life, Cho said.

Cho’s tour began on Feb. 27 in Australia, marking the first time she has opened a tour overseas.

“It was amazing,” Cho said. “Australia is very cool, and the culture is very similar to the [United States], so it doesn’t feel far away. It’s just like home.”

For someone who is fearless and outrageous on stage, Cho likes it to be pretty calm while offstage.

“[Touring] is pretty low-key,” she said. “I have been touring for, like, 25 years, so I am fairly used to it … For me, it has to be mellow. No craziness.”

The show, which stopped in St. Louis at Washington University on Thursday, March 27, returns Cho to her grassroots style of stand-up comedy.

After her last tour, “Sensuous Woman,” a burlesque-style show with a full cast, Cho said she could not be more excited.

The best part of doing a one-woman stand-up? “No pasties,” she said.

Born in San Francisco in the late ’60s, Cho grew up surrounded by “old hippies, ex-druggies, burnouts from the ’60s, drag queens, Chinese people and Koreans,” she said.

Growing up with many different influences and outlooks on life has helped to develop the person and comedienne Cho has become, making her more politically aware and compassionate, she said.

Cho’s comedy is often bursting with strong opinions and commentaries on politics and contemporary U.S. culture. It is very raw and very explicit at times. The nature of her material can be controversial. She jokes about everything from drug abuse to eating disorders, including politics, racism and homosexuality.

Cho said she has sometimes gotten into trouble for her commentary-but, to her, it doesn’t matter.

“I feel very strongly about certain issues. To me, it’s all just common sense,” Cho said. “I don’t really worry about it. I am a queer artist, and that is always going to be the case. It is exciting to be able to challenge the status quo with my point of view. I’m not concerned with what happens beyond that.”

Cho’s comedy also ties into political advocacy. She has, for a long time, been an advocate for LGBT rights. She has been honored by the ACLU of Southern California, GLAAD, PFLAG and American Women in Radio and Television for her work in making a significant difference in promoting equal rights for all.

Along with her routine of attacking the conventional side of the U.S. culture and politics, she is also known for her strong remarks attacking politicians. Cho has been railed for her criticism of President George W. Bush in previous tours.

Even though the focus of the “Beautiful” tour is on sexuality and is, in general, a more personal show, it will no doubt include Cho’s witty political commentary. Regarding the upcoming presidential election, Cho said that she is a fan of both Democrat presidential hopefuls, but that she is an outspoken supporter of Obama.

“I think he is great and will lead our country back to greatness,” Cho said.

Comedian Liam Sullivan (YouTube.com’s “Shoes” and “Let Me Borrow That Top” videos) is the opening act on Cho’s tour, which will make 26 stops.

The pair will be touring the country until June 7, when they make their final stop in Atlanta.