STAGE REVIEW : What Will Bernhard Think of Next?

“I’m out,” Sandra Bernhard told the audience for her new show, “Giving Till It Hurts,” at the Henry Fonda Theatre.

She wasn’t talking about fashion or baseball. Indeed, after listing the first names of some celebrities who are also “out,” she added, “it’s only fair that we out some of you tonight,” whereupon she poked a flashlight beam into the crowd and asked for a show of hands: the homosexuals, the bisexuals, then “the least interesting part of the crowd,” the heterosexuals.

The homosexual option harvested the most upraised hands. Bernhard’s own comments indicated she’s in the bisexual camp.

This little survey, near the top of the show, established the primary focus of this chapter of Bernhard’s explorations of pop culture: her own and other women’s sexuality, as opposed to the black/white racial reflections that preoccupied her during her show and movie, “Without You, I’m Nothing.”

So in a chat about Jacqueline Susann, leading up to a rendition of the theme from “Valley of the Dolls,” Bernhard--in an especially tough-talking guise--toasts the late novelist because “she gave these broads a chance to get off.” She tells a tale of a passionate affair with a woman in Paris as a preface to a full-throated rendition of “If You Go Away” in French, and she lampoons a bubble-headed bank teller’s night on the town and in the sack (with a man).

Near the end, she begins an arch discussion of why she wants to be called “a lady” and launches into a medley of “lady” songs. The sentiment is quickly undercut by the sight of her four-man chorus line shimmying in revealing drag on the side, then stripping down to their G-strings.

Bernhard too displays a lot of flesh, favoring black lingerie-based outfits and skimpy ‘60s-style mini-dresses, doing most of her changing on stage.

But not everything about the show is bawdy.

It begins with a mock-drugged-out interpretation of “Fever” and catty comments about Peggy Lee. In sunglasses and wildly teased hair, Bernhard looks like Barbie entering a drug rehab program.

Memories of her agonizing teen years lead to an authentically touching account of a girlfriend who simply disappeared one day, accompanied by Bernhard’s version of Cat Stevens’ “Sad Lisa.”

A lame re-enactment of an audition for a production of “Funny Girl” culminates in “People.” Then Bernhard changes into a Hare Krishna outfit. But instead of the expected cheap put-down, we get a dreamy interpretation of Joni Mitchell’s “Woodstock,” including some added lyrics protesting the devastation of the Gulf War.

Prince’s “Little Red Corvette,” used in Bernhard’s last show, pops up briefly again. And the encore is another re-run: the astrology-minded singer who uses “Me and Mrs. Jones” for her own statement--including, this time around, a quick excoriation of Gov. Pete Wilson for his veto of the gay-rights bill.

Despite the superficiality of her commentary, Bernhard keeps us watching, mainly through sheer chutzpah: What will she think of next? Her strikingly angular looks are easily adaptable for put-ons, and her singing voice--though amplified into the stratosphere--has an intriguing high-anxiety timbre that keeps us listening as well as watching.

She’s capably backed by a mostly female band, the Strap-Ons, supervised by Denise Fraser. John Boskovich co-wrote the material with Bernhard and also directed.

“Giving Till It Hurts,” Henry Fonda Theatre, 6126 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood. Tonight-Sunday, 8 p.m. Sold out; (213) 480-3232 or (714) 740-2000.