THREE SISTERS ACT : ‘Single, Married & Divorced’ Puts Status to Work for Women Doing Stand-Up

To hear Suzy Soro tell it, coming up with “Single, Married & Divorced” was a matter of survival, filling a niche and trying to get some health insurance.

Not necessarily in that order.

The idea first surfaced about a year ago, when Leslie Norris (who is married), who has the same agent as Soro (who is single), called her about going on the road together. But with comedy clubs shuttering throughout the country, the outlook wasn’t bright.

It would be helpful for their stand-up, they agreed, if they could find a gimmick. “Single, Married and Divorced” was born. But before they could take it on the road, they thought they saw an easier road to success.

“We came up with the idea to sell it to cable companies,” Soro explained in a phone interview Tuesday from her home near the Hollywood Hills sign. “We also had a sitcom treatment. I just wanted to get some money for health insurance. But we couldn’t sell it, and we were too lazy to go out and do it. We just wanted to sit back and count the money. Then my agent said we were going to have to do it live.”

So persuaded, in February they cinched the other third of the act, which features single, married and divorced comics discussing their status.

It took some searching, but Soro and Norris finally ran into Jedda Jones for the divorced portion of the 90-minute show.

“The three of us sat down, and Leslie came up with the (opening) song,” Soro said. “Jedda, Leslie and I brainstormed the sketch: The Sizzle Sisters come out as really sleazy lounge singers from Las Vegas, and then we turn into ourselves and do a sketch. From there, we do our stand-up. Leslie and Jedda make up an excuse to leave, then I’m on stage. The other two come back, then the divorced girl takes me off, sort of a tag team to get everyone on and off.”

Soro discusses how single women are taken advantage of, the drawbacks of dating and the purpose of singleness in general.

“During the recent earthquake,” the Indiana native tells audiences, “a bookcase fell off the wall and onto the passenger side of my bed. Unfortunately, nobody was hurt.”

Norris, who was a 1992 comedy finalist on “Star Search,” portrays the marrying kind and how they light up when someone speaks those three magic words: “I have money.”

Jones, whose credits include film work in “Indecent Proposal” and “Jimmy Hollywood,” spends her time explaining how Mr. Right went wrong.

But lest one get the idea that this is an anti-male consortium, Soro is quick to counter.

“We try very hard not to male-bash,” said Soro, adding that the show attracts about a 60-40 blend of women and men. “We bend over backward not to be excessively cruel. We’re presenting a point of view. We don’t want to alienate men. Some men came to the show and loved it.”

The production also fills a need that Soro said she noticed while working clubs around the country.

“People asked why there weren’t more women on the road. That got us thinking that women are clamoring for their voices to be heard. They’re not seeing it in comedy clubs,” Soro said, mentioning the Mommies and Mothers and Other Goddesses as two of the few acts offering such an outlet.

During the rambling interview, the health-insurance issue was about the only recurring theme. It has become a sore spot with Soro, who has been without coverage since December, 1991.

“It’s too expensive,” she said. “You can have insurance on your car or on you. It became a choice I had to make. And I’m not the only one; other comedians are in the same boat. We’re hoping (President) Clinton’s health-care package will help us.”

Soro has been doing stand-up since 1983, a logical career step after forming a band with her sister in France (her mother is French, and Soro summered there growing up) that performed Gershwin songs, with comedy patter in between.

“We were terrible, but no one told us,” Soro said, laughing at the memory. “When we moved to New York, my sister didn’t want to do it anymore.”

In her 20s and working in France, the young singer graduated to headlining a revue in a club across from the Moulin Rouge. That experience gave her the confidence to go solo when she moved to New York.

Now she’s content to mix her solo career--which boasts roles on “Seinfeld” and “Good Advice” as well as several cable shows--with “Single, Married & Divorced.”

Keeping the venture as a live show is working, but Soro hasn’t given up on turning it into a sitcom or cable special.

“We’d like both to happen.”

And, by her reckoning, that should bring in enough to get some health insurance.

What: “Single, Married & Divorced.”

When: Monday, June 6, at 8:30 p.m.

Where: The Improv, 4255 Campus Drive, Irvine.

Whereabouts: Take the San Diego (405) Freeway to the Jamboree Road exit and head south. Turn left onto Campus Drive. The Improv is in the Irvine Marketplace shopping center, across from the UC Irvine campus.

Wherewithal: $7.

Where to call: (714) 854-5455.

* COMEDY LISTINGS, Page 12