Neal Justin: Sandra Bernhard gives a shout-out to her favorite Minnesotan

"Late Night With David Letterman" wouldn't have become one of the most iconic shows in TV history without Sandra Bernhard.

In more than two dozen appearances on the program, she consistently rattled the host with sexual bravado and unpredictable twists. In 1988, she made headlines by bringing out Madonna for a raucous chat.

Bernhard, 68, isn't quite as outrageous these days. Her Aug. 12 appearance at the Parkway Theater in Minneapolis will feature timeless tunes. The SiriusXM radio show "Sandyland" is as soothing as chamomile tea. One of her favorite guests is Minnesota-raised comedian Lizz Winstead.

"She's doing the best work of anyone I know, trying to save women's lives and save abortion rights," Bernhard said in a phone interview last month from her home in New York. "She's No. 1 with a bullet. No, a rocket."

Q: What can people expect from your latest touring show? Still doing Prince covers?
A: No. Oh, wait. There is a Prince song, but it's one associated with someone else. I'll leave it at that. I want there to be an element of surprise. I try to do songs that tell a story and that haven't been covered a lot. We do Linda Ronstadt's "Different Drum." It's got a driving melody and it's in my range. It's beautiful.

Q: The version of you on radio and in concert is softer than the one we knew from "Late Night." Is that because the formats are different or because you are different?
A: It's a combination. That was a very specific time in our culture. David broke all the rules. Groovy people in college stayed up late to see something earth-shattering. We had an incredible rapport.

Q: But when Letterman moved over to CBS, he stopped booking you.
A: I think once he moved to an earlier time slot, he and CBS had different expectations. His show became more about big stars talking about their film projects. It lost some of its excitement and freshness.

Q: The same year you started appearing on "Late Night" you did "The King of Comedy" and got such incredible reviews. Did your acting career afterward go the way you wanted?
A: Yes and no. If I had done a movie like that now, there might have been a different trajectory. There are more opportunities today for offbeat actors. Back then, there was not a lot of roles that really suited me. I was expected to play the best friends in rom-coms. I could have done those, but I don't know how much it would have accelerated my acting career. The work has picked up lately with projects like "Pose," so it's all good.

Q: Do you ever look at the comedians working today and take pride in how you influenced them?
A: It would be sort of pretentious of me to do that. Everyone does their own thing. But I do look at how comics, especially women, do things now that would have never happened when I started out. There's a passing of the torch. People open doors for you and you open doors for others.