Lily Tomlin Resumes Broadway Performances in Life March 17

By Randy Gener NEW YORK — Lily Tomlin has found the secret to eternal Life.

Producers of The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe, has announced that after playing ten weeks her solo Broadway show has recouped its $1 million investment.

Search for Signs of Intelligent Life follows two Manhattan Theatre Club plays, Proof and The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife, which have also recently recouped their capitalization. Also Broadway’s The Dinner Party already began making profit last December, 2000.

Producers of Search recently announced that it has converted its twice-extended limited run at the Booth Theatre into an open-ended run, meaning it will continue ad infinitum until it stops making money, like most other Broadway shows.

Originally set to close Jan. 21, the show extended to Feb. 25, then to March 11, owing to booming ticket sales.

Tomlin will take a brief hiatus after the March 11 performance so she can travel to the West Coast to shoot her role in the film Orange County. She is scheduled to return to the show in time for the 2 PM March 17 matinee. Tomlin will make up the four missed performances by playing an extra Sunday matinee March 18 and 25; April 1 and 8.

Here is Theatre.com’s story on the show:

One of Broadway’s original monologuists is back in form.

Possibly encouraged by the success of comic monologuists Dame Edna, Jackie Mason, Spalding Gray and John Legiuzamo, Tony-winning actress Lily Tomlin returns to Broadway Nov. 16 with her 1985 hit, The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe.

Tomlin followed Dame Edna: The Royal Tour into the Booth Theatre, where previews began Nov. 11. Click here to order tickets online now. Tickets can be ordered via phone at (212) 239-6200.

HOW DOES THIS AFFECT ME?: Tomlin is a consummate mimic of accents and mannerisms, and her characters are indeed quite different from one another.

Written and directed by her longtime collaborator Jane Wagner, Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe showcases many of Tomlin’s comic alter egos, some familiar from her days on TV’s “Laugh-In” in the 1960s. Search’s universe consists of a dozen off-kilter Tomlin characters. Trudy, an endearing bag lady who talks to space aliens, serves as guide and narrator to the wonders of the universe.

Jane Wagner’s play skewers modern-day angst and observes life on the fringes of American society. This new Broadway version has reportedly been reforcused to reflect the millenial turn.

In addition to Trudy, Tomlin plays various characters: Kate, a socialite whose defining emotion was apathy and for whom appearance and status are the only things of real value, and of course Lyn, the woman going through a midlife crisis, whose life has paralleled, but not been much helped by, the feminist revolution.

In the original Broadway production, scenes were set in places as diverse at 49th Street and Broadway, a health club in Los Angeles and the International House of Pancakes restaurant in Indianapolis. Other characters included Judith Beasley, Chrissy, Vince and Lud & Marie.

Tomlin earned the 1986 Tony Award as Best Actress in a Play for her performance in the original production, which ran 398 performances at the Plymouth Theatre. She went on to win the Drama Desk Award, the New York Drama Critics Award and the Tony Award for Best Actress.

Tomlin has been touring and refining Search for Signs in recent years, mainly at small venues. {:-)-:}

KEY FACTS

Title: The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe

Previews: Began Nov. 11

Opening: Nov. 16

Theater: Booth

Address: 222 West 45th St.

Tickets: $50-$65

Information: (212) 239-6200

Creative Team: Play and direction by Jane Wagner.

Featured Performer: Lily Tomlin

Producer: Tomlin & Wagner Theatricalz