Northern Stage Presents SEARCH FOR INTELLIGENT LIFE, 1/19-2/6

If a group of aliens asked you to show them around, what would you show them?  How would you explain life on Earth?  How would you explain fried clams at Howard Johnson's?
 
The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe by Jane Wagner, presented at Northern Stage January 19 - February 6, introduces us to Trudy, a designer and creative consultant in New York who has a breakdown-or was it a breakthrough?-and now lives on the street.  According to her, "I got the kind of madness Socrates talked about, 'A divine release of the soul from the yoke of custom and convention.'"  As she tunes in to a variety of characters via her umbrella hat/satellite dish to inform her alien friends, the audience is treated to laugh-out-loud comedy.  We soon realize we're laughing at ourselves-and learning a lot about ourselves at the same time.
 
Uproarious situations blend with questions about space, time, infinity and reality.  As Trudy says, "My space chums think reality was once a primitive method of crowd control that got out of hand.  In my view, it's absurdity dressed up in a three-piece business suit."
 
Trudy-and all of the other characters-are portrayed by Northern Stage favorite Catherine Doherty, an incredibly gifted comic and dramatic actor who most recently appeared as the Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard of Oz.
 
The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe, directed by John Patrick Hayden, runs live on stage at the Briggs Opera House in White River Junction from January 16 - February 6, 2011.  Performances are Tuesdays through Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 5:00 p.m., except for the Opening Night performance on Friday, Jan. 18 at 7:00 p.m., with a 2:00 p.m. matinee on Thursday, Jan. 27.  For tickets and information, call 802-296-7000.  Tickets are also available through the Northern Stage website, www.northernstage.org.

About the PlayWhen Trudy-"our Socrates/narrator for the night," as director John Patrick Hayden refers to her-stops to meet her alien friends at the corner of Walk and Don't Walk, the fun begins.  You'll meet Judith Beasley, who sells marital aids to suburban women, "a kind of hamburger Helper for the boudoir"; Chrissy, a fitness freak who lost her answering-service job "because I would not lie for people who wanted me to say they were out when they weren't"; Kate, a victim of her hairdresser, "Bucci the Arrogant"; and Agnus Angst, a 15-year-old punk.  We meet each character in separate episodes, but as the play develops, their lives are tied together in subtle and surprising ways.  The second act follows the friendship of three woman-Lyn, Edie and Marge- as they negotiate their way through early feminism and the changing roles of woman.  Trudy sums up her search for signs of intelligent life by deciding to "set time aside each day to do awe-robics.  Because at the moment you are most in awe of all there is about life that you don't understand, you are closer to understanding it all than at any other time."

With one actress playing a dozen characters and little in the way of props and sets, the show encourages the audience to create their own world, to "bring your own brain coloring book and color things in," says Hayden.  While the rights to produce this play have been available for some time, it is generally licensed to theaters that use several actors to play the different characters.  Northern Stage, on the strength of Catherine Doherty's reputation, is one of the few that have been allowed to perform it with just one actor.
 
Some of the characters, including Trudy and frustrated housewife Judith Beasley, first appeared in Lily Tomlin's 1977 one-woman show Appearing Nitely, Tomlin's Broadway debut.  (It was during the tour of this show that Doherty had an opportunity to see it many times as a young usher in Washington, DC, leading to a memorable and inspiring meeting with Tomlin.)  In 1985, after a workshopping stint at Seattle Repertory Theatre, The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe came to Broadway, starring Tomlin and directed by Wagner, where it became one of the most critically acclaimed plays of the 1985-86 Broadway season.  Previews began at the Plymouth Theatre on Sept. 12, 1985.  The play opened on Sept. 26 and ran through Oct. 5, 1986, with a total of 391 performances, scoring Tomlin a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play (over nominees RoseMary Harris, Jessica Tandy and Mary Beth Hurt), as well as Drama Desk Awards for Outstanding Actress, Outstanding Sound Design/Music and Unique Theatrical Experience.  The hardcover edition of Search earned the distinction of being the first play in 20 years to appear on The New York Times bestseller list.
 
Wagner adapted Search for an HBO film in 1992, for which she also wrote the title song, We Are The Ones.  The film picked up a Cable ACE Award for Wagner.  Tomlin's Broadway success was followed by a coast-to-coast, 14-city tour that spanned four and a half years.  A second tour in 1999, covering 29 cities, was followed by a new production on Broadway at the Booth Theatre, with another 184 performances, from Nov. 11, 2000 to May 20, 2001. This time. Search picked up Tony and Drama Desk nominations for Best Revival.  Another subsequent tour included a record-breaking six-month run in San Francisco, as well as a critically acclaimed eight weeks in Los Angeles.