Review: Lily Tomlin at Mohegan Sun's 10th Anniversary
By: Randy Rice
A few minutes before Lily took the stage, a murmur and round of applause rose from the audience as many of Ms. Tomlin's Laugh-In cohorts came in to see her show. Joanne Worley, Ruth Buzzi, Gary Owens and George Schlatter were in Uncasville, CT to participate in Saturday's Mohegan Sun's Laugh-In 40th Reunion show.
Ms. Tomlin walked out to a nearly empty stage, only a black stool and a couple bottles of water, were in sight. She opened her show with some current event musings and humor. The current administration was skewered, the Democrats lightly-roasted.
The structure of the Ms. Tomlin's show was held together by Ms. Tomlin's homeless woman character "Trudy" from The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe. The Search was written by Ms. Tomlin's partner, Jane Wagner.
"Ernestine" and "Edith Ann", characters that Ms. Tomlin made famous during her run in Laugh-In, both made multiple appearances during the evening.
A pre-teen and teenage Lily Tomlin were also present. Ms. Tomlin let the audience peek into her psyche as she conveyed scenes from her Detroit, MI upbringing. Her longings, to be adored, to be a waitress, for a fair, just, and equitable world, were all presented in a humorous, sometimes hysterically funny, manner. A nod to Ms. Tomlin's parents, in the characters "Lud" and "Marie", make the audience feel as if we grew up with Ms. Tomlin, had a shared experience.
After her performance, Ms. Tomlin conducted a short Q&A with the audience. Ms. Tomlin was spontaneous, and self deprecating while she talked about her career and co-stars.
On Friday evening, Ms. Tomlin blended her "Performance Art" with her "Stand Up Comedy". The presentation was completely seamless and altogether entertaining.
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