An Evening of Classic Lily Tomlin

Throughout her extraordinary career, comedienne and actress Lily Tomlin has performed across a wide range of media – including television, theater, motion pictures, animation and video – and achieved remarkable success in all of them. 

At the heart of her talent is Tomlin’s chameleon-like ability to create dozens of richly textured characters who never fail to amuse, entertain and ultimately leave us with much food for thought.  These personalities will take center stage in her Lyric Theatre performance. 

“An Evening of Classic Lily Tomlin” will feature a compilation of some of the many personalities that this incredible performer has created for her stage and screen endeavors.  Yes, telephone operator Ernestine will appear, but now she works for a big health care insurance corporation and, according to Tomlin, “denies health care to everyone.”

Tomlin first honed her comedic craft in New York, where she built a strong following with her appearances at landmark clubs like The Improvisation, Café au Go Go, and Upstairs at The Downstairs.  She made her television debut in 1966 on “The Garry Moore Show,” but it wasn’t until 1969, when she joined the cast of the top-rated “Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In,” that she rose to national prominence with her characterizations of Ernestine, the irascible telephone operator, and Edith Ann, the devilish six-year-old. 

In her career spanning over five decades, Tomlin has performed on television (in six comedy specials and guest roles on “Homicide,” “X-Files,” “The West Wing” and more), on the Broadway stage (“Appearing Nightly,” “The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe”) and in films (“Nashville,” “9 to 5,” “All of Me,” “Big Business”).  Her honors include six Emmys, two Tonys, a Drama Desk Award, an Outer Critics’ Circle Award, a Grammy and two Peabody Awards.  In 2003, she received the prestigious Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in Washington, DC.

Don’t miss this opportunity to see one of America’s foremost comediennes, who remains at the top of her game.