“I always wanted to be somebody, but I guess I should have been more specific.”
——-Lily Tomlin, actor and comic
I was there once for a Lily Tomlin one-woman LIVE show! I remember that show and the woman herself with hilarity and affection. Tomlin’s insights were astonishing! Bang on!
The show was multi-media. Tomlin sat on stage with props and a stool. She interacted with the audience, and with herself–as herself and her various characters–on a huge video screen. Transitions were fast and brilliantly timed.
One transformation of Tomlin as “herself” to one of her characters, Edith Ann (the child) fooled us all. In fact I thought for a moment she’d “lost it” mid-performance. The hairs stood up on the back of my neck.
What she did was this:
She stood at the edge of the stage with a pitcher of water in one hand and glass in the other. She started pouring water into the glass…..and pouring…..and pouring, until the glass overflowed water all over the stage in front of her. She stared awhile at the big puddle she’d made and then, suddenly, she squatted down and started splashing water all over her head!
Tomlin–right before our stunned eyes–transformed herself from an adult into a child. The next words out of her mouth were Edith Ann’s. Wild! And brilliant! And terrifying! The audience roared with laughter!
Laughter is not an extra in life. Laughter’s the bottom line. Without it–life is unthinkable! When we laugh, our defenses are down. The most bizarre connections, connections not normally entertained or even suspected, can be made. Change becomes possible!
Into the mainstream, changing horses. Humor allows that, changing horses mid-stream. Tomlin is a master at that!
