As a lifelong fan who has spent nearly a decade chasing a copy of Lily Tomlin’s “The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe,” I can confidently say that last week’s screening was a cosmic event! Watching Tomlin breathe life into her myriad characters, from Agnus Angst to Trudy the bag lady, felt like witnessing a celestial alignment.
Ever since comedy icon Lily Tomlin portrayed a witty senior citizen in Paul Weitz’s “Grandma” over a decade ago, I’ve been on a mission to find a copy of her one-woman performance titled “The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe”.
Well, the search is over.
Last Friday evening, I found myself seated alongside my “Frank and Gracie” co-star and frequent collaborator, the legendary Jane Fonda, for the premiere of our restored film, “Frank and Gracie,” at RescueFest – IndieCollect’s inaugural event featuring films revived by their organization, held right here in Los Angeles. For years, this movie has been out of circulation and typically incomplete. The feature version, directed and filmed by the talented John Bailey, was released back in 1991, six years after I brought my show to life at New York’s Plymouth Theater.
Back in 1985, Frank Rich hailed “Search” as the most provocatively funny Broadway show in years, according to The New York Times. Although Jane Wagner’s script has been accessible for quite some time, the film adaptation directed by Bailey had been difficult to find… until recently, that is. Ed Carter, who was previously the curator at the Academy Film Archive, unearthed the original negative from a stack of rescued reels at Deluxe Labs. As an admirer of this elusive production, I’m thrilled that it’s now more accessible to us all.
The restoration process lasted for three years, with an added challenge as the original negative was nine minutes shorter than Tomlin recalled. Upon discovering the 108-minute version, he had to verify it, leading him to notice a discrepancy. This is when we uncovered the additional missing nine minutes, which were later found in a print and successfully combined with the existing footage.
To this admirer of Tomlin, the performance was an enlightening experience: a chance to witness her portray various characters, ranging from Agnus Angst, a rebellious teenager fleeing society who expresses anger, to a group of past feminists, and even Trudy, the Madison Avenue ad exec turned homeless woman, who navigates life with her shopping cart, jotting down profound thoughts on Post-Its as she ponders aliens.
Tomlin clarified, ‘I specialize in character-driven performances rather than traditional stand-up.’ At that point, it felt groundbreaking to him, as it distinguished him from others. It also received exceptional critiques.
Following the screening, Fonda engaged in a thirty-minute question-and-answer session with her longtime companion. “That’s why ‘9 to 5’ turned out as it did,” she shared with the audience, indicating towards Tomlin, “because of when I saw her perform in a one-woman show.” (In other words: Fonda advocated for Tomlin to portray Violet Newstead in the 1980 office satire after witnessing her first Broadway production, ‘Appearing Nitely,’ in 1977.)
Tomlin expressed that her first Broadway show was a way to establish herself as a legitimate performer. Tired of brief engagements on tour, she often found herself booked for just one or two nights, with the next day bringing a new destination and a great review about her performance that she wished could be savored longer. Thus, Tomlin and Wagner collaborated to create “Search,” a production where she portrayed over a dozen characters during its 117-minute runtime.
She remembered that during a performance in Lexington, Kentucky, where she was on tour, Jane sent her a stack of cards, roughly an inch thick. All of them were addressed to Agnus. After performing my usual act, I found it impossible to memorize all the messages, so I decided to read them instead.
Years after the event at the Lexington Opera House, Tomlin continues to receive letters from a devoted fan, expressing disappointment over the reduction of Agnus’ role in the production, allegedly orchestrated by Wagner, to accommodate eleven additional characters such as the character Trudy who plays the scatterbrained host.
Tomlin shared with Fonda that Trudy is a philosopher. Essentially, she’s like a wise jester in a play, because Jane, who has always been fascinated by science and space exploration, started using Trudy as the foundation for creating various characters. Her aim was to present as diverse a range of characters as possible, all played by a single actor, in an attempt to encompass as much of humanity as feasible.
For several years, I’ve been eagerly waiting to catch the show “Search,” yet many ambitious theater groups have attempted to stage it without Lisa Tomlin. In 2022, during her final year on “Saturday Night Live,” Cecily Strong made an attempt – a bold move that, unfortunately, didn’t impress this critic. As Tomlin stated, “Typically, when people put the show on, they use twelve actors.” This was also true for a 2016 production at the Los Angeles LGBT Center. Many have taken on this project, but often, they abandon it due to the difficulty in mastering it within the given timeframe.
Wagner developed the roles for Tomlin, and they refined these characters together over several months. This creative journey is chronicled in a seldom-seen film titled “Lily Tomlin: The Film Behind the Show,” directed by Joan Churchill and Nick Broomfield. In this documentary, viewers gain unique insights into the duo’s writing and rehearsal methods.
Tomlin takes the most pride in the live Broadway performance, yet appreciates that the 1991 movie has been reinstated. “I’m never content,” she expressed. “That’s why I enjoy working live, as people seldom recall it precisely, and each night offers an opportunity to improve upon it.
As per Sandra Schulberg, founder of Independent Filmmaker Project, the version shown at RescueFest has been almost finalized. This version, supervised by Cameron Haffner and Ciara Kain from IndieCollect, and featuring audio restoration by Nick Bergh of Endpoint Audio Labs in Burbank, is now ready for a theatrical re-release next year.
In essence, “Search” could appear reminiscent of a time capsule, but in reality, it strikes a chord of fresh significance in our current times. For instance, when Agnus complains, “It seems I’ve missed out on a large part of what made America exceptional.
What particularly impressed me about the diverse roles played by Tomlin in “Search” is her ability to portray each character as if they were real individuals. Yes, these characters are intended to be humorous, but Tomlin breathes life into them all – from Trudy, the homeless woman, to Brandy and Tina, prostitutes who have grown weary of being questioned by intellectuals – with equal measures of affection and understanding.
As she told Fonda, “That empathy thing, that’s a big assignment for people who don’t have it.”
Towards the close of their conversation, Fonda inquired from her companion if they perceived any evidence of intelligent beings in the universe currently. Tomlin responded with a slight exclamation, “Indeed, there seems to be a great deal of intelligence, but unfortunately, we often use that intelligence in such a foolish manner that it’s challenging to fully endorse it.
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2024-12-14 06:47