Jane Wagner created this one-woman show for Lily Tomlin in 1985 so that audiences could appreciate not just Tomlin’s comic timing but also her extraordinary acting talent. Tomlin inhabits 12 characters in this tour-de-force anchored by bag lady Trudy, an everywoman for all time. As Tomlin explained onstage at the restoration’s world premiere, “Trudy is a philosopher… the wise fool.” Asked by Jane Fonda, her comrade-in-arms and the evening’s moderator, if she sees any signs of intelligent life in the universe at the moment, Tomlin replied, “I see a lot of intelligence, but we apply that intelligence so stupidly.” – IndieCollect

Gloria Steinem praised THE SEARCH FOR SIGNS OF INTELLIGENT LIFE IN THE UNIVERSE as “a work of genius and compassion.”