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Can anyone else bring off Tomlin vehicle Search for Signs?
;)
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Ivividly remember the excitement of seeing Lily Tomlin in Search for Signs, a piece custom-made to show off her astounding virtuosity. With Tomlin playing multiple roles, female and male, the full-length piece seemed to reveal many truths about the self-examining '70s.
Could anyone else bring it off — especially more than 20 years after it was written?
I was dubious, so let me start off with the very good news. Jane Wagner's Search remains a witty, trenchant, luminous play. (Yes, a play. Really. Not simply a monologue for Tomlin.) Sure, some of the references have dated — when did you last hear about a Samadhi tank? — but they've added a new layer of nostalgia. And beloved Philadelphia actress Jennifer Childs imprints herself on the piece in a way that's fresh and fun. If you never saw Search before, it's time to discover it. And if you loved it the first time around, take this opportunity to get reacquainted.
Of course, the symbiosis between Wagner and Tomlin was unique: The former essentially wrote material specifically for characters the latter had developed. That doesn't mean Tomlin "owned" Search, or had the only key to unlock it, but it's sometimes hard to get her out of our minds. As Trudy, the homeless woman who serves as the show's narrator, Tomlin's brand of deranged charm was unbeatable. She captured what's at the heart of Search — a combination of humor and pathos.
Playing Trudy, Childs does something different, making her a lovable, lived-in toughie with a heart of gold. It works in a way, but she's too cozy-cute. There's never any feeling that Trudy could be genuinely unhinged, or dangerous.
This pretty much sets the tone for the remainder of the show. Where Childs can be winning without too much underlying darkness, she's superb (note especially a conversation between two prostitutes at the top of Act II — fabulous!). When something bleaker is called for — and there are several conversations about suicide and hopelessness — we miss the extra layer that Tomlin offered.
Mary Carpenter directs a production notable for its elegant precision. (Only in a difficult sequence where several women go through a multiyear relationship does some of the storytelling get blurry.) The night I saw Search, Childs had an adoring audience in the palm of her hand. I imagine she'll have you there, too.
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