Lily Tomlin: A Really Special Show In A City Where Everything Is Called 'Special'

                                                                   

Las Vegas is a city of hyperbole. Everything is billed as an "experience," a "spectacular." Even a waterfall in a hotel isn't a plain old waterfall, it's a "water feature." And, of course, there are performers whose shows are called "special" because their engagement here may be limited or, perhaps, they're here for a cause.

Lily Tomlin's show at the MGM Grand's Hollywood Theatre is simply billed as Lily Tomlin: Not Playing With A Full Deck, but it is nonetheless very special.

First, it must be said that Lily Tomlin is one very funny, very talented woman. She's also breathtakingly smart — and not afraid to show it.

In Not Playing With A Full Deck Tomlin comes onstage with her entire family of characters or, more accurately, incarnations of Lily. But this is by no means an oldies act full of nostalgia and not much else.

Reed-slender and very lithe, Tomlin reintroduces us to Trudy the Bag Lady, Ernestine, Edith Ann (complete with the original rocking chair) Sister Boogie Woman, Judith Beasley, Madama Lupe.....well, you know the cast. But this is no walk down memory lane. They are all there in the context of today, speaking about today and referenceing our world. Her observations are trenchant and, of course, very funny. Because she is such a fine actor, this is also a very theatrical show. And that sets it leagues away from any simple stand-up.

Tomlin talks about what worries her ("Identity theft because no one has chosen to be me."), reality shows ("Anyone who gets a reality TV show needs it to prove they've actually been in touch with reality."), plastic surgery ("Lip injections — you put your money where your mouth is.") and is a terrific storyteller. She touches on the topical, like health insurance, celebrity, her childhood, politics (noting "how hard it is to be politically conscious and upwardly mobile at the same time") and takes questions from the audiencee.

Now, I've seen more shows than I can count, but I've never heard an entertainer, as Tomlin does, use Lillian Hellman as an example in a riff on beauty, use the word "ephemeral," throw a quote from Andre Malraux up on a screen. Tomlin does all these, never for a moment hiding her intelligence as other comedians too often do (Rodney Carrington comes vividly to mind). She is who she is and she's not afraid to show it. That's so refreshing. And so welcome.

The show is a collaboration between Tomlin and her longtime partner Jane Wagner and the two have always produced brilliant material. The only issue I can find with the evening is that the entire section about her aspiration to wait tables goes on too long and, though it's not her fault, a huge segment of her potential audience is not giving her a chance. There was, I'd bet, not one person in the room that night who doesn't remember seeing Lily Tomlin on Laugh In. And that's really too bad. She should be playing to a very broad demographic but, for some reason isn't. After all, you don't have to be her contemporary to "get" Lily Tomlin. Funny is funny; gifted is gifted.

This enagement, started on November 10 and running only through Wednesday, is Lily Tomlin's first in Las Vegas. I fervently hope it won't be her last.

The evening's opener is a musician-comedian named Rob Paravonian. Accompanied by his guitar, he points out truths about lyrics we all accept but that do not make any sense (the Friends theme is a fine example), talks a bit about himself and, I thought, went on waaaay too long about Pachelbel's Canon in D. (I feel compelled to note that I didn't think this portion of his act was too long because it was about classical music. It was too long because it was too long. The audience visibly glazed.) Paravonian is funny and has some good material. Shorten the Pachebel bit and his is a very good act.

Tickets for Lily Tomlin: Not Playing With A Full Deck range in price from $80.50 to $58.50 with a Golden Circle (front row seats and an after-show meet-and-greet) at $168.50 inclusive of taxes and fees. Go to www.mgmgrand.com or call 702-891-1111.   

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