Comedian Lily Tomlin at Strathmore

 Lily Tomlin nimbly ventures across television, theater, film, animation and video—however there is one constant: she always has her audience in stitches. One of America’s foremost comediennes, Tomlin will have audience members rolling in the aisles in the Music Center as she revisits her timeless characters, from Ernestine and Sister Boogie Woman to Mrs. Beasley and Edith Ann, on Friday, March 28, 2014 at 8 p.m. Over her more than 40-year career, Tomlin has received two Tonys, two Peabodys, six Emmys, a Grammy, the Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle awards, and the Mark Twain Prize for American humor. She recently made headlines for marrying her longtime creative partner Jane Wagner on New Year’s Eve 2013. For more information, call (301) 581-5100 or visit www.strathmore.org.

Tomlin was born in Detroit, Michigan and enrolled at Wayne State University to study medicine, but her elective courses in theater arts compelled her to become a performer. Tomlin made her television debut in 1966 on “The Garry Moore Show” and shortly thereafter made several appearances on “The Merv Griffin Show.” Tomlin rose to national prominence upon joining the cast of the top-rated “Laugh-In,” where she created the eccentric and endearing characterizations of Ernestine, the irascible telephone operator; Edith Ann, the precocious sandbox philosopher; and the Tasteful Lady, imperious and upper-class, who never fails to puncture her own pretense. She has also guest starred on numerous television shows, such as “Homicide,” “ X-Files,” “Will and Grace,” “Desperate Housewives,” “Damages,” “NCIS” and “Eastbound and Down.” She also had recurring roles on “The West Wing” and “Murphy Brown.”

Tomlin added to her repertoire of characters in her 1977 Tony-winning Broadway debut,Appearing Nitely, which introduced Trudy the bag lady, Crystal the hang-gliding quadriplegic, Rick the singles bar cruiser, Glenna as a child of the ’60s and Sister Boogie Woman, a 77-year-old blues revivalist. Tomlin also found success with her one woman performance in Jane Wagner’s The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe,which garnered a second Tony for Best Actress, a Drama Desk Award and Outer Critics’ Circle Award.

She has made 18 films and was nominated for an Oscar for her debut in Robert Altman’sNashville. Other memorable film projects include 9 to 5, with Jane Fonda and Dolly Parton, Carl Reiner’s All of Me and Big Business, with Bette Midler. More recent film work includes The Beverly Hillbillies, Getting Away with Murder, Krippendorf’s Tribe,Tea With Mussolini, I Heart Huckabee’s, Garrison Keillor’s A Prairie Home Companion, and the Tina Fey and Paul Rudd film Admission. 

Tomlin is currently working on new stage, radio, television and social media projects—she is narrating the HBO documentary,  An Apology to Elephants; she and Wagner are working on a television series about several members of a bizarre and troubled family making good. She has entered the social media arena with a new, educational game app for kids based on her beloved character, Edith Ann.