Sedona News – One of the most beloved television personalities of all time — Emmy Award-winning comedienne Vicki Lawrence — comes to the Sedona International Film Festival with her all-new, two-woman show: “Vicki Lawrence and Mama”. The performance will take place live at the Sedona Performing Arts Center on opening night, Saturday, Feb. 22 at 8 p.m.
As part of the legendary cast of the Carol Burnett Show, Ms. Lawrence created her most endearing character to date — Thelma Harper or “Mama” — which later became the title character of the hilarious hit comedy series, Mama’s Family.
Experience a sidesplitting two-act show that serves a mix of stand-up, musical comedy and observations about real life from Ms. Lawrence and “Mama”. Fun, laughs and a good time!
Plucked out of total obscurity as a high school senior, Vicki Lawrence went on to become part of the now-legendary cast of the “Carol Burnett Show.” In the seventh season, and hundreds of hilarious sketches later, at the ripe, old age of 24, Vicki created her most endearing character to date, Thelma Harper, or “Mama” as she is better known to her fans. After the Burnett Show, Vicki went on to star in “Mama’s Family,” which consistently topped the ratings for its entire six-year run of original shows. “Mama” has attained almost a cult status among her legions of loyal television viewers, who still enjoy her in reruns twice daily throughout most of the country and the world.
No stranger to television, Vicki perfected her hosting skills on her own daytime talk show, “Vicki!”, from 1992 to 1994. She received critical acclaim when she was the only talk show host since Oprah to be nominated for a Daytime Emmy in her freshman year. Through the years Lawrence has made appearances on other television programs, such as Laverne & Shirley, Major Dad, Roseanne, Hannah Montana (Hannah’s Grandma Stewart), and Yes, Dear. Lawrence has also appeared with Burnett, Korman, and Tim Conway in the Burnett show retrospectives. Lawrence most recently co-starred in the popular FOX-TV 2018 comedy series The Cool Kids.
The unprecedented ratings for the “Carol Burnett Showstopper Special,” which delighted more than 50 million viewers, convinced Ms. Lawrence that the time is right to take Mama out of the closet, dust off her sensible shoes and hit the road with her new touring production, “Vicki Lawrence and Mama: A Two-Woman Show.”
“I think people will get a kick out of the things Mama has an opinion about. We’re creating new material with a more modern and cutting edge. Where Mama is concerned, expect the unexpected. There’s really nothing she can’t do,” she says. “I hope people will be pleasantly surprised by a side of Vicki they may never have seen…I know they will be looking forward to Mama, and for her part, that crazy old gal will be up to the challenge.”
This special film festival performance is sponsored by Bob and Sharon Lewis.
“Vicki Lawrence and Mama: A Two-Woman Show” will take the stage at the Sedona Performing Arts Center on Saturday, Feb. 22 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $59 General Admission or $49 for Sedona Film Festival Members.
For tickets and more information, please call 928-282-1177. Both the theatre and film festival office are located at 2030 W. Hwy. 89A, in West Sedona. For more information, visit: www.SedonaFilmFestival.org.