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It was in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks that longtime comedian Vicki Lawrence began seeking to bring her beloved character Thelma “Mama” Harper into the present day at a time when the world needed to laugh.
“It was the year after 9/11, and I remember saying to my writing partner, ‘I know that Mama has to be a big part of the show because people love her so much, but I would really like to be me before I’m not anymore,'” Lawrence said in a recent interview with the Pleasanton Weekly. “So we put together the show in two parts.”
Lawrence has been taking her “two woman show” around the world ever since, providing a personal glimpse into her own life and career that was spurred by her run on “The Carol Burnett Show” from 1967 to 1978 – where Mama also made her debut before making her own mark on the spinoff series “Mama’s Family” in the 1980s.
“My part is sort of largely autobiographical,” said Lawrence, who has two appearances set in Livermore in mid-August. “It’s like everything people would want to ask me if I did questions and answers like Carol (Burnett). So it’s like how I got started. How did I become a natural redhead? How did I meet my husband? How come I had one huge hit record? How did Mama happen? It’s everything that people would want to know.”
“I feel like my life has been nothing if not comical and very serendipitous,” she continued. “So I would like to think that’s a very funny part of the show. And then we take a little break, and then Mama comes out.”
Nearly 60 years after Lawrence’s most well-known character was debuted, Mama continues to live large despite drastic changes to the media landscape in the years that have followed, and to society at large.
“I just didn’t want her to be retrospective,” Lawrence said. “A lot of people just think Mama’s kind of stuck in a time warp, because she’s very Midwestern, she’s very stuck in her ways, she’s very traditional. And I wanted to take her out of that and push her into the new century so she would have to deal with what’s going on in the world.”
Mama’s talking points in the present day are wide-ranging and ever-evolving, Lawrence said.
“Mama always has her own reactions – sometimes they make sense,” Lawrence said. “A lot of the time they don’t. A lot of the time she’s got it just a little bit wrong. But you know, she talks about everything. Like how can there be a size zero? And what about the toilets that flush three times before you can pull your pants up? And what about same-sex marriage? I mean, she just talks about everything.”
Lawrence noted that the media landscape – particularly network television and the rise of social media – has changed drastically during her time in show business. She said that a long-running late night variety show on network television would be all but impossible today.
But while Lawrence and many others still hold fond memories of what is considered by many to be the golden age of television comedy, changes over the years have given way to new opportunities – and new audiences for Lawrence as herself and as Mama.
“A lot of parents and grandparents are introducing their kids to all the good old shows, and it’s great, so I feel like Mama is as popular as she’s ever been,” Lawrence said. “I’ll tell you what, during the pandemic I have never gotten so much fan mail.”
Lawrence said that she personally watches little in the way of comedy on network television, and struggles to sit through standup comedy shows in the present day in a “very different” environment than what she and her colleagues on “the “The Carol Burnett Show” experienced.
“We were left alone by the network,” Lawrence said. “Now everybody’s looking over your shoulder – that’s very different than it used to be. It used to be so much fun. It’s just different now. And I mean, why are you going to pay for all of those things to do a variety show when you can now get people to act like idiots on TV for nothing?”
While Lawrence’s work continues to resonate with each new generation – arguably more than ever – she said that she struggles to give advice to up-and-coming performers in the present day.
“I don’t even know if I would choose show business now, because it’s so hard,” Lawrence said.
In addition to a lack of freedom to produce shows without network interference, Lawrence pointed to the treatment of younger generations of women building their careers in the public eye and the increasing scrutiny amid the rise of tabloids and then social media.
As an example, Lawrence pointed to the numerous calls she received from reporters questioning her about Miley Cyrus’ now infamous 2013 VMA performance alongside Robin Thicke, with Lawrence having guest-starred on multiple episodes of “Hannah Montana” as the title character’s grandmother.
“I said she’ll be just fine,” Lawrence said. “And she is. She’s amazingly talented. I don’t worry about her at all.”
“But you know, when I was a kid you were allowed to run around and do stupid stuff while you were growing up, and now every single thing you do is on the web five minutes later, and every single person has to comment about it, and you’re followed by people, and it’s just so different,” Lawrence continued. “It’s so invasive. You have to be an awfully strong person to just put up with all of it.”
Nonetheless, Lawrence said that she has seen some positive changes, at least in the comedy world and its treatment of women, over the course of her career.
“Things are changing – it’s slow – it always has been for women, but they’re changing,” Lawrence said. “Thankfully, women are tough.”
“That’s the fun thing about Mama – she’s an old lady,” she continued. “I feel, now that I’m much older, that you just kind of earn the right and the privilege to say what you need, and say what you think. You don’t have a lot of time to waste, so you just say things. And Mama’s always been that way.”
“Vicki Lawrence and Mama: A Two Woman Show” is set for the Bankhead Theater on Aug. 16, with performances at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. Tickets and more information are available at livermorearts.org.
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