Oh, Mama!
Comedienne Vicki Lawrence will strut her beloved alter ego today when she performs “Vicki Lawrence and Mama: A Two-Woman Show” at the Reagle ?Music Theatre in Waltham.
“No one’s ever seen Mama in person. It’s great to get her out and in everyone’s face,” said Lawrence, who first performed as the sassy gray-haired senior citizen on “The Carol Burnett Show” in the late 1960s and 1970s.
When the sketch show ended, Mama got her own sitcom (“Mama’s Family”), which ran from 1983-90. But its demise — and Lawrence’s short-lived talk show (1992-94) — left the actress “depressed” and leery of live performances.
“(‘Carol Burnett’ alums) Harvey (Korman) and Tim (Conway) were on the road, saying, ‘You and Mama would have such a good time,’ ” she recalled. “Prior to that I never felt like I wanted to be on stage alone.”
But Lawrence found her Mama mojo in 2002 and crafted a comedy show that is part autobiography, part current events.
“The first half of the show, I feel a great need to be me,” the 63-year-old said. “I’ve had a very serendipitous, funny life.”
She regales her fans with stories about growing up in Hollywood, almost becoming a dental hygienist and how a fan letter she sent to Burnett earned her a spot on the show.
“Everyone said I looked like her. I think she thought it would be a novelty,” she said.
Lawrence leaves the topical humor to Mama, who weighs in on everything from Honey Boo Boo to the David Petraeus scandal.
“There’s a lot for her to worry about,” she said.
Offstage, Lawrence worries about the daily, intense scrutiny young women in Hollywood face.
“I was Hannah Montana’s grandma when she was on the air. People stop me all the time and say, ‘What’s become of Miley Cyrus?’ ” she said. “She’s walking through a minefield, for crying out loud.
“I was young and green when I got on ‘The Carol Burnett Show.’ Now if you are not Carrie Underwood … you’re out of there,” she added. “People love to build you up, then tear you down, then watch you go back up.”
But Lawrence’s show is a love-fest, one she describes as “a journey” she takes with her fans.
“They’re a loving bunch,” she said.
So deep is the emotion — and the laughs — that Lawrence recalled one venue that had to steam clean 10 seats after her act.
“People laughed so hard, they peed in their pants. That’s the nicest compliment I’ve ever gotten,” she said.
“Vicki Lawrence and Mama,” Reagle Music Theatre, Waltham, 2 p.m. today. $34. 781-891-5600; reaglemusictheatre.org.
