Q&A with Vicki Lawrence as she brings 'Mama' to Greensburg

She’s made us laugh for decades, first on the “Carol Burnett Show,” then on “Mama’s Family,” and now, in person, at The Palace Theatre in Greensburg.

Vicki Lawrence — actress, comedian and singer — brings everyone’s favorite senior citizen, “Mama,” to the stage for the performance of “Vicki Lawrence & Mama – A Two Woman Show ” at 3 p.m. June 23. It’s a mixture of stand-up comedy, music and observations about real life.

Career performer

Lawrence appeared on CBS’s “The Carol Burnett Show” for the entire series run. One such character she created on the series was Thelma Harper — we know her as Mama. Lawrence, took the character to NBC’s “Mama’s Family” series.

Lawrence was co-star of FOX’s comedy series “The Cool Kids,” but it wasn’t picked up for a second season. It was a comedy about a rowdy, rag-tag group of friends living in a retirement community who are willing to break every rule in order to have fun.

Award-winner

Lawrence won an Emmy Award in 1976.

She is a multiple Golden Globe nominee and in 1973 recorded the hit song “The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia.” It reached No. 1 on both the U.S. and Canada top charts.

As a high school senior, she went on to become part of the now- legendary cast of the “Carol Burnett Show.”

“I went to the Harvard School of Comedy in front of America,” she has said of her “Burnett Show” training.

Lawrence talked to the Tribune- Review about her upcoming Palace appearance.

Question: What has been your biggest compliment for this show?

Answer: “We were in Laughlin, Nev., about 90 miles from Las Vegas for five shows and there were a lot of senior citizens there. The guy who booked the show asked me if I knew what the word was on the casino floor about my show. He said it was ‘wear your Depends’ because this show is so funny. That was the nicest compliment I ever got. And be advised, Mama will be wearing her Depends.”

Q: That wig you wear for Mama, how many do you have and how many have you bought?

A: “I have been wearing the same wig the entire time. I brought it to my hairdresser who said it was in great shape that it just needed trimmed a bit. I have an extra one just in case, but I love the one I wear all the time. It fits perfect. And I tell people, it’s much easier to look like Mama than to look like Vicki. Vicki takes so much more work.”

Q: What does Mama talk about for this show?

A: “Mama has plenty of things to say. She will talk about Depends and how to fix health care. She has a lot of good ideas for the president. She is upset with women who put their makeup on while driving and toilets that flush three times before she has a chance to pull her pants up. She is very upset with the Kardashians. She won’t buy an iPad because she hasn’t bought a pad since she went through ‘the change.’”

Q: Does Mama get into politics?

A: “I try to keep Mama topical and Vicki also changes with the times. When Obama was running for President, Mama thought she should be his running mate and the campaign slogan would have been ‘Obama Mama.’ ” Today, there are times Mama can’t be funnier than the President. One thing I do know is we need Mama and laughter more than ever today.”

Q: Do you think about your hit song (The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia)?

A: “Yes, when you have a famous song, you sing it, and I do.”

Q: What was your favorite role on the “Carol Burnett Show”?

A: “I loved all the musical stuff we did. I know everyone loves the curtain from the ‘Gone with the Wind’-inspired scene. I got to play Sissy and that was one a fun character. I also loved all the Bob Mackie costumes. They were amazing. And we did some great family sketches, including the scenes when we played the game Sorry.”

Q: Do you still see Carol Burnett?

A: “Carol and I still get together, but she is so busy also. I saw her when we lost Tim (Conway). We still need to get together to celebrate her birthday (April). We are long overdue for that.”

Q: What was it like working with Tim Conway?

A: “There will never be another Tim Conway. He was so funny and he went off script all the time. His mission in life was to destroy everybody. I didn’t realize until later that he was dyslexic, so reading cue cards was challenging. But he was so good at making stuff up. I wasn’t in a lot of scenes with him because I wasn’t allowed to play with the grown-ups.”

Q: Does Mama inspire drag queens?

A: “Yes, yes she does. I have met many men dressed as Mama. One guy in an audience in Texas told me he was Mama for Halloween.”

Q: Why do you love comedy?

A: “I love the live shows because you can feel the energy from the audience and no two shows are the same. Each audience has its own personality. And Mama loves being on stage. She is my rock and she enjoys making people laugh.”

Q: Why Pittsburgh?

A: “Pittsburghers are my peeps. They are great fans. And I am finding more and more younger people coming to shows in Pittsburgh and other cities. They are learning about me backwards. They come to this show and then they go back and watch ‘Mama’s Family’ and ‘The Carol Burnett Show.’ That’s the beauty of the internet.”

Q: You have a rough time in your life during your acting career with a man at one of the production companies?

A: “If that happened today, people would listen to me, but back then they didn’t want to talk about it. It was the toughest period of my life, three years of hell. My husband bought me a Labrador retriever for Valentine’s Day. I didn’t know I wanted a dog, but she made me smile. She saved my life.”