Vicki Lawrence brings 'Mama' to Greensburg's Palace Theatre

Sep. 6—Vicki Lawrence was never intended to play "Mama," the sharp-tongued Southerner who became one of the most iconic characters to emerge from "The Carol Burnett Show" in the 1970s.

The show's writers created the part for Burnett in a one-time sketch, with the role of Mama's long-suffering daughter, Eunice, to be filled by a guest star.

Burnett had another idea.

"Carol said, 'I want to be Eunice, and I want Vicki to play Mama,' " Lawrence said.

The writers weren't happy about it, but the star had her way, and the rest is television history.

"Mama" Thelma Harper lived on after Burnett's variety show ended in 1978. Lawrence played her in two iterations of "Mama's Family," from 1983 to 1990, and then reprised her for a long-running stage show.

"Vicki Lawrence & Mama: A Two-Woman Stage Show" makes a stop at 7 p.m. Sept. 16 at The Palace Theatre in Greensburg.

For writers Jenna McMahon and Dick Clair, creating Mama was a "comic exorcism," Lawrence said.

"They both came from dysfunctional upbringings, so they wrote this beautiful homage to their dysfunctional families, but they just were appalled at what Carol did with it," she said. "The first time they saw us do it, they got up and walked out. They said, 'You've ruined it.'

"But we all know what happened," she added. "Everybody loved it so much, they couldn't write those sketches fast enough."

Though Burnett is 16 years older than Lawrence, "the character of Eunice just spoke to Carol more — the put-upon girl who wants to be something, but never will be because her mother is so mean to her," Lawrence said.

On the other hand, playing a salty senior citizen was easy for the 20-something Lawrence, now 74.

"When Carol was Shirley Temple, I was always the mean, old schoolmarm. If she was Goldilocks, I was always the wicked witch," she said. "I played a lot of crazy old ladies, so it wasn't that much of a stretch for me."

Emmy Award winner

Though Mama has been a big part of Lawrence's career, her resume is long and varied.

She hosted the daytime version of the NBC game show "Win, Lose or Draw" from 1987 to 1990 and was a celebrity player on game shows like "Match Game," "Password" and "The $100,000 Pyramid." In the late 1980s, she appeared on "Hollywood Squares" as both herself and Mama.

She won an Emmy for "The Carol Burnett Show" and was a multiple nominee for a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Talk Show Host for her early 1990s show, "Vicki!"

As a singer, Lawrence calls herself a one-hit wonder for "The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia," a country single that went gold in 1972.

"'Georgia' was such a bittersweet memory for me, because the fellow that I was married to (Bobby Russell) wrote the song," she said. "We were married for all of 10 minutes, because he was very upset when it became a hit record and I got the credit and he didn't.

"It was the ultimate demise of an already doomed marriage that ended in divorce," she said. "The good news is that I got a gold record and the dog."

Lawrence was married to singer/songwriter Russell from 1972 to 1974. Her second husband is Hollywood make-up artist Al Schultz, whom she married in late 1974. They have two adult children.

In "Vicki Lawrence & Mama," the star sings, does stand-up comedy and recounts her memories.

"My part of the show is largely autobiographical," Lawrence said. "I feel like I have a lot of fun stuff to share with the audience, and I like to think I'm kind of funny.

"I have a lot of wonderful stories — how I met Carol, how I became a natural redhead, how I met my husband, who was the makeup man on the show, how Mama came to be, how I had one hit record," she said.

Then Mama comes out.

"When I put the show together, I knew Mama had to be a big part of it," Lawrence said. "Everybody loves her so much, it's almost like she's a real person. She's my chance to have fun."

Though Mama was created about 50 years ago, she's kept up with the times.

"I wanted to push her into the new century," Lawrence said. "She's worried about Medicare, she's worried about all that infrastructure, she's worried about global warming, gay marriage, the toilets that flush three times before you can get your pants up.

"I thought it would be fun to have her comment on all the crazy stuff that's going on in the world," she said. "God knows there's plenty of material."

Lawrence said she's been surprised as younger generations have discovered Mama.

"At the very first show we did, all these college guys showed up," she said. "I said, 'Really?' They said, 'We would never have gotten through without Mama.'

"So many older people are sharing the great old shows with their children and grandchildren, and they just don't make them like that anymore," she said. "('Mama's Family') is one of those shows you can turn on and laugh at for no good reason.

"There's no cussing, there's no sexual content, there's no message — other than straighten up and fly right."

Tickets for "Vicki Lawrence & Mama" are $45-$99, available at 724-836-8000 or thepalacetheatre.org.

Shirley McMarlin is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Shirley by email at [email protected] or via Twitter .