From her star-making antics
on Laugh-In to her Oscar-
nominated turn in Robert Altman’s Nashville to her one-woman Broadway smash The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe to the TV and film projects that continue to keep her in the public eye, Lily Tomlin has been amazing audiences for nearly four decades. Tonight, Tomlin brings her most beloved characters (Edith Anne, Ernestine, Lily Tomlin) to the stage of the 5th Avenue for a career-spanning retrospective. Swoon is not a strong enough word. (5th Avenue Theatre, 1308 Fifth Ave, 625-1900, 8 pm, $30–$83)

David Schmader—former weed columnist and Stranger associate editor—is the author of the solo plays Straight and Letter to Axl, which he’s performed in Seattle and across the US. His latest...