Lily Tomlin Opens Edmonds Center for the Arts Season on Saturday

Lily Tomlin will bring all her talents to bear—and she’s won Tony, Emmy and Grammy awards—when she opens the 2011-2012 season on Saturday. She will perform at 3:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

“There will be some of my stand-up, some of it first-person dialog,” said Tomlin, 72. Of course, you can also expect comedy bits surrounding a few of Tomlin’s most well-known characters, including two from Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In: the nasal-toned telephone operator Ernestine and the 5-year-old kid, Edith Ann.

Expect jibes against one of Tomlin’s favorite targets: the far right, as the comedian is not afraid to jab at those who she believes are taking the country down the wrong path. Her new favorite targets are the Tea Party and Texas governor and presidential candidate Rick Perry.

Depending on your age, Tomlin means different things to different people. You may remember her from those Laugh-In roles in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s. Or from her later movie roles, including 9 to 5, The Incredible Shrinking Woman, The Beverly Hillbillies and I Heart Huckabees. Or maybe from her acclaimed Broadway roles.

In the last decade, she’s made several appearances on TV, including on The West Wing, Desperate Housewives, Damages and the HBO series Eastbound and Down.

In Edmonds, Tomlin may also speak about the demise of the military’s "don’t ask, don’t tell" policy. Gay rights is a subject close to her heart, as she’s a high-profile proponent of gay rights, along with her partner, Jane Wagner.

“People are more outspoken about it now,” Tomlin said. “I got lambasted for saying if everyone comes out, fine, but we don’t know everybody’s circumstance. We’re not in their shoes, and if they don’t have the circumstance in their life to do it, it’s none of our business. I don’t need someone else to come out to validate me.”

The fifth anniversary season of the Edmonds Center for the Arts will feature .