Eva DeVirgilis shines in the solo-performance The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe. Actually, she more than shines. She self-ignites and blazes away with her emotionally ravishing and astonishingly funny talents.
Opening this Henley Street Theatre production, written by Jane Wagner and made famous by Lily Tomlin, we meet Trudy, a New York bag lady from the corner of “Walk” and “Don’t Walk”. Challenging the reality of “reality”, she reveals that going crazy was the best thing to ever happen to her, and suggests everyone break into her “piñata perspective.” As Trudy explains, “When [the mind] breaks open, there’s lots of surprises inside. Once you get in the piñata perspective, you see that losing your mind can be a peak experience.”
We are then slowly introduced to a diverse collection of characters that include a divorced health-nut/cokehead/bodybuilder/sperm-donor who questions his paternal instincts; a provoked and distressed 15-year-old, Agnes; a wealthy, aloof woman whose greatest global concern is a botched haircut; two prostitutes, Brandi and Tina; and a constantly quarreling, yet endearing older couple, Lud and Marie. These are only a few from the host of characters DeVirgilis portrays.