Lily Tomlin & Jane Wagner present Carlie & Doni Help Save The Theatre

Lily Tomlin & Jane Wagner present CARLIE & DONI 'HELP SAVE THE THEATRE' - a one-hour irreverent musical comedy extravaganza hosted by Lily Tomlin at Santa Monica Playhouse, one night only, Friday, April 8, 2011 at 8:00 pm.

CARLIE & DONI are two best friends who met in 2005 at Los Angeles Community College Theater Academy. They quickly realized it wasn't for them and dropped out. Carlie moved in with Doni and they decided to form a musical/comedy act, writing silly songs and sketches on their own time. One day in 2007 Carlie's mom convinced Carlie to sign them up for an open mic at the Comedy Store. They weren't sure how their straight girl/lesbian musical duo would go over. It went better than they expected. Over the last 3 years they have developed that 7-minute audition into a one-hour comedy musical/comedy extravaganza. Carlie & Doni recently performed at The Comedy Festival in San Francisco, are regulars at Jon Lovitz Comedy Club and this year were the Headline attraction at The Improv. This year C&D did their first commercial for Toyota, writing and performing a song they wrote called "My First Ride." They wrote the song and will appear as troubadours in the comedy film, "When Harry Marries." The act is building a following among many of their peers including the preeminent comedian, Lily Tomlin.

LILY TOMLIN is one of the best-loved women in America. Maybe she has enemies, but try to find one. She's an all-American natural. Born in Detroit, she has won - over a 40-year career - two Tonys, two Peabodys, six Emmys, a Grammy, the Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle awards, plus the Mark Twain Prize for American humor. Her 70's characters for TV's "Laugh-in" include: the irascible, prune-faced telephone operator Ernestine; the precocious sandbox philosopher, six year old Edith Ann, in an oversized rocking chair; and the Tasteful Lady, imperious and upper-class, who never fails to puncture her own pretense. Her one-woman Broadway performance in Jane Wagner's "The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe" became a classic. She has made 18 films and was nominated for an Oscar for her debut in Robert Altman's "Nashville." She was recently seen in Steve Martin's "Pink Panther, 2." Lily lives in Los Angeles with her partner, writer Jane Wagner.

JANE WAGNER was so cute when she made her career-leaping-teleplay "J.T." into a TV movie back in 1969 that when the play ran too long, she asked the producer to "cut some of the commercials." Not many blondes, no matter how adorable, can win the Peabody Award their first time out. She has been nominated for nine Emmy Awards, won three of them, and a Writer's Guild of America prize. She also took a second Peabody for "Edith Ann's Christmas: Just Say Noël." She wrote the screenplay and executive produced "The Incredible Shrinking Woman." When Lily Tomlin was given the Mark Twain Prize in Washington, D.C. recently, she directed most of her gratitude for this honor to Jane. Although Jane won the N.Y. Drama Critics' Circle and the N.Y. Drama Desk awards for her Broadway play "The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe," most civilized people in the western world feel she was robbed by not receiving the Pulitzer for creation of this long-running hit, which starred and proved to be actor Lily Tomlin's greatest achievement on the stage.

Admission is $25 in advance; $30 at the door. Admission includes pre- and post-show receptions. Seating is extremely limited; reservations are recommended and can be made online at http://SantaMonicaPlayhouse.com or call 1-(310)-394-9779 x1.

All proceeds benefit the Santa Monica Playhouse Save the Playhouse Campaign which is raising funds to keep the Playhouse doors open and secure a permanent home for this theatrical treasure in the city of Santa Monica after 50 years of being renters in the same location.