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Signs All Point to a Great "Search for Signs!"
May 21, 2026
the SEARCH FOR SIGNS OF INTELLIGENT LIFE IN THE UNIVERSE Comes to LNT.
Could there be a better Title?!
“Since I put reality on a back burner, my days are jam-packed and fun-filled.”
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all photos on this page courtesy of John Snell, photographer
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Lost Nation Theater presents the comedy made famous by Lily Tomlin: The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe – in a limited engagement - just two weeks only: Wednesdays-Sundays, June 4 – June 14th, and our cozy home in the Montpelier City Hall Arts Center is tranformed into a New York City street scene in a run down part of town!
Lily Tomlin won a Tony Award for her work in The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe – a show written especially for her by Jane Wagner.
Lost Nation Theater is mounting its production especially for favorite collaborators Maura O'Brien and Stoph Scheer – who’ve worked with the company for 27 and 17 years, respectively.
And this is the First Time they’re working together!
Can you believe it??
Stoph Scheer as "Tina" and Maura O'Brien as "Trudy" in this scene from the show.
O’Brien and Scheer launch us into laughter, longing, love, and confounding conundrums as they play 15 different characters between them.
It’s Stand-Up meets Broadway!
“Makes you laugh until you hurt.” – WABC TV.
Trudy explores art vs. real life (courtesy Andy Warhol)
Through the eyes of Trudy (played by Maura O’Brien, above), an eccentric sharp-witted “homeless woman with a heart as vast as the cosmos she ponders, writer Wagner weaves a rich comic tapestry of interconnected stories.
Trudy, explaining earth to her alien space chums, introduces us to a host of quirky characters (all played by Stoph Scheer).
Search for Signs celebrates all the beauty, chaos, & contradictions of humanity, revealing the invisible threads that connect us all! It’s brilliant, satirical, & hilarious.
“I love Trudy. She is smart, sassy and street-wise. She describes herself as crazy but I wonder if she is not more enlightened than the rest of us.
As we hustle and bustle through our days, Trudy takes time to have fun, to live in the moment, and to enjoy and appreciate life and all its mystery.
She teaches all of us lessons about life that we need to hear.”- Maura O’Brien.
“A true goosebump experience” - The New York Times
“Magical! The show can bring you to tears of laughter and sympathy at virtually the same moment.” - Variety
Maura as "Trudy"
Directed by LNT Founding Artistic Director Kim Bent, LNT’s production of this masterwork features stellar design with Costumes by Jessica Della Pepa Clayton (Prom, Our Town), Scenery by John Paul Devlin (Drowsy Chaperone), Lighting & Video by Avi Sheehan (Our Town), sound by Andrew Vachon (Complete Works) and production stage management by Anna Blackburn.
“The Search for Signs... became an instant, era-defining Broadway phenomenon in the late 1980’s, and revisiting it gives us a bird’s-eye, rear-view mirror perspective of the bumpy road our ‘baby-boomer’ generation traveled to get us to where we are today. The plays sharp, insightful, three-dimensional humor is profound and revelatory, and its final statement of faith that our common humanity will eventually be our salvation is deeply convincing and joyfully reaffirming. It’s the kind of Theater experience we need now more than ever!” – Kim Bent
Search for Signs won multiple Drama Desk Awards and is celebrated as a “work of genius” for its blend of uproarious social commentary with poignant, emotional sketches of diverse characters. Among the characters are the aptly named Agnus Angst, a troubled, misunderstood teen; the storytelling prostitutes Brandy and Tina; the jaded, privileged Kate; and Lyn, Edie, and Marge - activists from the early days of the women's movement.
Stoph as "Lud" and "Marie"
“Bluntly presents stories of suicide, prostitution, rape, abuse, disillusion and disappointment. But it does so in a way that doesn’t just make us laugh; it offers a way to hope. - NY Theater
“A human comedy that strikes home so sharply it brings gasps of recognition as well as outbursts of laughter.” – Newsweek
Maura as "Trudy" and Stoph as "Agnes Angst"
Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe, is a one-of-a-kind theatrical experience. Onstage for just 2 weeks!
Join Us! Wednesday-Sundays, June 4–14, 2026.
Curtain is 7:30pm Wed/Thu/Fri/Sat 2pm Sundays, plus a 2pm Sat Matinee June 13.
And don’t miss the pre-show party: Friday June 5 (included with your ticket price) featuring live music with the always entertaining & energizing Jim Thompson, plus deliciously delectable treats.
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We HOPE City Hall’s Elevator is reconstructed in time for the opening of the show!
But we’ll continue making shows digitally accessible.
For Information - Call: 802-229-0492. email: info@lostnationtheater.org
Sponsored by the City of Montpelier, Vermont Mutual Insurance, Sams Entertainment, Eternity The Point
Lost Nation Theater: “One of the Best Regional Theaters in America”- NYC Drama League,