The Search Continues

By Jewelle Gomez–

When Jane Wagner’s The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe premiered on Broadway in 1985 starring Lily Tomlin, it was a historic moment. The culmination of years of creative collaboration between the writer and actor/comedian (later spouses) was a one-person show, which concludes that “reality is nothing but a collective hunch,” evidence of which can be found on random Post-its.

I saw the show twice in 1985 and then two times more when it returned to Broadway in 2000. I also reviewed the book for a feminist literary journal. I wasn’t stalking Tomlin or Wagner, but rather capturing the experience of two profound, lesbian talents who’d created something unique and ephemeral. Even the filmed version of the show seems to have evaporated in a time when nothing ever disappears.

Fortunately, “The Search” continues, this time featuring icon Marga Gomez at the Aurora Theatre in Berkeley and running through August 10. A veteran comedian/monologist, Marga Gomez (unfortunately no relation) is a GLAAD award winner and has been featured on shows such as HBO’s Comic Relief and on television’s Sense8. But she’s most known for her inventive, insightful, funny performances delving into the life of her Puerto Rican family. Her next show, Spanish Stew, will arrive at New Conservatory Theatre Center this October! Marga can embody both her mother and father in an uncanny way that leaves you feeling you’ve really met them.

I’ve watched Marga’s solo performances many times over the past thirty years, but had never seen her do somebody else’s work. Seeing her on the Aurora Stage, I wondered several times, “Why not?!”

Here Marga is Trudy, our travel guide during this journey, as well as the many characters she encounters as she shows around her outer space chums who initiated the search: an angst-ridden teenage girl, the teen’s bewildered grandparents, and three practical and kind sex workers, among others. Finally, a new generation can marvel at the genius of Wagner’s social commentary: “Reality is the leading cause of stress among those in touch with it.” With the political reality threatening to drown us right now, each of Wagner’s aphorisms lands with life-saving relief.

Marga is the actor to deliver these lines right now. Where Lily was ethereal, Marga is earthy. She lands hard in the delusions, if that’s what they are, as if the urgency of the search is critical this time around. When Trudy points out the horror to “Mr Nabisco” of trying to sell the concept of snacking to people who are starving, Marga’s delivery reminds us that this exploitative behavior is still being perpetrated around the world.

Marga shepherds both the tragic and comic moments with a surety that allows the audience and the visiting aliens to want to understand how bad things happen to humans and what bad things we do to each other. Even when references might be out of date (such as the mention of G. Gordon Liddy), Marga brilliantly conveys what the reference means—treachery and unkindness—which are both quite current.

In the classic moment when Trudy explains the difference between a can of soup and a painting of a can of soup by Warhol to the space aliens, the complexity of the values of soup and art can still spark crackling discussions. Of all the actors to resurrect this classic work and make it sparkle, Marga, a Puerto Rican lesbian, makes the search more relevant and hysterically funny.

For more information about The Aurora Theatre Company’s production of The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe directed by Jennifer King and starring Marga Gomez, go to:
https://bit.ly/453QzWN

Jewelle Gomez is a lesbian/feminist activist, novelist, poet, and playwright. She’s written for “The Advocate,” “Ms. Magazine,” “Black Scholar,” “The San Francisco Chronicle,” “The New York Times,” and “The Village Voice.” Follow her on Instagram and Twitter @VampyreVamp

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Published on July 31, 2025