FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Livermore Valley Arts
Contact: Ruth Egherman (925) 583-2306
Silly Summer, The Sequel, at The Bankhead
Livermore, CA – (June 20, 2025) – Livermore Valley Arts is elated to continue with more playful comedy offerings for Tri-Valley funny bones this July and August. From the internet sensation live and in person, Dry Bar Comedy LIVE on Friday, July 18, to a return visit welcoming back a comedy legend at not one but two shows on Saturday, August 16 with Vicki Lawrence and Mama: A Two-Woman Show, The Bankhead will be filled with LOLs throughout the summer. Both of these laugh-filled events will be at the beautiful Bankhead Theater in Downtown Livermore.
Dry Bar Comedy Tour LIVE is coming! The comedians who bring their clean “Comedy For Everyone” to clubs and theaters on this exciting nationwide tour are dropping by The Bankhead on July 18. The wildly popular online series of specials that offers clean “Comedy for Everyone” is expanding to live shows featuring comedians who’ve become Dry Bar fan favorites. Since its launch just last year, Dry Bar comedy specials have generated over ONE BILLION views on social media and generated millions of fans. Dry Bar maintains its whirlwind momentum by producing live shows across the U.S. These same professional comedians have also performed on many late-night shows, including The Tonight Show, Jimmy Kimmel, Netflix Comedy, TBS’s Conan, Comedy Central, and more. Tickets are expected to be in high demand, as fans will now be able to watch comedians they’ve come to know and love live and in person. Come check out Dry Bar Comedy Tour, the internet sensation, in Downtown Livermore. The hilarical comedians coming to Livermore on the 18th include Jenna Kim Jones, Tré Lamb, Travis Tate, and Seth Tippetts.
Closing out the summer season, in a star return to the Tri-Valley, Emmy Award-winning comedienne Vicki Lawrence, one of the most beloved television personalities of her generation, returns to bring comedy gold with Vicki Lawrence and Mama: A Two-Woman Show.
Plucked out of total obscurity as a high school senior, Vicki went on to become part of the now-legendary cast of The Carol Burnett Show. “I went to the Harvard School of Comedy in front of America,” says Lawrence of her Burnett Show training. In the seventh season, and hundreds of hilarious sketches later, at the ripe, old age of 24, Vicki created her most endearing character to date, Thelma Harper, or “Mama” as she is better known to her fans. After the Burnett Show, Vicki went on to star in Mama’s Family, which consistently topped the ratings for its entire six-year run of original shows. “Mama” has attained almost a cult status among her legions of loyal television viewers, who still enjoy her in reruns twice daily throughout most of the country and the world. No stranger to television, Vicki perfected her hosting skills on her own daytime talk show Vicki! from 1992 to 1994. She received critical acclaim when she was the only talk show host since Oprah to be nominated for a Daytime Emmy in her freshman year. Through the years Lawrence has made appearances on other television programs, such as Laverne & Shirley, Major Dad, Roseanne, Hannah Montana (Hannah’s Grandma Stewart), and Yes, Dear. Lawrence has also appeared with Burnett, Korman, and Tim Conway in the Burnett show retrospectives. Lawrence most recently co-starred in the popular FOX-TV 2018 comedy series The Cool Kids. The unprecedented ratings for the “Carol Burnett Showstopper Special,” which delighted more than 50 million viewers, convinced Ms. Lawrence that the time is right to take Mama out of the closet, dust off her sensible shoes, and hit the road with her new touring production, Vicki Lawrence and Mama: A Two-Woman Show. Vicki will take the stage first. “My show is not a retrospective,” she explains. “The show is a mixture of stand-up comedy, music, and my observations about real life.” The multi-talented entertainer is mostly known for her acting and comedic talents, but she also earned a gold record for the 1973 hit, “The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia.” “I think people will get a kick out of the things Mama has an opinion about. We’re creating new material with a more modern and cutting edge. Where Mama is concerned, expect the unexpected. There’s really nothing she can’t do,” she says. “I hope people will be pleasantly surprised by a side of Vicki they may never have seen…I know they will be looking forward to Mama, and for her part, that crazy old gal will be up to the challenge.” This is not Vicki’s first foray into theater. She has appeared in numerous productions, including Carousel, Send Me No Flowers, No, No, Nanette, My Fat Friend, Chapter Two, Twigs, Hello, Dolly!, Special Occasions, I’m Getting My Act Together and Taking It On The Road, Annie Get Your Gun, and live from the Grand Ole Opry, Nunsense 3: The Jamboree which aired on TNN.
Having last delighted Tri-Valley audiences in 2018, Livermore Valley Arts is ecstatic to present this comedy great once again on August 16, back at The Bankhead.
Tickets for all remaining shows in the 2024—2025 Bankhead Presents season and in the 2025—2026 Bankhead Presents season are available online, by calling 925-373-6800, or at the box office windows. For a complete list of events, visit LivermoreArts.org.
# # #
Livermore Valley Arts is an independent 501(c)3 non-profit offering wide-ranging programs that provide access to the arts for the Tri-Valley community and beyond. The Bankhead Theater and Bothwell Arts Center are home to eight resident performing arts companies, over 40 studio artists, and cultural arts instructors. LivermoreArts.org
Show: Dry Bar Comedy LIVE
Date/Time: Friday, July 18, 2025, at 8:00pm
Tickets: $25—$70 ($25 student/military personnel) / Groups of 10 or more save 20%
Show: Vicki Lawrence and Mama: A Two-Woman Show
Date/Time: Saturday, August 16, 2025, at 3:00pm and 8:00pm
Tickets: $25—$90 ($25 student/military personnel) / Groups of 10 or more save 20% Dates, times, and ticket prices for other events available at www.LivermoreArts.org
