TONY TIME FOR TOMLIN, THE ACTRESS

“I’ve always thought of myself as an actress,” Lily Tomlin said. “I just happened to get famous from doing monologues on television and in clubs, and then, pigeon-holed.”

Tomlin was reflecting Monday morning on winning this season’s Tony award as best actress for her solo performance in Jane Wagner’s “The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe.”

“It all gets back to the material. I happened to be in a play that allowed me to shine, and this award’s really a nod to both of us,” Tomlin said.

In course of the free-flowing play, unconventional by Broadway standards, Tomlin creates a galaxy of characters, ranging from a 1960s idealist to a present-day bag lady, all aimed at summing up the last generation of American social history.

The announcement of the award during Sunday’s Tony telecast on CBS proved to be one of the most popular of the evening for the more than 2,000 people in the audience at the Minskoff Theater.

Tomlin’s competition included two of Broadway’s perennial favorites, Jessica Tandy and Rosemary Harris. Perhaps the applause stemmed from the fact that, since officially opening the 1985-86 Broadway season last Sept. 26, Tomlin and her show have continued to provide luster to a Broadway season generally assessed as a lackluster collection of revivals, British imports and tepid new musicals. For much of the season, Tomlin’s show at the Plymouth Theatre has been the only new show on Broadway to be sold out.

It is highly unusual for a one-person show, such as Tomlin’s, to be nominated for an award in a regular competition category. Customarily, such shows are recognized with “special” Tonys as was the case when Tomlin received an award in 1977 for “Appearing Nitely,” another one-woman show.

“I think it’s a new form of play, really, and certainly it marks an evolution for us,” Tomlin said, referring both to her current work and to her 15-year collaboration with Wagner. She said they had petitioned the Tony nominating committee to be considered for competition in the best play and best actress categories, “because we didn’t want to be considered ‘special.’

“We’ve always tried to do theater pieces and we’ve always wanted to do them on Broadway rather than in concert, but I think it’s probably difficult for traditionbound people to see our work as a play in the conventional sense.”

Tomlin recalled her difficulty trying to “cross over” into the legitimate theatrical arena from the first time she gained fame in 1971 on television’s “Laugh-In.”

“The irony is, I was optioning scripts back then to try and get produced,” she said, adding that “I only got cast in ‘Nashville,’ (her first film role in 1974) because (director) Robert Altman didn’t watch television. This is why this award is so gratifying .”

She said she plans to remain on Broadway with the show at least through the summer and then take it on a national tour, preferably with the first stop in Los Angeles. “It’s my home, and also there is a whole other side of the industry there who I want to see this play.”