Together Lily Tomlin and Jane Wagner, life and business partners for 40 years, have created iconic characters, television specials, movies, books, and Broadway plays. And they have garnered numerous Emmys, Grammys, Tonys, and Peabody Awards for their efforts. Now the pair have come out with a new mobile phone app for kids -- City Adventures With Edith Ann.
In a recent exclusive interview, Tomlin and Wagner talked about the new project featuring one of their most beloved characters. The app consists of four games for kids -- Snack Stack, aMAZing maze, Word Wall, and Bug Rescue. In these kid-friendly adventures, guided by the voice of Tomlin as Edith Ann, players have two minutes to solve word scrambles by touching on letters of the alphabet. They will use logic skills to re-stack piles of cookies from largest to smallest. Kids can help Edith Ann catch bugs and release them in a pollution-free environment by simply tapping on the screen. And finally they can practice dexterity by guiding Edith Ann home through a maze of booby traps.
When asked why they decided to join the app revolution, Tomlin replied, "We've done recordings, video, theater, film, and television, and so it was a natural extension of the opportunities available to writers and actors."
Wagner explained why using Edith Ann for an App made sense, "Edith Ann loves technology, and she's been reinventing herself since she was 4." When making the app, the pair was committed to making sure the games were fun, educational, and a little bit challenging. Wagner stated, "I just know that playing these games helps kids learn. And I think that's wonderful if we can do that."
Lily Tomlin is on the road and on two TV shows
In addition to the digital project, Tomlin performs live at venues across the country. She can also be seen on the Showtime series, Lisa Kudrow's "Web Therapy," as the mother of Kudrow's character. Tomlin will also star this fall on "Malibu Country" with Reba McEntire. She explained, "It was an opportunity for me to play what could be a very funny and a good character. Plus Reba's just a doll to work with."
And for more Lily, kids can catch Tomlin as Ms. Frizzle in the DVD release of the entire series of "The Magic School Bus." The animated series, which first aired in 1994, takes students on grand adventures inside the human body, into outer space, back in time to the dinosaur era, and so much more. Tomlin won an Emmy for her work on the show.
Jane Wagner is re-releasing 'The Search'
Meanwhile Wagner has been working on a special 25th anniversary edition of her best-selling play, "The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe." Wagner recalled, "When Harpers approached us about the re-release, Lily and I thought it would be a good idea. We instinctively felt that feminism was coming back. It's been killed off so many times and then gets reborn, and I think there's another wave of it." The book will be released next month.
Check out the City Adventures with Edith Ann app available on iTunes. And visit Tomlin and Wager at their website or Facebook page to find out more about Tomlin and Wagner's upcoming events. Tune into "Web Therapy" on Monday nights at 11 p.m. EST/10 p.m. CST on Showtime. Watch for "Malibu Country" on ABC this fall.
