Mama’s back and she’s bad

“Mama” has escaped primetime censors, and the eternal geezer is embracing her potty mouth.

“This is my opportunity to be Chris Rock,” said Vicki Lawrence, the entertainer who introduced Thelma Harper as “Mama” on the “Carol Burnett Show” and carried the character into “Mama’s Family.” “This is not a kids show. This is not the ‘Mama’ from ‘Mama’s Family.’ “

Actually, it is the same “Mama,” a cynical stereotypical geezer who constantly was coming down on her family; she’s just taken her gloves off and is unleashing her judgment upon a host of pop- culture characters, which, of course, includes Michael Jackson. Again, it’s not a kids show.

“A Two Woman Show,” featuring Lawrence as a stand-up act and as “Mama,” comes to Spokane for an 8 p.m. show Saturday at Northern Quest Casino. Tickets for $35 and $55 are available at the casino box office, (509) 343-2329, and through TicketsWest, (800) 325-SEAT or www.ticketswest.com.

Lawrence takes audiences through the story of her 30-plus-year career in the form of a stand-up routine for the first half of the show. Between her role in the ‘60s and ‘70s on the hit “Carol Burnett Show” and her stint in the ‘90s as host of the daytime talk show “Vicki!,” Lawrence has had a hit single (“The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia”) and appeared in numerous sit-coms and productions.

But stand-up didn’t make it into her repertoire until the past few years. “(Stand-up has) been a whole new learning experience for me,” Lawrence said in a phone interview from her home in Southern California. “I knew I wanted to bring ‘Mama’ out of the closet, ‘cause people have never seen her in person.”

Lawrence appears in the show’s second act as “Mama,” a performance she says is liberating because “Mama” can say whatever she wants.

“That’s my opportunity to hide behind that old lady and say what I want to say,” said Lawrence, who at 55 says she’s still growing into the character. “The fun part for me is to just really push that envelope.”

Taking the show to a bigger stage and larger audiences gives her the opportunity to see what she can get away with.

“I think it might be fun to get this show to Broadway,” she said. “I don’t think about that too much. Things have always sort of happened for me. Something else always comes up.”