For her Atlantic City debut, actress-comedienne Lily Tomlin won't be going it alone. She's bringing along a gaggle of old favorites, including Ernestine, the smart-alecky telephone operator, Trudy, the all-knowing homeless woman, and that eternal 6 year old, Edith Ann.

Although some of her most memorable, on-stage alter egos date from her landmark late-'60s comedy show "Laugh-In," they have kept up with the times. Ernestine, for example, has had to reinvent herself since the divestiture of the telephone company.

"She's had lots of different jobs over the intervening years," Tomlin says. "Right now, she is working for a big insurance company, denying health care for everyone. It's the perfect job for her."

Tomlin, over the course of her five-decade-long career, has also shown great versatility, switching easily between comedic and dramatic roles on stage and screen. Although she may be best known for her comedic talents, she's equally comfortable in dramatic roles, such as her current part on the FX series "Damages" co-starring Glenn Close.

"To me, there's not a great deal of difference," Tomlin says. "It's all performance and all interpretation, so stylistically, one vehicle allows a certain latitude or not, even within each of those forms. If the writing is good, it's easier to do drama, but I just like to perform."

Among her many honors, she's won Tony Awards for her one-woman Broadway shows "Appearing Nitely" and "The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe," six Emmys for her TV specials and a pair of Peabody Awards. She also was the 2003 recipient of the Kennedy Center's Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.

Her big-screen credits include an Oscar-nominated turn in "Nashville" and roles in "9 to 5," "All of Me," "Prairie Home Companion" and "I Heart Huckabee's." On the small screen, Tomlin co-starred in "And the Band Played On" and has had regular or recurring roles on "Murphy Brown," "The West Wing," "Desperate Housewives" and "Damages."

Ahead of her Saturday, Oct. 24, appearance at the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, Tomlin took time out to chat about her love of live performance and how getting the laugh hasn't really changed much over the years.

Q: How is this performance different from one you would do in a theater?

A: It's pretty interactive and more informal than if I were doing a theater piece. I like it to be extremely changeable. You don't know where I'm going to go. To me, it's like film cuts. If can take the audience with me, I can take them anywhere.

Q: Will you tell stories from your life?

A: Some pieces, they're related to my life in some sense. But hopefully they're not played self-referentially. I hope they're really universal and, first of all, funny - and layered and textured, so people can get it on many levels if they want to.

Q: What's the allure of performing live vs. on-screen?

A: The opportunity to change things and constantly refine something - the immediacy of that one night and going out there. It's like a blind date or something, except we sort of know each other. We've grown up together and suddenly have decided to start dating.

Q: Have you had to adjust your timing to get the laughs in the years since "Laugh-In?"

A: I think audiences are pretty reliably consistent, but it would depend on the proportion of one age range to another. I've always thought what I play to is a very broad audience because of the variety of characters and variety of points of view and topics. The characters grow in the culture.

Q: Your life partner, Jane Wagner, has been your in-house writer for much of your career. Does she automatically get your sensibility, or are there times when she misses the mark?

A: First of all, Jane is a writer. They don't like to face the empty page. They procrastinate. They tend to avoid it. I'm forever begging for something or begging to make something better. If I work by myself, I can take it to a certain point, but she has a level of writing that's superior by far.

We have such a similar sensibility in terms of a world view or view toward humanity - that makes it harmonious.

Lily Tomlin

WHEN: 9 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 24

WHERE: Music Box, Borgata Hotel

Casino & Spa, Atlantic City

HOW MUCH: Tickets, priced at $50 and $65, are available at the Borgata box office or through ComcastTix at 800-298-4200 or www.theborgata.com.

WEB SITE: www.lilytomlin.com

Drama, comedy fine for versatile Tomlin

Although Lily Tomlin may be best known for her comedic talents, she feels equally comfortable taking on dramatic roles, such as her current part on the FX series "Damages" co-starring Glenn Close.

"You get pigeonholed," Tomlin says of her primary image as a funny woman. "To me, there's not a great deal of difference. It's all performance and all interpretation, so stylistically, one vehicle allows a certain latitude or not, even within each of those forms. If the writing is good, it's easier to do drama, but I just like to perform."

Whatever the genre, Tomlin wouldn't mind it if she were offered a TV role at the time of the series' creation. "Damages" is in its third season, and Tomlin's other regular TV parts have included joining the casts of "Murphy Brown" and "The West Wing" toward the end of their runs.

"No one wants me right out of the gate," Tomlin says. "In mid-race, they say, 'Let's bring that filly in.'"