Lily Tomlin First Guest on Miss Coco Peru's 'Conversations With Coco'

After a successful Kickstarter campaign, drag icon Miss Coco Peru announced that she will film a for-profit series pilot of�"Conversations with Coco,"�based on her live theatre fundraising events. Her scheduled guest for the planned August 13 pilot is Lily Tomlin.

"I am absolutely thrilled that Lily Tomlin is scheduled as our guest for the pilot," said Miss Coco Peru. "If we reach our financing goal, we're filming it at the Renberg Theatre, which stages programs of the Lily Tomlin/Jane Wagner Cultural Arts Center, named in honor of Lily and her wife. I can't wait to talk with Lily about her amazing life and career, including recent projects like�'Grandma'�and�'Grace and Frankie.' And if the show gets picked up, a portion of the proceeds still goes straight to The Center. Well, 'straight' may not be the right word, but you get my point."

Since 2005, Coco has held live fundraisers at the Los Angeles LGBT Center's Renberg Theatre, engaging in intimate conversations with Hollywood legends, including Liza Minelli, Jane Fonda, and the late Bea Arthur.

Coco mentioned the 2005 event with Bea Arthur as a big reason why bringing these live shows to a larger audience is so important: "People today still ask me, 'Is there any way I can see that wonderful night with the late, great Bea Arthur?' And the answer is 'No,' and that makes me sad."

Jon Imparato, The Center's Director of Cultural Arts, said, "We've felt 'Conversations with Coco' would make a wonderful TV series since we debuted it on The Center's stages ten years ago."

The show is inspired by the fundraising projects by the same name produced by the Los Angeles LGBT center, which included guests such as Liza Minnelli, Bea Arthur and Jane Fonda. A portion of the proceeds, even if the show gets picked up for television, will benefit the LA LGBT Center.

"This is a wonderful opportunity to bring a series developed on The Center's stages to the screen," said The Center's Chief of Staff Darrel Cummings. "We're excited about the chance to bring this show to a wider audience, and to test a new way to generate revenue for The Center's mission and programs."

Said Peru, "I am pulling out all the stops and offering rewards to my fans I've never even offered before," including personalized memorabilia, lunch dates, and VIP tickets to the event.

"Conversations With Coco" will be filed at 7 p.m. on August 13 at the LA LGBT Center's Renberg Theatre, 1125 N. McCadden Place, Los Angeles, CA 90038. For tickets, call 323-860-7300 or visit lalgbtcenter.org/coco