Film and Broadway star MacLaine to be back on the boards at Bass

Everybody likes to go through their old pictures, and Shirley MacLaine has some doozies. Television specials with her swinging those long legs; movies; images from the very day in 1954 when MacLaine, an understudy for leading lady Carol Haney in The Pajama Game on Broadway, replaced the Tony-winning star, who'd broken a leg. The role launched MacLaine's film career. The Oscar-winning actress/dancer/author promises to dig into all that and more in An Evening with Shirley MacLaine, on Saturday at Bass Hall. And despite her penchant for tackling topics that leave some folks cold -- reincarnation, for example -- during a recent telephone interview, the 77-year-old star promised to have plenty of ammo for those who are indifferent to her spiritual views: insights into what's on the screen; anecdotes about her life and loves; answers to questions from the audience. Some of the footage will be from her TV specials, including one filmed at Paris' Lido in 1979. Of course, she's also ready to talk about her new book, I'm Over All That. And perhaps, she'll follow up on one of the most perplexing questions of all: After six decades under the lights, how does she still find the energy to put on a show when her contemporaries are resting on their laurels? Said MacLaine, "Even I keep asking myself the same question."