in her early years, lavin also appeared in numerous off-broadway productions, including the revue "wet paint" (1965), the musical "the mad show" (1966) and "little murders" (1969). lavin won the theatre world award for "wet paint" and a drama desk award for "little murders". in 1975, she appeared in the shakespeare in the park (new york city) production of "the comedy of errors" at the delacorte theater.