“I Love Lucy Live on Stage” is playing this week at the Hippodrome.
NATIONAL TOURING COMPANY
RE-CREATES TWO EPISODES
OF ICONIC 1950s TV SITCOM
At the Hippodrome through October
By Eddie Applefeld
In 1951, the year that “I Love Lucy” made its national television debut, I was three years old. So obviously my memories of the show come from reruns.
The iconic early-TV sitcom appeared first-run for six seasons until May 1957, followed by three years of one-hour comedy specials through 1960.
I would imagine a large portion of the audience at the Hippodrome Theatre in Baltimore, where “I Love Lucy Live on Stage” is now appearing, remember the original show the same way. I recall my mother sitting in front of our black and white TV set, laughing.
The producers of the current show are no doubt hoping Baltimore audiences remember the original sitcom as fondly.
“I Love Lucy Live on Stage” began as a 2001 touring exhibition featuring memorabilia and re-creations of the original sets. From there the producers expanded that original concept into a full-blown stage production.
The show as it is now configured had its L.A. premiere in 2011 and then it was on to Chicago in 2012, where it received mixed-to-poor reviews. But apparently the producers thought the show had legs, so a national tour ensued.
Baltimore is the second stop on that tour.
This production takes two episodes from the original sitcom and re-produces them on stage with the current cast. There are musical numbers included and there is a common thread, based on Lucy’s desire to break into show business — the character Lucy, that is, played on 1950s television by comedienne Lucille Ball.
Well not so fast. As husband Ricky Ricardo (played by Lucy’s real-life husband at the time, Desi Arnaz) proclaims: “Lucy, you got a lot of ’splainin’ to do” — a line that elicited applause last week from the tuned-in audience at the Hippodrome, that obviously remembered the humorous accent of the Cuban-born Arnaz, as re-created by Euriamis Losada, who plays Ricky/Desi to perfection in the Baltimore production.
LUCY’S SCHEMES WERE CHARM OF ORIGINAL SHOW
Of course the charm of the original show was Lucy’s schemes, along with the help of her neighbor, landlord and best friend, Ethel Mertz (played originally by Vivian Vance), who co-owned the apartment building in New York City where the Ricardos lived, along with her husband Fred (played by 1930-40s B-movie actor William Frawley).
I can’t imagine it’s easy to cast a show like this, especially the role of Lucy, that zany redhead, who off-camera was anything but zany. (Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz were two of early television’s most successful producers.)
The Baltimore Sun reports the current Lucy came back and tried out six times for the “Live on Stage” production. She is played by Thea Brooks, who maintains she is not doing an impression of Lucille Ball as Lucy.
She does however manage to capture a lot of Lucy’s familiar mannerisms and expressions. But don’t go looking for an impression. For that, you’ll have to check out Gilda Radner’s mimicking of Lucy on the old Saturday Night Live TV show’s early years.
Besides the two episodes, the show features the Crystaltone Singers, performing old advertising jingles in harmony, and according to some reviews, in excess. There are also behind the scenes looks at how a taping might have happened at the Desilu Studios in Hollywood.
This is conducted by a Stage Manager/Emcee who appears throughout the show talking directly to the audience. We at the Hippodrome are treated as if we were members of that 1950s TV audience.
AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION IN ‘I LOVE LUCY’ TRIVIA
Kevin Remington and Lori Hammel play Fred and Ethel Mertz. The Emcee is played by Mark Christopher Tracy.
To me, one of the highlights is when he pulls a member of the audience on stage to participate in “I Love Lucy” trivia. The audience member is playing against one of the cast members so is really not supposed to win.
I enjoyed the show but did think two funnier episodes could have been selected. After all, the Lucy show was all about being funny. And not just once in a while, but every episode.
For those of you who are TV junkies old enough to remember the original sitcom and its 179 episodes or to have watched it frequently in reruns, you probably will get a kick out of all four of the main characters on stage.
And the production at the Hippodrome might just bring back fond memories of sitting around the living room in the 1950s, watching and laughing with the family.
The show runs through October 26th; tickets range from $40 to $295, with few lower-priced seats still available. Performances are Tuesday through Saturday at 8 p.m., with matinees Saturday at 2 and Sunday at 1. Evening performances tonight and next Sunday are at 6:30.
For tickets go to the Hippodrome box office, all Ticketmaster locations or baltimore.broadway.com (broadwayacrossamerica.com/baltimore).
mistermedia@comcast.net
EDITOR’S NOTE: A Marylander since day one, Towson University graduate and member of the local media for nearly 35 years, Eddie Applefeld is currently handling promotions at WCBM TalkRadio (680AM). For his complete thumbnail biography, click “Staff” under the Main Menu at left.
VoB Managing Editor Alan Z. Forman contributed to this report.
