'Evening with Lucille Ball' is dramatic, uplifting

By Walt Belcher, The TampaTribune                                                January 8, 2010
 

When Suzanne LaRusch slips into the persona of Lucille Ball, she captures the red-headed comic's facial expressions and nails the voice.

It's a one-woman play that is touching and uplifting with some amusing moments and much nostalgia.

It's also informative, packed with behind the scenes information about the making of "I Love Lucy," one of the most popular TV comedies of all time.

"I've had people say the play isn't what they expected but they weren't disappointed," says LaRusch who is performing in the Jaeb Theater at the David A. Straz Performing Arts Theater through Jan. 17.

Written by LaRusch and Ball's daughter Lucie Arnaz, the presentation is a flashback to the 1970s. Ball was in her 60s and was traveling the country in a stage show that involved taking questions from the audience.

She was starring in her third TV series "Here's Lucy" and had just completed filming the musical "Mame."

The play begins with an exasperated Ball arriving at a small theater where everyone is expecting her to recreate the madcap scenes from "I Love Lucy."

She laments the fact that people come to see Lucy Ricardo and not Lucille Ball.

She takes "questions" from audience members. Actually these are recorded questions by actors (including Arnaz and her brother Desi Jr.).

As Ball answers them, she shares stories about her life and career. She takes the audience through some of the most popular Lucy episodes including the candy factory sketch, the Italian grape-stomping escapade and the Vitameatavegamin commercial.

While fans of the original series will appreciate these, it's not necessary to be a Lucy expert to enjoy the play.

LaRusch, a Hollywood based actress-impressionist, wasn't a Lucy fan herself.

In 1991, between acting gigs, she worked Universal StudiosTheme Park, appearing as Mae West, Marilyn Monroe and others, including Lucy.

She quickly came to the attention of Lucie and Desi Arnaz, Jr., who authorized LaRusch to portray their mother in other venues.

She has since entertained for President George Bush, was surprise guest for Roseanne at the 1997 Women in Film Lucy Awards and has appeared on such national television programs as "Leeza" and "The Rosie O"Donnell Show." She was selected by AT&T to ride in the 1999 Tournament of Roses Parade on a float saluting the early days of television, and was engaged by the U.S. Postal Service to help launch and promote their 1999 commemorative stamp celebrating "I Love Lucy."

During the course of the play, LaRusch tells the story of Ball's transformation from a little girl inJamestown, N.Y., to starving New York model, then Hollywoodstarlet (70 films), radio star and finally the queen of TV comedy.

Ball was 39 when she and her husband, Cuban singer/band leader Desi Arnaz debuted in "I Love Lucy." It ran from 1951 to 1957 on CBS and continued through 1960 as 13 one-hour specials.

Augmented by home movies supplied by Lucie Arnaz, LaRusch takes audiences "behind the scenes" into Ball's personal life, revealing her approach to comedy and the heartbreak of her troubled marriage to Desi Arnaz.

While the on-screen marriage of Lucy and Ricky was a success, the turbulent off-screen marriage of Lucille and Desi ended in divorce in 1960.

Theatre Review: An Evening With Lucille Ball: Thank You For Asking

By Sally Bosco, Creative Loafing                                                      January 7, 2010
 

Lucille Ball, that icon of comedy, didn’t think she was funny.  “I don’t think funny,” she says.  “If you write something down on a piece of paper I can do it. Otherwise forget it.”

As Suzanne LaRusch utters these words in An Evening with Lucille Ball: Thanks for Asking (now playing at the Straz Center), she is so spot-on as Lucy it’s uncanny.  In appearance, voice and mannerisms LaRusch (pictured) seems to be channeling our beloved redhead. So much so, I had to keep reminding myself it wasn’t actually her.

The play begins with Lucy arriving at her dressing room and getting ready for the show, but it sets up the fact that Lucille Ball wanted to be seen as something other than the I Love Lucy character.  She felt that there was so much more to her than that — she didn’t want to be hampered by having to do reenactments of the old favorite sketches.

The show gets into full swing when Lucy begins her question and answer session with the audience. Mind you, this is a simulated Q&A, with Lucy pretending to call on people in the audience and using pre-recorded questions.  This may sound clumsy, but it works quite well to introduce the various topics she wants to cover.  In real life, Lucy was known for conducting these sessions in order to inform and educate people and share other facets of herself. LaRusch wrote the show in conjunction with Lucie Arnaz (Lucy’s real daughter). The vignettes are told in such loving detail, one can well imagine that these were stories told to little Lucie told at her mother’s knee. Arnaz also directed the show, giving it an authenticity that feels very true to the real Lucille Ball.

The stories are varied and entertaining. Lucy talks about her early days as a Chesterfield Girl when she was a starving model inNew York, recounting that when she was taken out to dinner by admirers, she would make a sandwich under the table to have for lunch the next day. She tells the story of how her CBS radio show, My Favorite Husband was so popular the network proposed that she star in a television series.  The trouble was that her marriage to Desi was on the rocks, and she at first declined but later suggested that Desi be her on-screen husband.  Of course the “suits” at the network thought that the television audience wouldn’t be able to relate to an all-American redhead being married to a Cuban.  They were certainly wrong on that one.

Lucy also tells fun behind-the-scenes stories about of some of her iconic episodes like “Vitametavegamin,” gives the low-down on the wine vat episode (“Stomping on the grape was like stepping into a vat of slimy eyeballs.”), and uses the story of the chocolates on the conveyor belt to talk about the genius of Vivian Vance.

A bittersweet note was that the opening night of Wildcat, her successful Broadway play, was the same day she signed the papers to divorce Desi. Ironically, Desi sent her his traditional red and white carnations as a congratulatory gesture that same night.

The show closes with a nod to Desi for his talent as an innovative businessman and artist. In this we can see Lucie Arnaz’s desire to pay homage to her dad. Old video and home movie clips occasionally play on a screen, adding a nice touch.

Whether you saw them when they were new or years later when they were in syndication, I Love Lucy is a show that touched many of us in special ways. If you have fond memories of Lucy, Suzanne LaRusch’s brilliant rendition of our favorite flame-haired comedienne is a show not to be missed.

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Synopsis