| |
CAPE COD REVIEWS
JUNE, 2011
'Actress plays Lucy like the real deal'
By Gwenn Friss
Cape Cod Times - June 15, 2011
If you love Lucille Ball, you'll love Suzanne
LaRusch's one-woman show,
An Evening With Lucille Ball; "Thank You for Asking!", which
opened the Cape Playhouse's 85th season Monday. LaRusch does
much more than impersonate the iconic redhead; she personifies
her. It's easy to forget that you're not actually at a
question-and-answer session with the comedian, who died in 1989.
......The audience questions were scripted and
recorded, of course, but LaRusch made it seem as if they were
coming from the Cape Playhouse audience.
......This stage show is a treat for Lucille Ball fans
because it's a chance to see her, through her daughter's eyes,
brought to life by a gifted actress who is also a friend of
Lucille Ball's family.
|
Learning All About Lucy In
'An Evening With Lucille Ball'
By Ellen Petry Whalen
Cape Cod Chronicle - June 14, 2011
...some of the favorite "I Love
Lucy" episodes are given a nod, like "Vitameatavegamin," where
Suzanne LaRusch plays a very convincing Lucy acting out a
rehearsal before the now-famous show aired, followed by a
television clip of the actual episode. This creative,
side-by-side approach, confirms, LaRusch's mastery of the
redheaded queen of comedy's nuances, facial expressions and
voice. Of course LaRusch touches upon the now-famous
candy-factory show without fully imitating the conveyor belt
scene, but instead (as Lucy) demonstrates stuffing all the
candies in her mouth while repeatedly spitting them out without
the live-television audience knowing.
"An Evening with Lucille Ball" is not solely an "I Love
Lucy" rerun (most of us have seen enough of those over the
years), but more a well-balanced look at the complete woman's
life, as interpreted by a masterful impression. Lucy said, "You
cannot teach someone comedy, either they have it or they don't."
In the case of LaRusch there is no question that, just like her
mentor, she has it. Due to the careful orchestration of the
production and its authentic approach, I had to keep reminding
myself that the real Lucille Ball was not on stage. Through
LaRusch's magic of recreation, she managed to make me feel
completely touched by Lucy's fun-loving spirit. |
You'll have a Ball with Lucy;
LaRusch NAILS THE PART IN
CAPE PLAYHOUSE OPENER
By Leslie Meier
The Barnstable Patriot - June 17, 2011
Suzanne LaRusch ended An Evening with Lucille
Ball; "Thank You For Asking!" by declaring, "I had a ball
tonight and so did you!" and it was true; the audience had
plenty of laughs at this 85th season opening night of the Cape
Playhouse in Dennis.
.......There were touching moments too, as when a vase
of lilacs prompts Ball to recall her childhood in the small town
of Celoron in upstate New York. It was then, when her
grandfather took her to see a famed monologist, that she
realized she wanted to act.......
......The show-within-a-show concept works well, and
LaRusch's interactions with the real audience were so successful
that she had the crowd joining her in loudly pronouncing the
tongue twister "Vitameatavegamin" and jangling their keys as
tambourine accompaniment to a Gypsy song and dance.
......It's a true delight to catch a glimpse, thanks to
LaRusch's talented portrayal of the madcap, much loved Lucy,
working her comic magic once again on stage.
|
'GIVING LUCY AND DESI THEIR DUE'
By Maggie Kulbokas
Cape Cod Today - June 14, 2011
|
......An Evening with Lucille Ball; "Thank You
For Asking!", was co-written by Suzanne LaRusch and Lucille Ball's own
daughter Lucie Arnaz. Arnaz, who was at the show this evening and the
guest of honor at a reception at the playhouse Sunday, is an
award-winning actress who began her acting career on "Here's Lucy"
opposite her mother, directs the show as well. Perhaps it is that very
personal connection that gives the show its true heart.
But this isn't just an ode to America's favorite
redhead -- it is a tribute to Desi too. As Lucy points out during the
Q&A, the show may have been called "I Love Lucy", but Desi was always
the "I" in the title-- the one with top billing. And while remembering
Desi, Lucy gives the upbeat show its only misty moments.
......the two-hour show, with one intermission, is
funny, sweet and uplifting. It is sprinkled with stories about Lucy's
childhood and the road to celebrity. It is interesting to hear what one
of the funniest women on the planet thought was funny and who her
comedic role models were.
......LaRusch's voice is uncanny. She does a remarkable
job of matching Lucy's trademark twang and laugh. She resembles Lucy
with the help of a shock of auburn hair, but if you close your eyes you
would swear you were actually listening to the classic (comedian.)
Stage design is minimal save for a director's chair, a
small table and a prop or two, leaving the spotlight directly on Lucy
--- exactly where it should be.
|
'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.
*******************************************************
An Evening with
LUCILLE BALL
“THANK YOU FOR
ASKING”
Here's what they're saying:
“ Suzanne LaRusch’s recreation of Lucy is, simply, a
masterpiece. Detailed, truthful, deeply felt."
Lucie Arnaz Luckinbill & Larry Luckinbill
******************************************************************
“Mom! It’s YOU!”
-Desi Arnaz Jr.
******************************************************************
"It
was a wonderful show ! ! ! !
Audience loved the show and could not get enough of her after
the show in the lobby. She is an amazing talent."
...........Bud Coffey
Artistic Director
Sturges Center for the Fine Arts
San Bernardino, CA
******************************************************************
LaRusch does much more than
impersonate the iconic redhead; she personifies her. It's easy to forget
that you're not actually at a question-and-answer session with the
comedian,
...This stage show is a treat for
Lucille Ball Fans because it's a chance to see her, through her
daughter's eyes, brought to life by a gifted actress..."
Cape Cod Times, 2011
******************************************************************
"Lucille Ball said, "You cannot teach someone comedy, either they
have it or they don't." In the case of LaRusch there is no
questions that, just like her mentor, she has it. Due to the careful
orchestration of the production and its authentic approach, I had to
keep reminding myself that the real Lucille Ball was not on stage."
Cape Cod Chronicle, 2011
******************************************************************
"It's a true delight to
catch a glimpse, thanks to LaRusch's talented portrayal of the madcap,
much loved Lucy, working her comic magic once again on stage."
Barnstable Patriot, 2011
******************************************************************
"...the two-hour show, with one intermission, is funny, sweet and
uplifting...
...LaRusch's voice is uncanny. She does a remarkable job of matching
Lucy's trademark twang and laugh. Stage design is minimal save for a
director's chair, a small table and a prop or two, leaving the spotlight
directly on Lucy, exactly where it should be!"
Cape Cod Today, 2011
******************************************************************
......the two-hour show, with one intermission, is funny, sweet and
uplifting.
......LaRusch's
voice is uncanny.
She does a
remarkable job of matching Lucy's trademark twang and laugh.
Stage design is
minimal save for a director's chair, a small table and a prop or two,
leaving the
spotlight directly on Lucy --- exactly where it should be.
Cape Cod
Today, 2011
******************************************************************
"It's a one-woman play that is touching and uplifting
with some amusing moments and much nostalgia."
"It's informative, packed with behind
the scenes information about
the making of "I Love Lucy," one of the most popular TV comedies of
all time."
"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."
-The Tampa
Tribune
*******************************************************
"Suzanne LaRusch’s brilliant
rendition of our favorite flame-haired comedienne is a show not to
be missed."
....Creative Loafing On-line Magazine
Florida
*******************************************************
" …..thank you for bringing your talents to the Kirtland Center for
the Performing
Arts and making Lucy alive again for our Patrons.
I have heard nothing but praise
for your performance….
……you truly had people forgetting
that it was an
actress on stage and not the
“real Lucy”
.….It was truly a “theatrical
experience”!
….Your professionalism and
truthfulness to the character has been an inspiration to us and has
brought
a tremendous amount of joy to the community.”
…..Don E. Wray
Director
Kirtland Center for the Performing Arts
*******************************************************
" Suzanne's Lucille Ball is, as she should
be, hilarious -
while at the same time touching, informative and most entertaining.
She had the audience in the palm of her hand.
To say the least the audience loved Lucy, ummmmm – Suzanne!"
MICHAEL BOLLINGER
Executive Director – Suffolk Center
*******************************************************
“She
is an amazing performer.
Excellent job!”
Angela Costello
CBN (Christian Broadcasting Network)
[Back To Top]
Synopsis
| |
A celebration of the first lady of television, An Evening
with Lucille Ball: “Thank You for Asking,” is
a touching, funny and uplifting one-woman play performed by
actress and renowned impressionist, Suzanne LaRusch, and
written by Suzanne LaRusch & Lucie Arnaz. Crafted in the
spirit of the amusing lectures Lucy enjoyed
giving throughout her career, the evening recreates the
comic genius and the magic behind the “Queen of Comedy.”
Arnaz also directs the piece with her award winning
knowledge of the theatre and of her mother!
Lucy guides us through the lifetime of personal memories
inspiring her timeless sketches on “I Love Lucy,” her
30-year television career and never-before heard personal
recollections about her tempestuous and complicated marriage
to Cuban bandleader turned impresario, Desi Arnaz. It’s the
Lucy the whole world loved – from "Ricardo" to "Mame" – but,
more importantly, it’s an evening with the REAL Lucy, as
you’ve never seen her before.
AN EVENING
WITH LUCILLE BALL; "Thank You For Asking!", evolved
from two other shows Suzanne wrote and performed as the
famous Redhead, LUCY THROUGH THE YEARS and THANK
YOU FOR ASKING. This incarnation is based on a
series of lectures, Q & A and television interviews done by
the late, great Lucille Ball. Suzanne had difficulty
finding a director who knew "Lucy" AND knew theater, (a
combination not so easy to find believe it or not).
Friends with the Arnaz family for many years; Suzanne asked
Lucie Arnaz, (award winning producer and Broadway actress),
MIGHT she consider being "my dream director"? After
seeing an early version of the show; Lucie not only offered
to direct but co-author a new script and produce the show
with her husband, Laurence Luckinbill. Much of the
material in this show was gathered firsthand from stories
told to Suzanne by Lucille Ball's personal staff, friends,
family and from information contained in "A BOOK", by Desi
Arnaz (Wiliam Morrow) and "LOVE, LUCY", by Lucille Ball
(Putnam).
[Back To Top]
Press Information
Suzanne LaRusch
(co-author, Lucille Ball)
AN EVENING WITH LUCILLE BALL; “Thank You For Asking!”,
evolved from two other shows Suzanne wrote and performed as
the famous Redhead, LUCY THROUGH THE YEARS and
THANK YOU FOR ASKING. This incarnation is based on a
series of lectures, Q & A and television interviews done by
the late, great Lucille Ball. Suzanne had difficulty
finding a director who knew “Lucy” AND knew theatre, (a
combination not so easy to find believe it or not). Friends
with the Arnaz family for many years; Suzanne asked Lucie
Arnaz, (award winning producer and Broadway actress), if she
ever had the time, MIGHT she consider being “my dream
director”? After Lucie saw an early version of the show;
she knew it could be even better. And not only offered to
direct but co-author a new script and produce the show with
her husband, Laurence Luckinbill. Much of the material in
this show was gathered firsthand from stories told to
Suzanne by Lucille Ball’s personal staff, friends, family
and (oh yeah) her daughter!!!
Suzanne was raised in Glendale, California. With two
parents working at the studios, Suzanne became a child
actress featured on numerous commercials and television
shows. She graduated top of her high school class in Drama
and Dance. Some of her “non-Lucy” credits include: Dance
Captain for The Los Angeles Rams Cheerleaders, The Mighty
Carson Art Players with Johnny Carson, The Jeffersons, Night
Court, Designing Women and Dean John, and a
sketch as “Zsa Zsa Gabor” on THE VIEW, with BARBARA
WALTERS.
In 2004, Suzanne completed a fifteen-year stint with
Universal Studios Hollywood, where she originated the “Lucy
Ricardo” character for the theme parks and emceed all of
their in-house Award ceremonies. Her work had also caught
the attention of CBS Television as well as Lucie and Desi
Arnaz Jr. In 1998, Suzanne was invited to become the
“Official Lucy Performer” which included representing much
of the I LOVE LUCY merchandise. Her five appearances
on the Home Shopping Network resulted in every
“Lucy” product offered, sold out! Suzanne’s voice is also
featured on TVLAND’s website, where she brings “Lucy
Ricardo” into the digital world.
Suzanne appeared for ABC on their number one rated hit
reality show THE NEXT BEST THING. A national
competition and Search for the Greatest Celebrity
Impersonator. Suzanne had to write and perform all
original material for the show and America voted her
fourth runner up and Number One Female Celebrity
impressionist in the country!
Suzanne’s pride and joy is her daughter, Autumn who is
currently a Student at Pacific University in California.
Suzanne will be appearing soon in therapy for her ‘Empty
Nest Syndrome’ and kissing the faces off her cats JASMINE
and LITTLE MISS!
Lucie Arnaz
(co-author, Director)
Believe it or not, Lucie Arnaz is celebrating her 40th year
in show business. She began her long career in a recurring
role on television on The Lucy Show, opposite her mother,
Lucille Ball. At age fifteen, she became a series regular
on Here’s Lucy, a show which ran for six seasons. She
starred in her own series, The Lucie Arnaz Show and later in
the critically acclaimed Sons & Daughters on CBS.
On the big screen, Lucie has starred opposite Neil
Diamond and Sir Laurence Olivier in THE JAZZ SINGER (for
which she received a Golden Globe nomination),
opposite Tom Laughlin in BILLY JACK GOES TO WASHINGTON,
alongside Ken Howard in SECOND THOUGHTS, and opposite
Freddie Prinze, Jr. and Henry Winkler in DOWN TO YOU, a
Miramax film. Most recently Lucie costarred with Richard
Roundtree, Robert Loggia and Bob Forster in WILD SEVEN and
in a controversial new film about second hand smoke from
writer/director Alyssa Bennett entitled,THE PACK set to
debut at Sundance this fall.
On the stage, Lucie got her equity card playing many of the
best women's roles in the theatre- Sally Bowles in CABARET,
Daisy Mae in L'IL ABNER (her first time opposite Dirk
Benedict), Princess Winifred, opposite Kaye Medford, Rudy
Vallee, Christine Andreas and Don Amendolia in ONCE UPON A
MATTRESS, GOODBYE CHARLIE, A PLACE TO STAY, opposite John
Ritter. With Stockard Channing and Sandy Duncan, Lucie
created the role of Kathy in the west coast premiere of
Vanities at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles. She
later won the role of Gittle Mosca in the national company
of the Cy Coleman/Dorothy Field's "love of a musical",
Seesaw, opposite John Gavin and Tommy Tune and directed by
Michael Bennett. She spent a summer at The Jones Beach
Theatre in New York, playing Annie Oakley in Irving
Berlin's Annie Get Your Gun, with Harve Presnell. During
that summer, Broadway beckoned and she auditioned for and
snagged the coveted role of the unforgettably wacky, Sonia
Wolsk, in the Neil Simon/Marvin Hamlisch/Carole Bayer Sager
musical They’re Playing Our Song, directed by Robert Moore
for which she received The Los Angeles Drama Critic’s
Circle, Theatre World and Outer Critic's Circle
Awards.
Arnaz and her husband, actor/writer Laurence
Luckinbill, teamed up to form ArLuck Entertainment, a
film and television production company, and together
produced the EMMY award-winning documentary Lucy & Desi: A
Home Movie, which has aired on NBC, A & E and Nickelodeon.
Another company, Education Through Entertainment,
published two CD-ROMs; Lucy & Desi: The Scrapbooks, Volume
I, and How to Save Your Family History, A 10-Step Guide by
Lucie Arnaz. In 2001 Lucie and her brother, Desi Arnaz,
executive-produced the I Love Lucy 50th Anniversary Special
which aired on CBS, and received an EMMY nomination.
With her husband, Laurence Luckinbill, Ms. Arnaz is mother
to three beautiful and talented children - Simon, Joseph and
Katharine in addition to being stepmother to his two sons,
Nicholas and Benjamin. And it is these credits of
which Lucie is most proud.
Link to
SuzanneLaRusch.com
  
   
|
|
© Sunshine Entertainment 2010 |
|
