Tim likes telling the story about how, during a long holiday weekend in the late 1970s, he taped one of the first I Love Lucy marathons at a friend’s house and then had to go out and buy a machine so he could watch the shows at home! That’s how he got stuck with a Betamax—superior technology, but not long for this world—instead of a VHS recorder.
Betamax is now gone, of course, but Tim continues to love Lucy. No wonder then that he bought tickets to I Love Lucy: Live on Stage as soon as he heard about it. Performed at the Greenway Court Theatre in L.A.’s Fairfax district, the show faithfully recreates the filming of two I Love Lucy episodes—The Benefit, the one where Lucy insists on singing with Ricky at Ethel’s fundraiser, and Lucy Has Her Eyes Examined, which features a funny dance number as well as Desi’s theme song “Babalu.” Seeing actors perform the episodes as Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Vivian Vance, and William Frawley was a real hoot.
It was a wonderful evening—we truly got the flavor of what it must have been like to see I Love Lucy (including 1950s commercials!) performed live. The audience was thrilled to pretend that we were still living in a black-and-white TV world. Plus the actors never once broke character, not even during the curtain call. Standing ovations were much deserved.
The show is playing Wednesday through Sunday every week till the end of the year. If you love Lucy, seeing this live stage performance is an absolute must!
No comments:
Post a Comment