Lucie Arnaz, the daughter of Lucille Ball, grew up on television and stage. She is producing a new show, An Evening with Lucille Ball, for everyone who loves Lucy!
Windy City Times: Hi, Lucie. Was this a labor of love writing and directing this piece?
Lucie Arnaz: It was. I have great respect for this woman, Suzanne LaRusch—how hard she has worked at this character and this play. She has been working on it for the last 10 years. She has been an amazing performer. To be able to capture the essence of my mother, not only as the Lucie Ricardo character, which she has been doing brilliantly for decades, but to capture her as the person Lucille Ball.
WCT: So how did it come together?
LUCIE ARNAZ: She wrote this piece and it needed work, but it was really rich with a lot of great stuff. She is so good in it that I thought she needed some help. She was struggling to have it put up in a professional way. My husband and I offered to help her do that. I was putting her together with a director friend of mine. He got a play with Jane Fonda on Broadway and I lost him. She wanted me to direct it and I decided it would be fun.
WCT: Do you like directing?
LUCIE ARNAZ: It was great fun and I discovered that I really liked directing. I enjoyed the experience a lot and I think I am a good director. It was kind of weird that the first thing that I am directing is a show about my mother. As Neil Simon once said to me, when I was in They are Playing Our Song and talking to him about writing, "Write what you know." When you are starting out in anything to do what you are best at. If you are an artist, draw, if you are a writer, write what you have experienced.
WCT: Well, I am sure you brought something to the table with this show.
LUCIE ARNAZ: I actually had something to tell her about this. It is something that I know a lot about. I could give her insight about things that maybe no one else could. I just approached it like an actress with her. She has not been on stage a lot and she hasn't done as much performing. I taught her to trust the words since we had written a really good script.
WCT: Trust is everything onstage.
LUCIE ARNAZ: She is putting in since a magnificent performance with this. I am so proud of her work. I am hoping it gets around so everyone can see it.
WCT: I heard it really goes behind the scenes concerning Lucy's relationship with Desi.
LUCIE ARNAZ: Absolutely. It is a very clever concept because it takes place live and is a question and answer that took place one night. When someone asks her a question then she would start to answer something and then drift. You can tell by lighting or going to blackout suddenly the setting will be in a different era. Home movie footage can come up in the background that we know is really in her mind. We use theatricalities as she goes back and tells about when she is born in New York and the magic of the fairgrounds. We tried to capture that so she could be at any place at any time in her mind.
WCT: So no big set is used in this production.
LUCIE ARNAZ: No, there is very little to schlep around. There is a small dressing room that can be set up very easily. There is a tall directors chair, a table, a glass of water and a screen. It is all on computer. We have one technician that travels with the show. We call it here "our little show in a box." She can go anywhere with it and she has. She has played small intimate little playhouses and she has played large performing arts centers. I try not to put the show in bigger than 1,500-seat theaters It all works better when people can see her up close. From far away you can't tell how amazing she really is. I like the audience to be really tight with her.
WCT: Lucy had so many gay fans. Do you know any of her thoughts on them?
LUCIE ARNAZ: I have been asked that a lot but I can't remember her ever specifying between gay versus straight versus old versus young. She used to say, "I babysat four generations and I am darn proud!" She loved that people through the ages no matter who they were, no matter what the business they were in, that all races and colors and types of people would come up to her and say "I have watched you all my life." My mother didn't have an attitude between gay or straight. Everybody was the same to her. She had plenty of gay friends. She was a very savvy, smart lady and she did understand the idea that when you get to be queen of anything that divas love a diva.
WCT: Yes, they do.
LUCIE ARNAZ: She was very self-secure. She had very good self-esteem. She lived a very simple life when she was not on stage. She never tried to be a celebrity. She didn't care about that at all. She worked very hard and when she came home, she wanted to relax. She wanted to play backgammon with friends. If you could play backgammon, she didn't care if you were gay or straight or a serial killer, she would play with you!
WCT: I love that.
LUCIE ARNAZ: It's the truth.
WCT: Do you want to do more musicals and maybe even direct them now?
LUCIE ARNAZ: Yeah to both. I just got finished yesterday doing a week long workshop for a new version of Ballroom that will be called Queen of the Stardust Ballroom. If they get lucky this should be brought in next year starring Tyne Daly. I was playing opposite of her in the best friend role. It will be directed by Jerry Mitchell. There is a fabulous dance number in it for me and I have a couple of really fun scenes. To do eight scenes in a week you have to be pretty passionate about the material.
If someone asked me to direct a play tomorrow then I would jump at the chance, because it was great fun and I loved it. I am continuing to study and observe other people do what they do.
WCT: Are you going to be at the performance here?
LUCIE ARNAZ: No. I have been to a couple of them, but now she is launched! She is out there. It is the weekend after Mother's Day so I will be here with my kids.
An Evening With Lucille Ball: Thank You for Asking," is coming to The Venue at Horseshoe Casino, 777 Casino Center, Hammond, Ind., May 16. Tickets are $25 each; call 219-473-6060 or visit www.thevenue-chicago.com .
