Lucie Arnaz (#280) - August, 2010




ATW - Downstage Center show

Summary: Lucie Arnaz, the daughter of television legends Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball, talks about how Angela Lansbury and Vivian Vance prompted her towards a career on the stage. She recalls her earliest appearances in regional productions of such shows as "Cabaret" and "Once Upon A Mattress", done while on hiatus from "Here's Lucy"; some pointed direction she received from Michael Bennett during the national tour of "Seesaw"; how she, Sandy Duncan and Stockard Channing mirror the characters they played in the west coast premiere of "Vanities"; getting her first Broadway musical "They're Playing Our Song" and the fun and challenges of acting with Robert Klein, then best known for his stand-up comedy; why she turned down a chance to audition for "City of Angels"; how Hugh Jackman caused her to be the only American cast in the West End musical "The Witches of Eastwick" and why she thinks that production didn't cross the Atlantic; her rewarding and ultimately problematic relationship with the Coconut Grove Playhouse; the many hats she wore in creating her recent concert tribute to her father, "Babalu", seen so far in New York and Miami; and how she came to choose "Baby June" Havoc as a surrogate grandmother for her children. Original air date - August 11, 2010.