Everybody Loves Lucy

In the 1950s I Love Lucy was everybody’s favourite sitcom and Lucy (Lucille Ball) everybody’s favourite star. Its genesis was the 1948 CBS radio program My Favourite Husband which also starred Ball. Telecast for 10 years from 1951 until 1961, I Love Lucy continually out-rated every other show on American television and made Ball an icon of the medium. She became the first woman to appear pregnant on a sitcom and have the baby (the birth drew an audience of 40 million, a record at the time), the first woman to head a major Hollywood studio, and under Ball’s leadership I Love Lucy became the first sitcom to be syndicated, a TV market that was eventually to be worth millions.

Ball’s zany clowning which had its roots in vaudeville (her early influences), was a perfect fit for on-screen and real-life husband, Cuban-born Desi Arnez, with their weekly marital family ups and downs loved by millions. They originally met and eloped in 1940, Ball filed for divorce in 1944 but withdrew it, and then later on the final day of filming the series in 1960, filed for divorce again and went through with it.

This is a big story and Elise McCann’s 70-minute condensation of it wisely concentrates on the 10 years the sitcom was in production. With assistance from pianist Nigel Ubrihien, who sometimes plays Desi Arnez in a dodgy black wig, McCann captures the essence of Ball, sometimes the manic delivery, sometimes the physical comic, and sometimes the pathos of the clown, particularly when her marriage is falling apart. Do Re Mi’s “Make Someone Happy” is beautifully effective and used throughout as a recurring theme.

McCann sings better than Ball ever did evidenced by her encore performance of Wildcat’s “Hey Look Me Over” which begins with Ball’s vocal from the Broadway cast recording of the song and segues into McCann belting it to the rafters.

She is also brilliant at recreating some of the iconic skits - the ballet lesson, the Vitamin Tonic and the cigarette commercial are particularly good, but others fail to ignite. The busy narrative also finds time for McCann to portray the All-American housewife who was addicted to the series and how Lucy became her role model.

Helen Dallimore’s direction is crisp and fast, doesn’t wear out its welcome, and showcases the talented McCann with a minimum of props and clever lighting.

It’s a piquant taste of the Lucy story which feels as though it’s ripe for a more in-depth exploration. In the meantime, McCann’s cabaret piece is a welcome and endearing tribute to this beloved TV icon.

Peter Pinne