September 30 – October 5
Dates and full casting have been announced for the 2014-2015 national tour of I Love Lucy® Live on Stage, the hit stage show adapted from the most beloved program in television history, which is produced under license from CBS Consumer Products. The production, which began with extended sit-down productions in Los Angeles and Chicago and became an audience favorite across the country in its inaugural 2013-2014 national tour, will launch its new season at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County on September 30, before hitting the road for cities including Louisville, Baltimore, San Francisco and Madison.
Thea Brooks and Euriamis Losada lead the company as Lucy and Ricky Ricardo, with Kevin Remington and Lori Hammel playing Fred and Ethel Mertz, the Ricardo’s loveable landlords and sidekicks. The cast also includes Sara Jayne Blackmore, Sarah Elizabeth Combs, Gregory Franklin, Jody Madaras, Carlos Martin, Denise Moses, Cindy Sciacca, Kami Seymour, Richard Strimer and Mark Christopher Tracy.
An “out-of-body experience for ‘Lucy’ fans” according to Showbiz Chicago, I Love Lucy® Live on Stage takes audiences back to 1952 as members of the Desilu Playhouse studio audience where they await the filming of two hilarious and oh-so-familiar I Love Lucy® episodes, “The Benefit” and “Lucy Has Her Eyes Examined.” A charming host entertains and enlightens the crowd to the behind-the-scenes filming process of a brand new thing called “television,” the Crystaltone Singers perform advertising jingles in perfect ’50s style harmony and the sidesplitting antics of America’s favorite foursome – Lucy, Ricky, Fred and Ethel – are presented live on stage and in color for the very first time! It’s a one-of-a-kind theatrical experience TV Guide’s William Keck calls “the most entertaining stage production I’ve seen in years – including Broadway!”
The iconic hit sitcom I Love Lucy® originally aired on CBS from 1951 – 1957 for a total of six seasons and 179 episodes and is widely considered to be one of the most popular programs in the history of television. Due in no small part to its relatable characters, sharp comedic writing and Lucil e Ball’s signature zany charm, the show continues to endear new audiences with every passing generation. The program was a technical trailblazer, pioneering the multi-camera shooting technique (still employed by the majority of traditional sitcoms to this day) and the use of 35mm film for the capture of a weekly, 30-minute scripted television program (which made possible the re-airing of episodes at a later date, what we now know as “reruns”). In September 2012, I Love Lucy® was named the “Best TV Show Of All Time” and the “Greatest TV Comedy” by People Magazine and ABC’s “20/20” special “Best in TV: The Greatest TV Shows of Our Time.”
I Love Lucy® Live on Stage had its world premiere in Los Angeles at the Greenway Court Theatre from October 2011 – February 2012. A subsequent Chicago production was launched that played two engagements at the Broadway Playhouse, September 2012 – March 2013. The 2013-2014 national tour visited cities including Toronto, Boston, Philadelphia, Nashville and Costa Mesa.
The performance schedule for I Love Lucy® Live on Stage at the Ziff Ballet Opera House, Adrienne Arsht Center, 1300 Biscayne Boulevard, Miami is: Tuesday, September 30 through Friday, October 3 at 8 p.m.; Saturday, October 4 at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.; and Sunday, October 5 at 1 p.m. and 7 p.m.
Tickets for I Love Lucy® Live on Stage are already on sale and start at $26. For tickets, visit www.arshtcenter.org or call the Box Office at (305) 949-6722. Groups of 10 or more should call (786) 468-2326. For more information on the play, visit ILoveLucyLive.com.
The Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County is made possible by the public support of the Miami-Dade County Mayor and the Board of County Commissioners, the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council, the Miami-Dade County Tourist Development Council and the City of Miami Omni Community Redevelopment Agency, as well as the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs and the Florida Council on Arts and Culture. The Adrienne Arsht Center also receives generous support from individuals, corporations and local, state and national foundations.
