Lisa Joffrey, Sirena Irwin and Bill Chott in "I Love Lucy Live On Stage"
It is 5 am on a Monday morning at the Greenway Court Theatre, where I Love Lucy Live on Stage is onstage for the benefit of KTLA’s morning broadcast. The play’s four leads, six of its supporting actors, all seven of its band members, the director, the wardrobe manager, at least two producers and assorted tech support personnel have risen to help promote their show’s opening on Sat. Oct. 1.
Bill Mendieta and Denise Moses
KTLA’s Allie MacKay and her cameraman, who’s setting up shots for both this morning’s live coverage and taped segments to be aired later in the day, are coordinating their efforts with the play’s director Rick Sparks. Watching the directors direct each other becomes a lesson in the crossover collaboration between stage and the small screen. They are quick, efficient, polite and patient in dealing with the demands of their respective disciplines, although Sparks has to keep coaching MacKay on the correct name of the theater where we are.
“You have choices between Ricky’s Tropicana nightclub setting and the Ricardos’ living room,” Sparks tells MacKay. “You can pan from one to the other.”
“Excellent. I also want the band playing at least softly in the background the whole time. We need to always have something going on. Otherwise it turns into radio, and no one [in my job] likes radio.”
When a cleaning woman in a baggy sweater and hairnet with a mop and a bucket wanders on to the stage, Sparks quips to her, “You look glamorous.”
“I got up early for it,” Denise Moses, the actress in the part, shoots back.
Between camera setups for cast interviews and musical numbers, members of this assemblage take time to talk about their involvement with the project.
Bill Chott, Sirena Irwin, Lisa Joffrey and Bill Mendieta
“Earlier this year we did a backers’ audition in Las Vegas for one night, a 30-minute show centering around an episode from the series and two commercials. I wanted to expand it to an hour and a half. I suggested doing two episodes with several commercials. I said, ‘Let’s build this thing around that concept and find out what we have.’ I had a relationship with Greenway Court from my production here of They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? I approached them about this one, and they cleared their schedule to accommodate us.”
Sparks is called away for another set-up consultation. Kim Flagg, his co-adaptor/creator of new transitional material, signed on with the team much earlier than he did, in 2001, when she worked with David George and Stephen Kahn on the “I Love Lucy 50th Anniversary Experience,” which toured full-size replicas of the original sets with props and other memorabilia across the US for two years.
She says, “Once you rebuild those sets, your instinct is to fill them with something. CBS owns the rights to all episodes of the original I Love Lucy, 179 of them. We contracted with them to produce this world premiere around the idea of actually filming two episodes. We had the freedom to choose which two we wanted.”
Gregory Franklin and Mark Christopher Tracy
She declares they sat and watched each of those episodes to select those two and admits, “That took a long while. We knew there were certain things we wanted for the [stage] show. We of course wanted Lucy, Ricky, Fred and Ethel. That wasn’t hard because all four are in practically all episodes. We also wanted some typical Lucyisms. Again not hard, because Lucy after all was always Lucy. Because we were doing it on stage, though, we had to limit the number of sets. We could have no more than two. I said we must have the Tropicana to work in songs and dances. And of course the Ricardo living room was also a must. So whenever we saw an episode that took us out of those two locales, we eliminated it. That helped in the selection process.
“As word began to spread as to what we were doing, we began to get hits on our Facebook page asking us—begging us even—to bring the show to their town wherever it might be. One man wrote, ‘I could die happy tomorrow if I could see that show tonight.’ Keeping it in a rather small venue adds to its appeal, I think. It’s like the comfort food of chicken pot pie. The intimacy of a small space gives us the entertainment equivalent of comfort food. I’ll tell you one of the best things about this project is that whenever someone asks, ‘What are you working on these days?’ and I say, ‘I Love Lucy Live on Stage’, not one single person says, ‘Oh, what’s that about?’ The name is so iconic, so recognizable that everybody gets it right away.”
Cindy Sciacca, Ed Martin and Gina Torrecilla
Hyra George, Flagg’s producing partner, confirms that statement with additional verification of advance ticket sales by scrolling through her text messages to demonstrate their points of origin. “Look,” she indicates, “we’ve gotten orders from 10 different states, Canada, Yorkshire in England and London. We put the word out on Facebook and Twitter and had a nice mention in TV Guide. One couple from Florida comes to LA every year to see shows. Well, they’d wrapped up this year’s trip and were ready to go home when they heard about us, so they’re extending their stay just to see our Lucy.”
On stage MacKay chats into a Channel 5 microphone to introduce KTLA viewers to the work of actors Kerri-Anne Lavin, Gregory Franklin, Ed Martin, and Mark Christopher Tracy as they sing a jingle extolling the virtues of Brylcreem hair pomade, one of several commercials book-ending Ricky and Lucy’s misadventures. Moments later they’ve concluded today’s taping. The KTLA crew departs, the musicians pack up their instruments, and the Greenway Court production staff begins restoring the theater to its pre-show condition. The fabled foursome favor us with a few follow-ups before forging for home.
Sirena Irwin and Bill Mendieta as Lucy and Ricky Ricardo trade off their stories. Mendieta: “I was working off a casting breakdown when I saw this listed. It said they were going to videotape a performance of an I Love Lucy script before a live audience with the approval of CBS. I thought that’s a cool project with classic material. Then it gradually grew into this performance package instead of a showcase.”
Sirena Irwin, Bill Mendieta and Ed Martin
Irwin: “I auditioned after Bill was hired. I wore a poodle skirt from that era, sang a song, did the vitameatavegamin routine and performed some improv with Bill. It helped that Bill and I had gone to college together and knew each other.”
Their joint matriculation at San Francisco State University may have resulted in relaxed scenes together, but they still had lots of work cut out for them.
Irwin: “I grew up without a television presence. My mother was a classical musician. My dad was a physicist. We moved around a lot—Guatemala, Boulder Colorado—to name a few. I missed out on a lot of popular culture and a sense of community. Classmates in college used to tease me about the things I didn’t know. Still, who doesn’t know Lucy? Intimidated about playing her? Of course! I’m partly motivated by terror. But as terrifying as it is, it’s equally exciting. If Lucy were sitting in the audience watching this show, I’d want her to feel proud of it. It’s an honor and a responsibility to get it right, and no one in the cast takes it lightly. We all want to infuse it with love and authenticity.”
Mendieta: “I agree. It’s easy to go, ‘Wow! Holy crap!’ because these are such big shoes to fill. We don’t want to do a parody or cater to a bunch of clichés…[we want to] remain responsible to the material as well as the characters they created. Getting the jokes right and for me the specificity of Ricky’s—or Desi’s—Cuban accent is important.”
Sirena Irwin and Lisa Joffrey
Irwin: “We’re all under a microscope because this show has been so much a part of people’s lives. There’s no room for mistakes. Not a day goes by I’m not working close to 16 hours. And let’s don’t just concentrate on Lucy. What Desi accomplished on the show was amazing.”
Mendieta: “Once this train gets going, I feel like the entire cast is transformed into that time period of the ’50s.”
Irwin: “Wouldn’t it be neat if the audience got caught up in it and started coming to the show dressed as the characters? Sort of like Rocky Horror? Of course at the same time we can never let it feel cardboardy because that would make the audience withdraw from us and the show.”
Mendieta: “No, we can’t mimic. We have to keep our moments true.”
Irwin: “I’m so appreciative that Rick Sparks was trusting enough to cast me, not only that he thought I was capable of doing it but that I would put in the work to do it well.”
As the Ricardos take their leave, their neighbors/landlords, the Mertzes, stroll in to chat. Bill Chott plays Fred. Lisa Joffrey plays Ethel. They bounce remarks off each other in a similar fashion to their characters.
Chott: “I’ve lost 15 pounds playing this part.”
Sirena Irwin, Bill Chott and Lisa Joffrey
Joffrey: “Yeah, and I’ve gained it.”
Chott: “I had said to myself a year or two ago that I wanted to start auditioning for more musicals. I didn’t fully get it that this show was going to be as heavy on the musical productions as it is. So I got my wish without even knowing it.”
Joffrey: “Listen, I’m such a fan of Lucy’s and an avid collector of her stuff—and I imitate her all the time—that when my manager called me about the audition, I nearly jumped out of my shoes at the idea of going in for her. My manager said, ‘No, no, honey, they want to see you for Ethel.’ I just went clunk [here she executes a semi pratfall out of her chair]. Then I realized it’s been too many years and too many Snickers Bars for me to entertain the thought of Lucy. So I begrudgingly dressed down and resigned myself to the second fiddle. But you know it’s given me a great freedom, knowing I don’t have to carry the show. Sometimes in life you get the right part at the right time.”
Chott: “Ironically Jamestown, New York—Lucy’s birthplace which stages a tribute to her and the show every summer—hired me last year as their Fred Mertz lookalike.”
Joffrey: “Excuse me. I don’t think you really look like Fred. You play him marvelously. You capture his essence. I’d consider you a Fred impersonator instead of a lookalike.”
Chott: “I guess that’s right. It reinforces what Rick keeps telling us about we’re not doing a takeoff on the show but an homage to it, a valentine. We’re allowed to bring ourselves to the table rather than attempt a slavish imitation.”
Adam Halitzka, Bill Mendieta and Ken Francis
Joffrey: “At the same time we can’t just do whatever we want. I watch at least two hours a day of I Love Lucy because I owe it to Miss Vance to continue to do a good job with the character she created.”
Chott: “Which reminds me of something told to me years ago in my Second City days. It’s not your laugh to lose if you’re doing successful material from the past. If it got a laugh before, it has to get one now. Otherwise you’re doing something wrong.”
Joffrey: “That’s right. If you’re not getting a laugh from proven material, it’s back to the drawing board with your technique in delivering it.”
Chott: “I’ll have to say everyone in this production has an old soul. Take Mark Tracy. He has an encyclopedic knowledge of show biz that’s so esoteric he eclipses most of us.”
Joffrey: “Yes! He does a warm-up with our audience that relies on a lot of improv with them. When he tosses out an obscure reference and just one person gets it, he’s like, ‘Did you hear that? He got it!’ That represents a triumph to him.”
Chott: “I think there’s a melancholic aspect to our show too, because we realize that Lucy and Desi got divorced later. But when we see a rerun—and hopefully our show captures that feeling as well—then those happy times are back again. It’s like the kids of divorced parents during Thanksgiving or Christmas can rejoice for just a little while because mom and dad are together again under the same roof.”
Sirena Irwin and Bill Mendieta
Joffrey: “I’ve been such a TV girl all my life that I’m just absolutely over the moon with this show. And it ties in with Lucy, Ethel and Fred who were always trying to get in the show at Ricky’s club. They never give up. That’s what it’s like to be an actor. It’s both happy and sad — happy when we get cast in something, sad when we audition and don’t get cast. But we never give up.”
Sparks pops by again to add some parting thoughts. “I hope you haven’t thought I was ignoring you. I’m extremely proud of everyone’s effort on this project. I’ve staffed it with designers I love. I’ve searched the internet for interesting commercial material intrinsic to the era. I call it a huge little show because we’re in this intimate 99-seat space, but with our cast, standbys and orchestra we have a company of 22. We got standing ovations during our previews, which is remarkable. I hope audiences discover us and like what we’re doing.”
Everybody who loves Lucy—and who doesn’t?—will have the opportunity to express and share that love at the Greenway Court Theatre through Christmas of this year.
I Love Lucy Live on Stage, a musical comedy tribute to the iconic TV series; presented by S. Kahn Presents and Millrock Company, produced by Hyra George and Kim Flagg, staged and directed by Rick Sparks with musical direction by Wayne Moore. Opens Oct. 1. Plays Fri 8 pm; Sat 3 pm and 8 pm; Sun 7 pm. Also, beginning Oct. 26, Wed-Thur 8 pm. Through Dec. 30. Tickets: $34. Greenway Court Theatre, 544 N. Fairfax Ave., LA. Call 800-595-4TIX (800-595-4849) or visit www.ilovelucylive.com or www.facebook.com/ILoveLucyLiveOnStage.
***All I Love Lucy Live on Stage photos by Ed Krieger
