(PRWEB)
Lucy, Ricky, Fred and Ethel: America’s favorite foursome… live on stage, in color — and coming to a city near you. I Love Lucy® Live on Stage, a musical comedy valentine to one of the most popular television shows in history, kicks off a 10-month, 33-city National Tour in Miami, FL on Sept. 30, before hitting the road for Baltimore, MD; Billings, MT; Bowling Green, KY; Cerritos, CA; Chicago, IL; Cincinnati, OH; Clearwater, FL; Cleveland, OH; Clinton Township, MI; Colorado Springs, CO; Danville, KY; East Lansing, MI; Fort Collins, CO; Grand Rapids, MI; Green Bay, WI; Hershey, PA; Huntsville, FL; Jacksonville, FL; Louisville, KY; Macon, GA; Madison, WI; Minneapolis, MN; Morgantown, WV; New London, CT; Orlando, FL; Portland, OR; Providence, RI; San Francisco, CA; Schenectady, NY; St. Louis, MO; Waterbury, CT; and Worcester, MA.
In I Love Lucy® Live on Stage, audiences travel back to the 1950s and the Desilu Studios to watch the “filming” of two episodes of the iconic and beloved sitcom, complete with a television studio host and vintage-style live musical commercials. In addition to the classic comedy that takes place in Lucy and Ricky Ricardo’s New York apartment, the “studio audience” will enjoy The Ricky Ricardo Orchestra as they play live from the Tropicana Nightclub.
“The black-and-white world of Lucy and Ricky explodes in screwball jokes, catchy songs, terrific dance and vivid color in this superb environmental staging,” wrote the Los Angeles Times when I Love Lucy® Live on Stage premiered in Los Angeles. TV Guide columnist William Keck called it “the most entertaining stage production I’ve seen in years – including Broadway.” Opening at L.A.’s Greenway Court Theatre in Oct. 2011, the production enjoyed a five-month sold-out run. A subsequent Chicago production was launched that played two engagements at the Broadway Playhouse, Sept. 2012 through March 2013, and a 2013-2014 national tour visited cities including Toronto, Boston, Philadelphia, Nashville and Costa Mesa.
Starring as Lucy Ricardo, Thea Brooks (first National Tour of Dirty Dancing, upcoming TV movie Goody Goody) captures Lucy’s signature zany charm; Cuban-born, Miami native Euriamis Losada (Miami New Times Best Actor award for Romeo & Juliet, Carbonbell Awards for Jekyll & Hyde and Bat Boy) charms as Ricky; Kevin Remington (first National Tour of I Love Lucy® Live On Stage) honors the character of Fred Mertz and Lori Hammel (Mamma Mia – both on Broadway and the National Tour) plays Ethel. Also featured in the cast, playing multiple roles, are Sara Jayne Blackmore, Sarah Elizabeth Combs, Gregory Franklin, Jody Madaras, Carlos Martin, Denise Moses, Cindy Sciacca, Kami Seymour, Richard Strimer and Mark Christopher Tracy. “The Ricky Ricardo Orchestra” features Andy Belling (keyboard), Bryan Miller (keyboard), Ron Barrows (trumpet), Dave Lotfi (drums/conga), David Olivas (saxophone/flute) and Nicholas Stankus (bass/banjo).
I Love Lucy® Live on Stage is staged and directed by Rick Sparks and adapted for the stage with new material by Kim Flagg and Rick Sparks. The creative team includes Wayne Moore (music arrangements and special lyrics), Andy Belling (musical director), Peitor Angell (original music), Aaron Henderson (scenic design), Shon LeBlanc and Kelly Bailey (costume design), David George (lighting design), Cricket S. Myers (sound design), Diane Martinous (original hair/wig design), Judi Lewin (hair/wig design), Karina Branson (make-up design) and Allen McMullen (production stage management).
Executive producers are Stephen Kahn; David George; Jeff Davis, Davis Productions (Broadway’s Rock of Ages, Empire the Musical, Legally Blonde); and Allan Williams (general manager for Broadway productions of The Phantom of the Opera, Kinky Boots and Million Dollar Quartet). Producers include Dede Harris (Clybourne Park, One Man Two Guvnors, War Horse); Sharon Karmizan (Hedwig and the Angry Itch, One Man Two Guvnors, Ragtime); Hyra George; Kim Flagg; Barbara Alpert; Sophie and Alan Alpert; Neil Hoffman; Nancy Alpert; and Teri Alpert. Associate producer is David Carpenter. I Love Lucy® Live on Stage is produced under license from CBS Consumer Products.
The iconic CBS series I Love Lucy aired its first episode on October 15, 1951, and went on to become an American institution. It established the sitcom as TV’s dominant genre, pioneering the production of TV shows on film in front of a live audience. All 179 episodes still air regularly in the U.S.
For more information about I Love Lucy® Live on Stage and the national tour, visit http://www.ilovelucylive.com or join us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/ILoveLucyLiveOnStage. To request photos, email lucy@lucypr.com.
“I LOVE LUCY® LIVE ON STAGE 2014–2015 National Tour Dates:
Sept. 30 – Oct. 5: Miami, FL Arsht Center
Oct. 7 – Oct. 12: Louisville, KY The Kentucky Center
Oct. 14 – Oct. 26: Baltimore, MD Hippodrome Theatre
Nov. 11 – Nov. 23: San Francisco, CA Curran Theatre
Nov. 28 – Nov. 29: Cerritos, CA Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts
Dec. 2 – Dec. 3: Colorado Springs, CO Pikes Peak Center
Dec. 4 – Dec. 6: Fort Collins, CO Lincoln Center
Dec. 9 – Dec. 14: Chicago, IL Bank of America Theatre
Jan. 6 – Jan. 11: Madison, WI Overture Center
Jan. 15: Green Bay, WI Weidner Center
Jan. 17 – Jan. 18: Clinton Township, MI Macomb Center for the Performing Arts
Jan. 20 – Jan. 25: Minneapolis, MN State Theatre
Feb. 10 – Feb. 12: Grand Rapids, MI DeVos Performance Hall
Feb. 13 – Feb. 15: East Lansing, MI Wharton Center
Feb. 17 – Feb. 18: Hershey, PA Hershey Theatre
Feb. 20: Bowling Green, KY SKyPAC
Feb. 21: Danville, KY Norton Center for the Arts
Feb. 24 – March 1: Providence, RI Providence Performing Arts Center
March 5: New London, CT Garde Arts Center
March 6 – March 8: Worcester, MA Hanover Theatre
March 11 – March 12: Macon, GA The Grand Opera House
March 17 – March 22: Jacksonville, FL Times Union Center
March 24 – March 25: Clearwater, FL Ruth Eckerd Hall
March 27 – March 29: Huntsville, FL Von Braun Center
April 7 – April 12: Portland, OR Keller Auditorium
April 14: Billings, MT Alberta Bair Theater
April 17 – April 19: St. Louis, MO Peabody Opera House
May 5: Morgantown, WV WVU Creative Arts Center
May 9 – May 10: Schenectady, NY Proctors Theatre
May 15 – May 17: Cleveland, OH Palace Theatre
May 30 – May 31: Waterbury, CT Palace Theater
June 2 – June 14: Cincinnati, OH Aronoff Center for the Arts
June 23 – June 28: Orlando, FL Phillips Center for the Performing Arts
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