Lucy out of 'Wildcat!' again tonight!

Bumping up this old thread of mine I found in the Broadwayworld Archives from the message board in February, 1961. (There wasn't an off-topic board then, so YoungerRoxy kept getting his anti-Kennedy threads deleted).

Posted by FindingNamo February 5, 1961:

A friend of mine who works at Gimbles swung by The Alvin tonight and Lucille Ball is out of 'Wildcat!" yet again. At this point does anybody even know how many times she has gone on? I've been saying this from the very beginning that she is a TV personality and not a stage actress and really has no business having her name above the title of a musical on the Great White Way.

I know everybody here says I hate Lucy and that I have been dogging her since I saw the show two weeks after opening, but I used to love her. I worshipped "I Love Lucy" and could even forgive the missteps of "The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour." But after seeing her in "Wildcat!" I was completely disenchanted. Not only could I not tell what notes it was she was supposed to be hitting, but it was obvious she didn't know either. A lot of you say the quavery voice is a character choice, but I think you're being too kind.

And now she keeps missing show after show after show. The woman does not belong on stage, she doesn't have the training or the experience. She needs to go back on TV, get a new series and make it even better than "I Love Lucy."

I can guarantee this, however. After this disaster nobody is EVER going to shove a TV star into the lead of a musical she has no business trying to carry ever again. Mark my words.

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Very funny.

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If Lucy leaves the show, I think Judy could come in and take over!

http://youtu.be/fw8YNM61WrI

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Updated On: 4/15/12 at 09:49 AM

You're right, Stewart's on a total upwards trajectory. And PJ, I wish I could afford a Home Kinescope Machine! You can really hear how Stewart is holding back to try not to outshine Lucy on the Sullivan show. Lucy's all over the map with the notes she's trying to sing (she was worse the night I went!).

I agree, Judy would be great. She so recently did those 19 weeks at The Palace. Seems like yeserday. (Does anybody know if she missed any performances?) At this point, honestly, I bet Lucie, Jr., at 8 years old, could sing better than her mother.

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Updated On: 4/15/12 at 04:46 PM

"Miss Phyllis Rogers"? Was that before you married Ben Stone or were you married and still going by your maiden name in '61?

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What is the legitimate theatre coming to? Do they think people will just go to any crap show because it has a star attached to it (and need I remind you Ball is not even a movie star). At this rate there will never be a decent musical again--the death of Hammerstein really did change things.

Eric, I think Ball could push herself up to major movie star status, remember she was known as a sturdy movie performer before she started her radio show and then moved to TV. In fact, I believe she could probably really shine in a big-budget glossy movie musical someday. One with a strong, beloved female lead.

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Have they cut the song "Corduroy Road" yet? It slows down the action something fierce. It's gotta go.

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Maybe I'm crazy, but when Lucy is much, much, much older, I'd love to see her play Auntie Mame.

Oh God no! The woman CAN NOT sing! No one will ever imagine that Lucy could carry a musical again!

WOW- what a crazy idea, but if it worked, it would be amazing!

They should get Vivian Vance to replace Stewart.

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