Showered with rave reviews and following two sold-out runs in 2016, Lee Tannen’s incredibly personal, funny, bittersweet play charting his 10-year relationship with TV comedy legend Lucille Ball transfers to London’s Arts Theatre for a strictly limited season.
I Loved Lucy is a personal portrait of an iconic comedic entertainer whose public face is all too well known. But what was Lucille Ball really like? And how did she choose to live at the end of her life? Out of the spotlight. Based on his best-selling memoir, Lee Tannen’s funny, bitter-sweet play reveals the real-life Lucy and what it was like being her friend to the end.
Most people who have written about Lucy never even met her. They have relied on others to fill in the blanks. Lee relied solely on Lucy. And he paints a rich personal portrait that can only add to our love of a Hollywood legend.
Lee Tannen first met Lucille Ball as a child, but cemented their close and enduring friendship as an adult. During the last 10 years of Lucy’s life - years mostly spent out of the spotlight, and much of it around a backgammon table - Lee became Lucy’s confidante, spending time in her Beverly Hills and Palm Springs homes, travelling with her and entertaining her on his turf in New York City.
Starring Sandra Dickinson as Lucy and Matthew Scott as Lee.
At the Arts Theatre from 19 July to 2 September 2017, book I Loved Lucy tickets today!