Talking with Lucie Arnaz

Is there any performer - outside of a Cirque du Soleil aerialist, perhaps - who has done more flying high above the stages of London, Broadway and theaters across America than Lucie Arnaz? She flew across the stage and above the audience of the Drury Lane Theatre in London eight times a week when she originated the role of Alexandra, one of a trio of devilish yet heavenly women, in The Witches of Eastwick. Most recently, Lucie took her acrobatics to new heights (pun intended), swinging upside down from trapeze (and stopping the show) nightly as Berthe in the national touring company of Pippin.

I first met Lucie in Cameron Mackintosh’s New York office in 2000, prior to the start of rehearsals for Eastwick. I was thrilled to meet her, and like millions of others, I had seen her on TV in the ‘60’s, starring opposite her mother, Lucille Ball, for six seasons in “Here’s Lucy.” Even then, as a teenager, Lucie’s singing, acting and dancing talents were apparent. Being the child of two Hollywood legends certainly opens doors. But it’s talent - along with passion, hard work and, above all, a sense of self - that earns her her accolades. Anyone who knows her or has seen her perform knows that Lucie has all of these traits - and more - in spades.

Lucie’s career spans five decades and includes work in television, films, musical theater, straight plays, concerts and nightclubs. Among her finest accomplishments are working with Michael Bennett in the 1974 national tour of Seesaw; tap dancing alongside Tommy Tune in the first national company of My One and Only (1986); debuting on Broadway in the smash hit, Tony-nominated They're Playing Our Song (1979); producing and directing “Our Lucy and Desi: A Home Movie,” an Emmy-winning documentary about her parents; co-starring in “The Jazz Singer” with Neil Diamond (Golden Globe nomination); and creating, directing and starring in her own nightclub/concert act for over 28 years.

Above all, Lucie’s proudest credits are her 36-year marriage to actor Larry Luckinbill and being a mom to their five amazing children (Simon, Joseph and Katherine from her marriage to Larry; and Nicholas and Benjamin from Larry’s prior marriage).