A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE SITCOM

 August 17 – 21, 2020

The series is presented on BBC Radio 4 in five 14-minute segments over five days: August 17-21, 2020. 

Synopsis: The onscreen pairing of Lucille and Desi is brilliant, but the American Network is doubtful.

Written by Gregg Oppenheimer based on his book “Laughs, Luck and Lucy”

Directed by Martin Jarvis
Produced by Rosalind Ayres

CAST

Anne Heche (Lucille Ball / Lucy Ricardo) made her TV debut playing twins Vicki and Marley on the soap “Another World” from 1987 to 1991. Since then she has mixed TV roles with film and Broadway with equal success. Ironically, she auditioned for the role in I’m Not There (2007) that went to Cate Blanchett, who has been mentioned as the next person to play Lucille Ball on film. In 2000 Heche won a Lucy Award (named for Lucille Ball) for developing and directing the HBO movie If These Walls Could Talk 2.

Wilmer Valderrama (Desi Arnaz / Ricky Ricardo) got his start on TV playing Fez in “That ‘70s Show”.  In a 2001 episode of the series, Fez dreamed he was Ricky Ricardo married to Donna (Laura Prepon). In 2008 he traveled to Lucille Ball’s hometown of Jamestown to present “A Tribute to Desi Arnaz” as part of Lucy-Desi Days. Valderrama (born in Venezuela) said he’s always been inspired by Arnaz as a performer and Hispanic American. I think ‘I Love Lucy’ was one of the most influential pieces of work in any decade. He claims that watching sitcoms like “I Love Lucy” helped him learn English. He said it was exciting to see a Hispanic actor established on television so many decades ago and to see someone who looked and sounded a little like himself. 

Jared Harris (Jess Oppenheimer) is the son of legendary Irish actor Richard Harris. In 1966, when Jared was five years old, his father and Lucille Ball both guest starred on the new “Milton Berle Show”. In addition to his many film roles, he was part of the award-winning cast of “Mad Men” and the recently acclaimed “Chernobyl.” 

Alfred Molina (Harry Ackerman) was born in England in 1953 but first came to the attention of film-goers through his small role in 1981′s Raiders of the Lost Ark. He has since been successful in both comedy and drama, as well as doing voice-over for animation. Molina is now a hit with a new generation of movie fans as Doc Ock in the Spider Man films. In “Feud: Bette and Joan” he played film director Robert Aldrich, who started out as second AD on Lucille Ball’s 1942 film The Big Street. 

Mike McShane (Hubbell Robinson) was born and raised in the United States, but has acted extensively on stage and screen in Great Britain.  Fans of TV’s “Seinfeld” may recognize him for his two appearances as Franklin Delano Romanowski. In 2006/07 McShane voiced the ravenous plant in the London stage revival of Little Shop of Horrors. The musical famously includes a reference to Lucille Ball. 

Matthew Floyd Miller (Don Sharpe) reprises the role he played in the LA TheatreWorks production of “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way To the Sitcom” in 2018.  

Janine Barris (Betty Garrett) was raised in Fairlawn, New Jersey. She is best known for playing Heather in the film Crazy Stupid Love (2011).  Barris’ great uncle was George Barris, who was famous for photographing Marilyn Monroe, a star Lucy Ricardo emulated and even dressed as on one occasion. Janine Barris plays Betty Garrett, who appeared with Lucy in 1978′s “Gene Kelly: An American in Pasadena”. 

Stacy Keach (William Frawley / Fred Mertz) is an acclaimed stage and screen actor who won a Golden Glob and an Emmy nomination for playing Ernest Hemingway on television in 1988. He shared the screen with Lucille Ball at the 1984 and 1986 Emmy Awards telecasts. He is currently seen on “Blue Bloods” and “Man With A Plan”. He is probably best known for playing “Mike Hammer” from 1984 to 1987. 

Anna Mathias (Vivian Vance / Ethel Mertz) was born in San Francisco, California, and fittingly made her screen debut on a 1975 episode of “The Streets of San Francisco”. In 1985 she worked with Lucille Ball’s friend and colleague George Burns. She now concentrates on voice-over work.  

Matthew Wolf (Marc Daniels) 

Mark Sullivan (Richard Denning)

André Sogliuzzo (William S. Paley)

Others: Anna Lyse Erikson, Allegra Riggio

The book was first published in 1996. It took Gregg Oppenheimer seven years to write. An audio version was first presented in Los Angeles in 2015.

And then again in 2018.

It was recorded for audio in front of a live audience. Starring (in alphabetical order): Ron Bottitta as William S. Paley, William Frawley, and others; Seamus Dever as Jess Oppenheimer; Sarah Drew as Lucille Ball; Abigail Marks as Vivian Vance, Betty Garrett, and others; Matthew Floyd Miller as Don Sharpe, Bob LeMond, and others; Rob Nagle as Hubbell Robinson and others; Oscar Nunez as Desi Arnaz; and Nick Toren as Harry Ackerman.

Author Gregg Oppenheimer with Lucille Ball. 

LISTEN TO EPISODE ONE BY CLICKING HERE!