Lucille Ball News

On Thursday, May 2nd, Richard Pryor Jr. offered fans, friends and some of his farther's co-stars a glimpse into the life of his iconic parent, Richard Pryor Senior, discussing his own self-proclaimed 'Freakish Life' that paralleled his namesake and famous father's life in many ways, found in his new memoir. In A Pryor Life, already in its second printing only days after its release. The event began with the unveiling of a costume worn by Richard Pryor Jr in the film "College Debt" co-starring Lucille Ball's granddaughter, Katherine Luckinbill, Janet Carroll and Academy Award winner, Celeste Holmes, in what would be her last film. The costume will be included in the museum's upcoming Real to Reel: Perceptions and Portrayals of LGBTQ History in Film and Television.

Jinkx Monsoon & Major Scales: The Ginger Snapped returns to Joe's Pub with three shows! However Jinkx worries that her best years are behind her. In order to avoid a breakdown of diva proportions Major must act as both pianist and therapist to the Manic Miss Monsoon. Music and mental health collide in this witty, biting look at the dark side of Drag fame.

The onslaught of jukebox musicals doesn't seem to be ending anytime soon, which, in turn, means that there are an awful lot of cast albums that also double as very well-sung cover albums. That's definitely the case with the original cast recording of The Cher Show, which functions okay as a cast album but mostly rides on its cast's considerable talent and the sheer joy of Cher's catalog.

Harvey Sabinson, one of Broadway's legendary press agents, and former long-time executive director of The Broadway League, died on April 18, 2019 of natural causes at his residence in Sarasota, Florida. He was 94 years old.

Don't Tell Mama's Friday night comedy series will feature a headline act on April 26th.

I LOVE LUCY FUNNY MONEY SPECIAL, a new one-hour special featuring two back-to-back colorized episodes of the classic series, will be broadcast Friday, April 19 (8:00-9:01 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

The National Comedy Center, the country's official cultural institution dedicated to comedy, announced today that it has added a second show for John Mulaney after his initial show - as well as Sebastian Maniscalco's first show - broke all festival records by selling out in the first day on sale to the public for the 2019 Lucille Ball Comedy Festival.

Helpmann Award-winning musical theatre star Elise McCann will bring the splendiferous world of Roald Dahl to Queensland Performing Art Centre (QPAC) in Dahlesque, daddling to the Playhouse on 30 May.

Starting Sunday, April 14th, lost episodes of the groundbreaking The Carol Burnett Show will return to broadcast television only on MeTV, America's #1 classic television network. Airing Sunday nights at 10:30pm ET/PT and Monday-Friday at 11pm ET/PT, these rarely seen episodes will showcase sketches from the first five seasons of the longstanding series, including the premiere episode with Jim Nabors, who became Burnett's “good luck charm” and first appearances of iconic characters, like pitiful Eunice and air-headed Mrs. Wiggins, who fans continue to adore. Many of these milestone episodes have never aired beyond their original debut – until now on MeTV.

Education takes center stage in BroadwayWorld's new Education Spotlight education series. Next up is Broadway favorite Emily Skinner bringing multiple characters to life as part of the iconic diva Cher's path to greatness in The Cher Show. Find out how her education played its part in bringing her to Broadway!

The National Comedy Center and legendary producer, director, and writer Carl Reiner announced today, on Carl Reiner's 97th birthday, an initiative to digitally preserve Reiner's extensive personal collection of production-used scripts from "The Dick Van Dyke Show" - one of the most iconic, innovative, and beloved comedy series in television history.

The National Comedy Center was formally designated as the nation's official cultural institution dedicated to the art form of comedy on Tuesday, March 12. In a tremendous bi-partisan show of support, both the Senate and House of Representatives passed this bill in February, and the president signed it into law on Tuesday, recognizing the Center as the "Official National Comedy Center of the United States."

I LOVE LUCY FUNNY MONEY SPECIAL, a new one-hour special featuring two back-to-back colorized episodes of the classic series, will be broadcast Friday, April 19 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

Audiences are in for a rare treat when theatrical legend Charles Busch and playwright/performer Lee Tannen team up for a special two-performance concert staging of Tannen's I LOVED LUCY on Friday March 22 and Saturday March 23 as a benefit for Catskill's Bridge Street Theatre. This delightful stage adaptation of Tannen's own 2001 memoir, directed by Carl Andress, stars the fabulous Charles Busch as Lucille Ball, Lee Tannen as … Lee Tannen, and also features the multitudinous talents of actor/pianist Tom Judson.

Dorset Theatre Festival announces its 42nd Season, featuring the classic revival of Noel Coward's Private Lives directed by Evan Yionoulis (June 20 - July 6), the World Premiere of Dig, written and directed by Theresa Rebeck (July 11 - 27), the World Premiere of Mrs. Christie by Heidi Armbruster, directed by Giovanna Sardelli  (August 1 - 17), Slow Food by Wendy MacLeod, directed by Jackson Gay (August 22 - 31), and Pipeline Series: Three New Works in Process (July 2, July 23, and August 13). All performances will take place at the Dorset Playhouse (104 Cheney Rd, Dorset, VT 05251)

A Pulitzer Prize finalist, Guggenheim fellow, and Radcliffe alum, Kate Soper's music has been described as 'exquisitely quirky' (The New York Times) and 'epic' (WQXR). As a performer, she has been praised as a 'dazzling vocalist' (The New Yorker) and likened to 'Lucille Ball reinterpreted by Linda Blair' (Pitchfork). 

Had Lucy's family stayed in Trenton, history might have been very different, but the Garden State stayed peripherally involved the Queen of Comedy's life and work.

On the film industry's biggest night, February 24, Jaime Monroy will reunite with his longtime industry colleagues, publicist and producer Roger Neal and publicist Ed Lozziat, at the fourth annual Roger Neal Oscar Viewing Dinner and Icon Awards.

Sarasota Says, Carol Burnett - We're So Glad We Had This Time Together

The National Comedy Center, the nation's first museum and visitor experience dedicated to the comedic arts, announced today that Sebastian Maniscalco and John Mulaney will headline the 2019 Lucille Ball Comedy Festival, August 7th -11th. Tickets for their performances will go on pre-sale for National Comedy Center members only -- starting Wednesday, February 20th at Noon ET at www.ComedyCenter.org.