I Love Lucy ― A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Sitcom

The onscreen pairing of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz is at the heart of one of the most popular TV shows in history. Who would have thought that to get on the air, they had to battle both a network and a sponsor who thought the show couldn't possibly succeed? Playwright Gregg Oppenheimer – son of I Love Lucy’s creator Jess Oppenheimer – spins the hilarious true story behind America’s beloved TV comedy.Directed by Michael Hackett.Includes an interview with playwright Gregg Oppenheimer.An L.A. Theatre Works full-cast production, 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 Music performed by Doug Walter. The ""I Love Lucy"" theme song used with permission of MPL Music Publishing and Songwriters Guild of America. Original music by Doug Walter. Sound Effects Artist, Aaron Lyons. Production Manager, Rick V. Moreno. Script Supervisor, Nikki Hyde. Senior Radio Producer, Ronn Lipkin. Associate Artistic Director, Anna Lyse Erikson. Editor, Mitchell Lindskoog. Recording Engineer, Sound Designer, and Mixer, Mark Holden for The Invisible Studios, West Hollywood Recorded before an audience at UCLA's James Bridges Theater.

Gregg Oppenheimer, son of I Love Lucy creator-producer-head writer Jess Oppenheimer, got his start in comedy at the tender age of four, when his father introduced him to Lucille Ball on the set of I Love Lucy. Kneeling down, a smiling Lucy asked Gregg, "Where did you get those big brown eyes?" Gregg's deadpan reply: "They came with the face." Lucy nearly fell over laughing. In 1996, he left a successful career as partner in the international law firm O'Melveny & Myers in order to complete his late father's humorous memoir, Laughs, Luck...and Lucy: How I Came to Create the Most Popular Sitcom of All Time, which was published by Syracuse University Press. That book, which went through eight printings, became the inspiration for Gregg's comedy play, I Love Lucy: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Sitcom.