Bumping up this old thread of mine I found in the Broadwayworld Archives from the message board in February, 1961. (There wasn't an off-topic board then, so YoungerRoxy kept getting his anti-Kennedy threads deleted).
Posted by FindingNamo February 5, 1961:
A friend of mine who works at Gimbles swung by The Alvin tonight and Lucille Ball is out of 'Wildcat!" yet again. At this point does anybody even know how many times she has gone on? I've been saying this from the very beginning that she is a TV personality and not a stage actress and really has no business having her name above the title of a musical on the Great White Way.
I know everybody here says I hate Lucy and that I have been dogging her since I saw the show two weeks after opening, but I used to love her. I worshipped "I Love Lucy" and could even forgive the missteps of "The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour." But after seeing her in "Wildcat!" I was completely disenchanted. Not only could I not tell what notes it was she was supposed to be hitting, but it was obvious she didn't know either. A lot of you say the quavery voice is a character choice, but I think you're being too kind.
And now she keeps missing show after show after show. The woman does not belong on stage, she doesn't have the training or the experience. She needs to go back on TV, get a new series and make it even better than "I Love Lucy."
I can guarantee this, however. After this disaster nobody is EVER going to shove a TV star into the lead of a musical she has no business trying to carry ever again. Mark my words.
Be careful, you never know when some moderator with an unnatural obsession for Lucy might take offense and come along to start deleting all your posts and eventually banning you.
I predict that Paula Stewart is going to have a big career in the theater. She's just perfect in every way. She hasn't missed any performances, either!
You're right, Stewart's on a total upwards trajectory. And PJ, I wish I could afford a Home Kinescope Machine! You can really hear how Stewart is holding back to try not to outshine Lucy on the Sullivan show. Lucy's all over the map with the notes she's trying to sing (she was worse the night I went!).
I agree, Judy would be great. She so recently did those 19 weeks at The Palace. Seems like yeserday. (Does anybody know if she missed any performances?) At this point, honestly, I bet Lucie, Jr., at 8 years old, could sing better than her mother.
What is the legitimate theatre coming to? Do they think people will just go to any crap show because it has a star attached to it (and need I remind you Ball is not even a movie star). At this rate there will never be a decent musical again--the death of Hammerstein really did change things.
Eric, I think Ball could push herself up to major movie star status, remember she was known as a sturdy movie performer before she started her radio show and then moved to TV. In fact, I believe she could probably really shine in a big-budget glossy movie musical someday. One with a strong, beloved female lead.
Miss Ball was given a choice: Wildcat or Unsinkable Molly Brown. Her choice in material was obviously wrong because Tammy Grimes knocks it out of the park every night.
Too bad the producers couldn't get Merman on board for Wildcat. It would have meant a Tony for her.
There's a girl in the chorus named Valerie Harper. I bet she's really going places. If they ever do a movie about Fanny Brice, she would be perfect.
If anyone ever tells you that you put too much Parmesan cheese on your pasta, stop talking to them. You don't need that kind of negativity in your life.