Lucie Arnaz
I Got The Job!: Songs From My Musical Past
Feinstein’s at the Nikko, San Francisco, CA, October 30, 2024
Reviewed by Steve Murray
Her sold-out two-night engagement at Feinstein’s at the Nikko was a testament to the enduring drawing power of veteran actor/director/song stylist Lucie Arnaz. The audience was treated to a reprise of her well-crafted, autobiographical concert previously performed and recorded live at The Purple Room in Palm Springs last year. Arnaz remains in top form, with a sharp, clear voice that never got too brassy, and at times sounded like a young Barbra Streisand without her later treacle. Most of all, Arnaz was a consummate song stylist able to wrap you up in the lyrics and evoke the gamut of emotions each carefully selected number required.
Right from the sassy uplifting opener of “A Lot of Livin’ to Do” from Bye Bye Birdie, we knew we were in for a treat musically. Half of the show was devoted to delicious banter—stories about her illustrious career and about the icons and mentors who shaped its course. Her parents, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, first encouraged her to perform. TV was her training ground until mentor Vivian Vance (Ethel Mertz of I Love Lucy fame) told her that the theater waited for her. There are very few performers still around who can talk about the genesis of classic shows and songs the way that Arnaz can, which made us feel as though we had been invited to the inner sanctum of her creativity.
In this show Arnaz sang the songs that she had performed on stage as well as some that she had wished she had performed. An example was the lovely “Out of My Dreams” from Oklahoma!, a tune typically performed by high sopranos. She was accompanied by her longtime friend and collaborator/arranger/pianist Ron Abel, who took the song down a few steps to where it worked perfectly. Arnaz gave credit where credit was due as she paid homage to the creative talents who shaped her career. She spoke reverentially of Michael Bennett, Cy Coleman, and Dorothy Fields who together created Seesaw, and we heard her lovely interpretation of “Poor Everybody Else” from that score. From the 1978s revival of Irving Berlin’s Annie Get Your Gun, Arnaz sang both the iconic “You Can’t Get a Man with a Gun” and the more intimate torch song “I Got Lost in His Arms.”
A loving tribute to the late Marvin Hamlisch was realized in “I Still Believe in Love” (lyric by Carol Bayer Sager) from They’re Playing Our Song, and a highlight was her delicate rendition of “Loose Ends,” a number eventually cut from Cameron Mackintosh’s The Witches of Eastwick. Arnaz, who originated the role of Alexandra, owns this song, and she reached deep into her gut to make us feel its theme of paternal abandonment. From her touring with Tommy Tune in My One and Only she sang the Gershwins’ “Nice Work If You Can Get It.” She told some great sotires about her going up on her lines onstage, about working with the greats (Neil Simon and Jerry Herman to name two), and about the joy of performing, all of which created a magical spell during her performance.
She even paid tribute to composer/musical director Ron Abel with a tune from a workshop of his show Hazel, a planned Broadway musical. Hazel was a cartoon character created by Ted Key that was first introduced in the Saturday Evening Post in 1943, and her 1960s television incarnation was portrayed by actress Shirley Booth. “He Just Happened to Me” displayed the romantic side of the usually wise-cracking maid and was yet another highlight of the show. Arnaz closed the show with a touch of wisdom to be imparted to her three grandchildren as well as to the audience with Stephen Schwartz’s “No Time at All” from her role as the granny in Pippin, a role she took on at age 63.
Lucie Arnaz certainly doesn’t have to work for financial reasons, but it’s her joy in performing that compels her to continue to tread the boards to our benefit. Her vocals and unique perspectives on showbiz can entertain us for much longer than the 90-minute runtime of this remarkable show.
Coming in November at Feinstein’s at the Nikko is Hugh Panero, charming, handsome, funny, and soaring-voiced leading man who played the lead role in Phantom more than 2,000 times on Broadway. His celebratory show Man Without a Mask takes place on November 29 and 30.
