Lucie in Bye Bye Birdie

[Neil]

Here's something written about Lucie in Bye Bye Birdie.  You'd think by this time Lucie would have had $5000 to spare.  She's closer to a teenager than Stockard Channing in 1978.  Michael Callan had an NBC sitcom for one season that preceded The Mothers In Law in the 8:30 Sunday time slot.  "Occasional Wife".  He married his co-star Patricia Hardy but the marriage didn't last long.  I don't remember the show, but NBC sitcoms after Mr. Peepers and before Cheers: generally BLEH.

 

Lucie Arnaz (Rose Alvarez), Anthony Crivello (Conrad Birdie), Michael Callan (Albert Peterson). Presented by Milwaukee’s Melody Top Theatre, a summer stock theatre which operated from 1963 through 1986 on the site of a former meadow. A season of shows planned for 1987 was announced, but was cancelled due to financial reasons, and dwindling audiences. The building was destroyed in a fire on 9/19/91. The owners began an ambitious campaign to open a $15 million entertainment complex on the grounds to be called “Melody Gardens”, but these plans never materialized. Melody Top’s old parking lot is still used by patrons of Uihlein Soccer Park, located next door to the theatre's former grounds. All of the Melody Top buildings have been razed, and a metal fence prohibits entrance. The site is once again a meadowland. It’s interesting to note that Lucie was supposedly cast in the movie version of Grease to play Rizzo after she signed her contract to do Bye Bye Birdie. It would have cost her $5000.00 to get out of the contract, plus Tommy Tune was supposed to play Albert (who she was dying to work with). Michael Eisner was at Paramount, and wouldn’t sign Lucie right away to do Grease, until he saw a few other people, although she was told the part was hers by Alan Carr and the delay was just protocol, and as she explains “I was young, this was my money, I wasn’t sure what to do. Nobody else was paying for it but me, and that was a lot of money to me”.  She asked Carr to pay the $5000.00 penalty for her, but he wouldn’t do that. She called her mother in Palm Springs for advice, and Lucy told her "You have a commitment, if they're not gonna pay it, and you don't want to pay five grand, you have to stick with your commitment, plus getting to know Tommy Tune could help you in the long run."  So she decided to stick with the show. Shortly thereafter, she learned that Tommy Tune got a better gig, paid his $5000.00 penalty, and was replaced with Michael Callan. (The local newspaper revealed Lucille Ball was in town to see Lucie and stayed completely under the radar. Miss Ball would return to Milwaukee in 1983 to see her son (Desi Jr.) perform in Promises, Promises at the same venue). 

[leenorman]

Here's something written about Lucie in Bye Bye Birdie.  You'd think by this time Lucie would have had $5000 to spare.  She's closer to a teenager than Stockard Channing in 1978.  Michael Callan had an NBC sitcom for one season that preceded The Mothers In Law in the 8:30 Sunday time slot.  "Occasional Wife".  He married his co-star Patricia Hardy but the marriage didn't last long.  I don't remember the show, but NBC sitcoms after Mr. Peepers and before Cheers: generally BLEH.

 

Lucie Arnaz (Rose Alvarez), Anthony Crivello (Conrad Birdie), Michael Callan (Albert Peterson). Presented by Milwaukee’s Melody Top Theatre, a summer stock theatre which operated from 1963 through 1986 on the site of a former meadow. A season of shows planned for 1987 was announced, but was cancelled due to financial reasons, and dwindling audiences. The building was destroyed in a fire on 9/19/91. The owners began an ambitious campaign to open a $15 million entertainment complex on the grounds to be called “Melody Gardens”, but these plans never materialized. Melody Top’s old parking lot is still used by patrons of Uihlein Soccer Park, located next door to the theatre's former grounds. All of the Melody Top buildings have been razed, and a metal fence prohibits entrance. The site is once again a meadowland. It’s interesting to note that Lucie was supposedly cast in the movie version of Grease to play Rizzo after she signed her contract to do Bye Bye Birdie. It would have cost her $5000.00 to get out of the contract, plus Tommy Tune was supposed to play Albert (who she was dying to work with). Michael Eisner was at Paramount, and wouldn’t sign Lucie right away to do Grease, until he saw a few other people, although she was told the part was hers by Alan Carr and the delay was just protocol, and as she explains “I was young, this was my money, I wasn’t sure what to do. Nobody else was paying for it but me, and that was a lot of money to me”.  She asked Carr to pay the $5000.00 penalty for her, but he wouldn’t do that. She called her mother in Palm Springs for advice, and Lucy told her "You have a commitment, if they're not gonna pay it, and you don't want to pay five grand, you have to stick with your commitment, plus getting to know Tommy Tune could help you in the long run."  So she decided to stick with the show. Shortly thereafter, she learned that Tommy Tune got a better gig, paid his $5000.00 penalty, and was replaced with Michael Callan. (The local newspaper revealed Lucille Ball was in town to see Lucie and stayed completely under the radar. Miss Ball would return to Milwaukee in 1983 to see her son (Desi Jr.) perform in Promises, Promises at the same venue). 

 

thanks for this, and while I'm OVER HERE; have been trying to find a site, IMDb and IMDb Pro do not deliver it to me;  can anyone on this Lounge give me some poop on Dirty Rotten Scoundrels - Lucie's stage play - WHAT< WHERE< WHEN< etc.  Thanks if you do.   

[Luvsbway]

I can get a few DRS facts for you as I was way obsessed with that show. Www.ibdb.com can help you out with some stuff. It may not have Lucie's start date as she was a replacement but she did play the closing performance.

[Luvsbway]

I can get a few DRS facts for you as I was way obsessed with that show. Www.ibdb.com can help you out with some stuff. It may not have Lucie's start date as she was a replacement but she did play the closing performance.