On the heels of the announcement that The Voice Season 6 winner Josh Kaufman will take over the title role in the hit Broadway revival of Stephen Schwartz's musical Pippin comes another casting announcement: Lucie Arnaz will return to the role of "Berthe" for a limited engagement October 9 - November 9, 2014.
Arnaz, daughter of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, is the original "Berthe" in the revival's national tour, which opens a San Francisco run this week. She will take over on Broadway for Tony Award winner Priscilla Lopez, of A Chorus Line fame, who takes over beginning tonight, September 23, for a short stint.
Lucie Arnaz's 45-year career in the spotlight began in the 1960s on TV's The Lucy Show with her mother, and has since included stage work in New York, London and regionally. On Broadway she has been seen in They’re Playing Our Song, Lost in Yonkers and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. Elsewhere she has appeared in shows including The Witches Of Eastwick, Wonderful Town, Cabaret, Vanities, Annie Get Your Gun, and Off Broadway in Grace & Glorie with Estelle Parsons. Her film credits include The Jazz Singer (Golden Globe nomination), Down To You and The Pack.
Musically, Arnaz's career has encompassed over two decades of performing her own nightclub act, along with tributes to the music of Desi Arnaz and to Cy Coleman, and two records including a 2010 album on which she celebrated her Latin roots. Talking about what she learned from her father, she has said that "once I started to get on the stage with live musicians, I was never out of work. So I guess the universe is telling me this is where I'm supposed to be."
In Pippin Arnaz has already received good reviews on the road. "As Pippin's grandmother Berthe, Lucie Arnaz nearly brings down the house," said the Denver Post, while the Aurora Sentinel wrote: "While Pippin unloads a wonder of surprises for new audiences and show veterans alike, Lucie Arnaz's drum-tight trapeze act as Grandma Berthe is mesmerizing."
The Broadway revival itself won four Tony Awards last year.
