Even though the weather outside Holmdel, NJ’s PNC Bank Arts Center is dark, rainy, and cold this Wednesday, May 14, 2025 afternoon, the venue’s stage is poised to shine during a live performance today by television, film, and stage actress/singer Lucie Arnaz.
Lucie Arnaz is the daughter of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, stars of the classic TV comedy, I Love Lucy. Following some walk-ons on her mother’s television series, The Lucy Show, Arnaz made her TV debut playing the role of Kim Carter with a continuing role on the series, Here’s Lucy — a show which ran for six seasons. Over the years, she also appeared on such popular TV programs as Fantasy Island; Murder, She Wrote; Marcus Welby, MD; and Law & Order.
Arnaz made her Broadway debut in 1979 in They’re Playing Our Song, for which she won both the Theater World Award and the LA Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Actress in a Musical. She also toured with Tommy Tune in the international company of My One and Only and appeared in a number of Broadway productions including Neil Simon’s Lost in Yonkers, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, and Pippin. No stranger to films, Arnaz starred with Neil Diamond and Laurence Olivier in The Jazz Singer, for which she earned a Golden Globe award nomination for Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture.
As a singer, Arnaz released her first album, Just in Time, in 1993. Her latest recording is 2023’s Live! at the Purple Room. Arnaz is currently touring the country with her show, An Intimate Evening With Lucie Arnaz, telling stories and performing tunes accompanied by her musical director/pianist Ron Abel.
Sponsored by the Garden State Arts Foundation, today’s concert is the second in a series of free Spring 2025 musical events which also includes a Donna Summer “Forever Donna” tribute with The Chiclettes on May 28, Cousin Brucie Presents Tony Orlando and Andy Kim on June 5, The Grass Roots and The Buckinghams on June 10, and the Hispanic Culture and Heritage Celebration show starring Los Lobos and Flor de Toloache on June 19.
Inside the PNC amphitheater, Vice President of the GSAF’s Board of Trustees Ron Gravino welcomes concertgoers to this afternoon’s show. He thanks the many GSAF volunteers and contributors for their help with today’s event before introducing Lucie Arnaz, announcing, “We’re very thrilled that she was able to join us. Lets’ give a great welcome to the incredible Lucie Arnaz!”
Keyboardist Ron Abel takes a seat at the grand piano and begins to vamp as Arnaz makes her entrance looking stunning in a pink ensemble. Embracing the audience with her rich alto voice, Arnaz sings, “A little bit of me and a whole lot of you/Add a dash of starlight and a dozen roses, too,” on the upbeat Harry Connick, Jr. ballad, “Recipe for Love.”
Segueing into Sinatra’s “(Love is) The Tender Trap,” Arnaz moves across the stage crooning, “Those eyes, those sighs/They’re part of the tender trap,” on this swinging number before circling back to “Recipe for Love” for the splashy conclusion.
The crowd cheers and Arnaz thanks the audience for coming out today despite the weather, joking, “I don’t know what we’re going to look like at the end of the afternoon, but just know my hair was done by Vidal Typhoon.”
The audience chuckles and Arnaz introduces Ron Abel on the piano before presenting her stylish interpretation of the Johnny Mercer ballad, “Fools Rush In,” and following up with a bluesy rendition of Dorothy Fields’ “The View From Here.”
After talking about the Willie Nelson/Julio Iglesias duet, “To All the Girls I’ve Loved Before,” Arnaz performs a tongue-in-cheek version of her own satirical song, “To All the Boys,” where she alternates singing in both a country accent and a Latin accent imitating Dolly Parton and Charo.
The audience enthusiastically applauds and Arnaz takes a seat on top of the piano to sing the jazzy Tony Bennett ballad, “Fun to Be Fooled.”
She and Abel follow up with their rendition of Abel’s nuanced original composition, “Slow Dancing.”
Continuing with a medley that starts off with Cole Porter’s “It’s All Right With Me,” Arnaz sits on a stool singing, “It’s the wrong time and the wrong place/Though your face is charming, it’s the wrong face,” before segueing into a Broadway-style rendition of “Something’s Gotta Give” where she entrances the crowd with her soaring voice, facial expressions, and body language.
After talking about working with Marvin Hamlisch on the musical, They’re Playing My Song, Arnaz performs a slow and lyrical Hamlisch arrangement of “Just One of Those Things” where Abel’s cascading piano accompanies Arnaz’s smooth vocal as she chants, “It was just one of those things/Just one of those crazy flings,” before blowing an imaginary kiss to Marvin on the coda.
Following an intimate medley where Arnaz segues from Ella Fitzgerald’s jazz waltz, “I’m Beginning to See the Light,” to a stride-piano interpretation of Billie Holiday’s “Moonglow,” Arnaz asks the crowd, “How are you doing? Is everyone ok with the rain and everything?” joking, “Do I have to bring in some space heaters?”
Moving on to David Friedman’s “Listen to my Heart,” Arnaz sings with feeling, “Here we are/You and I at last in the right place/At the right time,” on this soft-rock ballad which builds with intensity as it edges towards the finish.
Acknowledging, “I finally met a guy who heard what my heart was feeling,” Arnaz tells the story about meeting her husband, actor Laurence Luckinbill, in a New York City club where he pulled her onto the dance floor for a Latin tune. Here, she performs a sparkling rendition of “Blame it on the Bossa Nova.” On this rhythmic number, Arnaz plays a shaker and dances, charming not only the audience with her prodigious talent but, also, a pair of ravens whose loud “caws” reverberate around the open-air amphitheater.
“They’ve gone stark ‘raven’ mad!” jokes Arnaz before imitating the birds’ croaking caws and wondering, “What key is that?” The audience guffaws and Arnaz follows up with the Lil’ Abner ballad, “Namely You,” prior to concluding the afternoon’s performance with a showy rendition of Ron Abel’s swinging composition, “Until Now.”
Concertgoers respond with a standing ovation as Arnaz bows, recognizes Abel, and thanks everyone at the PNC Bank Arts Center.
Referencing the cold temperature, Arnaz addresses the audience confessing, “I’m looking at all your coats and I’m jealous!” and takes a shawl that was draped over the piano and wraps it around her shoulders. Here, she talks about being shocked to discover that one of her favorite songs as a youngster was performed on the final episode of the I Love Lucy show prior to waxing nostalgic about her parents, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz.
Sitting on a stool, Arnaz performs that song, “That’s All,” vocalizing with simple elegance, “Say it’s me that you’ll adore/For now and ever more/That’s all/That’s all,” as the final note is accompanied by a perfectly-timed raven caw and Lucie announces, “Thank you!” before blowing a heartfelt goodbye kiss to the crowd.
To learn more about Lucie Arnaz, please go to luciearnaz.com. For information on additional free Spring 2025 GSAF concerts — including Forever Donna and The Chiclettes on May 28 at 1:30 pm, Cousin Brucie Presents Tony Orlando and Andy Kim on June 5 at 7:30 pm, The Grass Roots and The Buckinghams on June 10 at 1:30 pm, and the Hispanic Culture and Heritage Celebration starring Los Lobos and Flor de Toloache on June 19 at 7:30 pm — please click on gsafoundation.org.
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