It ain’t easy being second fiddle. Even for TV’s most famous and beloved “second banana” Ethel Mertz who played Lucille Ball’s frumpy, housecoat-wearing neighbor for nine seasons of “I Love Lucy” and related TV comedies from 1951 through 1965. Everyone loved Vivian Vance’s portrayal of Ethel which won her the first Emmy for Best Supporting Actress in 1953. But when fans begged for her autograph and Vivian signed her real name, they’d ask for a redo as “Ethel.”
Soaring popularity for a particular role can bring fame and fortune but also, alas, the curse of being typecast to play that part forever. And for Vance, as we’ll see, even a crisis of personal identity. Who was she, really, if not the Ethel people expected after all those years? The ongoing worldwide phenomenon of “I Love Lucy” followed by “The Lucy Show” and hour-long specials (207 episodes in all! Featured in 52 languages!) was particularly hard for the highly talented theater actress, comedienne and triple-threat singer and dancer. Before “Lucy,” Vivian Vance had worked in Broadway musicals, on chorus lines, appeared with Jimmy Durante and Bob Hope, and was even considered talented enough to understudy Ethel Merman in “Gypsy.”
In 1951, she practically fell into what she thought, at the time, would be a short-lived stint on TV. And while she appreciated all the success it brought – in fame and fortune – it also literally sidekicked her earlier dreams of stage and big-screen stardom. When we meet Vance, so powerfully portrayed by Irene Adjan with all of Vivian’s passions – from minor gripes to recriminations, boasts and blames, to vulnerabilities, sympathies and joys … often accompanied by darling snippets of song-and-dance (an area where Vivian excelled, and Lucy did not) – we are struck by how many hurdles this incredibly talented and persistent woman needed to jump in order to make it in the biz. Especially given her utter lack of family support, both financially and emotionally. In fact, quite the opposite.
Her father was a mostly absent ne’er-do-well philanderer. Her religious fanatic of a mother repeatedly cursed her with “hellfire and damnation,” called her a “whore” for showing her legs, refused to watch her perform and even returned the first paycheck she’d proudly sent her because it was “The Devil’s Money.” Unlucky in love as well, Vivian could count two failed marriages by the time she was 23. (Her third, more lengthy, union with a jealous and physically abusive actor while she starred in “I Love Lucy” was no better.)
Then there was her lifetime battle with depression – including a complete nervous breakdown on stage. (More about that later.) Feeling she could help others by being open about her internal struggles, Vance was the first celebrity to publicly fight the stigma of mental illness with an article in “McCall’s,” a popular women’s magazine. It was a ground-breaker for the times – not unlike her mega-popular show which was the first scripted TV show to feature an ensemble cast and first to be filmed before a live audience. “I Love Lucy”’s half-hour comedy skits are now considered among the most influential in entertainment history.
SIDEKICKED by Kim Powers opens Boca Stage’s four-show, 2024-2025 Off-Broadway season in their lovely (and larger) home base at Delray Beach Playhouse’s Cabaret Theatre. Deftly directed with panache by the company’s popular collaborator, Genie Croft, who also serves as producer alongside Boca Stage’s founder/executive director Keith Garsson and Delray Beach Playhouse’s executive producer Kevin Barrett. I must say, this pro team’s best inaugural show decision was to cast local superstar Irene Adjan to portray the iconic Ethel we all know and love … and the woman behind the role that we don’t even think about or know at all.
Director Genie Croft considers it her mission to change all that, stating: “People say, ‘I love Lucy.’ But I want them to say, ‘I love Vivian Vance’ just as much because boy did she contribute to the show!” Croft wants her audiences to gain a new appreciation for the second banana who was sidekicked and then finds herself later on in life. “It’s a powerful message,” she says. Irene Adjan, who’s been spending an awful lot of time in Vance’s shoes, agrees: “People don’t know her name except as Ethel Mertz. They know nothing about Vivian Vance. She had a rich theater life … and a complicated personal life.”
Thanks to being a fan and dedicated researcher, the show’s playwright Kim Powers – who’s also a critically acclaimed novelist, memoirist and ABC’s 20/20 two-time Emmy winner – has us meet the “real” Vivian onstage in her 1950s-style dressing room at Desilu TV Studio in Hollywood. It’s around 6:30 pm on Friday, March 2, 1960. Dressed in a cozy bathrobe with her blonde hair done up in curlers, she has about an-hour-and-a-half to go before “The Lucy/Desi Comedy Hour”’s final show. Most importantly, after nine years, tonight represents her last time entering that blasted kitchen door as “Ethel.”
Vivian would love to celebrate the end of this era, but she’s also afraid of the unknown. Who is she now? Can she play … and will audiences accept any role other than Ethel Mertz? As it happens, she’d been offered a reprieve that can be viewed as both savior and sinkhole. For Desi had come up with a spin-off show titled “Fred and Ethel” and, of course, wants her to play Ethel. But he insists on getting an answer as to whether she’ll accept the part that very night.
Now poor Vivian is so overwrought with anxiety, she’s not even sure she can make it to her final performance. What if she has another breakdown? Like the time she inexplicably stood frozen onstage, forgetting all her lines and not even able to reach for a cigarette while acting in John Van Druten’s “The Voice of the Turtle.” Her paralyzing nervous breakdown continues to haunt her (it led to a five year hiatus) but when she finally returned to the stage, and even to star again in the same show, it was that performance that put her on Desilu’s radar for the role of Ethel Mertz. But now she can’t help wondering if she’ll be Ethel forever – a character she’s come to hate, along with her pretend “husband” Fred, whom she’s hated from the get-go. And then there’s her lengthy love/hate relationship with Lucille Ball to contend with. But Lucy’s confided a life-altering secret concerning Desi that will take place today, on his 43rd birthday. Vivian spills the beans to the audience (but I won’t tell).
Most of all, the pressure of giving Desi Arnaz an answer regarding her future, at age 50, is really getting to her. So she summons her long-time therapist to make an emergency visit to her dressing room to help her figure things out. And in typical “talking” therapy style, proceeds to regale him (and really us) with an involved, enlightening and often surprising picture of her life.
Irene Adjan’s Vivian keeps us fascinated with shocking and humorous revelations, while engaged and entertained for the entire 85-minute (no intermission) one-woman (or as the playwright describes it “One-Broad Comedy”) show. Maybe just like Vance – who embodied the role and spirit of Ethel so completely – Adjan inhabits the persona of Vivian with incredible skill, charm, talent and finesse. The unseen “prop” of a therapist is somewhere in front of her (an imaginary figure seated among us), so she can directly address the audience. Through her vivid confessions and observations, she brings us along a wild ride through the memory lane of Vivian’s past, present and, finally (with a little encouragement from co-star Lucille) an optimistic plan for her future. (It’s amazing what a difference a few honest words of advice can make. Here, too, I won’t divulge the secret to moving on, so you can enjoy the grand finale reveal for yourself.)
Still I do hope to whet your appetite with a few choice tidbits. Did you know that Vivian was only two years older than Lucy? And was required to gain 10 pounds and remain overweight for the duration, along with not wearing fake eyelashes so her eyes wouldn’t look bigger than the show’s star? Vance also couldn’t stand her TV husband Fred Mertz, played by boorish actor Bill Frawley, claiming: “He’s 25 years older than I am. He should be playing my father, not my husband!” [Actually, Frawley is only 22 years her senior, but we can forgive Viv her slight exaggeration.] No wonder she’d “race through the script, praying we wouldn’t have a bedroom scene together.”
