User Reviews

This is one of my favorite season 1 episodes, I feel like it's unappreciated. It starts small then builts a snowball effect you think it'll go one way but to another. To go Spanish to British play is pure fun. I like plays so that's why I appreciate the theater theme.

I think this one's funnier than some episodes people always cite as 'classics'. Just for the heck of it I asked a (much younger) Latino friend--who'd never seen I Love Lucy, believe it or not--if he thought the exaggerated fake Cuban accents were racist or funny (I don't think we need to worry about British opinion regarding the accents in the English setting version of Lucy's play); he said, "I think it's funny, but I can see why someone would think it's racist." He was a bit more taken aback by a couple All in the Family episodes I had him watch.

So I really like this one, but of course not everything in any sitcom installment makes perfect sense. In this case, just about every problem up to the eventual disaster at the play competition could've been avoided if Lucy had simply told Ricky at the start that the play judge was that big film producer "Darryl B. Mayer". But then the episode would've been about ten minutes long.

This episode is so boring through the first half, then it becomes absolutely hilarious as they produce two very different plays and Ricky inadvertently combined them as a Cuban British general. Everything about the play scenes worked fantastically, from Lucy cutting through the door to Ricky's mishaps to them changing the setup only to realize they each had the same idea! Unfortunately, it's hard to even stay awake through the first several minutes as we go through slow motion Lucy acting out the parts in a very unfunny fashion.

Lucy Ricardo has written a play for her women's club entry into a playwriting contest in which various women's groups will compete. Trouble is Ricky resents her committing him to the project as the star before telling him and refuses to do it (Lucy insists it wasn't written for him, even though the hero is Cuban and sings Babalu!. Lucy is then forced to rewrite the play and set it in England so Fred will be able to play the male lead, while Lucy's Cuban cutie and her mother played by Ethel also make the transition from Hispanic to British. When Ricky finds out the plays will be judged by famous movie producer "Samuel B. Mayer" he talks Fred into backing out and letting him star - completely unaware that the plot and setting have been changed.

LUCY WRITES A PLAY is one of the weaker I LOVE LUCY shows, so much that one can easily notice canned laughter accompanies most of the jokes rather than genuine laughs from the studio audience. It is somewhat unusual to see Ricky just as sneaky as Lucy for a change and having it backfire on him as it usually did for her. Supporting player Myra Marsh has a fun small role as the overly dramatic club woman who introduces the play but this episode is definitely Lucy Lite.