{"id":90463,"date":"2026-11-12T16:55:13","date_gmt":"2026-11-13T00:55:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/?p=90463"},"modified":"2026-11-12T16:55:15","modified_gmt":"2026-11-13T00:55:15","slug":"theater-review-the-laugh-track-i-love-lucy-madelyn-pugh-wendy-macleod","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/eat-see-do-2\/see\/theater-review-the-laugh-track-i-love-lucy-madelyn-pugh-wendy-macleod","title":{"rendered":"Theater review: ‘The Laugh Track’ is a charming and witty window into one of TV’s first female writers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Having its West Coast premiere at International City Theatre through Nov. 22, Wendy MacLeod<\/a>\u2019s new comedy \u201cThe Laugh Track\u201d<\/a> focuses on a female writer behind the hit 1950s television show \u201cI Love Lucy.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not only is MacLeod\u2019s writing sharp, funny and interesting, but director Brian Shnipper\u2019s fluid direction gives us an engaging and illuminating behind-the-scenes look at the famous show produced in the infancy of commercial television broadcasting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the play, Madelyn Pugh, or Maddie (played by Alli Brown), is one of the few female comedy writers in broadcasting, having transitioned from radio to television, along with her more experienced writing partner, Bob (Josh Odsess-Rubin). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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From left: Alli Brown and Josh Odsess-Rubin in “The Laugh Track” at International City Theatre. Photo by Denis Nigos. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The show is filmed in a playhouse in front of a live audience in bleachers, but broadcast the next day \u2014 a new concept at the time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And both Maddie and Bob convince \u201cI Love Lucy\u201d producer Harry (excellently played by Hunter Bodine) that if the show were to be re-broadcast \u2014 which he can\u2019t believe, because who\u2019d rewatch a show they\u2019d already seen? \u2014 they would get paid residuals, which became a television industry standard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The dialogue throughout is fast-paced and witty, especially between Maddie and Bob as they spar over whose show lines get the most laughs, or whose idea something was, with Maddie often having to assert herself over Bob taking credit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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From left: Hunter Bodine, Alli Brown, Josh Odsess-Rubin and Alyssa Corella in “The Laugh Track” at International City Theatre. Photo by Denis Nigos.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In these ways, MacLeod\u2019s play immerses us in the historical context of the show \u2014 including the gender and racial biases it challenged \u2014 all while making us laugh and care about its writers and actors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She also has to avoid fetching things on demand for the men on the set, including one cringy scene where producer Harry doesn\u2019t back down from expecting her to bring him coffee. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But thanks to Brown\u2019s exceptionally clear, quick and charming delivery, Maddie is never shrill in defending herself or annoying; instead, she effortlessly pokes holes in the men\u2019s perceptions of her and women in general.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ironically, it\u2019s with Lucille Ball (Jennifer Sorenson) that Maddie sometimes gets tongue-tied or undermines her own abilities \u2014 perhaps because of her admiration for the star. The self-confident Ball encourages Maddie to stand up for herself as a woman, just as she herself does. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But though Ball calls the shots on her show, she still has to negotiate being a mother on set, especially as her husband and co-star Desi Arnaz (Bill Mendieta, who nails Arnaz\u2019s Cuban accent) is a hands-off father, maintaining a macho distance while Ball deals with hiding nursing stains before filming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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From left: Jennifer Sorenson stars as Lucille Ball and Bill Mendieta as Desi Arnaz in “The Laugh Track” at International City Theatre. Photo by Denis Nigos.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The play covers the entirety of the show\u2019s production from 1951 to 1957 in a crisp 90 minutes, as director Shnipper seamlessly transitions between scenes \u2014 on Mark Mendelson\u2019s soundstage set design \u2014 ranging from backstage offices to a restaurant they all frequent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Restaurant waitress Nellie (Alyssa Corella) adds a kooky outside perspective to the goings-on at the TV show. Nellie\u2019s over-the-top ditziness, which Corella excels at, certainly adds comedy to the production. And the character’s own showbiz ambitions lead her to write a script based on her life \u2014 but it shows how difficult TV writing can be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Laugh Track\u201d thus scores on all counts \u2014 writing, directing, acting, production design (with lighting by Donna Ruzika, sound by Hunter Moody and props by Patty Briles) and period costuming by Kim DeShazo. It\u2019s a total package guaranteed to entertain, just as reruns of \u201cI Love Lucy\u201d still do after 75 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

International City Theatre\u2019s \u201cThe Laugh Track\u201d continues through Nov. 22 at the Beverly O\u2019Neill Theater, 330 E. Seaside Way, with shows Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. For tickets and information, call the box office at 562-436-4610 or visit<\/em> ICTLongBeach.org<\/em><\/a>. Run time is 90 minutes with no intermission.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Wendy MacLeod\u2019s new play at International City Theater shows us the success and struggles of Madelyn Pugh\u2019s career, as a pioneering female writer for the 1950s \u201cI Love Lucy\u201d show.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29035,"featured_media":90469,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","inline_featured_image":false,"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":"","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_":"","_author_alias":"","cap-aim":"","cap-description":"","cap-display_name":"","cap-first_name":"","cap-jabber":"","cap-last_name":"","cap-linked_account":"","cap-newspack_employer":"","cap-newspack_job_title":"","cap-newspack_phone_number":"","cap-newspack_role":"","cap-user_email":"","cap-user_login":"","cap-website":"","cap-yahooim":"","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_email_html":"","newspack_email_type":"","newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_hide_page_title":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_post_subtitle":"Wendy MacLeod\u2019s new play at International City Theater shows us the success and struggles of Madelyn Pugh\u2019s career, as a pioneering female writer for the 1950s \u201cI Love Lucy\u201d show.","newspack_show_share_buttons":"","newspack_sponsor_byline_prefix":"","newspack_sponsor_disclaimer_override":"","newspack_sponsor_flag_override":"","newspack_sponsor_only_direct":"","newspack_sponsor_url":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_show_updated_date":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[32366],"tags":[],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"coauthors":[32310],"class_list":["post-90463","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-see","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/img.lbpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/11\/12160148\/laugh-7-028126-zh50pz57-025142-ea3o5EBZ.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90463","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29035"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=90463"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90463\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":90470,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90463\/revisions\/90470"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/90469"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=90463"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=90463"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=90463"},{"taxonomy":"newspack_spnsrs_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newspack_spnsrs_tax?post=90463"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=90463"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}