Newburgh, New York: Lucy and Desi First Performed Here
Historical plaque marks the theater where in 1941 Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz debuted their stage act, whose skits would later become the I Love Lucy show.
Ritz Theatre
- Address:
- 107 Broadway, Newburgh, NY
- Directions:
- Downtown. A small red plaque mounted on the wall to the right of the entrance of the Ritz Theatre, which is on the south side of Broadway just west of its intersection with Liberty St.
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Lucille Ball already was a successful actress when she married Desi Arnaz, a Cuban bandleader. On December 17, 1941, she and Desi debuted their live stage show at the modest Ritz Theatre in Newburgh. Encouraged, the newlyweds gradually developed their act until, over ten years later, it became "I Love Lucy," the show that drew audiences to the new medium of television.
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