Take a trip down memory lane with Peter Nero and the Philly Pops’® “We Love Lucie”
02/26/2008Broadway and TV star Lucie Arnaz shares her singing talent and anecdotes about her parents, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz
Let Peter Nero and the Philly Pops® take you on a golden trip down memory lane with Broadway and television sweetheart Lucie Arnaz. A charismatic and electric performer, Ms. Arnaz celebrates her 40th year as an entertainer with a special show that incorporates marvelous Broadway music along with fond anecdotes of what life was like growing up with her famous parents, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz.
In addition, Peter Nero leads his Philly Pops in orchestral selections by the great pops composer Leroy Anderson. A composer of distinctive and delightful miniatures, Anderson’s best-known works include Blue Tango, The Syncopated Clock, The Typewriter, and Sleigh Ride. This spring marks the 100th anniversary of Anderson’s birth.
“We Love Lucie” takes place in Verizon Hall at The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts on March 2, 5, and 7-9, 2008 (see listing calendar below for details).
Peter Nero
“If the perfect pops conductor could be conjured, … he might answer to this description,” wrote Philadelphia Inquirer music critic Peter Dobrin. “Huge talent with polymath abilities and catholic tastes. Musician who actually enjoys giving audiences what they want. Plays piano like a dream. … [H]e might look something like Peter Nero.”
A two-time Grammy® Award winner and 10-time nominee, Mr. Nero has built an impressive career as a conductor, arranger, composer, and master pianist. For his ability to pick just the right material, he most recently was dubbed “Dr. Feelgood.” Named “the epitome of the Pops Conductor/Performer” by the Washington Post, Mr. Nero won the Grammy® Award for “Best New Artist” in 1961, another in 1962, and since that time has garnered 10 additional nominations and released 67 albums. His recent guest performances include engagements with the Indianapolis Symphony, the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa, the Charlotte Symphony, the Buffalo Philharmonic, and the Baltimore Symphony, among others. On January 27, 2007, Mr. Nero performed at the Academy of Music 150th Anniversary Concert, joining rock icon Rod Stewart from the piano on “They Can’t Take That Away from Me.” Maestro Nero was a guest soloist on Mr. Stewart’s second of four recordings, As Time Goes By ... The Great American Songbook, Vol. 2. He has made numerous television appearances on national networks as well as PBS. He is the recipient of six honorary doctorates and in 1999 received the Pennsylvania Distinguished Arts Award.
Special Guest Lucie Arnaz
Lucie Arnaz made her professional debut at the age of 12 as a guest on Lucille Ball’s TV show, The Lucy Show and then became a regular on the follow-up series, Here’s Lucy, at the age of 15. In 1974 Ms. Arnaz headed for New York City, where she playedGittle Mosca in the musical Seesaw. Other earlier stage appearances include Vanities at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles, the title role in Annie Get Your Gun in New York, and Sonia Wolsk on Broadway in the Neil Simon and Marvin Hamlisch musical They’re Playing Our Song. She has since starred in Educating Rita (American premiere), Whose Life Is It Anyway?, Social Security, The Guardsman, and Gershwin’s My One and Only. Most recently, she returned to Broadway where she received critical acclaim for her portrayal of Bella, the emotionally-abused aunt in the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning play Lost in Yonkers by Neil Simon. In film Ms. Arnaz co-starred in The Jazz Singer with Neil Diamond and Laurence Olivier as well as in a number of made-for-TV movies, including Who Killed the Black Dahlia?, Washington Mistress, The Mating Season, and Who Gets the Friends? She has also starred in her own TV series, The Lucie Arnaz Show, and in CBS’ Sons and Daughters.
In 1988 Ms. Arnaz embarked on a successful nightclub career, taking her act to cities in the U. S. and Europe. In 1990 Ms. Arnaz and her husband, actor writer Laurence Luckinbill formed Arluck Entertainment. Their first production, a two-hour biographical documentary called Lucy and Desi: A Home Movie, earned an Emmy Award in 1993. Ms. Arnaz’s other awards include a Los Angeles Drama Critic’s Circle Award, a Theatre World Award, a Outer Critic’s Circle Award, and Chicago’s Sarah Siddons Award.
Peter Nero
“If the perfect pops conductor could be conjured, … he might answer to this description,” wrote Philadelphia Inquirer music critic Peter Dobrin. “Huge talent with polymath abilities and catholic tastes. Musician who actually enjoys giving audiences what they want. Plays piano like a dream. … [H]e might look something like Peter Nero.”
A two-time Grammy® Award winner and 10-time nominee, Mr. Nero has built an impressive career as a conductor, arranger, composer, and master pianist. For his ability to pick just the right material, he most recently was dubbed “Dr. Feelgood.” Named “the epitome of the Pops Conductor/Performer” by the Washington Post, Mr. Nero won the Grammy® Award for “Best New Artist” in 1961, another in 1962, and since that time has garnered 10 additional nominations and released 67 albums. His recent guest performances include engagements with the Indianapolis Symphony, the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa, the Charlotte Symphony, the Buffalo Philharmonic, and the Baltimore Symphony, among others. On January 27, 2007, Mr. Nero performed at the Academy of Music 150th Anniversary Concert, joining rock icon Rod Stewart from the piano on “They Can’t Take That Away from Me.” Maestro Nero was a guest soloist on Mr. Stewart’s second of four recordings, As Time Goes By ... The Great American Songbook, Vol. 2. He has made numerous television appearances on national networks as well as PBS. He is the recipient of six honorary doctorates and in 1999 received the Pennsylvania Distinguished Arts Award.
Peter Nero and the Philly Pops
One of America’s premier pops orchestras, Peter Nero and the Philly Pops was founded in 1979 under the musical leadership of Mr. Nero, whose unique talents and innovative programming blending all musical genres have made their concerts widely popular in the pops world. POPS concerts run the gamut from great classics to jazz improvisation, big band to Broadway hits, ragtime to rock ‘n’ roll. Mr. Nero’s participation as piano soloist has been received with boundless enthusiasm and acclaim. Guest artists—both established stars as well as outstanding new vocalists from Broadway and the concert stage—join The POPS each season. The Voices of The POPS, the resident vocal group, has become a member of the Philly Pops family as well.
Peter Nero and the Philly Pops is the Official Pops Orchestra of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and a significant part of Philadelphia’s cultural scene. The POPS has produced continuously growing and loyal audiences and performs to regularly sold-out crowds as a resident company of The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts.
Peter Nero and the Philly Pops has played a role in the City of Philadelphia’s Fourth of July celebration for over 20 years. On July 3, 2007, for the fourth consecutive year, Peter Nero and the Philly Pops performed a free outdoor concert in front of Independence Hall. This immensely popular annual event, which includes a musical tribute to all branches of the armed forces, draws thousands of attendees. On July 4, 2006, Peter Nero and the Philly Pops performed a free outdoor concert on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. Their concert on the Parkway the previous Independence Day, featuring Sir Elton John, Patti LaBelle, and Bryan Adams, reached over a half million people. Other notables who have joined them for past city celebrations include James Earl Jones, Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee, Ray Charles, Boyz II Men, and Dionne Warwick.
Peter Nero and the Philly Pops celebrated its 25th anniversary during the 2003-04 season and is looking forward to celebrating its 30th anniversary during the 2008-09 season. Peter and The POPS had the honor of performing at the opening of the National Constitution Center in 2003, and participating in National Public Radio’s nation-wide radio broadcast on July 4, 2002. Another highlight took place in April 2002, when Astronaut and U.S. Senator John Glenn made a guest appearance in a special performance of Peter’s original composition Voyage into Space. Peter and The POPS were featured on ABC-TV’s “Independence Day 2001,” a live, star-studded national broadcast, sharing the stage with such luminaries as Michael Douglas, Morgan Freeman, Kevin Spacey, Whoopi Goldberg, and Garth Brooks. More information about Peter Nero and the Philly Pops can be found at www.phillypops.org.
Peter Nero and the Philly Pops®
We Love Lucie
Verizon Hall at The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts
March 2 at 3:00 p.m. – Sunday afternoon
March 5 at 8:00 p.m. – Wednesday evening
March 7 at 8:00 p.m. – Friday evening
March 8at 3:00 p.m. – Saturday afternoon
March 9 at 3:00 p.m. – Sunday afternoon
Peter Nero and the Philly Pops
Peter Nero, conductor and pianist
With special guest Lucie Arnaz
Single tickets: $26-$100, 215.893.1999 or www.phillypops.org
The matinee concert on Sunday, March 9 is sponsored by Independence Blue Cross.
US Airways is the exclusive airline sponsor of Peter Nero and the Philly Pops.
CBS-3 is the television media sponsor of Peter Nero and the Philly Pops’ 2007-08 season.
B-101 is the radio media sponsor of Peter Nero and the Philly Pops’ 2007-08 season.
Go back to news
2009-2010 Season News
Back to Top
2008-2009 Season News
Back to Top
2007-2008 Season News
Back to Top
2006-2007 Season News
Back to Top
2005-2006 Season News
Back to Top
2004-2005 Season News
Back to Top
