Do It Today: An Evening with Lucille Ball at the Florida International Museum

An icon of American television lives on in the form of Suzanne LaRusch in An Evening with Lucille Ball: Thank You for Asking, which opens tonight and remains onstage at the Straz Center for the Performing Arts for the next two weeks. Directed by Ball’s daughter, Lucie Arnaz, the one-woman show allows LaRusch’s Lucy to share stories about classic sketches from I Love Lucy and her relationship with costar/husband Desi Arnaz.  For those too young to appreciate Ball’s impact on popular culture, she was named one of Time magazine’s “100 Most Important People of the Century” and received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Kennedy Center Honors. And any discussion of the best TV shows (and funniest episodes) to date has to include her classic sitcom, which remains in syndication around the world. Talkbacks with daughter Arnaz follow the Jan. 14, 15 and 16 performances. Jan. 5-17, 7:30 p.m., Tues. Weds. and Fri.; 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., Thurs. and Sat.; and 4 p.m., Sun., 1010 N. MacInnes Place, Tampa, 36.50, tbpac.org. – Anthony Salveggi