Ethel's Lily of the Valley costume and blonde pigtails are a parody of silent film star Mary Pickford.
Early in the show Lucy says that she and Ethel can write the operetta referring to them as "Ethel Romberg and Lucy Friml" and to Ricky as "John Charles Ricardo." These are references to Sigmund Romberg (composer of "The Student Prince," "The Desert Song" and other operettas), Rudolf Friml (composer of "Rose-Marie" and "The Vagabond King" and others), and John Charles Thomas who was a popular operetta baritone.