By Diego Allessandro
originally published: 08/04/2014
The cast have great chemistry and make the comedy feel both effortless and natural. Dan Grimaldi, known to many as twin mobsters Philly "Spoons" & Patsy Parisi on HBO's classic drama The Sopranos is brilliant as Leo, who comes off like a mix of Jerry Stiller's King of Queens quirky father character Arthur Spooner and Carrol O'Connor's classic Archie Bunker from All In the Family with the mischievous scheming of Family Guy's Stewie Griffin. Leo becomes more loveable the more he lays into Tom and shines that boy like smile when he knows he's gotten over on him. In researching the role of Leo, who lost his sight after he retired, Grimaldi admitted to observing blind people and watching Scent of A Woman and USA's espionage thriller Covert Affairs while crafting his own take to bring the character of Leo alive.
Wendy Peace, who portrays the accident prone and loveable Sara, sees her character as someone fighting for optimism and commented "there's not a sense of inevitability about her." At first Sara is not willing to accept anyone or anything new into her life; she refuses to name her pets because she expects them to die or run away within 3 months of her bringing them home and tries to keep Tom at bay despite her attraction to him. Sara's most remarkable scene comes in the second act after a cathartic moment in which Tom, Leo and Sara lay their cards on the table when she begins to accept her fate and allow herself to let Tom to get close to her. For Peace, Sara embodies an important life lesson, "open yourself up to love and you never know the possibilities that can come to you."
Michael Irvin Pollard is no stranger to NJ Rep having appeared in previous productions of Big Boys, Ten Percent of Molly Snyder and six other productions. His performance of Tom, the TSA agent next door, is inspired. Tom is a divorcee who admits he's been closed off to the possibility of love since he and his ex-wife split until he met Sara. His affection for Sara is immediately genuine as he takes it upon himself to help Sara take care of herself and Leo after falling off the roof. His ability to be open with her even when she asks him not to ask questions creates an interesting tug of war under the surface of their relationship. Tom, a usually easy going guy with a good sense of humor, is no push over as displayed when he stands up to Leo after taking weeks of Leo's teasing with a grain of salt. With the help of Sara's quirky, hungry and straightforward Ukrainian landlord Yuri, played masterfully by Mark Light-Orr, Tom seems determined to win Sara's heart and learn how to deal with Leo, the scars, the bruises and the constant barrage of sporting goods flying through the windows.
Lucky Me is a play sure to bring laughs aplenty to audiences this month. With its wit, charm and stellar cast it's serendipitous that it has come to debut here in the Garden State. Lucky Me plays each Thursday through Saturday at 8pm with matinees at 3pm on Saturdays and 2pm on Sundays through August 31 at NJ Rep (179 Broadway, Long Branch, NJ). Tickets are available at www.njrep.org and over the phone at 732-229-3166. And if we're lucky, it'll come back around soon.
