After posting my own review last night about Lucky Me, which opened its rolling world premiere Friday at Oregon Contemporary Theatre, I looked up a few reviews this morning from three other premiere performances around the country in the past year. (See last night’s review if the concept of multiple world premieres seems a bit confusing.)
It sounds as though all these productions have a great deal in common with the version I saw at OCT — strong casts making the best of some tight comedic writing in a slightly muddled script.
Here’s what they had to say:
Lucky Me proves to be a bit short on plot, a sin that’s mostly forgivable because of a set of actors and a production this accomplished (Jessica Parks’s set is especially noteworthy). For sure, (playwright Robert) Caisley would find greater success by giving his script at least one more rewrite to tighten up the loose ends.
Ken Jaworowski in the New York Times
reviewing the August 2014 production at New Jersey Rep
Verbally nimble and physically nuanced, the four-person cast showcases the wit in this enjoyable if slender play…. Sara’s moment comes late in the play like a dam giving way, like a power surge. As incandescent as (actor Dee) Covington is, Sara’s riff adds to the sense that the playwright missed earlier opportunities to ground his ideas about connection.
Lisa Kennedy in the Denver Post
reviewing the Curious Theatre Company’s November 2014 production in Denver
I will say that Lucky Me’s second act gets a little muddled for me, in terms of script. I love the set-up in this show. Sensitive Tom and House-bound Sara make for a really fetchingly fascinating couple…. There are so many intriguing questions left unanswered. When they are answered, though, in the second act — after much build-up and circumstance — the ends don’t match the means. Sara’s predilections are bizarre, but their roots seem too bizarre for consumption. The characters in this play are lovingly, tenderly written, though, and that really pays off.
Leah Gehlsen Morlan in Iowa Theatre Blog
reviewing the February 2015 production at Riverside Theatre in Iowa City, Iowa