Feeling Lucky
Reviewed by Dana Martin
The Blank Theatre at the Hollywood Fringe Festival
Through June 28
Feeling Lucky explores 30-somethings’ search for the cure for loneliness. Playwright (and fellow Stage Raw critic) Stephen Fife pens an overtly optimistic, classically comedic hour of short scenes for the Hollywood Fringe Festival.
The production examines that age-old question: just how pathetic are you without a significant other? One guy wants to ban Saturday nights because the idea of eating alone on such an evening is too soul-crushing — until, of course, a beautiful woman approaches him wanting a date, coincidentally on Saturday. Another scene finds a young woman stood up by an old flame. The waitress aggressively intervenes, they share a “why are men” moment, then the guy shows up and the tables are turned. Each scenario tells a similarly sad tale of sexual frustration, though the scene usually results in boy-gets-girl, however outlandishly.
There’s no doubt that Fife can construct a scene: the dialogue is succinct, the conflicts are huge and the structure of each scene is solid. The text is written to appeal to a younger audience. It would be interesting to see what would happen if the female-identifying characters moved away from sexual prowess as their first line of defense/communication. Direction by Yuval Shrem is concise. He keeps the pace tight which drives the work and serves the comedy well.
The ensemble (Courtney Scheuerman, Spencer Weitzel, Tarah Pollock and Eddie Navarro) are all excellent comedic actors. They each play several characters throughout the evening, every one well-crafted and comedically pathetic. Eddie Navarro is a particular standout; his highly physical drunken bum is laugh-out-loud funny.
Finding “the one” just may be a foolhardy notion. But according to Fife, love is likely right around the corner and anything can happen — if you’re lucky.
The Blank Theatre, 6500 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood; Fri., Jun. 28, 10 p.m.; through Jun. 28. https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/6244. Running time: 55 minutes with no intermission.
