Have you ever wondered how seemingly regular people can so easily succumb to whatever financial windfall life brings their way? Playwright Rob Mersola has certainly hit the mark with his new play “Luka’s Room,” which follows 19-year-old college sophomore Luka Lupatelli’s transformation from an innocent, hormone filled bystander into an icon in a life he never imagined.
After his father seemingly runs out of money due to divorce, Luka (Nick Marini) is forced to transfer from Arizona State to Valley College and move in with his eccentric Grandma Franca (Joanna Lipari). They share the house with recently paroled Uncle Nick (Alex Fernandez), an old-school thug ready to start earning again by whatever means necessary.
Shocked by the lack of modern technology in Grandma’s house, Luka is thrilled when he arrives home one day to find his room transformed by his Uncle with a big screen TV and enough modern technology to allow for Skyping with his Dad. Even better is the fact Uncle Nick makes money by selling pot, sharing his medicinal inventory with Luka much Grandma’s dismay. Their stoned antics at the dinner table had the audience in memory-generating stitches.
Then one night, Angie (Sarah Scott), one of Uncle Nick’s “customers” stops by to make a purchase when Nick just happens to not be home. Poor Luka doesn’t stand a chance as the web of deceit set up by his Uncle pulls him in thanks to the beautiful bait literally dropped into his lap. Certainly it is easy to see why no man could resist the temptation Sarah Scott so easily brings to the stage.
Encouraged by his Uncle that now is the time to go for quantity not quality when heartbroken after Angie loses interest following a late-night naked run-in with Grandma Franca, Luka’s Room becomes a hotbed of sexual discovery.
All the while, Grandma Franca’s fall into Alzheimer’s creates havoc for the family, especially when she mistakes Luka for her late husband and attacks Luka and Angie in the middle of a wonderfully staged, lingerie-fueled striptease. Convinced everyone in the family is sexually bad to the bone, Grandma’s rants about what she has done with a variety of men are shocking, even though her words are apparently truer than her family wants to believe. It’s not until her cooking skills go bad that the men take notice, louts that they are making her do all the cooking for them and not lifting a hand to help. In traditional Italian family tradition, she cooks and they eat.
Joanna Lipari is fearless in her portrayal, presenting Grandma Franca as a no-nonsense, shoot from the hip, seen it all and survived woman. Director Joshua Bitton and lighting designer Leigh Allen brilliantly allow her naked late-night walk across the stage to appear as a real work of art, shocking but also beautifully staged for its touch of reality in this world gone awry.
Fernandez and Marini may as well really be family, given their ease with dialogue together as well as the fierceness of their stage fights choreographed by Ned Mochel, also an actor in Rogue’s in rep production “A Permanent Image,” And when the tables are turned with Luka being in charge and Nick forced to play the role of homemaker and caregiver, each of these talented actors transforms so completely yet allow us to see neither is especially fond of the new role forced upon them. The same is true for Lipari whose all-knowing and laugh-generating looks can kill after her power of speech is lost.
Luka’s turnaround is fueled by his father AJ (Vince Melocchi) who confronts his wayward brother Nick with a baseball bat threateningly carried across his shoulder after Luka shares what has happened to him in the house. Merlocchi’s natural Italian bravado enhances his menace toward his younger brother until he is shown how much money his online venture is generating. His face lights up at the prospect, turning it around so Luka’s financial future is guaranteed. It’s a no-win situation for Luka, stuck in a life he never imagined for himself. But accept it he does, all the while dreaming his world with Angie is somehow more real than what is has turned out to be.
“Rob’s skewed and unique voice has always appealed to me as a producer and as an actor. His characters are as unforgettable as the wild and exciting ride he takes us on. Los Angeles has finally discovered this gem of a writer, about to hit on a whole new level.” – Jennifer Pollono; Producer
I totally agree with her – and I bet you will too.
“Luka’s Room” shows at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 3 p.m. on Sundays through Sept. 20. ROGUE MACHINE is located at 5041 W. Pico Blvd., L.A. Tickets are $30 – $35. Reservations: 855-585-5185 or at “http://ZDSCommunications.pr-optout.com/Tracking.aspx?Data=HHL%3d%3f4388%26JDG%3c%3d2%3c180.LP%3f%40083%3a&RE=MC&RI=4213217&Preview=False&DistributionActionID=7938&Action=Follow+Link” t “_blank” www.roguemachinetheatre.com