Leaks. Ailing goldfish. A missing cat. A cantankerous roommate of a father. In the comedy “Lucky Me,” Sara Fine’s life is a bit of a mess.
Not to mention she’s got an ongoing problem with light bulbs. They burn out. A lot.
There’s plenty of low-watt misfortune in Robert Caisley’s new play, receiving its rolling world premiere at the through Dec. 6.
So, you’re spot on if you gather there’s sarcasm in the title. Connections on the fritz, bad mojos and the flickering possibility of love run through “Lucky Me.”
Verbally nimble and physically nuanced, the four-person cast showcases the wit in this enjoyable if slender play. A resident of Idaho, sets the action in Denver, although the disconnection and tentative dance toward intimacy could unfold anywhere.
“Lucky Me” opens on New Year’s Day. Sara (Dee Covington) is being helped into her apartment by new neighbor and TSA agent Tom (Erik Sandvold) after an incident sent her to the ER. She wobbles in on crutches.
As Tom goes about the apartment trying to turn on the lights, he observes in the smallest of nervous small talk that he’s never had the kind of problem Sara has with light bulbs.
“You’re lucky,” she replies. As Tom becomes more involved with Sara and her father, Leo, we’ll wonder if he’s really all that fortunate.
Randy Moore is delightfully unpleasant as Leo, Sara’s forgetful father. He’s blind but there’s a willful deafness to him, too. And Moore has ready fun with a kind of “who’s-on-first” repartee.
If Sara’s exes met with disasters, as Ukrainian landlord Yuri (Kurt Brighton) warns Tom, might Dad be the black cat in the room?
Given Leo, Sara has every right to be aggrieved. Yet, Covington convincingly depicts a woman more resigned than bitter.
Sandvold’s turn as Tom brings a sweetness to the play. And one of director Chip Walton’s nicer touches is the way he has Tom hang back a bitr from Sara on designer Markas Henry’s aptly ramshackle set. It’s as if Tom’s afraid he might get a shock.
Caisley’s penned a couple of second-act monologues that allow Covington and Sandvold to shine. In a play that teases notions of connection, it says something that each of them takes place on a phone.
Sara’s moment comes late in the play like a dam giving way, like a power surge. As incandescent as Covington is, Sara’s riff adds to the sense that the playwright missed earlier opportunities to ground his ideas about connection.
What could have been illuminating is mostly flickering fun.
Lisa Kennedy: 303-954-1567, lkennedy@denverpost.com or twitter.com/bylisakennedy
“LUCKY ME.” Written by Robert Caisley. Directed by Chip Walton. Featuring Dee Covington, Erik Sandvold, Randy Moore and Kurt Brighton. Through Dec. 6. 2 hours 15 minutes. At Curious Theatre Company, 1080 Acoma St. Tickets $18- $44 via curioustheatre.org or 303-623-0524
