JENN LUCAS
NEWS and REVIEWS
The Little Dog Laughed – Dragon Productions
A seamless, contemporary hit. Beane’s script is witty and probing; his characters are simultaneously self-aware and deluded,
and oddly likeable despite themselves. To bring these complex human beings to the stage, Albright has gathered a cast of exceptionally talented actors; Jennifer Lucas is marvelous as the Machiavellian Diane, delving into her rapid-fire, cut-throat, occasionally world-weary monologues with obvious relish. She finds a surprising amount of variety in a character who could have been- with a weaker actress- a one-joke stereotype…
Kevin Kriby, Palo Alto Weekly
Dragon Productions plays in a tiny theatre, with a shoe-string budget for set design, yet still managed to find four incredible actors to play these intriguing characters; Jennifer Lucas as Diane played Hollywood to perfection as the fast-talking agent who just wanted her friend (along with herself) to succeed.
Cynthia Coral, San Jose Metblogs
Country Club Catastrophe – Back Alley Productions
Inspired equally by classical French farce — Molière's five-act structure in particular — and recognizably American figures from the yawning class divide, it aims at a contemporary social crisis churned by the obscene disparities in wealth in post–middle-class America.
First to arrive is Mrs. Montgomery (a sharp, coolly imperious Jennifer Lucas), her teased hair rising to just within the frame of the front door center stage, and a long leash trailing from her wrist to an unseen standard poodle with an unhealthy appetite for the doorman. Separately from Mrs. Montgomery — who in a manipulative confessional gesture lets Linda know her first name is Tabytha, only to insist she still call her Mrs. Montgomery — arrives the rest of her small but attenuated family.
Robert Avila, SF Bay Guardian
Two by Woody! - Custom Made Theatre Company
It takes guts to attempt a Woody Allen play, but the ever-capable Custom Made Theatre Company hit it right out of the ball park with their current offering of Two By Woody! In Central Park West, a well-known psychiatrist discovers her husband is having an affair with her best friend, among other Manhattan socialites. The story is hilarious from the first biting line to the last. Jennifer Lucas, in the role of drunk and disorderly psychiatrist Phyllis, chews up the scenery and spits it out funnier than before. Lucas's insane antics and venom-spewed dialogue delivery make infidelity a laughing matter.
Theresa Parson-Tsopanis, San Francisco Bay Times
The Family Makespeace - Diablo Actor's Ensemble
Family" is set in the home of Jack and Peg Makespeace... Peg (Jennifer Lucas), is Jack's second wife, and has invited his grown children over for the weekend to celebrate his birthday. She also plans to leave him the following Monday; the cast is excellent, with a spot-on timing that makes Mercer's dark comedy work so beautifully. Lucas is particularly effective in her stepmother role as she alternately rails and regrets and finally becomes tied up in an unfolding drama (that draws big laughs)...realistic, edgy and quite fun to watch.
Pat Craig, Contra Costa Times
You Stole My Script – Strawberry One Act Festival – NYC
Jenn took a 3 year sojourn to New York City; the highlight of her endeavors there being a Best Actress nomination for her portrayal of Ellen in You Stole My Script at the prestigious Strawberry One Act Festival.
A Thunderbird Night of Terror - Thunderbird Theater Company
"Terror at Ten" was the most fully realized of the playlets in its examination of a TV station seeking to raise ratings by turning its nightly news broadcast into a vehicle for sensationalism. Jennifer Lucas as anchorwoman Pamela Angora was hilarious in this piece and in the following "Gate 13," in which she and Trimble were a pair of airport floozies trying hook up with everyone…
Carey Wilson - Chico News & Review
Thunderbabe – World Premiere - BJF Creative
True to its title, "Thunderbabe" is a laugh-a-minute, freshly insightful, politically incorrect, fully rotating send-up of a whole bunch of our long-treasured cultural icons. Toxic Passion is played by Jennifer Lucas with a lusty flair for evil that virtually drips from her lips and finger tips. She is the archetypal villain embodying all the scary attributes of villains throughout the ages, and very sexy to boot…
Tom Billings, Alameda Journal
Money & Run Episode 2, Impact Theatre Company
A pitch-perfect parody of schlocky TV action shows complete with opening credits and a "previously on Money & Run" montage, this serial wraps up Impact's first season with a bang -- and also a pow, biff, and zowie. In chapter two, "Of Nuns and Ninjas," Money and Run have to save an orphanage run by Sister Crystal Mighty (the kind of tough-as-nails nun who could easily moonlight as a dominatrix, played with appropriate badassitude by Jennifer Lucas )…
Sam Hurwitt, East Bay Express
Crumble, Impact Theatre Company, Oakland Tribune Top 2005 productions
Her mom is worried about her, but not worried enough to actually listen, as she’s too busy mourning for herself, and taking the advice of her well meaning, but not too bright sister, Barbara (another stand out performance by Jennifer Lucas ) …The relationship between the three is believable and touching in their dysfunctional codependent way...It’s touching, bittersweet, brutally honest…"
Angelique Heddings, East Bay Voice
Janice is indeed odder than most eleven-year-olds, no matter what her... crazy-cat-lady aunt Barbara says…Jennifer Lucas plays Barbara high-strung and over the top, loosening and deepening only when the character is alone with her cats ("You're the meowiest childen a mommy can have")...The humor here is plentiful, if of the "I must laugh or I shall never stop screaming" variety…
Lisa Drostova, East Bay Express
Bye Bye Bin Laden, Custom Made Theater Company, San Francisco Bay Guardian Best of 2004: Premieres
...Smartly written, consistently funny, and well-acted romp rests on competing TV campaigns by rival theocrats determined to win the hearts and minds of the American public. Making a virtue of bad taste, I Love Prakhbar ( Jennifer Lucas ) spoofs I Love Lucy … lively staging and performances played to the hilt support the material admirably…
Robert Avila, SF Bay Guardian
The takeoff of “Lucy” ( Jennifer Lucas ) at the conveyor belt was one of the highlights…
Lee Hartgrave, Beyond Chron
Rocket Girl - World Premiere, Thunderbird Theatre Company
Rocket Girl is packed with sexual innuendo, both straight and not so straight, ranging from the lusty leader of the Rocket League, Rear Admiral Leggs Akimbo played by Jennifer Lucas … sexual humor is bold...giving the audience bombs of laughter...
Alison Gilbert, SF Station
Money & Run Episode 4, Impact Theatre Company
There are montages …There are completely cartoonish fight sequences… Jennifer Lucas… a bitch-queen DA in perfectly square shoulderpads… growls, "And that makes me sad. Like a sad clown," looking nothing like any sad clown you've ever seen. Near the end of the performance I saw, even the actors were having a hard time keeping straight faces…
Lisa Drostova, East Bay Express
Thinderella, Altarena Playhouse
…A rare treat at Altarena Playhouse where “Thinderella,” an authentic Panto inspired by Lynn McIntosh and brilliantly cobbled together and directed by Sue Trigg is gracing the boards at the moment… The stepmother, Iyama Tramp, is played by Jennifer Lucas , as lusty as she is wicked…
Tom Billings, Alameda Journal
Meanwhile, Back at the Super Lair
Impact Theatre has pulled out most of the stops with its current production…The Fly’s struggles with the meaning of it all has him putting in some supposedly therapeutic time with “Dr. Reynolds” ( Jennifer Lucas , who rather remarkably also spends time being “Eddie One Arm” and just plain “Thug”). Impact has loaded the cast with a group of their most talented actors, who are obviously enjoying themselves in this romp through never-never land…
Betsy Hunton, Berkeley Daily Planet