An autobiographical play, “Sometimes I’m OK,” will make its Somers Point debut next month.
Playwright and standup comedian Randi Simon Lupo will perform in four shows at Studio;space, 112 Woodland Ave. The show runs at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Oct. 15 and 16; and 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 16 and 17. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased through Eventbrite.com.
“Sometimes I’m OK” is directed by Karen Case Cook and debuted five years ago at Manhattan’s Producers Club. Since then, it was selected for the International United Solo Festival, and has been performed in Central and North Jersey, as well as to sold out crowds at the Cape May Aerodrome and the Cape May Fringe Festival, the latter of which she was invited to attend by Cape May playwright and producer Bill Sterritt.
Studio;space is Sterritt’s new multi-purpose venue and where his “Wreck of the Spanish Armada” played last month. He was anxious to bring Lupo back to the area, but for a different audience, he said in a news release.
“The classics are great, of course, but I love to introduce audiences to newer material, such as Randi’s Sometimes I’m OK,” Sterritt said.
Lupo, who has been performing standup comedy consistently for 12 years, has done her act on various stages, such as Comix at Foxwoods, The New York Comedy Club, Gotham Comedy Club and the Broadway Comedy Club.
She describes herself as a “comedian who wrote a play.” Her performance in her play showcases her serious side.
“I wanted to tell a story where there’s no pressure to be funny. People do laugh at times. But I cannot categorize it as a comedy,” she said. “I’m a comedian doing a more serious show.”
Lupo grew up one of four kids in Brooklyn, N.Y., with a demanding father who expected his children to be successful at everything, and a mother who valued beauty above all else.
At a young age, Lupo was diagnosed with scoliosis and several learning disabilities, which forced her to develop her own unique coping mechanisms. Growing up, she attended numerous therapy sessions and befriended many therapists along the way.
The one-woman show was something she said she “had to do” and was ultimately very healing for her.
“Nobody comes out of childhood unscathed — everybody has different experiences. You didn’t go through what I went through; I didn’t go through what you went through,” she said.
Lupo lives in Central Jersey with her husband, the show’s executive producer, Patrick Mirucki.
Studio;space is at 112 Woodland Ave. in Somers Point. More information can be found at SometimesImOK.com or Facebook.com/sometimesimok.
