Luke's Room Reviews
Los Angeles Times- Somewhat Recommended
"...While Rob Mersola's new coming-of-age narrative sports some cleverly constructed twists, excellent performances outshine other scripting limitations in this debut staging from Rogue Machine."
Edge- Somewhat Recommended
"...Though the production is often quite amusing, the story's big climactic surprise feels more tacked-on than integral in terms of narrative and theme. Thus, the script doesn't quite nail the incisive and ironic commentary on the peculiarities and moral dilemmas of the information age that it might with some retooling."
Stage and Cinema- Recommended
"...With almost the entire stage time including one or both of these actors, the audience never has the chance to doubt whether the show is worth watching. And it's not just casting. Mersola's new script is classic American well-made-play writing, funny when it should be, arresting and cathartic if you go with it, shocking even. If the story feels pat after the fact, a bit intellectual or inorganic, it is not cheap in its tricks, and overall it's more smart than tricky. It outsmarted me, and I'm a goddamn genius."
LA Splash- Recommended
"...LUKA'S ROOM explores how an impossibly naive young man comes to terms with the real world. Joshua Bitton's direction keeps this talented ensemble on point and the audience eagerly engaged."
Stage Scene LA- Recommended
"...I'm every bit as nuts about Luka's Room. Leave it to Mersola to take a tried-and-true genre and make it surprisingly, subversively fresh and new."
StageHappenings.com- Recommended
"...Under Joshua Bitton's even-handed direction, we get to know all the characters before the proverbial shit hits the fan and our emotional values are sent into the stratosphere. His casting (thank Victoria Hoffman as well) and taut direction make its 90-minute, no intermission, length just right."
Theatre Spoken Here- Recommended
"...There's not a false note in this play, each character is complex and totally believable, but the author lays bare the cynicism of our age and how innocence can be just another product to be exploited."