Jamaica Plain Actor Lands Lead Role In Lucky Stiff

From Footlighters:Nebbishy British shoe store clerk Harry Witherspoon’s life is going nowhere until he learns that an American uncle he’s never met has left him $6,000,000 worth of diamonds. There’s only one catch – the terms of Tony Hendon’s will require Harry to take his uncle’s corpse to Monte Carlo for a weekend and show him the town before collecting the inheritance. If Harry doesn’t get the job done, the diamonds will go to Uncle Tony’s favorite charity, the Universal Dog Home of Brooklyn. As if maneuvering a corpse through Monte Carlo and passing it off as his living uncle isn’t hard enough, Harry’s weekend is made more complicated by Annabel Glick of the Universal Dog Home. She’s dogging Harry’s every step to claim the diamonds if he messes up. And of course, Uncle Tony’s mistress Rita La Porta is also hounding Harry, claiming Uncle Tony promised her the diamonds, and she’s got a gun to back up her claim. Add in mistaken identities, snooty French waiters, drunken hotel maids, some singing and dancing, and you’ve got the musical farce Lucky Stiff, the Walpole Footlighters final production of their 2017-2018 season.

Jamaica Plain actor Benjamin Medeiros has the difficult role of Tony Hendon in Lucky Stiff. You read that correctly, he’s playing the dead character. The Somerset native’s last appearance with the Footlighters was as the lead in 2010’s King of Hearts, but he’s found playing dead is just as challenging than playing the lead. “I don’t have any lines, but I also can’t react to any of the craziness going on around me. If someone pushes my wheelchair the wrong way, or tips it over by mistake, what can I do? Nothing, I’m dead! It’s really an acting challenge.”

Performances of Lucky Stiff will be given at the Footlighters Playhouse, 2 Scout Road, Walpole on May 4, 5, 11, 12, 18, and 19 at 8:00 PM. There will also be matinee performances on May 6 and 20 at 2:00 PM. There is free parking at the theater. To order tickets or to get more information and directions, visit the Walpole Footlighters web site at www.footlighters.com.

Lucky Stiff is presented through special arrangement with Musical Theatre International (MTI). All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI. www.MTIShows.com. The Walpole Footlighters 2017-2018 season is supported in part by a grant from the Walpole Cultural Council, a local agency, which is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency.

Image Via Footlighters