THE LUCKY ONE is the timeless story of antagonism between two brothers: Gerald, who stands in the sun and Bob, who stands in Gerald’s shadow. When Bob finds himself in serious legal trouble, he turns to Gerald for rescue. When Gerald fails to come through, years of simmering resentment boil over in a confrontation that is as stirring as it is surprising.

It’s that age-old adage everyone knows: “You can pick your friends, but you can’t pick your family.” Such is the idea explored in The Lucky One, Mint Theatre Company’s revitalization of the classic play by A. A. Milne — now playing at the Beckett Theatre at Theatre Row — which follows two antagonistic brothers who attempt, but struggle, to re-connect with each other when one of them falls into serious legal troubles, prompting complications in both love and law to arise gradually from beneath the surface. With the hot topic of how we treat each other so prevalent to what’s happening in our world today, we spoke with the play’s director Jesse Marchese about Milne’s influence on the origins of the company, what it means to produce “new, old work,” juggling duties between director and producer (he’s been Associate Director of the Mint since 2014) and how he ultimately uses what he knows to relate to the greater themes of this riveting piece. Obviously, A. A. Milne’s most famous work is Winnie-the-Pooh, but he seems to have had such a prolific stage career as well. Why is it important that we know more of his work? What is it about his work that compels you to produce it? In 1996, when …Read more