Interview: Dee Roscioli is LOVE/SICK

One couple meets cute in the SuperCenter, one of those mega-stores that have become a fertile meeting ground for singles. Another faces a singing telegram that unhappily trumpets a break-up.

Yet another quarrels over having children, while another fights over child care and career choices.

Such is the landscape of LOVE/SICK, playwright's John Cariani's hectic paen to Cupid's bow.

The production consists of nine vignettes anchored by love's bite-it's the New York premiere of Cariani's follow-up to ALMOST MAINE, a Royal Family production.

The one-act delves deep into love and loss, as experienced by a motley bunch of lovers, old flames and strangers.

"I think what John has done, in an abstract way, is to explore the different stages of love," said Dee Roscioli, a featured cast member. "The vignettes are separate, but there's something about them everyone can identify with. There's a lot of absurdity going on, but it's relatable."

The production begins at 7:30 on a Friday night in late June. It's set in an alternate suburban reality.

The first scene, which features Roscioli, teasingly portrays two singles who meet in a big box store. They discover they're both neurotically obsessive/compulsive. "We're just now starting to have fun with it. It's been a huge challenge," she said of the simultaneously speaking pair. "It would be easy to play it silly but Chris" -director Chris Henry-"wanted us to fight against the silliness of the writing. It's so absurd and we play this couple as though they were real people," she said.

The production explores a mélange of characters-from same-sex partners to a bored wife. "Each one is an evolution," Roscioli said. "The lesbian couple is the most mature in the way they deal with the difficulties of their relationship. And it comes full circle with destiny. They are the most evolved, the most clear-headed and most communicative."

The connective tissue threaded throughout is love, with all its messy glory. "The ultimate through-line, no matter what stage your relationship is, is that everyone wants the same things: peace of mind and contentment," she said.

Each iteration of her varied personas has been a huge challenge, she said. "I would say the first vignette was the hardest for me-because I've never been that impulsive and it's hard not to be silly about it and to treat them like real people."

The characters essentially reveal a positive outlook on life, one that she doesn't necessarily share. "I go more to a darker, negative place," Roscioli said. "They are hurt first, then anger comes out of being hurt and the audience needs to see that first.

"These people are very human," she said. "They just have a different set of rules. It's not the people who are absurd, it's the circumstances. And that's where the comedy comes in. We play it so real," she said of the cast, which includes a bevy of dancing women who help set the tone (and move some set pieces around while doing so).

"The audience is seeing real emotions," Roscioli said, "the highs and the lows, even when the characters say ridiculous things."

She most identifies with the skit in which the couple discusses parenthood. "She's of a certain age and I just went through this with my partner," she said.

One vignette that never fails to break her up is one in which a gun comes into play. "Just hearing it cracks me up every night," she said. "This is the one I literally laughed out loud."

Having the SuperCenter as ballast reflects a culture that is running out of ways for singles to meet safely, she said. "It's a newer kind of idea, but people are meeting more at these kinds of stores instead of bars," she said. "I've heard stories about people meeting in Costco. I have a friend who met someone at Whole Foods."

The choreography is cleverly woven into each vignette by bouncy, cheerful dancers. "They serve as a sorbet-a palate cleanser between each vignette," Roscioli said.
"It's almost like having a commercial break. They change the set and it allows the audience to kind of breathe again. They're actually singing a SuperCenter jingle and they accomplish a lot, including singing a rap song."

Roscioli hopes the audience has an authentic experience that doesn't depend on love clichés. "I want them to say, 'Oh, I've been there, I know that feeling.' They're taken on a roller coaster ride and everyone I've spoken to never expected it to be so much fun."

Love/Sick is at the Royal Family Performing Space, 145 W. 46th Street between 6th & 7th through February 24. Royalfamilyproductions.org