Art Imitates Life For Actress/Dog Rescuer In NextStop's 'Lucky Stiff'

HERNDON, VA — By day, Sally Imbriano gives voice lessons and rescues abandoned puppies and dogs. By night, she rehearses for NextStop Theatre Company's upcoming production of "Lucky Stiff." Lately, though, the actress has found aspects of her daily life connecting with what she's doing in the evenings.

"Lucky Stiff" tells the story of Harry Witherspoon (Ben Ribler), an unassuming British shoe salesman whose boring life gets turned around when his uncle dies and leaves him a fortune.

Imbriano plays Annabel Glick, who is both Witherspoon's foil and romantic interest in the show.

"He has to do a series of actions in order to win that $6 million," she said. "If he doesn't do those actions, I'll do the action on behalf of this dog home and I'll get the $6 million."

With "dogged" determination Annabel tails Witherspoon from place to place, making sure he follows all the rules and takes all the prescribed steps. Otherwise, she'll jump in, perform the task and claim the cash.

"I love that about the character, because she's so fueled by her work that she wouldn't let herself fall in love with anybody," Imbriano said. "But because of work, it requires her to follow this dude. It's kind of an accident."

With "Lucky Stiff," Imbriano has also found a character with which she identifies.

"My character, in particular, I love because she's very competitive and she's very work oriented," she said. "It seems very much like who I am as a person. You don't catch me at many social events, but if it has to do with work, I'll be there, so I had that kind of kinship with her."

One other point of kinship is a love of animals. Over the pandemic, Imbriano began working with A Forever Home Rescue Foundation to foster abandoned puppies and dogs.

While animal rescue became a welcome escape for Imbriano during the pandemic, she hopes the comedy "Lucky Stiff" will provide the audience a way to escape their troubles.

Win Free Tickets For NextStop Theatre Company's "Lucky Stiff" By Registering For A Free Patch Newsletter: Enter To Win

"I think people need an excuse to laugh and there are so many mishaps that happen on stage that are planned — nobody's getting hurt or anything, but there are lots of different laughs," she said. "The characters are sort of heightened versions of themselves, where they get more laughs than perhaps if we had played it like a natural play."

As someone who grew up in Reston, Imbriano had seen many NextStop performances and auditioned for just as many roles. Finally, she was cast in "Matilda" in 2019, which led to a directing gig and the start of a nice working relationship with the company.

"This show kind of exemplifies the fact that you can only live in fear for so long, and sometimes you have to embrace life for what it is rather than be worried about what it could be," Imbriano said.

"Lucky Stiff" runs from May 19-June 12, at the NextStop Theatre, located at 269 Sunset Park Drive in Herndon. Performances are 8 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, with a 2 p.m. matinee on Sunday. Information about tickets and show times are available online.

"Lucky Stiff" by Lynn Aherns and Stephen Flaherty

Director: Robert Mintz

Producing Artistic Director: Evan

Cast: Ben Ribler, Sally Imbriano, Chris Rudy, Candice Shedd-Thompson, Michael Reid, Sydney Johnson, James Mernin, Chris Rios, Carolyn Burke and Jeremy Crawford.