8th Play - 7/8/23 - BFF by Anna Ziegler

Summary: "Best friends Lauren and Eliza are challenged by the onset of adulthood in this deeply felt, funny and incisive meditation on young women coming of age." (Dramatists Play Service)

Loved: I absolutely love plays that go back and forth in time, which this one does. It's a great and fun challenge for actors and directors. This play does that, and in this way, slowly reveals the mystery of the main characters, which I enjoyed. I loved the truthful playfulness and sometimes cruelty of the scenes of the girls as teenagers. It brought back memories - not all pleasant - but I thought it captured being a teenage girl (as I knew it) pretty well. Part of me really wants to hate Lauren, the main protagonist, as she wants to do more and starts to leave her BFF behind, but the part of me that probably did this to some of my shyer friends feels the painful truth of that part of growing up. In the present, I was intrigued by how Lauren introduces herself by her BFF Eliza's name when she meets Seth, and the mystery of that isn't fully explained until the end of the play. There are clues along the way, but it isn't until the last scene, where we receive the full truth of what is underneath Lauren's behavior.

What I didn’t Love: Maybe it's how I read the play, quickly and with a bad copy that made it hard to read, but although I was always interested in the play, I wasn't completely swept away by it. I know that in friendships young girls can be mean to each other, and I appreciate having the truth of that in the play. However, it made me feel definitively cringey (is that a word?). I'm sure that was the point, but I didn't enjoy it much. I also found it hard to care for Lauren - the way she handles both relationships feels bad. I think we get to understand the reason for that, but is that reason given too late? By then we don't really care about her, which is a problem, because it is her story. What if we knew more about her past in the beginning, so we could see why she behaved badly? Or maybe if we got more good moments from her, before the bad ones overwhelm.

Overall: The play was intriguing and surprising. I have not revealed the spoilers for this one! I love a play that keeps me guessing, and then answers my questions, which this one does. I did find it uncomfortable to sit through some of the tougher moments with the girls together, and though I didn’t enjoy it, the playwright certainly made her point. I wish I liked Lauren, the main character more, then I think her story would have intrigued me more. This would probably be a fun play to direct or see, I think.

Here’s a link to Google Sheets with more info about the play: Play a Day Sheet