Friends Like These

SPOILERS! (saw during preview, so things may be different!) Having little knowledge of the show beforehand, the first tidbit of information pushed me squirming a bit into my seat. The lights go off, audio clippings of news and television seep into the audience, and the fact that the show is going to be about a school shooting immediately becomes clear. With such recent tragedies, and seemingly exponentially increasing numbers of them, the subject matter felt extremely prescient, and the audience was on their toes from the start. Personally, my expectations for the standards of the piece were immediately raised, my thoughts somewhere along the lines of "This subject matter is extremely raw and feels very close to home right now. This be... full review

Amazing - funny, thought provoking - a gripping 90 minutes with twists and turns throughout the play. The writing is fantastic, performers are terrific, direction is clever -- MUST SEE... full review

The 90s, man. The 19-frickin'-90s. This show looks a little like wishful thinking for geeks, but spends enough time with each of the leads that we begin to remember how crazy it is to be a teen, and how anything can happen. We had many laugh out loud moments from a great combination of acting, staging, and writing. The show uses as its twist something that is statistically unlikely, and its effort to do so leaves a few weak points. That aside, the whole production is strong and enjoyable. If you like geekiness, high school drama, the 90s, and/or tragedy, this show is for you.... full review

A heartbreaking and powerful piece of theatre! The first Fringe show to make me cry! ... full review

Friends Like These is an intense and genuine portrayal of the consequences of high school bullying. The talented cast brings what could be two dimensional stereotypes into well-rounded and honest characters. With an engaging mix of comedy laced through the heavy material, this is a poignant and heartfelt show not to be missed. ... full review

Friends Like These by Gregory Crafts. Review by Pauline Adamek. ***This review first appeared on www.StageRaw.com *** Gregory Crafts’ drama Friends Like These tips its hand during its prologue. In the pitch-dark theater, we hear a montage of news coverage and eye-witness accounts of a shooting rampage at a high school. The lights then come up on a trio of teens wielding foam swords, garbed in medieval attire, spouting archaic English. It’s confusing for a moment until we realize these three are merrily participating in a “Live Action Role Playing”game. Nerdy Garrett (Scott Sharma), Emo girl Dis (Sammi Lappin) and sometime jock Brian (Sean Casey Flanagan) are geeky gamers who hang out together, copping a fair amount of bullying and daily a... full review

What is it that turns one alienated teenager into a mass murderer while another might opt to grit it out in hopes of an “It Gets Better” post-high school future? These questions lie at the heart of Gregory Crafts’ enlightening, affecting 2009 drama Friends Like Us, back for a repeat engagement at Hollywood Fringe 2014. Geek-in-black Garrett (Scott Sharma), wrestler-nerd Bryan (Sean Casey Flanagan), and angry punk chick Diz (Sammi Lappin) are a trio of inseparable best friends for whom the Medieval fantasy role-play game “Haven” offers weekend escape from their high school hell—that is until in-crowd cheerleader Nicole (Parissa Koo) throws a wrench into their friendship with ultimately fatal consequences. Nicole’s breakup with Garre... full review