Word: friels
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Written by Brian Friel...
...NORTHERN IRELAND on a beautiful summer's day, Brian Friel's Lovers gives a warm (and loving) glance at two 17-year-old fiances. Sitting on a hill overlooking their town, Mag (Sarah Jane Cohen) and Joe (Aaron Carlos) try to study for final exams but mainly dream of their future together. Before long, Friel introduces a tragic twist: the couple will die in a boating accident before the afternoon is over...
...GREAT wisdom, Friel eventually turns the tables upon Joe. Having offended Mag into stony silence, Joe tries desperately to win back her favor. These moments provide Carlos with fine comic material as he jumps from one impersonation to another, from one deliciously wicked private joke to the next. Both actors sustain their own extended monologues beautifully, but, just as important, they also convey a great depth of attachment and intimacy whenever Mag and Joe are reconciled...
...Commentators do less well with their material but that perhaps is a fault inherent in the play. In any case, a host of other elements join together to make this one-act play a brisk, satisfying show. Szanton's sensitive direction, Friel's delightfully natural dialogue, and the nuanced lead performances compensate for an often unnerving dramatic structure...
...Friel was effusive about his visitors: "I've been coaching 20 years in Division 1," he said, "and if intercollegiate basketball was coached and represented the way Harvard did today, everyone would be very proud...