Best Friends Forever

W.o.W – Theatre Above the Law

W.o.W. is the story of a pair of best friends at three different points in their lives: young teenagers getting ready for a party, young adults facing their first grown up decisions, and adults dealing with their consequences. The common thread is that each point the play finds them, they are all hiding out in a bathroom. The setting makes a certain about of sense. It is both obviously very private, but a place anyone who has gossiped with a friend at the mirror knows, a place where you can be open and vulnerable, too.

The play takes its title and some scene transition narration from H.G. Wells’ War of the Worlds. I’ll be honest here, I didn’t quite see the connection between that story and the one in front of me, but it was used sparingly enough to not be a distraction.

The five member-ensemble is great. Izzy Shaffer appeared in TATL’s Amicable in 2019, and she was great there as well. My biggest complaint about child actors can usually be summed up as they can’t help but act like they are ACTING, and she definitely nailed the effortless quality that makes slice of life material like this shine. The other standout is Zariya Butler, and the adult version of the best friend. In a small amount of time, she has to make the audience buy a detailed history of the friendship and its ups and downs and she definitely succeeds. One of TATL’s core missions is nurturing young talent, and it’s certainly nice to see it happening, even with most of theatre shuttered.

This isn’t the show’s fault, but no matter how many shows I watched online, I’m still not quite as engaged as I would be in a theater. This is in large part a comedy, but without the audience next to you laughing, there is an inescapable immersion problem. That said, I think this is one of the better staged productions in the ‘zoom era.’ It felt like something closer to a live television show from the 1950s, and even if that translation wasn’t perfect, it’s certainly better than a static camera.

In the end, I found the meditation of friendship and connection and loss quite charming. If nothing else, it makes me more eager to see new plays and new actors in person.

Recommended

Reviewed by Kevin Curran

Streaming through June 13, 2021.

Tickets available at www.theatreatl.org.

Additional information about this and other area productions can be found by visiting www.theatreinchicago.com.