The Waters of Friendship

See it if you're a fan of Surrealism & would like to see an example of it written by an important contemporary South American playwright.

Don't see it if you do not like plays with non-linear plots that leave you with as many questions as they answer.

Also I should say at the top: This piece is not for everybody! “Surreal” is an adjective often misapplied: Here it applies! The playmakers are explicit about their play’s heritage. The playwright has a character repeatedly impersonate “Bunuel’s dog” (as a cigar smoking director-type), a reference to the most famous Surrealist film of all, Luis Bunuel & Salvador Dali’s “Andalusian Dog”—which plays on the back wall before the play starts. “Surreal” is not “plotless” here. 2 women enact a string of characters in a series of game-like scenelets they play. Characters, lines, situations & props (lots of shoes!) repeat, each time richer for previous associations they have accrued. 1 woman emerges as the other’s comforter; these games are to ease a touching departure of 1 of them into some kind of abyss at the end. We are left with many mysteries. I found the poignant relationship between the women, the strong performances & the evocative staging more than enough to sustain me.... Read more Read less

See it if you like surreal presentations with well used staging performed by two energetic actors. It was entertaining but left me wondering!

Don't see it if you want a linear play. Additionally the seating is not the most comfortable, the room temperature fluctuated and external noise intervened!

See it if you love Beckett. A female Waiting For Godot where the awaited character is death. Lots of vaudeville bits contrasting with serious ideas

Don't see it if clarity, plot, character development are signifiant parts of your preferred theatrical experience.

See it if About two women, who looking at their life.

Don't see it if confusing, not a long show.

Also Sometime thru this story I had no idea why something was taking place. Alot of shoe. Two strong actress. The movie scene before the show I had no idea about. By reading a review I found out and will be looking into it. This theater had not comfortable seating.... Read more Read less

See it if You want to see two actors playing different roles over many parts of their lives

Don't see it if Have a problem with plays that try to be different and to artsy

Also I think both actresses did a fine job but they had absolutely nothing to work with. I don’t understand who likes these kind of plays and I don’t understand why plays like this continue to be produced. Not much of this made sense.... Read more Read less

See it if You reaaaaally like absurdist theatre à la Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead or Waiting For Godot. You enjoy so-bad-it's-good shows.

Don't see it if You are looking for a well crafted play. Abandon hope all ye who enter here. You dislike mime and clowning. Dislike two-handers.

Also "People don't always travel the way you want them to." -The Waters of Friendship

Neither do plays. The Waters of Friendship is a truly confounding piece. I, for one, love absurdist theatre. But here there is so little to hold onto that it's like trying to grasp the finest sand in your fist.

The script is poor. There is nothing else to be sad of the script. It moves in circles,

While Nicole Betancourt and Zahydee Pietri are serviceable it would be a Herculean feat to elevate this material.

The actors laugh on-stage far more than the audience in front of them. The humor is criminally juvenile. It's penis this, vagina that, boogers this.

In the last ten minutes of the show some semblance of narrative is formed, but it is too little too late. By a bout an hour give or take.

The set design is wonderful. Though seemingly a bit at odds with the whole "they're trapped on an island thing."

Perhaps actors steeped in clowning and extensive rewriting there could be something there.... Read more Read less

See it if You like experimental theater.There were times we laughed hard but to be honest it was very confusing to follow,did not understand most ofit

Don't see it if You like simple plot, or fan of classical theater. The show talks about past/present/future in not a traditional way.

Also I cannot say more cause I really did not understand the play.

See it if you don't mind non linear stories. Make sure you read the playbill before it starts as that would help.

Don't see it if you have anything else more interesting to do at that time.

See it if You want a unique theatrical experience that tells a beautiful story by two strong female artists. I would love to see this in Spanish.

Don't see it if You only like mainstream productions or traditional plays and musicals.

See it if Witnessing strong and complex female characters expressing a range of emotions is something you’d appreciate; friendships intrigue you

Don't see it if you don’t want to work to follow a non-linear storyline and actors portraying multiple characters; good acting isn’t enough to sustain you

See it if you like surrealistic plays, non-linear plots. And if you are tired of talking heads theatre that look more like a movie than theatre.

Don't see it if you can't stand something different. You need to follow a traditional storyline and are incapable of putting the pieces together by yourself

See it if you like experimental theater and enjoy psychological dramas exposed in a non-linear plot. References to Bunuel speak to you

Don't see it if you want to see a traditional play with a linear plot and straightforward story and character portrait. You have short attention span

See it if you're willing to enjoy stage business, marvelous physicality and a little lovely singing without your comprehending half the meaning.

Don't see it if you want to understand everything you see.

Also I had the feeling that many of the skits and references (luckily I knew Bunuel's work) might have had meaning for someone versed in Latin American history and in other works by Aristides Vargas.... Read more Read less

See it if You enjoy outside the box, surrealist theater.

Don't see it if You have a closed mind, and are not used to surrealism.

See it if You enjoy "Waiting For Godot." The play doesn't really make sense, and I enjoyed that because I wanted to just pay attention to the acting.

Don't see it if You like "traditional" theater. Very different from the norm. Because its translated, some of the nuances are not the american standard.

Also I actually enjoyed how actors changed on a dime. I really liked how it took me a second to understand that these are different people at different times. It was a fun brain teaser. Some times the pacing was slow, but all in all great chemistry and performances.... Read more Read less