Always Open

A snapshot of 90's life as told from a group of friends who seem to be going nowhere in life, and are cool with it. Images of Bill and Ted and the cast of Friends are conjured up when watching this show, and in some ways the show reaches those heights, and sometimes it does not. But at the end of the day, I don't regret seeing this show, and I don't think you will either. Check it out.... full review

This was so nostalgic, bringing back to my high school days, going to Denny's and playing Mr. Roboto on the jukebox and ordering whatever being buttheadedish The play was late at night, but the play was super clever. Like, it was full of, "oh, I see what you did there". It's witty, kinda like Seinfeld meets super mario world castle levels with super cool gimmick meets "my dinner with Andre", but oh, for the sake of us, way better than "My Dinner with Andre". What I liked about the play is it really showed the way that we used to interact back in the day with our friends before cell phones became our focal points for connecting with one another. ... full review

What a fun show! The word that keeps coming to mind is 'pleasant.' I think it was such a clever idea to, not only flip the stage, but have the acts mirrored, which at first I found confusing but when it was revealed in the second act I was in love! Probably my favorite thing in the show was the dialogue from the rocket scientist character Murphy. I love when a show, especially a comedy, can find space to insert pockets of really intellectual and sometimes even profound dialogue. That character was played by Matt Clark, who was able to deliver with ease and conviction. Shout out to him, job well done. Just as much shout out to the entire cast, not a single person on that stage was anything less than a star!... full review

This is a really interesting idea. I wonder if the audience could be let in on it a little earlier, maybe some strategic back and forth between the two locations in Act 1? But overall, it's a cool experiment, and it really feels like a typical late night out with some slackers in the 90s. I thought this line was particularly apt - "For people without much going on, they seem to have a lot going on."... full review

If one could label a play, "high concept", then THIS play is it. I am so glad to see that Ryan Carbrey was able to get this piece staged at HFF this year! The cast really clicked together and you definitely felt the characters' connection with each other. Clever script... just so many good things to say about this one. I definitely recommend it!... full review