SleepOver

Seventeen-year-old Max Friedlich is the youngest playwright to have a full-scale show at this year's Fringe, which is a commendable achievement. But with help from director Dann Fink, he has also created a play that is remarkable in its own right. Sixteen-year-old Matt (Brandon Reilly) finds himself playing host indefinitely to a slightly older classmate, Theo (Jared Kemp); Matt refers to Theo as a "stranger," and is puzzled and more than a little annoyed by his sudden desire to "chill" at such close and constant proximity. The script is long on talk and short on action—Matt kvetches relentlessly, as teens do, and his mother (Brandy Zarle) pries dauntlessly but ineffectually, as moms do—but Friedlich's funny dialogue ably captures the cadences and vocabulary of his generation. (Grown-ups may, at times, wish for an Urban Dictionary.) As the charismatic Kemp ably negotiates the sharp turns required of his character, the enigma of Theo's ongoing presence keeps the tension taut. Overall, SleepOver is a veritable party of nascent theater talent. (Visit our Fringe Festival page for more reviews, and fringenyc.org for more information.)—Scott Wooledge