A review by jakekilroy
Dinner with Friends by Donald Margulies

4.0

This play was fantastic, but it wasn't as jaw-dropping flooring as I anticipated. That's the problem with hype, not with this two-act play. I enjoyed it. The characters were real without being overly polished. There were barely any moments that I rolled my eyes, which happens a lot when I read or see plays. Emotion has to be so abundant with live theater, so even written, it comes off as overly loud. It comes off as presentation, not truth. It's my problem with plays, and it's not the problem with plays. But I love plays. I see them as a challenge, because you don't get the departure that a book immediately hands you. It's very in the moment, so you can't do the flowery bullshit every other writer can. You have to write the majesty of an drama with the accessibility of a romantic comedy in a lot of ways. This was tremendously easy to follow while maintaining a mature philosophy about life without driving it home or spelling it out. It was one heck of a balancing act.