Only Just. . . begins with the feeling of a typical romantic comedy. We have the "it girl" who has just broken up with the classic "nice guy" after his sweet and romantic (if not a touch forward) gesture, surrounded by the typical "goofy best friend" and "sweet but perennially single" female best friend. Andres provides a twist from the start, however, by playing with time. We quickly learn that we have actually begun at the end, and the subsequent scenes either explain or provide context to what came before, as we piece together the facts of what has occurred with these four friends. The result is that these characters, who in the snapshot moment at the start may seem like stereotypes, actually flesh out into real, living, and 3-dimentional characters. None are quite as simple as they initially seem.
The audience are left feeling the helplessness inherent in any situation when a choice is made, and upon reflection, we wish we'd chosen differently. By travelling backward through time, Andres' characters remind us that even if we did have a time machine as it-girl Naya dreams, when we go back, the past will play out in the same way. We can't change it. Fate, inevitability, or whatever you want to blame it on, we're doomed to make poor choices when it comes to handling other people's (and our own) feelings.
The performances were equally strong in this cast of four. In some moments the direction and staging did not serve the pace of the play suitably; for example some phone calls began in dark as the character came across into the space. A couple adjustments to the staging would have ultimately helped the piece hurl forward, and amplify the feeling of helplessness to ever fully fix the situation.
The audience are left feeling the helplessness inherent in any situation when a choice is made, and upon reflection, we wish we'd chosen differently. By travelling backward through time, Andres' characters remind us that even if we did have a time machine as it-girl Naya dreams, when we go back, the past will play out in the same way. We can't change it. Fate, inevitability, or whatever you want to blame it on, we're doomed to make poor choices when it comes to handling other people's (and our own) feelings.
The performances were equally strong in this cast of four. In some moments the direction and staging did not serve the pace of the play suitably; for example some phone calls began in dark as the character came across into the space. A couple adjustments to the staging would have ultimately helped the piece hurl forward, and amplify the feeling of helplessness to ever fully fix the situation.