←Recommendations of The Lover and the Fighter

In this LGBTQ romantic dramedy, THE LOVER AND THE FIGHTER, Sam Heyman shows us an illustration of a poignant love story, a story that reminds us that loving someone doesn't necessarily just mean consummating the relationship but rather, letting them leave an irreversible mark on you for better and for worse. What I especially enjoy about this play is how we see both Lee and Shawn engage with their past through the (welcomed or not) help of other significant relationships in their life!

This tender study of a relationship is deftly sketched using a back and forth time structure that matches the back and forth nature of the dialogue and of the relationship itself.

This is a beautiful play about friends, gay-straight crushes and the ways people change between high school and adulthood. I particularly loved the nuanced ways that relationships with the supporting characters bring out new revelations about Lee and Shawn, in ways both surprising and completely natural.
"The Lover and the Fighter" is yet another play in Sam Heyman's portfolio that demonstrates what a master he is at crafting lovely relationship-driven dramas. Bravo!

As Salieri is the Patron Saint of Mediocrity, so I am the Patron Saint of Straight Crushes. As such, I can attest with absolute authority: Sam Heyman gets it right!

Even when the straight guy knows and can deal, as Shawn does with Lee, there's plenty of mutual drama, strife, and emotion. This brought back vivid memories of listening to my heterosexual objects of affection waxing about their heterosexual objects of affection. (I could practically smell the beer in the carpet.)

The culminations are powerful and honest. The affection, frustrations, and revelations are unique and surprising. Lovely stuff.

This is amazingly nuanced, engaging, and someday I hope to see it performed. Thank you for writing such a three dimensional, well crafted story.

We can love someone and not be IN love with them. This beautifully nuanced character study follows two extremely well-crafted characters as they come to terms with the difficult transition to adulthood and the complex emotions that make that journey both painful and profound. Compelling dialogue, a complex timeline and a great theatrical flare are all hallmarks of this outstanding work. Heyman crafts truly authentic and emotionally intricate discourse to tell this universal story.

What do we owe the people we've loved? How responsible are we for our effects on a friend's life? This finely rendered coming of age story presents these questions without providing easy answers. This is so much more than a standard queer coming of age story, although it explores that story brilliantly. Lee and Shawn are richly drawn and complex young men with most compelling journeys.

This is a sweet, subtle queer coming-of-age story filled with fantastic roles for college-aged performers. It uses its nonlinear structure to fantastic effect to shed light on the complexity of the central friendship. The character voices are specific and consistent throughout. I love the way the timeline goes from a set fixture to a legitimate storytelling element that the actors interact with, allowing them to revisit and replay scenes with honesty. I think a lot of young people will be able to relate to and connect with these characters, and those who don't will leave the theatre with newfound empathy.

Like all of Heyman's plays I've read thus far, the dialogue is snappy, and clever, and allows each character to be completely fleshed out. Heyman does a particularly grand job of crafting the friendship between Lee and Shawn which truly is the focal point of this play and guided by some very amusing supporting characters. There are a lot of great dramatic moments that are set up expertly by Heyman. While this play has some nice humor to it, the touching moments will truly stick with an audience.

I really enjoyed this very original story about two friends who take different paths in their lives. I find the play very engaging and I relate to the character of Lee. I love how the play gives a big back story to the characters, you get to learn more and more about Lee and Shawn’s relationship. This play shows how we all change over the course of time.