←Recommendations of The Butterfly Anchor

It is such a treat to read a play written by someone who is sure in their craft, guiding the reader from one moment to the next, foregrounding rich and nuanced characters who all feel like real people just trying to make sense out of human desires and mortality. Friedman's play is emotionally resonant, but never saccharine. It's honest. The most surprising arc is that of Katherine, Brian's mother; I won't say more here because you should experience the play yourself. These are great roles and I truly hope to see it produced.

With gorgeous, carefully crafted characters created, The Butterfly Anchor will resonate long after the play is done. Friedman gives us a tale of more than life and death - but what is in-between - something we may have all thought about. Awaiting death, there is a lot of life resounding in all characters. Friedman manages to celebrate small lives in a world that hints at the fear of death and the will to live.

"I don’t think we ever stop being what we are." this powerful idea resonated with me through this emotional and very real piece of theatre. I'm not going to sugar coat, there were moments where I was in tears, which should be encouragement enough for anyone to take time to read this brilliantly powerful piece! Sometimes we steer away from the 'difficult' subjects as writers but Darrin has not only approached it, but embraced it with a pure and wonderful sensitivity. Its a brave, honest and emotionally raw in places, which is bound to resonate with an audience!

Darrin Friedman has tackled a difficult subject with courage and sensitivity. The relationship between Brian and Angela is fraught with tension at the outset, but the combination of Angela’s quirkiness, empathy, and skill as a caregiver chips away at Brian’s recalcitrance. Friedman masterfully portrays the evolving relationship between these two so authentically, so poignantly. This is a beautiful, touching play.

The Butterfly Anchor is one of the most honest and human plays I've read in a long time. The characters are complete, real people telling a compelling story of raw emotions. It's a joy to read a masterful story.

Friedman's meticulously crafted play effortlessly navigates so many emotional moments, seamlessly blending humor and heartfelt moments. From the start, the dynamic between Angela and Brian is captivating, Angela's ability to disrupt Brian's need for control to help him best receive care (and love) is brilliant, and that transformative shift brings a ripple effect. No longer defined by who he was, it is heartwrenching and inspiring to see who he becomes throughout the play. Our interactions with others change us. How deep humanity goes, hope, love, redemption, healing, and the finality of the human condition are beautifully exhibited here.

One moment we feel on top of the world, and then suddenly, it seems like our world is crumbling right before our eyes. Friedman makes us consider the questions we don't want to face when we're approaching death, but with those questions come answers and those answers offer us a message of life. The Butterfly Anchor isn't really about death at all, it's about hope, love, passion, and support, it's about living! We all face challenges and we all die, but we also have people to support and love us through our time of struggle. A breathtaking beautiful play!

As Brian’s body starts to weaken, his mind and spiritual side strengthens, thanks to an amazing caretaker named Angela with her own demons to battle. This is an extraordinarily powerful drama in which the author, Darrin Friedman, never pushes it over the edge into melodrama, a fate of many other dramas about terminal illness and redemption that don’t trust their characters to take their time to learn what they are fighting for. I would love to see this. It’s great on the page, but on stage I can only imagine how breathtaking it would be to watch.

What to say about this play? Each character is so drawn out with their own histories, their own anxieties, their own mysteries, and their own drives. To witness the opening of so many doors because of one closing in such a beautifully, messy, human way is why we create art in the first place. We are not alone, we're not meant to be alone, and we can only be our best selves together; that's what Darrin Friedman illustrates so well in "The Butterfly Anchor."

A beautifully crafted journey dealing with terminal illness. There is, of course, a sense of inevitability, but the richness of the characters and complexity of their relationships make this journey so worthwhile. You will be drawn in by the crisp dialogue and mesmerized by the stunning monologues. Have tissues close by.