Nicole Spiezio and Tommy Heleringer (Teresa Wood)
A stereotypical pairing gets dissected in Morgan Gould’s new play, I Wanna Fucking Tear You Apart. The show follows a year in the life of an overweight girl and her gay best friend, alternating uproarious humor with stomach-churning tragedy to explore the intricacies of codependency.
Samantha (Nicole Spiezio) and Leo (Tommy Helerenger) live together in a New York City apartment. They watch Sex & The City and Top Chef together, share Chinese food, and do all the things best friends do. They’re both writers, but while Sam works from home ghostwriting young adult novels, Leo clocks in every day at a Buzzfeed knockoff, creating listicles under pen names. Sam is driven, disciplined, and plugging away at a debut novel, whereas Leo struggles to stick to a schedule, full of great ideas but unable to follow through on them.
There’s an easy sitcom chemistry between the two from the outset. Their dynamic feels straightforward enough, with Sam seeming responsible and mature, while Leo comes off flighty and inconsistent. A lesser narrative might follow this premise to its logical romcom conclusion, but this is a far more ambitious piece. The introduction of Leo’s co-worker Chloe (Anna O’Donoghue) provides the necessary wedge to reveal long bubbling tensions. The play bravely goes down some difficult roads to reach catharsis, but its all so expertly realized that none of the plot developments feel melodramatic.
Spiezio and Heleringer are absolute dynamite together. The tribulations of this friendship wouldn’t mean anything if these two didn’t own megawatt charisma and presence, investing us in their relationship before we’re forced to watch it stumble and devolve. Depicting a real lived-in friendship, on the stage or on screen, is a such a difficult proposition because it’s so easy to see the seams in poor writing. Gould’s dialogue is meticulously written but performed with such skill that it seems like improv or cinema verite.
At its best, the production draws attention to its artifice. The play is bookended by Lynchian dance numbers set to the She Wants Revenge song that gives the show its name. The proscenium is emblazoned with chyrons and a striking opening credits sequence, giving the impression of cinematic visuals before settling into the proceedings. It’s an eye-catching way to draw in the audience, along with pop culture references that run the gamut from an iconic Lady Gaga remix to the familiar theme song to The Golden Girls.
The play says a great deal about the sometimes toxic nature of friendship, and how, even with the best of intentions, those we love the most can keep us from becoming our best selves. When you’re young and not a straight, white cis man, life is wartime, and the friendship Sam and Leo forge is one of compatriots, twin soldiers on the battlefield of post-adolescence. This is what that kind of friendship looks like after the fighting is over, PTSD for the square pegs who need each other to brave the world around them.
In the end, the show is like the best of friendships: complicated, hilarious, difficult, and rewarding.
I Wanna Fucking Tear You Apart runs through February 19th at Studio Theatre, 1501 14th St NW. Tickets are available here.
