"Ambling and ultimately quite moving comic drama...Theatergoers can become impatient with expositional setups for reveals they may not know are coming. And the long opening scene is entertaining enough but hardly grips the attention...Nothing in Mr. Pollono’s script adds much that’s new to what became the default sensibility of naturalistic modern literature. But Mr. Pollono invests his characters with such affectionate observational detail that he makes us like them, too."
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"See enough plays and you might start to feel pretty smug about your ability to spot an impending plot twist, but this one is far from flagrant and, in any case, Pollono keeps us so hooked on the vectors of tension sparking between the various characters (Maggie and Lou, in particular, share a scarifyingly tragic history) that the big picture tends to recede—only to resurface resoundingly in the end."
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"The good news here is that Pollono’s storytelling hangs on well-developed characters engaged in a dark comedy...The deft hand of director Jo Bonney is everywhere—not least, in these well-crafted performances. What’s more, she juxtaposes scenes that seem to be simultaneous, playing with time and with us. She doesn’t so much tip her hand as she allows the audience to discover what’s up. Bonney and Pollono are comfortable collaborators. Lucky us."
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"The play works well both as a tense family drama and a moving portrayal of burgeoning teenage romance, and is further elevated by a wickedly clever narrative twist that completely upends our perceptions...Under the excellent direction of Jo Bonney, the ensemble shines, with all the actors delivering memorably vivid performances. The technical elements are sharp, with Hoover's sets and Theresa Squire's costumes perfectly conveying the working-class milieu."
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"A story that — when it doesn't take shortcuts paved with sugar — poetically blends the grit of reality with a haunting lust for the past...the conclusion is disappointingly neat. Teen pregnancy, financial hardship, and domestic abuse is often a self-perpetuating cycle. A momentary happy ending is not enough to mark a new beginning — but Pollono convinces us to swallow our pessimism and cheerfully take in his spoonful of sugar."
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"'Lost Girls', like its predecessor, offers the snappy, colorful dialogue of troubled working class New Englanders with tight plotting and a clever twist...Perabo is solidly detailed playing a woman who, despite financial struggles, is determined for her daughter to have the kind of opportunities she never had. She leads a strong ensemble in an engaging, quick-moving play with a kicker of a finish."
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"John Pollono manages to run rings around the family drama formula, with results that are both touching and loaded with suspense... Pollono nimbly leaps between the two halves of his narrative, confidently manipulating our expectations even as he doles out a series of revelations that, in all likelihood, you won't see coming... For the sheer pleasure of storytelling, 'Lost Girls' is a fine place to get lost for an hour and a half."
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"Pollono has carved two compelling characters to occupy the heart of this not-always-compelling play...If the central four characters have been suavely, even movingly, executed, what surrounds them can sometimes feel excessive...For as good as the second half of Pollono's play is, when the ramifications of these tangled personal histories become unavoidable, the early scenes between the girl and boy on their road trip push their bubbly, youthful ardor a bit too far."
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