I remember the hugely effective sales line when this came out - "would you lend a friend $10000?" That is a key point in the drama but not the whole thing. I thought it would come up the front and then explore the issues but what Williamson does, very cleverly, is set up the characters first, and their dilemma, dramatise the friendship the rich characters have for their friend, and then introduce the $10k request towards the end so it has real impact.
The characters are awful and self centered etc but Williamson sketches them with insight and affection. Also the core of this is warm and lovely, in an unexpected way: the platonic friendship between Peter and Margaret is very well done and acts as a counter balance to the selfishness of the others. It's sentimental but in a believable way because it's so razor sharp. The chopping between time and location is very well done.
Margaret is one of Williamson's best female characters - I wonder if this is his fantasia of how Kirsten would turn out if she left Dave, i.e. living down the coast and humping twentysomethings - and weak-but-nice Peter is very well drawn too. They all are. It's a much better play than I remembered.
I feel Williamson went back to the well a few times and tried to repeat this one with tales of the rich and awful by the beach (Amigos, Let the Sunshine, When Dad Married Fury) but never had the same luck.
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