Unlikely Friendships in Plays

A doctor and a detective? A neat freak and a slob? A housewife and her husband’s mistress? These might not seem like common pairings, but in theatrical storytelling, connection is possible on many levels! Peruse these Concord Theatricals plays featuring characters who form unexpected bonds.

Also see: Unlikely Friendships in Musicals

Lulie, Wren, Veronica, Ginny and Dale in 5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche by Evan Linder and Andrew Hobgood (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Comedy / 5w)
It’s 1956 and the Susan B. Anthony Society for the Sisters of Gertrude Stein are having their annual quiche breakfast. The five friends in attendance, who are all unique in their own way, have contrasting characteristics which ebb and flow throughout the play. Lulie demands respect while Wren wants everyone to just be polite. Dale has a dark past. Veronica is rigid and intense, while Ginny, who is from England, never feels like she quite fits in. Each of these characters individually has their own strong story and yet, in this setting, they somehow blend together with hysterical laughs and delicious discoveries. 

Agnes, Ella, Roza, Shipkov and Happy in Agnes Under the Big Top by Aditi Brennan Kapil (US)
(Full-Length Play, Dramatic Comedy / 3w, 3m) 
Against the subterranean rhythms of a subway train, a Liberian home care worker, a former Bulgarian ringmaster and his wife, an Indian call center escapee, and a bed-ridden American woman, find and redefine themselves in today’s America. While the cast is made up of an unlikely set of characters, this diverse group of people is able to come together to create a sense of peace. 

Gorgo and India in All Hail Hurricane Gordo by Carly Mensch (US)
(Full-Length Play, Comedy / 1w, 3m)
Brothers Gordo and Chaz, having been abandoned by their parents, are finally finding a sense of normalcy in their lives. Gordo suffers socially and is challenged when they decide to rent out their parent’s bedroom to a woman named India. India has decided to leave a loving family and now has to get integrated into life with Gordo and Chaz. An improbable duo, Gordo and India come together to create a new sense of life and harmony. 

Catherine Sargent and Rennie Waltzer in Chasing Manet by Tina Howe (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Comedy / 4w, 3m)
A rebellious painter from a distinguished family in Boston and an ebullient Jewish woman with a huge adoring family form an unlikely bond. Plotting to escape to Paris from the Mount Airy Nursing Home, the two are able to come together and leave their differences behind. 

Ginny and Lot in Corsicana by Will Arbery (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Drama / 2w, 2m)
In a small city in Texas, Ginny is grieving the death of her mother. A close friend introduces her and her brother to an unexpected friend who is a local artist. Lot is a recluse and an outsider. In an attempt to write a song together, Ginny and Lot come together. 

Grace, Haruki, Kat and Tommy Z in How the Light Gets In by E.M. Lewis (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Drama / 2w, 2m)
A travel writer who never travels, a Japanese architect who can’t figure out how to build a simple tea house, a gifted tattoo artist who resists the power of his talents, a homeless girl who lives under a weeping willow tree in the Japanese Garden. These four lonely people whose stories are written on paper, earth and skin, find one another when one of them falls apart. They soon come to realize that personal contact, though messy, may be the best path to healing for each of them. 

Sam and Leo in I Wanna Fucking Tear You Apart by Morgan Gould (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Comedy / 2w, 1m)
Sam and Leo are best friends and roommates — fat girl and gay guy against the world. Against all odds, they have created a strong bond until their friendship is complicated when a new friend comes on the scene. I Wanna Fucking Tear You Apart is a study in the kind of love between two people that sometimes masks as rage between friends. 

James and the insects in James and the Giant Peach by David Wood and Roald Dahl
(Full-Length Play, Comedy / 2w, 4m) (US/UK)
James is a sad and lonely boy who has been mistreated by his cruel aunts. Living in the giant peach stone in Central Park, he finds implausible friendships with a group of talking insects. Through these connections, James discovers the importance of acceptance and nature.

Sarah and Max in Letters from Max by Sarah Ruhl and Max Ritvo (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Drama / 1w, 1m)
Letters from Max tells the story of a teacher and her former student, Max. Sarah and Max develop a relationship as they share letters and poems that address his terminal illness with humor and lyricism. Sarah and Max are not contemporaries and yet they are able to bridge the gap with candor and kindness. 

Lettice and Charlotte in Lettice and Lovage by Peter Shaffer (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Comedy / 3w, 2m)
Quite the opposite personalities are introduced when Lettice Duffet, a flamboyant tour guide, meets Lotte Schon, an inspector for the Preservation Trust. A tussle plays out with Lotte displaying displeasure and intolerance of Lettice’s uniqueness. Lettice engages the stoic, conventional Lotte in a battle to the death of all that is sacred to the Empire and the crown. This riotous comedy takes a look beneath the surface of these two stalwart characters. 

McMurphy and the Chief in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Dale Wasserman (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Dramatic Comedy / 4w, 13m)
After being convicted of a petty crime, McMurphy decides to serve out his sentence in a mental institution rather than prison. He soon finds out this was a mistake when he clashes with the cruel Nurse Ratched. When Chief Bromden comes on the scene, the Chief and McMurphy are able to come together, sharing their rebellious nature and spirit. The result is the Chief finding his own voice. He learns that he owes it to McMurphy to guide him to this realization. 

Picasso and Einstein in Picasso at the Lapin Agile by Steve Martin (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Comedy / 2w, 7m)
We find Albert Einstein and Pablo Picasso in a Parisian café in 1904 just before Einstein transforms physics with his theory of relativity and Picasso sets the art world on fire with cubism. 
This absurdist comedy follows the two geniuses as they muse on the century’s achievements as well as other fanciful topics. The bond Einstein and Picasso create is unexpected, and yet they come together to share their commonalities. 

Dorian Belle and Black and Alexand (Petty Young Goons) in PYG or The Mis-Edumacation of Dorian Belle by Tearrance Arvelle (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Comedy / 3m)
Dorian Belle is a Canadian pop sweetheart who is ready to be taken seriously. His people hire his favorite hip-hop artists to help him toughen up his image. They’re black and he’s white. They’re from Chicago and he’s from Canada. Somehow, the characters are drawn together in their exchange of ideologies, vernacular and street cred. 

Sherlock and Watson in Sherlock Holmes plays by multiple authors
(Plays and Musicals, Multiple Genres and Characters)
Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson are close friends whose connection is built on a foundation of respect and trust. As they take on numerous adventures together, solving mysteries, their bond strengthens through their shared experience. Holmes admires Watson and values his ability to document cases, while Watson reveres Holmes for his intellect and observational skills. They are truly a dynamic duo in the realm of detectives. Read more about them in our Breaking Character article Plays and Musicals Featuring Sherlock Holmes.

Charlotte and Joey in Something Clean by Selina Fillinger (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Drama / 1w, 2m)
Something Clean follows Charlotte, a white middle-aged mother of a young man imprisoned for sexual assault, and Joey, a young, gay Black man who is volunteering at an inner-city sexual assault counseling center alongside Charlotte. Charlotte’s well-ordered life is turned upside down until she meets Joey, who is a survivor of abuse. The two become improbable friends and confidantes as Charlotte struggles to deal with her own grief, love and culpability. 

Diana and Alice in Summer, 1976 by David Auburn (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Drama / 2w)
Over one summer, Diana, a fiercely iconoclastic artist and single mom, and Alice, a free-spirited yet naive young housewife, navigate motherhood, ambition and intimacy, helping each other discover their own independence. This friendship unfolds as we observe the small moments that can change the course of lives forever. 

Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass in The Agitators by Matt Smart (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Drama / 1w, 1m)
The Agitators tells the story of a 45-year friendship between these two young abolitionists. They were both full of hopes, dreams and a common purpose and yet their movement collides and ultimately tests their friendship. They eventually shape the course of American history while surviving their turbulent and intense connection. 

Sophie and the BFG in The BFG (Big Friendly Giant) by David Wood and Roald Dahl (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Comedy / 4w, 4m)
BFG tells the story of a 24-foot giant and a little orphan girl named Sophie. At first, Sophie is frightened by the giant and his size.The Giant reassures Sophie that he doesn’t eat humans. Through the Giant’s kindness and protectiveness, he ultimately becomes a father figure to Sophie, which creates and strengthens their bond. They team up with the Queen of England and, together, save the children of England from the child-eating giants. 

Betty and Kendra in The Gulf by Audrey Cefaly (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Dramatic Comedy / 2w)
How very unlikely is it that a friendship form between Betty, an optimist and a thinker who is restless and tenderhearted, and Kendra, a woman of few words who is a scrappy, dark, brutish loner? These women’s starkly contrasting personalities are challenging and display often painful conflicts and tension. Ultimately, they come back to each other with the realization that this relationship is all they know and, however complicated, they will forge ahead. 

Olive and Florence in The Odd Couple (Female Version) by Neil Simon (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Comedy / 6w, 2m)
Florence Unger and Olive Madison are the frenemies this uproarious reinvention of Neil Simon’s comedy classic, in which the gender of all characters is reversed. Like Felix and Oscar in the original version of The Odd Couple (US/UK), Florence and Olive are opposites in every way. Despite their ongoing conflict, and thanks to the hilarity that ensues, their underlying friendship rises to the top.

Josh and his four zany grandparents in The Reservoir by Jake Brasch (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Dramatic Comedy / 3w, 4m)
Josh is on medical leave from attending NYU and is struggling to stay sober. Desperate for comradery, he finds unexpected allies in his four hilarious grandparents. Acting as their guide, he brings them along on his road to recovery and introduces them to new activities and foods until, at some point, their roles reverse and they begin to help him. The tender and comic nature of their relationships explodes and brings them all even closer. 

Sharon and Robyn in The Roommate by Jen Silverman (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Dark Comedy / 2w)
Sharon, a woman in her mid-50s, is recently divorced and needs a roommate to share her Iowa home. Robyn, also in her mid-50s, needs a place to hide and a chance to start over. Yet Robyn has secrets that Sharon soon unearths. The two women explore rerouting their lives together, bringing them closer to each other. 

Bella and Christopher in The Sound Inside by Adam Rapp (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Drama / 1w, 1m)
When Bella Baird, an isolated creative writing professor at Yale, begins to mentor a brilliant but enigmatic student named Christopher, the two form an unexpectedly intense bond. Their lives begin to become intertwined in unpredictable ways. In another setting, these two would not have had the opportunity to connect so profoundly. 

Bohdi, Jevne, Ollie and Cath in Tiny Houses by Chelsea Marcantel (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Dramatic Comedy / 2w,3m)
Bohdi is a life coach. Jevne is a YouTube artist. Ollie sells haunted dolls online. Cath just left her job to move to Oregon with her new boyfriend. This foursome is building a house together that, by society’s standards, is tiny. Yet as the story develops, differences among this group come to the surface. There are feelings, tensions and discoveries about one another. Together, they explore who we are when the world shrinks. 

Joanne, Kathy and Mary in Vanities by Jack Heifner (US)
(Full-Length Play, Comedy / 3w)
Vanities chronicles the lives of three Texas girls. This improbable trio is close, but as the years go by, we witness the inevitable crumbling of what they once had. In 1963, they are cheerleaders. In 1968, at their college sorority house, they are confronting their futures with nervous jauntiness and, finally, in 1974, when they reunite briefly, they find that their lives and their friendship have dissolved. Their relationships start strong but end in tatters. 

Heather and Violet in Wife of a Salesman by Eleanor Burgess (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Dramatic Comedy / 2w, 1m)
When a devoted housewife, Heather, tracks down the woman, Violet, who is sleeping with her husband, the two discover they have more in common than society would like them to believe. This unlikely pair causes the observer to question marriage, duty and happiness. 

Sofie and Wink in Wink by Jen Silverman (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Dark Comedy / 1w, 3m)
Sofie is an unhappy housewife. Gregor is her bread-winning husband. Dr. Franz is their psychiatrist. Wink is the cat. And… Gregor has just skinned the cat. Feline vengeance, an unlikely bond between Wink and Dr. Franz, and Sofie’s soft spot for Wink leave marriage, friendship and Gregor hanging in the balance. 

For more plays and musicals featuring friendships of all kinds, visit Concord Theatricals in the US or UK.