Friends   is an endearing look at the unique experience of the elderly in our society.  It is an important investigation of this generation’s need for companionship, their grief over lost loved ones, their need to reconcile past experiences with the reality of the present, and their confrontations with their own mortality.

While these are heavy topics, Mr. Levy explores these issues in a lighthearted manner.  Max and Ruth are especially delightful characters with their own unique sense of humor and their comical interactions support the work of the play in many ways.

Ruth Appfelbaum, a personable elderly woman on a pension who has survived three loveless marriages, goes to Central Park everyday.  Her only companion is her cat.  She is an incurably romantic woman who is still looking for love.

Max Horowitz comes into Ruth’s life one afternoon while she is sitting in the park.  Max, a cantankerous old person, sits down beside her to read the New York Times.  Max is a retired intellectual who used to devise crossword puzzles for a living.  He has a very small pension, but apparantly not enough to afford an apartment.

Ruth, who loves her freedom, finally condescends to allow Max to temporarily stay in her apartment but states "there will be no hanky-panky."

The play affords the audience the opportunity to put themselves in Ruth and Max’s position and see what they would feel and whether they would take the same path as do these two.  The audience will definitely have many feelings as this play unfolds to its conclusion.

Max and Ruth get off to a rocky start, with both explaining their past lives.