Review: Years to the Day

By Mingsi Ma

When was the last time you hit up your old friends from college, home, or childhood? As we enter adulthood, meeting up with old friends in person, something once so easy, has become complex with scheduling around other priorities like families, kids, and work.

Sometimes, a meet-up can be heartwarming and comforting. But oftentimes, it can be bittersweet or even melancholic, because time changes people and memories don’t always align with reality. Such complexity is at the heart of Years to the Day, written and directed by Allen Barton, which originally premiered in 2013. The play depicts a single conversation between two old friends, the first time they reunite after eight years. Presented by Irish Riviera Productions and Beverly Hills Playhouse, this two-man play recently finished its Pittsburgh premiere at Carnegie Stage.

The lights dim, leaving beams of blue and pink lingering in anticipation. As the chords from Miles Davis’s “So What” strike, the room is filled with the indistinct white noise of coffeehouse chatter. Dan and Jeff, played by Dihlon McManne and David Whalen, meet up for coffee. On stage, with nothing but a simple coffee table and two chairs, the two middle-aged men with forehead wrinkles walk in and instantly slip into bantering mode. The two men mercilessly roast each other before hugging and tapping one another’s shoulders and backs. For a brief moment, they no longer appear as middle-aged men in professional blazers, dad polo shirts, or carrying a briefcase. Instead, they seem like their young, energetic 20-something selves again, sipping soft drinks and chewing pizza in the dining hall.

Soon, however, this long overdue reunion takes an unexpected turn as the two start arguing over movies, family, marriage, politics, friendship, and health. It turns out that the two have grown apart since college and are not the ones that they thought they knew. Dan finds the new film that Jeff lately loves so much to the point that he paid to see it twice “stupid and narrow.” Jeff discloses his recent divorce a few months ago, while Dan is shocked and struggles to handle due to his childhood family trauma. Things go south when the two begin to accuse one another of being “fascists” while arguing over politics and realizing one is conservative and the other is liberal.

At one point, Jeff, played by Whalen, forcefully slams the chair and cries frustratedly: “Why are we even friends?!”

Alas. Who would have thought the supposedly moving reunion would turn into angry chaos?

Years to the Day was inspired by Barton’s reflection on his own experience with his real-life friend, also named Jeff. As Barton wrote in the director’s notes: “…we rediscovered more than a bit about why we were friends, and how the casual social media banter can make it seem as if we’re in touch and connected, when in fact we’re not – not in the slightest.” Fortunately, Barton noted that he and Jeff remain good friends, just like how, in the play, Dan apologizes to Jeff and they end up bantering playfully again and casually talking about another future meet-up.

One of the biggest challenges of this 80-minute two-man show is probably keeping the audience engaged throughout the whole time, without changing the set, music, or lighting, and with both actors remaining seated. The play relies entirely on their conversations, and both McManne and Whalen react attentively and authentically to each other, amplifying the charged emotions via a mastery of vocal projection. They together coordinate brilliantly and seamlessly, never leaving the audience with a dull moment.

Still, I have questions about the dramatic conflicts in the play. Years to the Day is a loaded play, packed with heated topics, all following one another in a series of nonstop arguments and conflicts. Such a setup makes the experience emotionally draining. Although characters raise their voices, curse, and slam the desk or chair to heighten tension, the sheer number of confrontations embedded in the conversations weaken the plot from culminating to a powerful climax or providing a proper resolution.

Despite my thoughts on the script, Years to the Day touches a soft spot in my heart. When was the last time I talked to my friends back home? Ever since graduating from college, making friends has seemed to become more and more difficult as I move from city to city.

A year ago, I met up with a high school friend for dinner after not seeing her for eight years. The girl who once dreamed of getting a tall, handsome boyfriend from the school basketball team was now talking about seeing a guy her parents had introduced her to—surprisingly, a shorter guy but with a stable job at a hospital. Although we had nothing to argue over, unlike Dan and Jeff’s heated debate, I felt nostalgic and melancholic as I realized people change, for better or worse. I guess that same feeling is what inspired Allen Barton.

Irish Riviera Productions and The Beverly Hills Playhouse presented the Pittsburgh premiere of Years to the Day at Carnegie Stage from February 6 to February 23, 2025.