Christian Gentry

What seems to be another cynical exploitation of “nostalgianomics” with the weird hook of having grown adults play the role of middle-schoolers turns into a beautifully moving story of the universal travails of growing up. It’s about friendship, puberty, braces, spice girl dance routines and the a parade of awkward firsts: crushes, kisses, soft core porn, divorce, periods, and dances. This show pretends to be goofy and novel but the mask slips off quickly while we are laughing hysterically in one moment and crying breathlessly in the next. Maya and Anna are all of us and the odd juxtaposition of adult women hanging with tweens immediately slips away as we are sucked into this world of yesteryear that could easily be our world today.