“Girl Next Door” has much to love

They have been best friends for years. She trusts him completely and he is deeply in love with her. But she has a boyfriend— and no clue. "Girl Next Door" entertained audiences at Southwestern College's Mayan Hall as part of theFestival of New Student Plays. Written by SWC student Diana Aguila, the clever 45-minute play held the audience's attention through to the end. Francisco Ramirez played the memorable character of David, the pizza delivery guy who professes his love to his next-door neighbor Stacey (Eva Flores) after she tells him she left her boyfriend. But when David finds out Stacey is moving in three weeks, he drifted into hopelessness. Ramirez shone throughout the play he delivered an empathetic performance. Flores created a cute Stacey that was a friendly "girl next door. " Her performance was steady but lacked needed emotion at times. One disappointing moment camewhen David wrote an anonymouslove letter to Stacey that she believed came from her ex-boyfriend. Stacey's reaction was less than believable when David revealed that he was the author of the note. A poignant moment was lost. George Adkins played Andy, David's quirky friend who loves toeat and adds a comedic element to the tension-filled story. Aguila wrote a lot of witty lines for the character and Adkins responded with a laughter-provoking performance. Coming in and out of scenes withencouraging lines for David, Adkins sometimes underplayed moments but his comedic clumsiness was a success at making the crowd burst into laughter when he bumped into walls and tripped over his own feet. People who paid the $8-$10 to watch the "Girl Next Door" left satisfied. This charming play made crowd members reminisce about that ever-so-enchanting moment when they first uttered the words "I love you."