It’s finals week at a small liberal arts college in rural Pennsylvania. A tight-knit group of roommates pull one last all-nighter to complete their final assignments. Holed up in an old ballroom, the hours pass, the pressure mounts, the Adderall flows, and the truths that have always bound this group together are put to the test. What will be left when the sun rises?
The in-group actresses are serviceably solid in their parts—Frøseth appears least comfortable, playing a character that is also least well-defined—and then Lester cannonballs into the action with a gift of a role that she can play as broad and angsty as she likes. Wilma’s the kind of tumbleweed of unresolved emotion that, in my time, used to be nicknamed a “campus celebrity,” hurtling her way through campus yelling about how she hasn’t slept in days while also making her business everyone else’s, and vice versa. Lester takes the assignment and runs with it, cavorting around the stage in a DIY outfit that anticipates the style of Chappell Roan (the on-point costumes are by Michelle J. Li) while nailing the non sequiturs that Margolin hands her, like, “I want to be a painter… and a Democrat.”
At its best, All Nighter is a touching paean to female friendship, especially at an age when the “real world,” as the women refer to it, gets closer and closer. It’s a frightening time, especially when you’re 22 and you’re still not sure who you are.
| 2025 | Off-Broadway |
Off-Broadway Premiere Production Off-Broadway |
| Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Featured Performance in a Play | Julia Lester |
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