Free Time: A Marvelous Representation Of Making The Most Of Your Spare Time

Jul 16th, 2023 - David Taylor

I want to first of all apologize for taking so long to actually write a review on LEFOLG’s long awaited debut, Free Time. All I can say is wow. Just wow. I’ve taken the last month and a half to fully process the show and just everything that it represents, that’s pretty much why it’s taken me so long to give my thoughts on it. I was actually lucky enough to catch both performances of Free Time. The first being in Galt, CA and the other being in Benny, LEFOLG’s marketing manager’s backyard. A lot of times, plays and musicals will often have what’s called a second night slump where on the second performance the energy isn’t fully there and is one of the weaker performances. In LEFOLG’s case, they had a second night success if anything. More explosive, more emotion, and more passion all around. I was beyond blown away by the amount of dedication these four men have put into this project.

Free Time opens up with four high school seniors all enjoying their day and well, their free time. These four boys are portrayed by the men of LEFOLG, though they are not playing themselves. But the men of LEFOLG are characters in this show, they’re never seen but they are mentioned countless times. In this show, just like in our real life, the men of LEFOLG are well known figures and have an abundance of influence in their community. These four boys look up to LEFOLG and see them as their idols, and I know that I and a lot of people do too. In the first few scenes the four boys are stripped of their free time, and I thought the slow burn of slowly losing free time in the beginning of the show was an excellent touch. As if we weren’t lucky enough to get this play in the first place, LEFOLG practically spoiled us with having this show be a musical. I’ve got to give huge recognition to Ike, the composer of Free Time, amazing work. The first song, I Gotta Have It isn’t a huge or loud number, but a necessary start to the music of Free Time. It allows a glimpse into the mind of the characters. To see what their wants, needs, feelings, and desires are. There’s a twist at the end of the song but I won’t spoil it in this review, you’ll have to catch one of the performances at some point.

After the boys free time is taken away, they try to struggle to keep up with work and are forced into doing mundane tasks and homework assignments that just feel like busy work. This leads into the second number of the show, and my personal favorite, Leave It Behind. This song was Evan’s solo and standout moment of the show. At this point in the show Evan’s character, Tommy, has found a way to manage his free time and live without the weight of school on him. He tries to encourage his three friends to join him in this newfound freedom. But Emmett is a bit skeptical about this and in the next scene he confronts Tommy. This is likely the most dramatic and tense scene of the entire show and it kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. In the following scenes, the boys’ free time is constantly being taken away from them and given to them. It felt almost like a tug of war between two sides with free time being in the middle. But by the end of the first act it looks like the boys might have lost their free time for good as the curtains close and lights dim.

And that’s where I’ll leave it. I don’t want to give everything away about the show. But don’t worry, there’s still a whole other act that I didn’t even mention yet! This act is also filled with the same humor, talent, running gags, and energy as the first! With more songs and a few cameos as well. Both acts were equally strong in their own respects. But in the end, Free Time was a spectacle of a show and left me guessing and wondering as to what LEFOLG have coming up next. In the cast and crew Q&A following the show I asked if they were working on any more projects in the near future. Eric told me that he’s currently working on another show, but it’s proven to be a bit more of a challenge creating and writing it than Free Time was, but that it will be out soon.

David Taylor is a writer for all things LEFOLG. He has been a big part of building them up to who they are today with his outstanding op-ed pieces and other fantastic contributions.