When you first open your copy of The Wolves, you’re met with a single line that captures both life and this play:
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“We are always the same age inside.” - Gertrude Stein
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Each year we grow older; time advances whether we ask it to or not. And yet, the feeling of youth, the pulse of who we once were, never truly leaves us. Even as our bodies age and our lives expand, that inner version of ourselves remains untouched. The Wolves taps into that timeless sense of youth, and more specifically, the fierce, fragile, exhilarating feeling of girlhood.
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That is why I am continually drawn to this play. No matter your age, you can look at these girls and recognize something of yourself. You remember what it felt like to be in high school, to live in that bright, confusing world where everything mattered, and nothing felt impossible. This play doesn’t just tell a story; it invites us to remember. It feels real. It feels as though pieces of our own past are living within these characters. Even if their experiences don’t mirror our own exactly, the emotional truth is universal.
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Girlhood, like Stein’s notion of age, remains a constant within us. This play centers on an all-girls high school soccer team, friends who have grown up together since they were eight years old. They have changed alongside each other, challenged each other, and ultimately share an unexpected loss that shapes them in ways they don’t yet understand.
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Girlhood is deeply important to me. I think of the people I grew up with, some of whom I rarely see now, as life pulls us into new careers, new cities, new responsibilities. Yet the memories remain warm, and I know I would still drop everything if they needed me. That is girlhood. You may drift apart, but the bond never fully dissolves. When you grow together, through puberty, crushes, school presentations, soccer tournaments, heartbreaks, and even unimaginable grief, you become part of each other. This play invites us to revisit those bonds, to look back with tenderness, and to recognize how lucky we were to grow up with someone by our side.
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The Wolves tackles enormous themes: social anxiety, eating disorders, grief, assault, and the overwhelming intensity of simply being a teenage girl trying to figure out who you are. It captures the full constellation of what surrounds you when you’re sixteen or seventeen, and the world feels impossibly large and impossibly small all at once. These themes evolve as we age, but they never disappear; they echo within us. They become easier to handle, but never truly leave.
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My hope is that as you watch this play, you feel with these girls as though they are versions of you and your own childhood friends. Feel their joy, their sorrow, their anxiety, their grief, and most importantly, their love.
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We may grow older on the outside, but inside, we can always remain the same age.