In Ruby Rae Spiegel’s play, teen girls’ friendship faces tough challenges

The downtown comedy-drama Dry Land opens with two high-school swimmers doing an unorthodox drill. “Punch me,” pretty alpha-teen Amy (Sarah Mezzanotte) tells meek Ester (Tina Ivlev), who reluctantly obliges. Then Ester pounds a fist into Amy’s belly again, with gusto. It’s a fitting beginning. Ruby Rae Spiegel’s play packs a wallop of its own, too. Amy is pregnant and doesn’t want to be. In a fast-moving 90 minutes, Spiegel, who’s just 21, offers a funny, unflinching and touching look at friendship — and how much you can give and take to sustain one. Even to the point of helping with a DIY-abortion. It’s not exactly groundbreaking material. Whiffs of Mean Girls and Obvious Child waft around the Colt Coeur production, but the issues are dealt with in an impressive way.