Fefu and Her Friends was the fourteenth play by Cuban American playwright María Irene Fornés, originally written and produced in 1977.
[1] The story takes the audience through an amazing entire day beginning around noon and ending in the evening; it climaxes in a death scene.
Fornés deconstructs the familiar stage, removing the fourth wall, and scenes are played in multiple locations simultaneously throughout the theater.
Before and after their rehearsal, the women interact with one another, and share their thoughts and feelings about life along with their personal struggles and societal concerns.
Jordan also comments on the meek stereotypical weakness of the other characters such as Paula, Sue, Christina, and Cindy.
[4]: 58 The actions of the play demonstrate the daily power struggles of women in a society that is dominated by men.
According to Robert Wilson, Fefu and Her Friends "challenges our preconceptions of life" and Julia's final wound in the end is "our own".
[4]: 50 Fefu adds humor with her game where she shoots at her husband and toys around the danger of not knowing if the gun is loaded.
Her character appears disturbed and confused by the actions of Fefu and must suck on an ice cube with Bourbon to relax.
Julia does not give in to Fefu's control during their confrontation in Part 3, but she dies in the end from an unknown wound.
[1] Fefu and Her Friends is recognized as a feminist play for its all-female cast,[6] central ideas of gender roles, and its bold deviations from conventional stage presentation and audience involvement.
[7] Fornés divides the stage into a kitchen, bedroom, study, and lawn, and a short scene in each area is acted out with a fourth of the audience closely viewing each part.
[1][4]: 50 Jules Aaron wrote of the play, "Fefu and Her Friends challenges our preconceptions about life and the theatre through boldly drawn women, temporarily divorced from relationships, trying to sort out the ambiguities of their lives.
"[8] Kelda Jordan states that Fefu and Her Friends illustrates how most women who struggle to escape the confine of a woman's stereotypical role in society tend to believe that the only way to do so is to control her surroundings and those close to her.
Fefu is imprisoned in her unhappy marriage, and because she is a woman, she does not possess the power to escape it, and is beginning to slide deeper into depression.
The production was directed by Fornés with set design by Linda Conaway, lighting by Candice Dunn and costumes by Lana Fritz.
The premiere starred Rebecca Schull as Fefu and featured Gwendolyn Brown, Carolyn Hearn, Margaret Harrington, Gordana Rashovich, Connie LoCurto Cicone, Janet Biehl, and Joan Voukides.
[11] In July 1978, Fefu and Her Friends' was produced at the Padua Hills Playwright's Festival in Claremont, CA.
[12] The 2019 production, directed by Lileana Blain-Cruz and starring Amelia Workman as Fefu, opened on November 24 and was produced by Theater for a New Audience at the Polonsky Shakespeare Center.
[13][10] Season of Concern, an emergency fund for Chicago theatre artists with health-related issues, staged an online production of Fefu in partnership with Mary Beth Fisher in December 2020.