About the Show

In this modern classic by María Irene Fornés, a group of articulate, idiosyncratic women gather in Fefu’s New England country house in 1935 to rehearse for a charity event.

From the show:

Directed by two-time Obie Award winner Lileana Blain-Cruz, Fefu and Her Friends tells the story of a group of articulate, idiosyncratic women who gather in Fefu’s New England country house in 1935 to rehearse for a charity event. Their conversations evolve and become intimate dialogues and commentary on gender, sex, psychology and class.

A modern classic of both feminist and environmental theater, Fefu and Her Friends runs approximately 90 minutes with no intermission. Part I begins with the audience together. In Part II, the audience splits into four groups that move around the auditorium each experiencing the story in a different setting in a different order. In Part III, the audience comes back together. Fornés’ play is humor-laced, unsettling, and wrenching, allowing the audience to see this fascinating gathering through multiple perspectives.

Critic Reviews (9)

"While Fefu and Her Friends' is considered a feminist statement, in performance the play seems not to be very revealing about women or their positions other than the fact that the cast is entirely female."
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"There are laughs, and love affairs, and a water fight, and a hunting gun, and much discourse on art. It feels like a Goethe tale that passes the Bechdel test… a thought-provoking triumph for director Lileana Blain-Cruz and the many personalities she and the ensemble have detailed."
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"The Many Unusual Stages of ‘Fefu and Her Friends’: Read and studied for decades, a key work of the American avant-garde finally returns in a major New York revival."
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4/5 Stars "A play can be like a symphony, rapturous in a way that surpasses logic. María Irene Fornés's ingenious Fefu and Her Friends is such a work, and this revival from director Lileana Blain-Cruz is nothing short of exquisite."
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"The Wild Invention of 'Fefu and Her Friends,' and the (Latest!) Rewrite of 'A Bright Room Called Day'"
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"'Fefu and Her Friends': Can Misogyny Exist in a Play Without Any Men?: Theatre for a New Audience stages the first off-Broadway revival of María Irene Fornés's masterwork."
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"An evening of glitteringly arranged social chaos, in which high comedy keeps company with many darker undertones. Even at its most enigmatic, the richly allusive text provokes with its intimations regarding women, privilege, power, and sexuality."
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3/5 Stars "Maria Irene Fornés' 1977 play is an absorbing and thoughtful if somewhat enigmatic work, still distinguished by its unorthodox structure."
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