In this splendidly surreal comedy-drama, performed in multiple spaces in the Odyssey complex, a group of eight women gathers at the country home of the brilliant and eccentric Fefu to plan an event for their do-gooding educational work. As multiple conflicts unfold between the old friends, they struggle to define who they are and what it means to be a woman in a male-dominated world. Part of the Odyssey Theatre Ensemble’s 50th Anniversary “Circa ’69” Season of significant and adventurous plays that premiered around the time of the Odyssey’s 1969 inception. Aug. 3 – Sept. 28: Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. with 3 additional weeknight performances on Wed., Sept. 11; Thurs., Sept. 19, and Wed., Sept. 25; all at 8 p.m. Odyssey Theatre, 2055 S. Sepulveda Blvd., West Los Angeles, 90025; For reservations and information, call (310) 477-2055 or go to OdysseyTheatre.com.
Use discount code BETTERLEMONS to get $5 off regular priced tickets
Fefu and Her Friends is one of the most famous plays by the recently deceased feminist avant-garde playwright María Irene Fornés, a Cuban American who has won nine Obie Awards including the award for sustained achievement. After seeing this production directed by Denise Blasor, I understand why. Fornés brilliantly captures the time period using music, art, politics, wardrobe and dialogue.
In the Odyssey Theatre Ensemble’s revival, a second theatre in the complex has been reconfigured for this remarkable work. But beyond its novel conception is Fornés’s poetic dialogue and dark, rich, cerebral ending that elevates Fefu, here directed with great sensitivity by Denise Blasor, who also co-created the splendid costume design with Josh LaCour.
Just to see a new production, however, was enough to engage me. You can read it, as all drama students from 1980 on have been required to, but you do need to experience it, to get yourself up and walk through those haunted avenues of these lovely women, fearing, hating, and being forced to unnecessary subjugation.
Denise Blasor masterfully directs a truly stunning cast of women who bring this world to life. They provide both the grounding that lets us hear the words and the nuance that invites us to imagine their complexity. It’s not easy but it’s thrilling.
This is a masterpiece that doesn’t get produced often or well. So don’t miss this chance to see a stellar production of a play that shows us how much more complicated female characters can be.
What makes this play unique in its staging is where the audience members are lead in small groups to various “rooms” found within Fefu’s country estate.
Fefu's characters are all female, and this is far less common than mixed gender or all male casts... This casting and the fact that the bard is a woman indelibly stamps Fefu with a distinctly feminist point of view. As such, Fefu deals with gender issues, sexual politics, as well as with same sex relationships. But what really sets Fefu apart from most other stage productions is that members of the audience... in Act I must leave their assigned seats and embark on an onstage odyssey in the Odyssey Theatre’s three-stage complex... where different portions of Fornes’ offbeat drama are presented.
Director Denise Blasor's vision of the play is what attracted me to see it, especially wondering how the various scenes would be depicted around the Odyssey Theatre. But while each of the talented actors portraying the women were brilliant in their roles, I found the lack of any clear purpose or even a reasonable storyline its real downfall.
The play is more than feminist, it’s more than realistic, it’s a solid deconstruction of ideas that propel feminine archetypes, behaviors and relationships from the perspective of a woman. There is a sense of empowerment in the collection of these women. A sense of tribal identity, that theater sorely needed when this play was written. And sadly, as I write this in 2019, a thing that is still sadly lacking in Hollywood. When it’s all said and done, there are plenty of effective and provocative moments, and this production is definitely worth your while.
Fefu and Her Friends is regarded as a feminist play, which it certainly is. Aspects of the eternal female situation are on full display. The terrific cast is passionate in their playing whether delightfully funny, terrifying, or affecting. The characters as written, however, are thinly drawn. The playwright was after something else.
The production is marvelous with set designed by Frederica Nascimento, lighting by Katelan Braymer, sound by Christopher Moscatiello, costumes by Denise Blasor and Josh La Cour, and props by Mateo Rudich. And one can only imagine the tremendous skill that Jacob Price employed as stage manager. Together, they have turned Odyssey, with its three venues, into a theatrical playground.
Director Blasor helms the piece with panache and a knowing smile as the uber-talented cast whisper – and sometimes shout – their innermost thoughts and feelings...
FEFU AND HER FRIENDS is clearly a team effort! The result is a refreshing journey back in time which should prove entertaining to audience members.
The acting in Blasor’s production, which makes ingenious use of various spaces at the Odyssey through the detailed decor of scenic designer Frederica Nascimento and the moody lighting of Katelan Braymer, is stylized in the manner of a 1930s movie. At moments the frisky mannerisms of the women (dressed in period costumes designed by Blasor and Josh LaCour) put me in mind of George Cukor’s “The Women.” The reference isn’t completely incongruous, as there’s a frolicsome quality to Fornés’ writing. But the interaction, even when a water fight breaks out over who will do the dishes, is never nasty. A flirty, rambunctious affection prevails.
Fefu and Her Friends is one of the most famous plays by the recently deceased feminist avant-garde playwright María Irene Fornés, a Cuban American who has won nine Obie Awards including the award for sustained achievement. After seeing this production directed by Denise Blasor, I understand why. Fornés brilliantly captures the time period using music, art, politics, wardrobe and dialogue.
In the Odyssey Theatre Ensemble’s revival, a second theatre in the complex has been reconfigured for this remarkable work. But beyond its novel conception is Fornés’s poetic dialogue and dark, rich, cerebral ending that elevates Fefu, here directed with great sensitivity by Denise Blasor, who also co-created the splendid costume design with Josh LaCour.
Just to see a new production, however, was enough to engage me. You can read it, as all drama students from 1980 on have been required to, but you do need to experience it, to get yourself up and walk through those haunted avenues of these lovely women, fearing, hating, and being forced to unnecessary subjugation.
Denise Blasor masterfully directs a truly stunning cast of women who bring this world to life. They provide both the grounding that lets us hear the words and the nuance that invites us to imagine their complexity. It’s not easy but it’s thrilling.
This is a masterpiece that doesn’t get produced often or well. So don’t miss this chance to see a stellar production of a play that shows us how much more complicated female characters can be.
What makes this play unique in its staging is where the audience members are lead in small groups to various “rooms” found within Fefu’s country estate.
Fefu's characters are all female, and this is far less common than mixed gender or all male casts... This casting and the fact that the bard is a woman indelibly stamps Fefu with a distinctly feminist point of view. As such, Fefu deals with gender issues, sexual politics, as well as with same sex relationships. But what really sets Fefu apart from most other stage productions is that members of the audience... in Act I must leave their assigned seats and embark on an onstage odyssey in the Odyssey Theatre’s three-stage complex... where different portions of Fornes’ offbeat drama are presented.
Director Denise Blasor's vision of the play is what attracted me to see it, especially wondering how the various scenes would be depicted around the Odyssey Theatre. But while each of the talented actors portraying the women were brilliant in their roles, I found the lack of any clear purpose or even a reasonable storyline its real downfall.
The play is more than feminist, it’s more than realistic, it’s a solid deconstruction of ideas that propel feminine archetypes, behaviors and relationships from the perspective of a woman. There is a sense of empowerment in the collection of these women. A sense of tribal identity, that theater sorely needed when this play was written. And sadly, as I write this in 2019, a thing that is still sadly lacking in Hollywood. When it’s all said and done, there are plenty of effective and provocative moments, and this production is definitely worth your while.
Fefu and Her Friends is regarded as a feminist play, which it certainly is. Aspects of the eternal female situation are on full display. The terrific cast is passionate in their playing whether delightfully funny, terrifying, or affecting. The characters as written, however, are thinly drawn. The playwright was after something else.
The production is marvelous with set designed by Frederica Nascimento, lighting by Katelan Braymer, sound by Christopher Moscatiello, costumes by Denise Blasor and Josh La Cour, and props by Mateo Rudich. And one can only imagine the tremendous skill that Jacob Price employed as stage manager. Together, they have turned Odyssey, with its three venues, into a theatrical playground.
Director Blasor helms the piece with panache and a knowing smile as the uber-talented cast whisper – and sometimes shout – their innermost thoughts and feelings...
FEFU AND HER FRIENDS is clearly a team effort! The result is a refreshing journey back in time which should prove entertaining to audience members.
The acting in Blasor’s production, which makes ingenious use of various spaces at the Odyssey through the detailed decor of scenic designer Frederica Nascimento and the moody lighting of Katelan Braymer, is stylized in the manner of a 1930s movie. At moments the frisky mannerisms of the women (dressed in period costumes designed by Blasor and Josh LaCour) put me in mind of George Cukor’s “The Women.” The reference isn’t completely incongruous, as there’s a frolicsome quality to Fornés’ writing. But the interaction, even when a water fight breaks out over who will do the dishes, is never nasty. A flirty, rambunctious affection prevails.
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