Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – TFANA’s meticulous staging of María Irene Fornés’s FEFU AND HER FRIENDS does the audacious, scantly-seen modern classic proud

• By drediman
• December 4, 2019
• No Comments

Ronete Levenson, Lindsay Rico, Helen Cespedes, Jennifer Lim, and Brittany Bradford in Theatre for New Audience’s production of “Fefu and Her Friends” by María Irene Fornés at the Polonsky Shakespeare Center. Photo by Henry Grossman.

This past weekend at the Polonsky Shakespeare Center in Brooklyn, I had the exciting opportunity to finally catch a live performance of the seminal, scantly-seen Fefu and Her Friends by Cuba American playwright María Irene Fornés, thanks to the bold folks at Theatre for a New Audience (TFANA, for short). Ms. Fornés’s experiments in the theater are legendary, and her influence has been felt far and wide – from Ivo van Hove’s memorable promenade stage adaptation of Scenes from a Marriage at New York Theatre Workshop a few seasons ago, to the ongoing immersive dance theater hit Sleep No More at the McKittrick Hotel, to Alan Aykbourn’s real-time shenanigans in the simultaneously-performed dual plays House and Garden, and beyond.

Set in 1935, Fefu and her Friends depicts – as the modern classic’s title suggests – a gathering of friends and acquaintances at the home of the gregarious, independent-minded Fefu. Notable for its all-female cast, frank depictions of women and their desires, and its non-traditional theatrical storytelling methods (e.g., a third of the play involves mobilizing segments of the audience to experience disparate scenes in different spaces at once), the piece also effortlessly and beguilingly straddles naturalism and surrealism. Indeed, Ms. Fornés has created an intoxicating world — complete with shifting, immersive perspectives — that has its own seductive, mysterious logic. But despite the work’s numerous claims to fame, it hasn’t had a major New York production since Ms. Fornés’s unveiled it in 1977, likely due to the hugely demanding logistics of staging the play.

In performance – particularly as meticulously mounted by TFANA – there’s so much that’s exciting about Fefu and Her Friends that I’m hard pressed to highlight any of my reservations. The play has been given a delectably-designed, wonderfully-calibrated staging by talented director Lileana Blain-Cruz. Her company of actresses all give beautifully detailed performances (they all also look thrilled to be appearing in this important production), particularly Amelia Workman’s magnetic work in the title role, as well as Brittany Bradford’s heartbreaking portrayal of a troubled crippled guest. However, for all its richness and invention – or maybe because of it – the play in performance at times can feel unwieldy, and that’s understandable. But much of Ms. Blain-Cruz’s exquisite production works, and when it does, it’s breathtakingly audacious theater that still feels fresh, timely, and revolutionary.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

FEFU AND HER FRIENDS
Off-Broadway, Play
Theatre for a New Audience / Polonsky Shakespeare Center
2 hours, 20 minutes (without an intermission)
Through December 12