Fefu and Her Friends

Reviewed by Dana Martin
Odyssey Theatre Ensemble
Through September 29

Maria Irene Fornes’s most enduring work, Fefu and Her Friends, finds women at odds with the patriarchy. The play explores their complex relationships with one another and their shared desire to redefine their wants, desires and gender roles within a society that unabashedly favors men. The production, at times site-specific, winds through the Odyssey Theatre, sometimes losing its way in the process.

New England, 1935. Fefu (Tiffany Cole) gathers her friends at her home in order to plan a charity event. She’s an earnest if overbearing host whose kinks include shooting blanks from a shotgun at her husband who can’t stand her. She cares for her friend Julia (Sandy Duarte) who was mysteriously injured the previous year and is now an invalid who regularly fantasizes about death. The women proceed to plan their event but the play soon shifts focus to their relationships to one another, their individual struggles to articulate their thoughts and feelings about feminism, and their collective fatigue from navigating a patriarchal society that seeks to restrict, condition and control them.

The audience is moved to various locations throughout Fefu’s house where the characters share intimate, mostly two-person encounters. The audience is split into four groups, with four scenarios playing simultaneously, with many of the characters moving in and out of multiple scenes. The concept is interesting and makes the various relationships more intriguing but doesn’t advance the audience’s understanding of the story.

Tiffany Cole finds a cheeky, snarky, self-possessed Fefu. She keeps her character’s resentment hidden in plain sight, which generates an almost sinister quality. Sandy Duarte finds an interesting balance of emotional chaos and fragility as deeply troubled Julia. Dominique Corona’s Christina personifies youth and innocence. Jennifer Lee Laks brings a contrasting energy to Cecilia. Cynthia Yelle’s Paula is fiery though often physically bound.

Director Denise Blasor finds the play in fits and starts. The production is at its best during its more up-close, intimate moments. Little of the play’s humor is extracted from the text and so much of the action seems heavy and dramatic — the lighter, more frivolous elements are lost. Intentionally heightened moments (particularly later in the play) lose their poignancy.

Costume design, also by Blasor, is sharp, attractive and helps reveal character. Katelan Braymer’s lighting design is adequate. Christopher Moscatiello’s sound design is minimal. Frederica Nasimento’s excellent set brings the audience throughout the theatre space to several different rooms in Fefu’s home and provides ample playing space for the actors.

According to Fefu, women are loathsome. Men are presumably more logical. She also admits that she’s in constant pain, “…it’s not physical, and it’s not sorrow.” Each of Fefu’s friends is on her own respective journey toward identifying her own pain by re-defining herself — however messy, painful, confusing. Each woman acknowledges, in her own way, the dominant system which represses her femininity. Fefu and Her Friends attempts to articulate a common desire that modern feminists have accurately identified:

Smash the patriarchy.

Odyssey Theatre, 2055 S. Sepulveda Blvd., Sawtelle; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 2 p.m.; Wed., 9/11 & 9/25 only, 8 p.m.; Thurs., 9/19 only, 8 p.m.; through Sep. 29. (310) 477-2055, ext. 2 or www.OdysseyTheatre.com. Running time: two hours and 45 minutes with one 15-minute intermission.