Gay Play Tuesdays: FEFU AND HER FRIENDS (1977)
Fefu and Her Friends
by María Irene FornésJune 24th at 7pm
by María Irene FornésJune 24th at 7pm
“Funny and shocking… There are moments of splendor.” –The New York Times
Join us for our next edition of Gay Play Tuesdays, on June 24th at 7pm, when we will read Fefu and Her Friends by María Irene Fornés (1977). Hailed as game-changing, provocative, and genius, Fefu and Her Friends is one of the most quietly influential plays of the 20th century. An innovation of immersive theater, Cuban-American playwright María Irene Fornés’ rapturous comedy-drama allows the audience to be a fly on many walls in this unconventional tale of eight women gathering at a New England country home in 1935. As Fefu’s bohemian and raucous cohort of female friends gossip, question, flirt, and provoke each other, they reveal the universal understandings and yearnings that keep them connected.María Irene Fornés (1930-2018) was a Cuban-American playwright, director, and teacher. She was a leading figure in the Off-Broadway and Off-Off Broadway movements in the 1960s and 1980s, known for her innovative and feminist plays. Fornés wrote over 50 plays, with her most famous works including Fefu and Her Friends, Mud, and The Danube. She was a highly influential figure in the Latine theatre community, and she founded and directed the INTAR Hispanic Playwrights-in-Residence Laboratory.
To sign up for Fefu and Her Friends, RSVP here
What makes a “gay play?” Is it dependent on the identity of the author or characters? The reception of the play by LGBTQIA+ audiences? The play’s politics or aesthetics? Or is there something else, less definable, that might make a play a gay classic?Join our Resident Dramaturg, Jesse Marchese, for a monthly free play reading salon where we will investigate some of the most impactful, provocative, and fearless “gay plays” from the 20th and 21st centuries. Being a “salon,” this is not a professional performance. Rather, we treat each session as a classroom where the plays are our teachers.We will treat every session as a first read through, assigning parts on a first come, first served basis. You are welcome to come and read a role out loud or just listen along – no experience necessary! Once we finish reading through the play we will engage in a short discussion of its themes and ideas.
