“Fefu & Her Friends" at Riverside Theatre -- March 10 through April 2.

Friday, March 10, through Sunday, April 2

Riverside Theatre, 119 East College Street, Iowa City IA

Lauded by the San Francisco Chronicle as “audacious,” “ambitious,” and “welcoming, playful, and imaginative,” the thrillingly experimental, all-female dramatic comedy Fefu & Her Friends enjoys a rare area staging at Iowa City's Riverside Theatre from March 10 through April 2, with the works of its playwright Mariá Irene Fornés described by Vulture as “so glittering and various and powerful that it deserves cases of books.”

As the play begins, on a spring day in 1935, eight women gather at Fefu’s New England home. A gracious host, Fefu organizes a weekend of camaraderie as well as work: The friends are rehearsing a charity presentation for a local school. But this gathering lays bare past heartaches and secrets among the women, from heartbreak, to emotional and physical exhaustion, to devastating illness. At the center of this group is Fefu, a woman who is both powerful yet broken, belittling women as she cares for and nurtures her friends. Fefu finds herself forced into a reckoning with Julia, her dear friend who was mysteriously psychologically injured when a hunter shot a deer. Fefu is desperate to let her mind rest, and knows that Julia holds the secret to that peace, a revelation that comes through a tragic final confrontation.

A feminist exploration of women’s roles and relationships – how they support each other, how they injure each other, and how they can create a community together – Fornés' acclaimed 1977 stage piece is notable for its experimental staging in which the audience moves through the theatre building to view different scenes. In Fefu & Her Friends' second part, as intended by the author, the Riverside Theatre audience will leave their assigned seats and be ushered to nearby locations within the theatre to experience four separate scenes in smaller groups. Each space will be seated and ADA accessible, with house staff available to assist patrons at all locations, and the audience will return to their assigned seats for the conclusion of the play.

Directing Fefu & Her Friends' Iowa City engagement is Juliana Frey-Méndez, with her cast composed of an octet of talents: Sara Ashbaugh, Claire Boston, Kirsten Brooks, Olivia K. Foster, Kathleen M. Guerrero, Jo Jordan, Karlē J. Meyers, and Christina Sullivan. Actors Equity Association members Melissa L.F. Turner serves as the production's stage manager, with the show's music direction by Mary Jane Knight and intimacy direction by Carrie Pozdol. And with Mackenzie Elsbecker Fefu & Her Friends' assistant director and Carrie Pozdol its dramaturg, additional members of Frey-Méndez's creative team include scenic designer Bethany Kasperek; costume designer Daniella Toscano; lighting designer Lauren Duffie; props designer Stephen Polchert; safety director Kevin Michael Moore; assistant lighting designer Sara Whitehead; assistant stage manager Reese Morgan; and backstage crew members Faith Harlow and Zhenya Lougheny.

Fefu & Her Friends runs in Iowa City from March 10 through April 2, with performances Thursdays through Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. Admission is $15-35, and more information and tickets are available by calling (319)259-7099 and visiting RiversideTheatre.org.

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