Just in time for Mother’s Day, the Department of Theatre & Dance at Gustavus Adolphus College completes a successful 2007-08 season with Fefu & Her Friends, a look into the complexities of women’s lives and relationships. Written by Maria Irene Fornes in 1977, this production of Fefu features a cast of eight diverse women brought together by director Amy Seham. Such exciting casting makes use of the large number of strong female performers working with the department this season.
In the play, Fefu’s friends gather at her home for a meeting which becomes increasingly complex and mysterious. Fefu, played by junior history major Maggie Sotos, poses the question that seems to resonate throughout the play, “What would happen, if we really talked to each other?” With humor and flashes of insight, Fefu flirts with the potential to break with conventions of gender and discover new ground. Meanwhile, senior English major Megan Bren portrays Julia, a woman inexplicably bound to a wheel chair and haunted by hallucinations of men that tell her what to do and how to be. Juniors Marlinda Tyson, Ella Bonner, Erin Koppang, and seniors Michelle Kolhoff, Megan Bren, and Courtney Covey complete the ensemble.
Transitioning from the setting of the first act on Anderson stage, to the second, audience members travel deeper into the women’s lives, physically as well as emotionally. The audience will split into four groups and be guided to four separate areas, as Anderson is split in half and spaces in the Black box theatre and the Gustavus scene shop serve as performance spaces. The audience will move from scene to scene until everyone has seen each scene. All will then join up for the dramatic conclusion, back on Anderson stage. This unusual staging reinforces key issues of perception, truth, and reality, which are examined throughout the play.
Performances of Fefu & Her Friends are May 8, 9, and 10 at 8:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m., May 11. Join us in Anderson Theatre, located in the Schafer Fine Arts Center at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter. (Why not show your mom how much you care this Mother’s Day, by surprising her with tickets to this terrific show!) Ticket cost is $7.00 for adults and $5.00 for students and seniors. Tickets are free for Gustavus students, faculty, and staff. Please purchase tickets through the Student Activities Office by calling the Gustavus ticket center at 507.933.7590.
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