Fefu and Her Friends an Intimate Site Specific Play Staged by Theatre Pro Rata at the Searle Mansion Feels Like Eavesdropping

Fefu and Her Friends really feels as if you’re eavesdropping on a gathering of friends at the spacious country home of Fefu, played with breezy naturalism by Jessica Winingham. It’s set in the 1930s but written in the 1970s. The characters dress and observe the customs of the earlier era, but much of their behavior reflects the playwright’s feminist perspective. The result feels like a glimpse into how people might have actually behaved outside of literature and film, how longtime friends really spoke to one another and the emotions they allowed themselves to express.

Everything about this production, from the setting to the performances, works to be anti-theatrical, breaking down the barrier between actor and audience. Not through participation (there’s none of that), but through proximity. The audience follows the performers throughout the beautiful Searle Mansion on Lake of the Isles in Minneapolis. Without the usual dividing line between stage and house, the sense of “performance” all but disappears. The actors don’t need to project or exaggerate; we’re sitting close enough to touch them. The result feels more like film acting, subtle, intimate, and immersive.

There isn’t much of a traditional plot, and for once, that doesn’t feel like a drawback. The women have gathered to prepare for a fundraising event, but that’s largely incidental. Instead, we get fragments of conversation, glimpses of relationships, and small revelations. One of the more unusual elements is the character of Julia, whose empathy for animals takes on a surreal and tragic dimension.

The structure is as unconventional as the storytelling. The entire piece runs about 90 minutes. Act One, roughly 25 minutes, unfolds in the living room, introducing the characters. For Act Two, the audience is divided into four groups, each led to a different room in the mansion to watch a short scene. After eight or nine minutes, groups rotate to another room and another scene, until all have been seen. The audience then reconvenes in the living room for a final act of about 25 minutes.

A lot happens in that short span, and yet, in another sense, very little does. M’colleague Jill from Cherry and Spoon remarked that she’d happily watch a 10-episode Netflix series about these characters, which perfectly captures the experience. You’re drawn in not by plot, but by the people themselves. You simply want to spend more time with them. Listening to them talk is the point, and it’s consistently fascinating.

The performances are wonderfully unmannered across the board, and those that lean more theatrical feel intentionally so. Jessica Winingham is excellent as Fefu, evoking a grounded, realistic version of a 1930s screwball heroine. Equally compelling are the quiet interactions between Brettina Davis and Christy Johnson as Cindy and Christina, with Johnson earning a lovely laugh for her character’s peculiar method of drinking, placing a few drops of alcohol on an ice cube and sucking on it.

It’s also nice to see Nora Sonneborn again, though I’ll go on record saying she should be required to sing in every role going forward. As always, great to see Nissa Nordland, and I have to share this revelation I had about her. Though it has nothing to do with her performance in this role, other than the time period, costume, and her hair style. I was suddenly struck with the certainty that in 20 years time, though she’ll still be too young for the role, but with makeup could pull it off, she needs to play Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple. I think some company needs to do an annual Miss Marple play and cast her every year, it’ll be a tradition. She has the slightness of frame, the bird-like profile, that intelligent twinkle in her eye. It’s one of those things, where now that I’ve seen it I’ll never be able to unsee it. 

Fefu and Her Friends has an unusual schedule:

May 11, 7:30 PM – Opening Night, Mobility Access Night
May 12, 7:30 PM – Pay What You Can
May 13, 7:30 PM

May 18, 7:30 PM – Pay What You Can, Mobility Access Night, ASL, Audio Description
May 19, 7:30 PM
May 20, 7:30 PM

May 26, 7:30 PM
May 27, 7:30 PM
May 28, 7:30 PM – Closing Performance

For more information and tickets, visit https://www.theatreprorata.org/production-history/fefu-and-her-friends

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