production history
Fefu and Her Friends was originally produced off-Broadway in 1977 by New York Theatre Strategy (1973-1979)--which Maria Irene Fornes co-founded--at the Relativity Media Lab. Fornes directed the production, discovering the site-specific nature of the play when she was inspired by the building the play was going to be performed in.
Photo from the original 1977 production of Fefu and Her Friends
After being asked multiple times about a version of the play that wouldn't require multiple locations, Fornes wrote the one-set script for a 1996 production of Fefu at Muhlenberg College in Pennsylvania. The single-set version was not published or performed again until 2016 (that I have found). The published single-set script represents the revised script from the 1996 production as well as insight from Muhlenberg College Faculty member Devon Allen, who starred as Fefu in the production.
According to Broadway Publishing, Fefu has received six professional productions since 2017, and over 70 nonprofessional productions since 2016.
other single-stage productions
Below is some information on a few other productions that have specifically performed the single-stage version of Fefu:
Catastrophic Theatre
Houston, TX
2020
Production Webpage (includes 90 production photos)
Bank Street Theatre
New York, NY
2022
Lawrence University
Appleton, WI
2016
University of Washington
Seattle, WA
2018
Sources
“Biography.” The Fornes Institute. Last accessed January 18, 2025. https://www.fornesinstitute.com/about/biography.
Cummings, Scott T. Maria Irene Fornes. Routledge, 2013.
Fornes, Maria Irene. Fefu and Her Friends. Broadway Play Publishing, 2016.
Fornes, Maria Irene. Fefu and Her Friends, New, Expanded Edition. PAJ Publications, 2017.