“Fefu and her Friends” and “Urinetown”

In Fefu and her Friends, the modern day educated woman is eager to do the man’s role in the home. She is ever seeking which other endeavor to carry out towards denouncing the need for a man in the house (Fornes 118). It is all about women empowerment and the growing belief that a woman can do better all by her. Unfortunately, Fefu reveals that this is a façade and a woman desires the difference in personality which a man exudes. Though she attempts at shooting at her husband with a rifle, it is simply a game, a very dangerous one but that which she has fun playing. Fefu points out that women are always distrustful of each other and are their own worst enemies. On the other hand, she believes that she cannot make it through life without her husband’s presence even though she sporadically aims a bullet at him (Fornes 140). Without a man, the woman in a contrasted and deeply conflicted individual and only attains an identity from the companionship to a man.

In Urinetown, the issue of strong women who can lead comes out strongly as opposed to portrayal of the female gender in feminist mindsets. Hope Cladwell is a chip of the old block but one which seeks to act in a virtuous manner to save all (Kotis and Hollmann 15). Her father believes that the only way to control a mass of people with little ability to care for them is through tyranny (Kotis and Hollmann 51). Hope bears the spirit of a leader with the charisma to rally both men and women towards the attendance of a common vision.

Though Fefu and her Friends look to feminist undertones to progress the agenda for women, Urinetown through Hope Cladwell paints a different picture. Through a democratic process, the society looks for an ideal leader regardless of gender. Urinetown offers a level playing field in which the woman emerges as one with power and authority while in Fefu and her Friends, feminism only advocates for differences to exist among the women in a given setting.

Works Cited

Fornes, Maria Irene. “Fefu and her Friends”. Performing Arts Journal, Vol. 2, No. 3 (Winter, 1978), pp. 112-140.

Kotis, Greg, and Mark Hollmann. Urinetown: The Musical. Macmillan, 2003. Accessed 1May, 2018 from <https://www.skokieparks.org/downloads/pdfs/UTaudition.pdf>.