|
||||
|
||||
|
Monday, Oct 06, 2008
|
||||
|
|||||||||
|
|
|||||
|
|||||
Five Woman Wearing the Same Dress is an almost perfect fit |
||
 |
||
| Five Woman Wearing the Same Dress is an almost perfect fit | ||
|
by Miryam Gordon -
SGN A&E Writer FIVE WOMEN WEARING THE SAME DRESS BY ALAN BALL DIRECTED BY AMY IRVIN WORK IT PRODUCTIONS (AT FREEHOLD) THROUGH DECEMBER 1 Alan Ball may be known to those who watch HBO series. He's the creator of Six Feet Under, a dramedy about a family that owns a funeral parlor. He also wrote the screenplay for American Beauty, and won many awards for Best Original Screenplay. So, it was with anticipation that I went to see this play, hoping for a smart, funny, maybe wacky script. This is everything I'd hoped it would be and more. The script, though occasionally flawed, is funny, sharp, a little dramatic, and very true-to-life in the way women talk to each other. The five women in the title and in the play are all different "types" that are a bit stereotyped. You have the bad girl, the Christian, the heavy sidekick, the bratty little sister, and the lesbian. All of the women are bridesmaids at a wedding reception in Knoxville, TN. The wedding is over and they just need to get through the rest of the reception so they can get out of the hideous dress they've been forced to wear. (Actually, the dress [courtesy of Iris Stevenson] was pretty nice for a bridesmaid dress! The little hairpiece was pretty hideous, though.) It turns out that none of them is close to the bride anymore, and they all have reasons to feel very angry with her. Each of the five actresses has glommed onto her character and milked it with gusto. Nicole Fierstein is the naïve, 21-year-old Christian, who doesn't drink or do drugs "because I'm a Christian." Her delivery is spot-on and almost heartbreaking when she delivers some of her speeches defending her religious beliefs. Courtney Lewin as the bratty little sister is a whirling dervish of nasty energy, with spunk and spark and anger. Katy Bingham is the putative "bad girl," and though I don't really think much bad is really a part of her, that's the old designation of a girl who's been with a lot of boys and maybe likes drugs a little. Bingham is completely believable as the beautiful friend who has become jaded about men and doesn't think love really exists. Jen Anderson is the heavy sidekick; the one who hangs around to be used when needed and tossed aside when the rest of life is going well. Anderson plays a difficult part with deft understanding and does a great drunk. Jennifer Fredette plays the lesbian. This is the least well-written part, with the least understanding of who she is as a character. Fredette does a great job of playing a nervous, high-strung woman who eats constantly and spouts a lot of feminist ideals about "women being allowed to be women." But there's not a lot of motivation in the script to propel her character, and later we find that her partner of 9 years was not allowed to be present, and it seems she would be more angry about it. All these women interact with each other in totally believable ways. Then, toward the end, there's this guy thrown in. While he may be there to demonstrate some of what the women talk about, and his banter with Trish (the bad girl) is fun to listen to, he is really unnecessary for the play. Jake Merriman also seems like too nice a guy to be the "shark" that he is referred to as. There is a lot to like about the production and to laugh at in the script. Director Irvin has crafted a tight, sleek evening, with well-cast actors. Enjoy. For more information, go to www.workitproductions.com or www.brownpapertickets.com. Comments on reviews? E-mail sgncritic@gmail.com. |
||
|
|
||
|
|
||
|
|
||
|
|
||
|
|
||
|
|
||
|
|
||
 New!! LGBT & LGBT friendly "What's Happening WA" |
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 post your own information on the Seattle Gay Blog |
copyright Seattle Gay News - DigitalTeamWorks 2007