Limes with Orange

Went to the Pumphouse Theatre to see Five Women Wearing the Same Dress: "A raucous, raunchy comedic romp about life, love, men and marriage" written by Alan Ball (who also wrote American Beauty and created Six Feet Under).

Want a bit more description than the tag line provides?

During a grand, Southern wedding reception, five bridesmaids seek refuge from the sterile ceremonies below by locking themselves in an upstairs bedroom. Now uninhibited by a need to act "lady-like," the women soon discover that in addition to an almost universal dislike for both the bride and the dresses she has made them wear, they each share a desire to break from the traditional molds of womanhood that society has tried to force them into. Secrets are shared, hopes and dreams revealed, and fears exposed, as each of the five struggle with the battle between social expectation and individual satisfaction, all while baring their thoughts on everything from relationships to sex to the naming patterns of make-up.

Ella, my screenplay collaborator, is one of the actresses in the ensemble. And her "beauty pageant" speech is definitely one of the highlights of the play. The dialogue throughout the play is well written and highly entertaining. And while it will primarily appeal to a female audience for obvious, estrogen-laden reasons, the handful of men in attendance seemed to enjoy it... if their hearty guffaws were anything to judge by.

My only complaint: both script and actors fell flat in the only scene with male-female interaction. The character of Tricia (already the weakest acting link in this performance) flirts with Tripp, the only man we see in the play (come to think of it, Tricia was not the weakest link after all). Unfortunately, it felt like the playwright didn't really care about this particular scene and the dialogue here was trite and cliché. Add that to the lack of chemistry between these two particular actors and I could have happily cut the entire scene out of the performance. Having said that, the rest of the play was enjoyable enough for me to be willing to recommend it in spite of that one tired scene.

It's on until Saturday, June 25. So if you're interested, head over to workshoptheatre.org for tickets.

P.S. So far in my life, I've managed to avoid the rite of passage known as the hideous bridesmaid dress. I've only been a bridesmaid once and I am soooo grateful that the bride had both good sense and good taste. And if you think I jest, see for yourself...


Me as a bridesmaid
P.P.S. The orange gloves were my idea... so if you hate them, don't blame the bride!

Labels: theatre