This review originally appeared in the MetroWest Daily News on Thursday, January 20, 2005.

Spicy girl talk at the Hovey: You'll have saucy fun with 'Five Women Wearing the Same Dress'

By David Brooks Andrews / News Correspondent

Nobody will ever argue that "Five Women Wearing the Same Dress" by Alan Ball is a very elevating play or one that contributes anything to dramatic literature.
      But it can be argued that it's a good comedy for Hovey Players to produce, if you don't mind being plunged into some pretty raunchy girl talk. What makes it an effective choice for Waltham's community theater is that it's sure to fill the seats in their cozy, funky basement theater over the show's three-weekend run and make people feel entertained in the process.
      Written by the writer who won an Academy award for "American Beauty" and who created the HBO television series "Six Feet Under," the script is full of clever, funny one-liners that make it feel like an R-rated cable television show. And audiences tend to turn out for theater that replicates television. Normally, this is a tendency that should make any theater critic worth his salt rant and rave, but there are times when it's forgivable.
      The other reason "Five Women" is an effective choice is that it doesn't make too many demands of its actors, since it doesn't involve large dramatic scenes and the characters aren't too much of a stretch for young actors, sadly enough. A hard working group of community theater actors can do well in the roles and bring the play to life -- as the Hovey cast does under director Gordon Ellis -- without necessarily having a lot of experience.
      The premise of the show is that five bridesmaids retreat to an upstairs bedroom from the high-falutin' artificiality of an outdoor wedding reception in Knoxville, Tenn. There they begin to talk about everything in their lives, from their mutual hatred of the bride to why makeup is often named after food, and from their past relationships to relationships they'd like to have in the future. Of course, for them relationships primarily mean sex.
      If you're not put off by their raunchy gossip, what gives this show some meaning under all its frothiness is that the five women and the man who appear toward the end are essentially lovable, in spite of their problems and very shallow lives.
      Each woman is a recognizable type. Frances (Rachel Carney), who first appears in the bedroom and tries on a costume bracelet she covets, is a Christian with strict values, as she frequently reminds the others. One can feel that she'll be knocked down a peg or two. Meredith (Mary Kate Rod) is the rebellious, liberal sister of the bride. Georganne (Gail Bishop Nessman) is a slightly pudgy woman who's made a bad marriage to a man she describes as milquetoast. Mindy (Sara Jones) is an attractive lesbian, which shocks Frances, who's convinced she's never laid eyes on a lesbian before. Trisha (Melissa Sine) is the sexually experienced, put-together woman with eyes for Tripp (Ted Batch), who eventually joins the girls in the bedroom.
      With each young woman wearing a bouffant salmon-colored bridesmaid dress, Ben Aldrich's wonderfully realistic bedroom set feels very full indeed, full of bustle as well raging female hormones. "Something about this dress makes me feel like Bigfoot," says Mindy. In another witty, revealing line, one of the women says: "If I ever get to heaven and there isn't an open bar, God's going to have some serious explaining to do." In addition to the strong language and frequent talk about sex, there is a very brief moment of partial nudity.
      All of the actors create believable characters, but Melissa Sine gives by far the best performance of the evening as she brings focus and intensity to Trisha while showing but not giving away too much, so that we're drawn to what feel like secrets inside her. Ted Batch as Tripp gives a good showing for his first time out on the stage but could use a little more of Sine's restraint. It would make his character even sexier.
      As for first time outs, Gordon Ellis has acted for 10 years, but this is his directorial debut in terms of full-length plays. He does very well at keeping the play moving, the characters distinct, and making it all feel like lively gossip.
      At a time when people are caught up with the television show "Desperate Housewives," this play could easily be retitled "Desperate Bridesmaids." Much of the characters' conversation isn't very admirable, though often quite funny. But their desperation and search for at least a shred of meaning in their lives make them easy to appreciate and perhaps even recognize in people around you, but hopefully not in yourself.
     " Five Women Wearing the Same Dress" runs through Jan. 29 at the Abbott Theatre at Joel's Way, 9 Spring St., Waltham. Tickets cost $15 ($13 for students and seniors) and can be reserved by calling 781-893-9171 or online at www.hoveyplayers.com.

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