Hovey Players Presents:
Five Women Wearing the Same Dress

By Alan Ball

Directed by Gordon Ellis

It is through this somewhat twisted prism that we join playwright Alan Ball, Academy Award winning writer of American Beauty and creator of the HBO series Six Feet Under, as he examines the role and nature of today's modern woman. Working from traditional stereotypes, Ball attempts to tear down our preconceived notions of what makes a "lady" by slowly chipping away at these timeworn images in a steamrolling comedy that is at times both shockingly raw and deeply moving.

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.

Five Women is a raunchy and touching comedy that has been called an "affectionate but unflinching look at female friendships" by the Duluth News Tribune, featuring a "kaleidoscope of colliding emotions -- anger, optimism, embarrassment, resentment, loyalty -- even while generating laughs" (Orange County Register). Says Theatre Week, "Alan Ball has the comic writer's requisite talent for dialogue that ricochets snappily around the stage."

Join us this winter at the Abbott Theater as we attempt to take you inside the secret world of women, in Alan Ball's story "about people trying to connect with each other... about people realizing what's really important in their lives as opposed to what they thought was important... about people finding bravery within themselves."

Cast

Rachel Carney - Frances
Gail Bishop Nessman - Georganne
Sara Jones - Mindy
Mary Kate Rod - Meredith
Melissa Sine - Trisha
Edwin (Ted) Batch - Tripp

Crew

Jeremy Medicus - Producer
Ronni Marshak - Assistant Producer
Gordon Ellis - Director
Matthew Silverstein - Stage Manager
Kimmerie H.O. Jones - Costumes
Ben Aldrich - Set Designer/Master Carpenter
Jonathan Kemble - Lighting Designer
Jerry Bisantz - Publicity
Michelle Aguillon - House Manager
Eric Houghton - Web Support