'The Women'

Sure, it's a catfight with costume changes. But Clare Boothe Luce's 1936 comedy "The Women," now at Circus Theatricals, is also an acute look at the bad deals women make for security, financial and psychological. Diane English recently tried to update this guilty pleasure with Meg Ryan and crew, but the original take remains unmatched in its portrait of urban estrogen.

By Charlotte Stoudt

October 3, 2008