THEATER REVIEW : ‘Five Women’: Sharing Those Bridesmaid Blues

For anyone who has ever been forced to wear a bridesmaid dress that looked as if it were designed for Little Bo Peep by Laura Ashley on acid, “Five Women Wearing the Same Dress” will strike a chord. Instantly. Alan Ball’s comedy, set in the Knoxville bedroom of the sister of the bride, is at the Odyssey Theatre Ensemble.

Enter Frances (Erin Noble), in a lilac silk dress sprouting flowers that bear an unfortunate resemblance to cabbage. There is also a floppy hat that goes up on one side and down on the other, crescendoing in a final burst of lilac cabbages on top. And, yes, there is a crinoline.

Frances is shortly joined by four other like-dressed women, all of whom harbor resentment for the unseen, perfect bride. No one hates the bride more than her own sister, Meredith (Dana Andersen), a troubled post-adolescent who still finds most everything insufferable. Meredith needs pot to get through the ordeal and wishes that “something really sick” would occur to spoil the day.

Nevertheless, “Five Women” is an effervescent, “Steel Magnolias” female-bonding kind of play that gets preachy only for brief moments in the second act. Among the things disapproved of: plastic surgery, sexual abuse of young women, and fascistic Christians. It features a strong, funny cast, under the direction of Ron Sossi, who allows only a few instances of mass shrieking to erupt.

The women have one thing in common. Each has been hit on, or more, by the Knoxville Romeo, a shameless womanizer named Tommy Valentine. Tommy even approaches Mindy (Lynnda Ferguson), whose lesbianism allows the other women to examine that subject. The unhappily marriedGeorgeanne (the very funny Laura Bogard) has arrived wearing new lingerie, which she flashes every chance she gets. Remembering Page 67 of “The Godfather,” she hopes to rendezvous with Tommy at some point during the wedding. But the only woman who scores, so to speak, is the stunning Trisha (Mimi Lieber), who hooks up with Tripp (Jay Pickett), a man who would like to treat her seriously despite her longing for a cheap hotel and some drugs.

Even Francis, the Christian virgin, displays a healthy interest in sex. Everyone shares that, except the morbid Meredith who, of course, possesses a secret, a predictable problem that begins to be assuaged in the second act.

Most enjoyable when least preachy, “Five Women” successfully explores an enduring mystery of female ritual--the bridesmaid dress. One character wonders if the bride has made a conscious decision to surround herself with ridiculous-looking women. Costume designers Eddie Bledsoe and Diane Sisko have definitively solved that mystery. The bride is found guilty as charged.

* “Five Women Wearing the Same Dress,” Odyssey Theatre Ensemble, 2055 S. Sepulveda Blvd., West L.A., Wed.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 7 p.m.; July 16 and 30, 2 p.m. only. Ends Aug. 20. $17.50-$21.50. (310) 477-2055. Running time: 2 hours, 20 minutes.