Theater Review : Diverse Women in ‘Same Dress’

Tracy is getting married to Scott. It’s a fancy wedding, and an even fancier reception is being held on the lawn of the bride’s parents’ home in Knoxville, Tenn.

But in Alan Ball’s comedy-drama “Five Women Wearing the Same Dress” at the Theatre District in Costa Mesa, we never see the bride and groom. Ball concentrates on the bridesmaids, taking time out in an upstairs bedroom. As it turns out, they’re a lot more fun than what’s going on outside.

Except for the setting, which looks more like Miss Havisham’s boudoir in “Great Expectations,” director Mario Lescot’s staging of Ball’s play is very much in character. It’s interesting how a male playwright seems to have captured the essence of Southern women, much like Tennessee Williams and Robert Harling (“Steel Magnolias”) were able to do. Also interesting is how a male director has brought them to life.

Lescot is at his best and most intuitive here, sorting out the gay moments from the sad, the hilarity from the angst, among this quintet of very dissatisfied women. In a production that is frequently played full out as comedy, Lescot finds the deeper heart of the characters and lets his actresses suffer as much as they romp.

Most of their talk is about their love lives, or more specifically--their sex lives. The centerpiece of their anger, and humor, is Tommy Valentine, who has been central to all of their passions, private and public. He is Tracy’s ex-fiance, and the childhood dream man of one of the bridesmaids, her younger sister Meredith. He has tampered with, in varying degrees, all of their lives.

Although he never appears on stage, his character is always present in that most powerful of stage personas, the “offstage villain.” The actresses here make him as real to the viewer as he can be.

And the actresses make their five victims of his good-ol’-boy lust even more palpable.

Alice Ensor is Trisha, swearing that she will wind up a spinster after a lifetime of male betrayal, given a rich Tennessee tone by Ensor, and a buoyant and subtle coloring when she changes her mind. As Georgeanne, married but remembering her nights with Valentine every time she smells garbage, Christi Sweeney gives her character a sharp edge that works beautifully.

One of the most vivid portraits is of daughter Meredith, almost forgotten in Tracy’s wake, and bridling to get out of Knoxville. Shannon Hunt delivers the role with sincere anger and honest rebellion.

Deborah Conroy wisely doesn’t play the stereotype as the groom’s lesbian sister Mindy, but approaches her with humor and attitudes that make her ring true. Also colorful and very honest is Crystal Sutton’s Frances, who doesn’t smoke or drink, “because I’m Christian” but who suffers through a quick make-over to attract the reception’s bartender.

Jason Wesley Green is perfectly cast as the sincere, sensitive good ol’ boy who changes Trisha’s mind about taking a chance on love in a brief but beautiful scene in which he takes a group portrait before the final moment. The photo provides a big laugh in every production of this play and serves to affirm that all of these women will triumph and that their earthy honesty eventually will win out.

* “Five Women Wearing the Same Dress,” Theatre District, 2930 Bristol St., Suite C-106, Costa Mesa. Fridays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 7 p.m. Ends Oct. 2. $15-$20. (714) 435-4043. Running time: 2 hours, 30 minutes.

Deborah Conroy: Mindy

Alice Ensor: Trisha

Shannon Hunt: Meredith

Christi Sweeney: Georgeanne

Crystal Sutton: Frances

Jason Wesley Green: Tripp

A Theatre District production of Alan Ball’s play. Director: Mario Lescot. Scenic design: Two Blue Chairs Inc. Lighting design: Extended Visions. Sound design: Ron Castro. Costume design/stage manager: Joan Lescot.