Peeking at Diary Pages of New York Women

Eydie Faye’s new “The Pages of My Diary I’d Rather Not Read,” at the Complex’s Ruby Theatre, is a lighthearted look at some tough situations in the lives of three disparate New York women. For the most part, director Richard Hess establishes a lively rhythm as the monologues about the women’s laments and ruminations interlace.

Ivy (Marissa Manzanares) glories in her large desk and new office. Jane (Betsie Devan) is seated at a vanity, admiring her new bridal veil. Esther (Faye) sits morosely before a set dinner table. Slowly, they tell us how they got there.

The sometimes foulmouthed Ivy rose from a single-parent family to the New Yorker. Jane fell in and out of love and now may be settling for Mr. Almost Right as she sighs for another. Esther recounts how being Jewish and fat has shaped her life.

Hess could tighten the pace in some spots, but this is a minor point. His staging moves the three women with a natural flow, as one’s story and voice come forward and the others’ temporarily recede into the background. At such times, Faye’s script uses the other two as a Greek chorus. Manzanares, Devan and Faye establish and hold their characters well.

Faye’s writing is crisp, sometimes a bit racy, but never too sexually explicit. In her debut as a playwright, she displays a strong, honest voice.

Not particularly deep or tragic, this quick theatrical moment doesn’t say anything new. The situations are rather ordinary. But the great appeal is that those pages that the diary writer may not want to reread are actually the ones that prying eyes find the most readable.

* “The Pages of My Diary I’d Rather Not Read,” Ruby Theatre, Complex, 6476 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood. Thursdays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 7 p.m. Ends Feb. 11. $12. (323) 993-8587. Running time: 1 hour, 20 minutes.