YSU'S FORD THEATER '5 Women' connect in funny way

The laughs are many and the performances are good.
By L. CROW
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
YOUNGSTOWN -- Some plays require careful attention to be fully appreciated. The story line may be complex, and one blink of an eye can leave you lost.
And then there are other plays at which you can sit back, kick off your shoes and just enjoy. Plays such as "Five Women Wearing The Same Dress," now playing at YSU's Ford Theater. It is pure entertainment from top to bottom. If a stressful work week has left you brain dead, this play is guaranteed to perk you up, with lots of laughs in the process.
The premise
The setting is in Knoxville, Tenn., as a wedding ends. The five bridesmaids find their way up to the bedroom of the bride's sister. They are all hiding out, avoiding something down there at the reception. Although all five girls are very different, their dialogue leads them to common ground.
There really is no beginning or end to this play. It is all in the present moment.
The laughs, and there are many, don't require an understanding of what happened before or even who the girls are. It is their unique ways of reacting and interacting with one another that is hysterically funny.
The women
Frances (Alyssa Connely), is the born-again Christian. She doesn't drink, or do drugs, or smoke, and is saving herself for marriage.
At one point, Trisha asks her, "Don't you ever get lonely?" and she replies, "No, because I have Jesus in my heart."
Trisha (Stephanie Ottey), smokes pot and carries a purse full of condoms. She brags that she has probably slept with half the men in the congregation. She says she loves an open bar, and if there aren't open bars in heaven, God is going to have some explaining to do. She thinks any woman who would consider marriage is out of her mind.
Meredith (Nicole Dionisio), the bride's sister, wears a leather jacket over her bridesmaid dress. She kicks off her heels and replaces them with running shoes. She has a picture of Malcolm X hanging in her bedroom, and a peace sign on the wall.
She seems to hate everyone, and wants to go far away, where she can be left alone.
Georgeanne (Kari Kleemook), is stuck in a miserable marriage. She drinks champagne straight from the bottle and spends the entire time drunk.
She desperately wants love, and if she can't have that, she'll settle for sex, but what she really wants is attention. She brags about having sex in a parking lot behind a trash bin and says garbage will never smell the same.
Mindy (Cristina Cala) is the groom's sister. She is a nonstop eater and says she stays skinny because of her metabolism.
She notes that lipstick colors are always named after food, like strawberry or melon, and says her mother sent her to Miss America Charm School when she suspected she was a lesbian.
The whole play revolves around the women's alternating between bickering and connecting.
And one thread that seems to tie them all together is a less than delightful experience with a certain man who is present at the reception.
They connect
As they begin to know one another, they realize that they all have similar fears, feelings of inadequacy and painful stories kept hidden. And none of them likes the bride.
As the barriers break down, they begin to bend, to compromise, to be who they are without apologies.
This play is very funny and very well performed. It contains strong language and adult situations and is not suitable for children.
It runs Saturday and Oct. 14 and 15 at 8 p.m. and Sunday and Oct. 16 at 3 p.m. Call (330) 941-3105 for information.