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 **Five Women Wearing the Same Dress**

 Five Women Wearing the Same Dress, was written by Alan Ball in 1993. It was first produced by the Manhattan Class Company, in New York City, on February 13, 1993. It was directed by Melia Bensussen.



Plot:
 This comedy is set in Knoxville, Tennessee with five very different women with a common acquaintance. These women are bridesmaids in Tracy Marlowe-McClure’s wedding. For varying reasons, the women end up in Meredith’s bedroom to escape the wedding reception. The women start talking and getting to know each other better. All of the women figure out that they are not really friends with Tracy and they question why they are bridesmaids in the first place. The women start to wonder if Tracy has any real friends. After they figure this out they start to share personal stories because they are all dissatisfied with their lives. While discussing their personal issues many past issues are resolved and result in the women having more satisfaction with their lives.

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Characters:
__Frances__- Tracy’s cousin. She is a very holy and innocent young girl . She is outraged by the other bridesmaids “recreational activities” because she has had little exposure to a world with drugs and boys. By the end of the party she is more exposed to this world and she likes it.

__Meredith Marlowe __- Tracy’s sister. She hates the wedding and does not want to be a part of it; instead she smokes pot, drinks and hides in her room for most of the wedding. Eventually we see that her tough exterior hides her insecurities.

__Trisha__- Tracy’s friend. She has had bad luck with men and has gained a reputatio n of sleeping around with them. She obtained this  reputation because she does not have any faith in relationships.

__Georgeanne Darby__- Tracy’s friend from middle school. A neurotic and emotional woman, her friendship with Tracy is tense because Tommy Valentine, Tracy’s boyfriend at the time, got her pregnant but Tracy is unaware of this incident.

__Mindy McClure__- The groom’s sister. She is clumsy and opinionated who is comfortable in her own body and her affinit y for women. media type="youtube" key="IcQCspCoPCA" width="560" height="315" align="center"

This video shows the bridesmaids getting fitted for their dresses before the wedding and before the play even begins.

__Tripp Davenport __<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 1.5;">- An usher at the wedding. A smooth talking, handsome man who falls for Trisha. __<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 1.5;">Tracy __<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 1.5;">- is the bride

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">__Scott__- is the groom

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">__Tommy Valentine__- was once engaged to Tracy and he has either hit on or slept with all of the bridesmaids.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Author:
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> The author of this play is Alan Ball. He is a writer, director and a producer of film, theater, and television. He was born on May 13, 1957 in Atlanta, Georgia. He went to Florida State University. He has won many awards such as Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay (2000), Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay - Motion Picture (2000), Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Drama (2000), and more. He wrote and produced True Blood and Six <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 1.5;">Feet Under. He also wrote the 1999 film American Beauty and Towelhead in 2007. ("Alan ball," 2013)

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 1.3em; line-height: 1.5;">Themes:
__Insecurity__- Meredith hides her insecurities behind her tough exterior. She is insecure about her life because she was sexually abused by her sister’s ex-fiancé Tommy Valentine. Meredith: "I would die if anybody ever knew." (Ball, 1993, p. 50) Georgeanne is insecure about sleeping with Tommy Valentine and needing to abort her pregnancy. Trisha feels like she will never be with a good man. Mindy is insecure about her eating habits. Frances thinks that her innocence makes her seem like she is less knowledgeable about the world.

__Friendship__- All of the girls found that they have one thing in common wh ich is that they hate Tracy. This commonality helps the girls to realize that they may have more in common then they realize. After talking, drinking and smoking pot all day they start to like each other and they become friends.

__Gluttony__- Mindy can never stop eating throughout the whole play. Georgeanne:" Do you always eat like this?" Mindy: "Yes." ( Ball, 1993, p. 44)

__Sloth__- Georgeanne does not want to fix her marriage because it would be too much work for her. Trisha: "Do you want to save your marriage?" Georgeanne: "No! I don't! I never should have married him in the first place, just like you said. I don't love him. I don't even like him!" ( Ball, 1993, p. 21) Meredith does not want to acknowledge the fact that she may have been sexually assaulted.

__Jealousy and greed__- Frances is jealous of all of Tracy’s jewelry and her fancy wedding. She tries on all of Tracy’s jewelry. Frances: "I know I shouldn't, but... Meredith, would it be okay if I wore your diamond bracelet?" ( Ball, 1993, p. 69)

__Lust__- Trisha sleeps with a lot of men and tries to sleep with Trip Davenport. Trisha: "We could just spend the night..." ( Ball, 1993, p. 62) Tommy Valentine has either hit on or slept with all of the bridesmaids. Georgeanne had an affair with Tommy Valentine. Georgeanne: "..we ended up doing it in the parking lot, on the concrete, right behind a Dempsey Dumpster." (Ball, 1993, p. 20)

__Anger__- Meredith hates her mother, sister and her sister’s wedding. Meredith: "I mean what a joke! Tracey, the blushing bride. Excuse me while I barf." (Ball, 1993, p. 8). She also hates that she was seduced by Tommy Valentine. Georgeanne is mad that she had to get an abortion.

__Pride__- Trip thinks he can get any women he wants and he thinks of himself as better than everyone else. Tripp: "..I wanted to be Ilya Kuryachin on //The Man from U.N.C.L.E."// Georgeanne: "God, remember him? In fifth grade, every girl in y class was totally hot for him." Tripp" "And that's exactly why I wanted to be him." (Ball, 1993, p. 57)

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Production History:
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 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">First produced by the Manhattan Class Company, in New York City, on February 13, 1993. I <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.5;">t was directed by Melia Bensussen. ("Alan Ball", 2013)
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Performed at the Circle Theatre in Chicago, Illinois in 1997. ("Alan Ball", 2013)
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Performed at the Artistic Home in Chicago, Illinois in 2003. ("Alan Ball", 2013)
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Premiered on July 17, 2003 at Darlinghurst Theatre in Potts Point, Australia. ("Better dead than," 2003)
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 1.5;">Staged reading on November 29, 2012 at Mount Saint Mary College in Newburgh, New York. (Biersack, 2012)

Critical Reviews:
"...[a] wonderfully entertaining play //..."// --The New York Post

"Five Women Wearing the Same Dress is a fresh-as-a-daisy comedy, funny as can be..." --The New York Daily News

"Ball has the comic writer's requisite talent for dialogue that ricochets snappily around the stage." --Theater Week ==

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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">References:
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 1.066em; line-height: 1.5;">http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/07/17/1058035138437.html
 * Alan ball. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0050332/
 * Better dead than wed. (2003, July 18). Retrieved from
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 1.066em; line-height: 1.5;">(2009, November 2). Five women wearing the same dress at the university theatre [Web Video]. Retrieved from

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IcQCspCoPCA

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 1.066em; line-height: 1.5;">from http://ww2.valdosta.edu/comarts/VSUTheatreDancePhotoGallery.shtml <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 1.066em; line-height: 1.5;">from http://takingflighttheatre.blogspot.com/2008_11_01_archive.html <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5;">Photo]. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=552438154773254& <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> set=a.552321678118235.144451.100000212243584&type=3&theater
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">(2006, September 20). VSU Theater & dance photo Gallery [Web Photo]. Retrieved
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">(2008, November 18). Behind the scenes / taking flight theatre company [Web Photo]. Retrieved
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Biersack, B. (Photographer). (2012, November 19). Five women wearing the same dress [Web
 * Ball, A. (1993). // Five women wearing the same dress // . New York: Dramatists Play Service INC.