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Wedding woes and social issues served up on stage

What: Five Women Wearing The Same Dress Where: MY Place When: Friday and Saturday, May 2-3 If you’re looking for an entertaining night out next weekend, full of interesting dialogue and drama, then I know five women and one slightly fallible mal

What: Five Women Wearing The Same Dress

Where: MY Place

When: Friday and Saturday, May 2-3

If you’re looking for an entertaining night out next weekend, full of interesting dialogue and drama, then I know five women and one slightly fallible male who should be right up your alley.

Five Women Wearing the Same Dress is a funny and feisty comedy from Alan Ball, the Oscar-winning writer of the movie, American Beauty and the hit HBO TV series, Six Feet Under. On the local level, well-known director from the Between Shifts Theatre, Kathy Daniels and her hand-picked cast of six amateur and professionally trained actors, bring the popular playwright to life for two nights only at MY Place.

The scene starts as a wedding party skips away from the reception for a new bride, Tracy, also known as Miss Popularity. They hide out in Tracy’s sister’s bedroom, eventually revealing their reasons why as champagne, joints and emotions flow. Among the party poopers are the lipstick lesbian, the pious cousin, the lascivious babe, the obsessive torch-holder and the petulant younger sister.

Daniels said the play is perfect for our picture perfect postcard town.

"I think Five Women is very contemporary and deals with an age group and attitude that people in Whistler can relate to. It’s a very meaningful piece, bringing up a lot of social issues but it’s not preachy. It’s a bittersweet tour de force done in a comedic package."

The cast is quite diverse both in character and off-stage. First timer Tara Bowland plays Francis, a straight-laced, somewhat naïve girl eager to learn new things. Theatre grad Jory Gilles plays Trisha, a girl who’s been around the block and exudes a tough veneer. Between Shifts regular Carla Fuhre, plays Mindy, a lesbian and one of the more balanced characters in the play, although she comes from a past full of rejection and scorn from loved ones. Professional actor, Marie West plays George Anne, who wears her heart on her sleeve and is always carrying a torch for the wrong guy. Kellie Alarcon, a second-timer to the stage, is Meredith, a very spoiled, rebellious and risque wild child with a dark secret. The male of the group is Patrick Wadge, who as Tripp, is a real player. Until he meets someone at the wedding that makes him want to change.

After the Whistler dates, the cast and crew take the play to The North Shore Zone Festival at Presentation House in North Vancouver on May 9. If they win that, they will get to be part of Mainstage 2003, an annual B.C theatre showcase that can mean big things for Broadway enthusiasts.

Between Shifts Theatre, MY Place and The Whistler Arts Council present Five Women Wearing the Same Dress at 8 p.m May 2 and 3. Tickets are $16 for adults, $12 concession. Bear in mind there is some course language and a tad of exposed flesh. Call 604-935-8418 for tickets.