"Five in the same dress"

A wedding celebration takes place in the garden of a stately home in Kentucky, USA.

While the bride – beautiful, rich and spoiled – celebrates her triumphant marriage of convenience, her five bridesmaids – all dressed in matching dresses – seek refuge in a bedroom on the first floor.

These are Trisha and Georgeanne, the bride's old school friends who have long since lost touch with her; Meredith, her younger sister, who appears to be deliberately sabotaging the festivities; a devout, virginal cousin, Frances; and Mindy, the groom's lesbian sister, who is understandably upset that her partner wasn't invited to the party.

Slowly they realize that none of them really likes the bride, and a spirit of camaraderie develops in which – with the help of a lot of alcohol – suppressed emotions and secrets suddenly come to light.

Author Alan Ball (known for the screenplays of American Beauty and the television series Six Feet Under) explores the vague line between romantic notions of life and its harsh, opposing reality in this play. It's about individual personalities who refuse to conform to predetermined roles. As the five women, all forced to wear the same dress, hide from the wedding they aren't attending willingly, they argue, laugh, and grieve over what they want, ultimately trying to find their own paths in life.

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A co-production with the Open Acting Academy-Conservatory for Acting