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40 - The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday December 5, 2007 www.oakvillebeaver.com Mississauga Halton Community Care Access Centre (CCAC) Your single source for information on and access to in-home, community support and long-term care services in South Etobicoke, Mississauga, Oakville, Halton Hills and Milton Effective December 1st you can contact all Mississauga Halton Community Care Access Centre (CCAC) locations through one convenient phone number 905-855-9090 Toll-Free 1-877-336-9090 Web www.mh.ccac-ont.ca Getting Care to People Who Need It Mississauga Office 2655 North Sheridan Way Suite 140 Mississauga, ON L5K 2P8 LIESA KORTMANN / OAKVILLE BEAVER NEW Etobicoke Office 401 The West Mall Suite 1001 Etobicoke, ON M9C 5J5 Milton Office 12 Martin Street Milton, ON L9T 2P9 SPIRITED: From left, Romina Cortina, Katie Edwards, Kate Etienne, Lise Cormier, Jennifer Smardenkas. Promo photo for Sheridan's studio theatre production of Five Women Wearing the Same Dress. The setting is a large estate in Knoxville,Tennessee.A group of five wildly different bridesmaids hide out in the bride's bedroom, taking refuge from the ostentatious wedding reception below -- each for her own very personal reasons. Over the course of the afternoon, these women discover they share more than the identical (and hideous) outfits they wear. Academy Award-winning playwright Alan Ball (American Beauty, Six Feet Under) wrote this irreverent, wickedly funny and, ultimately, touching comedy celebrating the indomitable female spirit. Did you know? Last year, United Way funded more than 20 programs for children and youth, including mentoring and counselling, provided by agencies such as Big Brothers Big Sisters of Halton and Community Youth Programs Inc. United Way of Oakville is proud to partner with 31 funded agencies that provide critical programs and services to people in need. With your support, we can build a strong and healthy community. Five Women wickedly funny at Sheridan's Studio Theatre By Mark Andrew Lawrence SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER Donate today through your workplace campaign, online at www.uwoakville.org or by calling United Way of Oakville at 905-845-5571. Put five bridesmaids in the same hideous outfits and lock them together in room and watch the sparks fly. That's pretty much what Alan Ball has done in his play Five Women Wearing The Same Dress. The production is playing until Saturday at Sheridan's Studio Theatre. The basic premise is that this bouquet of bridesmaids is taking refuge from the bride from hell, in her bedroom, where their bitter, acrimonious conversations are loaded with funny ripostes. At the same time the writer hides surprising truths about the characters inside the barbs. Under the taught direction of Sue Miner, each of the performers is allowed moments to shine. Katie Edwards runs the gamut of emotion as the angry younger sister who reveals she has a good deal to be angry about. Kate Etienne milks every comic moment with her performance as Mindy, the groom's clumsy, lesbian sis- The basic premise is that this bouquet of bridesmaids is taking refuge from the bride from hell, in her bedroom, where their bitter, acrimonious conversations are loaded with funny ripostes. ter. Notice how Ball avoids stereotypical behaviour in his script. So does Etienne. On the other hand, with the character of Frances he neatly skewers the holierthan-thou attitudes of a "born again" Christian. To her credit Lise Cormier finds ways to make the character humorous rather than obnoxious. Rounding out the quintet are Romina Cortina as Trisha the college friend, and Jennifer Smardenkas as Georgeanne the now unhappily married former high school friend of the bride. The play crackles with the adult wit and tension that Ball would later bring to his screenplay for American Beauty and the TV series Six Feet Under. This is, however, an early piece and once the playwright has explored all the interconnected dramas of the leading players, he doesn't know how to wrap it up. You can hear the gears grinding as he switches to a light romantic banter late in the second act when he introduces Tripp, the cousin of the groom, to romance one of the bridesmaids. Although Nicholas Visscher handles the banter well, you get the sense that this is a superfluous character rung in out of nowhere. So the play doesn't so much wrap up as run down, but it's still a fascinating piece centred on five memorable individuals, even if they are all wearing the same dress. Theatre Sheridan presents Five Women Wearing the Same Dress in the studio theatre until Saturday. Performances are Tuesdays to Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. with a 2:30 p.m. matinée on Saturday. For ticket information, call the box office at 905-815-4049.