Five Women Wearing the Same Dress is a play

Play (theatre)

A play is a form of literature written by a playwright, usually consisting of scripted dialogue between characters, intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. There are rare dramatists, notably George Bernard Shaw, who have had little preference whether their plays were performed...

 written in 1993 by Alan Ball

Alan Ball (screenwriter)

Alan E. Ball is an American writer, director, actor and producer for film, theatre and television.-Early life:Ball was born in Atlanta, Georgia, to Frank and Mary Ball, an aircraft inspector and a homemaker...

.

Plot

The play is a comedy

Comedy

Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...

 set at the home of the bride in Knoxville, Tennessee

Knoxville, Tennessee

Founded in 1786, Knoxville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Tennessee, U.S.A., behind Memphis and Nashville, and is the county seat of Knox County. It is the largest city in East Tennessee, and the second-largest city in the Appalachia region...

 during the newly married couple's overdone wedding reception

Wedding reception

A wedding reception is a party held after the completion of a marriage ceremony. It is held usually as hospitality for those who have attended the wedding, hence the name reception: the couple receives society, in the form of family and friends, for the first time as a married couple. Hosts...

. The five bridesmaid

Bridesmaid

The bridesmaids are members of the bride's wedding party in a wedding. A bridesmaid is typically a young woman, and often a close friend or sister. She attends to the bride on the day of a wedding or marriage ceremony...

s have found refuge in the room of Meredith, the sister of the bride. The women come to realize, among other things, that they, despite their differences, have more in common with each other than any of them do with the bride.

Characters

• Meredith Marlow: The bride's nosy, pot-smoking sister who is very sarcastic and much annoyed with the whole fiasco downstairs. Sporting an outwardly tough attitude, she has a lot of hurt and insecurity to hide.

• Georgeanne Darby: Tracy's "ugly sidekick" in middle school. Accepted the invite to be a bridesmaid even though her relationship with Tracy is strained because Tracy's boyfriend once knocked Georgeanne up.

• Trisha: One of Tracy's former friends with a supposed bad reputation. She's been with a lot of guys, but not any that measure up.

• Frances: The very naive and religious cousin of the bride.

• Mindy McClure: The groom's clumsy, outspoken lesbian sister.

• Tripp Davenport (Griffen Lyle Davenport the third): An usher who falls for Trisha. The only male in the show.

• Tommy Valentine: Is not seen in the play. However he is Tracy's former fiance and has hit on or slept with all of her bridesmaids and many other unsuspecting women. He leaves the wedding reception with a woman in a backless dress
  Backless dress
  A backless dress is a dress designed to expose the wearer's back. A backless dress is most commonly worn on formal occasions or as evening wear or as wedding dresses and can be of any length, from a haltertop to a miniskirt-length to floor-length....
  
  .

• Tracy Marlow McClure: The bride, who is never seen in the play.

External links

• BareBones Theatre's production of Five Women Wearing the Same Dress
• Muse Theatre Company, Darlinghurst Theatre, Sydney, Australia directed by Christopher Houghton
• InterAct Ensemble production at the Tristan Bates Theatre in London