“Hairspray” is over, but the show must go on. American River College’s theater moves on to “Five Women Wearing the Same Dress,” a smaller, more intimate play that opens Nov. 22.
Director Nancy Silva, whose last turn as director at ARC was the Fall 2012 production of “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street,” takes the helm of this six-person cast.
Silva picked the play in part “because it offers five women starring roles,” as opposed to the typical play that has mostly male leads. But she also loves how different each woman is, and thinks the cast is well-set to reflect their personalities.
“They all fit their characters so well, and are so different,” said Silva.
Set in Tennessee in the 1990s, the play puts all five women (Rhianna Costiloe, Ashley Rose, Mondis Vakili, Tara Mills, and Michelle Pollack) into bridesmaid dresses for a wedding. Despite having vast differences among them, they spend the time together learning that they have some things in common after all.
Vakili, who was in “Domestic Crusaders” and “Gumbo” last year at ARC, loves that about the play.
“It’s completely different from any other show that I’ve been in. It’s celebrating the woman’s spirit. It’s about five completely different women coming together and trying to find a common bond,” Vakili said at rehearsals Nov. 5.
Costiloe, in her first show at ARC, agreed, saying, “The women are so diverse. All the characters are relatable in some way to the audience.”
Silva also thinks the mature themes will be a hit with those who see the show.
“It’s a really fun piece. It’s about friendship among women, you know, like ‘Sex In The City,” that type of a show,” Silva said. “It’s kind of cutting edge. They do a lot of stuff in it, they drink, they smoke dope. It’s a fun show from that perspective.”
Vakili and Mills both think the show will be fun for both men and women to see.
“If you want to see five completely sexy women, and you like drugs, alcohol, sex, and anything profane, come see it. You’ll have a lot of fun,” Vakili said,laughing.
“If you like boobs, you should come. There’s some of those. It’s a really funny show,” added Mills.
“Five Women” opens Nov. 22 and runs until Dec 7. Tickets are $10 for students and will be available at the ARC box office or at arctheatre.org.
