Southeastern NEWS

                                                       Southeastern Louisiana University
                                           Public Information Office
                                           publicinfo@selu.edu
                                           SLU 880, Hammond, LA 70402
                                           985-549-2341/fax 985-549-2061
    Date: 04/18/02
      Contact:                           Angey Saucier   126

SLU THEATRE PRESENTS "FIVE WOMEN WEARING THE SAME DRESS"

     HAMMOND   Southeastern Louisiana University Theatre is closing out a successful
season with Oscar-winning writer Alan Ball's comedy, "Five Women Wearing the Same Dress."
     The show will run April 30-May 4 at Vonnie Borden Theatre in D Vickers Hall. Curtain
time is 7:30 p.m.
     Directed by guest director Selisa Hue, Ball's entertaining and comical tale takes place at
an ostentatious wedding reception at a Knoxville, Tenn., estate, where five reluctant, identically
clad bridesmaids hide out in an upstairs bedroom. Each woman has her own reason to avoid the
marital proceedings beginning below, which are revealed during the course of the play. As the
afternoon wears on, these five very different women joyously discover a common bond in this
funny, irreverent and touching celebration of the women's spirit.
     The play comes with a parental supervision recommendation due to adult language and
content, said Hue. Ball is acclaimed for his original screenplay "American Beauty" and the HBO
series "Six Feet Under."
     Playing the five women are Katherine Duvic of Mandeville as Frances, a painfully
sweet but sheltered fundamentalist, Erin Klein of Ponchatoula as Mindy, the cheerful, wise-
cracking lesbian sister of the groom; Betsy Mayeux of Baton Rouge as Georgeanne, whose
heartbreak over her own failed marriage triggers outrageous behavior; Erin DePaula of
Hammond as Meredith, the bride's younger sister, whose precocious rebelliousness masks a
dark secret; and Beth Hanson of Covington as Trisha, a jaded beauty whose die-hard cynicism
about men is called into question when she meets a charming bad-boy usher to whom there is
more than meets the eye. The cast also includes Jonathan Majoue of Baton Rouge as Tripp, the
object of Trish's attention.
     Understudies for the production are Clarence Wethern of New Orleans as Tripp,
Lauren Faranone of Hollywood, Fla., as Mindy and Georgeanne, and Texie Pender of
Morgantown, W.Va., as Trisha, Meredith and Frances.
     Set design is by Misty Pelas of Hammond, and stage managers are Anya Decoteau of
Prarieville and Evan Barnett of Baton Rouge.
     Tickets for "Five Women Wearing the Same Dress" will be available at the theatre box
office between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. beginning April 23.  Tickets will remain on sale each day and
evening of the performances and may be reserved in advance by calling the box office at 985-
549-2115.
     Ticket prices are $5, general admission, and $3, students and senior citizens. Southeastern
students are admitted free with a valid university I.D.
                             -SLU-
Press release available online at www.selu.edu/news/spring02.html