As the class of 2004 prepares to don their caps and gowns, Pen, Paint & Pretzel's presentation of "Uncommon Women" couldn't be timelier.
"It is a show about senior year, and what women thought their place in the world should be in 1972," junior director Christi Hanson said. "With graduation coming up, I believe that a lot of people will find comfort that even back then, no one knew quite what to do after college."
"Uncommon Women" defines the awkward post-graduation transition period, something all college students are aware of and identify with, even though most have yet to experience it.
Wendy Wassertein's play, which redefines life after graduation, begins and ends with five Mount Holyoke graduates catching up on their lives ten years after college.
The majority of the play is told in flashback, as the women "return" to their senior year and compare their former dreams and fears to their current reality.
Each of the women refers to the group of friends as "uncommon" because, as crazy and outspoken Rita repeatedly declares, "We're going to be pretty f**king amazing by the time we're 30!"
The friends blend gossip and nostalgia with comfortable teasing so that by the end of the show, the audience has become familiar with the play's world.
Though the show's actresses identify each of their characters' struggles with challenges presented to women in the 1970's, many of the characters' fears are timeless.
The play's fresh characters bring the characterized "elite" college woman to a level that is both familiar and nuanced. From senior Amanda Haley's bitingly sarcastic portrayal of Carter to sophomore Chloe Green and freshman Jess Baumann's joyful singing to their beloved doll Piglet, the actresses convey different forms of humor that can be appreciated by a diverse audience.
The show is both sharply witty and sincerely touching, sometimes simultaneously. Especially entertaining are the interactions between the women and their house mother Mrs. Plumm -- hysterically played by freshman Katie Clark -- as well as Bauman's dead-on portrayal of the bubbly, outgoing and oblivious Susie.
Freshman Kasey Collin nails the role of dramatic "Muffy" Muffet when she casts her theatrical fa?§ade to the side and confides to Carter about the day when she will finally find her "prince."
"I wouldn't have to give up being a person," she says. "I could still know all of the art history dates."
Another highlight of the play involves a group sing-a-long led by Mrs. Plumm which compares the era's Ivy League boys, complete with an enthusiastic chorus of "We're saving ourselves for Yale!"
The most crazy and uninhibited of the women is Rita, played by senior Katie Tabone, who takes some of the best lines as she gleefully shocks her friends with announcements like, "I have tasted my own menstrual blood!"
But before Rita can become too much of a caricature, she shares a touching scene with Samantha (Green) in what is one of the finest moments of the show.
Rounding out the cast are Laura Espy, Molly O'Neill and Erica Finkel, each of whose characters add another layer of humor and drama to the story to create a diverse and hilarious group of women.
All of the actresses move through the full range of drama, sarcasm, and comedic ability, and their enthusiasm makes this free trip to the theater something not to be missed.
