By
Amy Lyons
| Posted Aug. 31, 2011, 1:32 p.m.
Ten scorned women tell separate tales of heartache in this tiresome string of vignettes fraught with one-note characters. Frailty, the whole piece screams, thy name is woman. Defined and devastated by the infidelity of their significant others, the women spill their guts to the audience. There's Zoe (Mackenzie English), whose boyfriend fancies diapers and adult baby role-playing. Zoe is entirely shocked when she discovers that her man-child is cheating with a woman who indulges his infantile fantasies. Thinking she was the one-and-only kinky mother to this apparent creep, Zoe is crushed by the betrayal, though it's exceedingly difficult to understand why. Elissa (Samantha Carro) has her world turned upside down when her husband confesses to a fleeting feeling of doubt about his choice of bride. Decked out in her wedding dress and crying doe-eyed tears, Elissa takes her own life based on this basic marital hitch; it's completely preposterous. Then there's Bethany (Niki Nowak), a devout Christian married to an evangelist who prefers men. But money rules Bethany's world, so she stays with her husband, willingly sacrificing her own happiness.
The overall failure of the piece comes from the fact that the women, as suggested by the direct address of the title, are supposed to have swagger. But even the characters who come through with a bit of tough talk about the women with whom their husbands have cheated seem too stuck in their own self-pity to prevail in empowerment. Instead of "You go, girl," the piece makes us want to scream, "You go get some self-respect, girl."
In addition to the annoying co-dependent scenarios and downright pathetic characters, the acting ranges from over-the-top hammy to robotic line rattling. Director Jeanette Farr comes through with a measure of artful staging.
Presented by SkyPilot Theatre Company at T.U. Studios, 10943 Camarillo St., North Hollywood. Aug. 13-Sept. 18. Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 7 p.m. (800) 838-3006. www.skypilottheatre.com.
