Circle Players to stage comedy by Alan Ball

“Five Women Wearing the Same Dress,” a bittersweet comedy by Alan Ball, Academy Award-winning writer of “American Beauty” and the creator of HBO’s “Six Feet Under,” will be presented at 8 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, 3 p.m. on Sundays, Jan. 7-22, at Circle Players, 416 Victoria Ave., Piscataway.

During an ostentatious wedding reception at a Knoxville, Tenn., estate, five reluctant, identically clad bridesmaids hide out in an upstairs bedroom, each with her own reason to avoid the proceedings below. The five women include Frances, a painfully sweet but sheltered fundamentalist; Mindy, the cheerful, wise-cracking lesbian sister of the groom; Georgeanne, whose heartbreak over her own failed marriage triggers outrageous behavior; Meredith, the bride’s younger sister, whose precocious rebelliousness masks a dark secret; and Trisha, a jaded beauty whose die-hard cynicism about men is called into question when she meets Tripp, a charming bad-boy usher.

Tickets for Friday and Saturday performances cost $15. Matinee tickets cost $12. Seniors and students receive $1 off with identification. Group rates are available.

For tickets and more information call (732) 968-7555 or log on to www.circleplayers.com.