STAGE REVIEWS : 3 Faces of Eve : John Murrell’s play ‘Waiting for the Parade’ takes a route through pretty recognizable territory, but the message is still worth the trip.

GARDEN GROVE —  Like many dramas about “life during wartime,” John Murrell’s “Waiting for the Parade” centers on women, how they cope with their men away and the new demands of a changing society.

This is pretty recognizable territory, often plumbed and often sentimentalized. To be sure, Murrell’s play--offered by Cal State Fullerton’s just formed Contemporary Repertory Theatre Company at the Gem Theatre in repertory with two one-acts also focusing on women (see related review)--is sentimental, but not too much so. We can watch the five women it spotlights without feeling a wave of cloying insistence.

Also, Murrell is a Canadian playwright, and “Waiting” is set in his homeland. He gives us a perspective on World War II from a different land. All the unabashed patriotism, fervid anti-German feelings and painful honor and regret are there, just like it was in America, but from a Canadian orientation.

Director Gretchen Kanne opens the production with a stylized scene of Janet (Arlyn McDonald) at center stage, moving hesitantly to a period song. One by one she seeks out the other characters, all women, and gets them to dance. She can’t really connect, though, as the steps are awkward and short-lived.

Janet never does connect. As the leader of the local volunteer effort in a Canadian town, her job is getting the most out of Catherine (Karlie Cook), Eve (Renee Simoneau) and Margret (Gwenda Deacon) as they try to make life more bearable for the men going overseas and the families staying behind.

Besides the little care packages she puts together, Janet keeps a wary eye on Marta (Kathleen Dunn), who’s been ostracized for her German heritage and has a father imprisoned as a Nazi sympathizer. A somewhat hardened case, Janet receives respect but never admiration.

Through a series of mostly minor-key episodes, comfortably organized by Kanne, we find out about all of them. Spunky Catherine’s husband is missing in action and she turns to an affair for solace. Sensitive Eve sees sad poetry in the war and, perhaps to ease her unhappiness, makes fun of her husband, a man too old to enlist or be drafted. Solid, matronly Margret frets over her sons, the ones fighting in Europe and the one in jail at home.

Then there’s Marta, the perennial outsider, who endures abuse, both from her neighbors and the bureaucracy that keeps her father imprisoned. Murrell’s point is obvious--wartime brings out the best and the worst in people, and a trace of Nazi immorality can be found just about anywhere--but it’s one that can stand being repeated.

The ensemble acting is better than in the two one-acts, although there is a tendency to get us involved through the large gesture. McDonald and Deacon give the most accessible performances, but Dunn’s accent and attitude seem forced.

‘WAITING FOR THE PARADE’

A Cal State Fullerton Contemporary Repertory Theatre Company production of John Murrell’s drama. Directed by Gretchen Kanne. With Karlie Cook, Arlyn McDonald, Gwenda Deacon, Renee Simoneau and Kathleen Dunn. Sets by Todd Muffatti. Lighting by Susan Hallman. Sound by John R. Fisher. Makeup by Gary Christensen. Costumes by Juan Lopez. Plays Friday and April 19, 21 and 27 at 8 p.m., and Sunday and April 29 at 3 p.m. at the Gem Theatre, 12852 Main St., Garden Grove. Tickets: $5 to $7. (714) 773-3371.