Kevin Broccoli has found work for 14 local actresses by taking Claire Boothe Luce’s “The Women” and adapting it into an adult soap opera, which he titles “These Ruthless Bitches.”

I suppose that’s a bit sexist, but these tough women are not part of Luce’s upper class – they are now prison inmates.

The cast, headed by the talented Hannah Lum as Sylvia (Mrs. Fowler no less), Emily Lewis as the over-dramatic Mary, and M J Daly as the pregnant Edith, attacks the play with powerful energy and ruthlessness.

There’s background music by Cat Has Claws, and these cats have big, sharp claws as they verbally attack each other and spread vicious gossip through the two-act production.

Performed on a bare stage with only chairs and one table, the play moves quickly from scene to scene under the direction of Broccoli and Tammy Brown.

Broccoli has chosen to have his actors play their characters over the top, creating a farcical atmosphere filled with gossiping inmates who interact with themselves and their off-stage husbands.

It’s a strange play filled with some sharp, humorous, tongue-in-cheek writing. You might be wise to read “The Women” or at least look at a synopsis on Wikipedia before going.

I’m not saying that this is a “woman’s play,” but Joyce liked it a lot more than I did, remarking that I just didn’t “get it.”

It is at Epic’s Theatre 82 venue at 82 Rolfe St. in Cranston through Sept. 19. For reservations, call 490-9475 or go online at www.epictheatre.org.