Lee Blessing’s one-act, 70-minute play about three generations of women struggling through their intertwining relationships gets excellent performances from its three actors, under the direction of Mark Peckham. That’s the good news.

The not-so-good news is that the story, told in flashbacks, never grabbed me as I watched the endless verbal battles unfold, filling the intimate downstairs theatre with words anxious to be defined and spelled.

Essayist Eileen Warburton compares grandmother, mother and daughter to characters in Greek mythology in a short piece that should be read before the play starts.

On the surface, I saw three generations of women living with their own demons, going through life failing to communicate with one another.

Grandmother Dorothea (Isabel O’Donnell) is ultra-eccentric, communicating with the spiritual world and convinced that her daughter could fly.

Daughter Artemis (Sharon Carpentier) gives birth to a daughter and immediately abandons her, leaving her with Grandma to raise. Flight rather than fight is her agenda, wishing no physical contact with her family.

Granddaughter Echo survives, self-motivated to fight her way to winning the National Spelling Bee. The winning word is the title of the play, which means “charitable,” allowing for all sorts of interpretation.

If you love words, you will enjoy the many unusual ones that are scattered throughout the dialogue, all spelled and defined for your listening pleasure.

My problem with the play was buying into Blessing’s three characters, all quite self-centered in their own way. This does not take away from the performances of these three fine actresses. Questioning if this might be my maleness showing through, I turned to my wife for her opinion. Surprisingly, she agreed with me.

Language often defines us, and it defines this unusual play.

“Eleemosynary” is in the downstairs theatre at 2nd Story, 28 Market St. in Warren, through Nov. 23. For reservations call 247-4200. Tickets are $30.