Sharina Martin and Christina DeCicco Photo by T. Charles Erickson

Actress Sefic skirts the stage apron as she, a Dionysian stand-in or descendent, explains to everyone that these are perilous times for our planet. Yes, a hurricane is roaring up the East Coast and headed for Monmouth County, but that, in the scheme of things, is not such a very big deal. Now a gardener concerned with climate change, she espouses the values of permaculture which include sustainable farming, development of perennial crops, and promoting ecologically friendly agricultural systems.

Costume designer An-lin Dauber dresses actress Sefic is shades of green and she looks as if she's spent a day in the fields tending to companion plants and vegetables. She meets women (one following the next) living in a neighborhood cul-de-sac in New Jersey, who have other priorities. They are gathering within the confines of a very white, too long and too rectangular kitchen designed by Emmie Finckel. Look beyond the interior and imagine what you would see if the striking French doors were opened. Think of the sea or some body of water for a storm is bearing down upon everyone.

Carol Fleischer (Katya Campbell) resides here and she (at first in business casual garb) is high strung and hellbent on making outside grounds look spiffy. She's been cutting pictures out of magazines with the hope that a landscaper will put this together for her. Renee Shapiro-Epps (Sharina Martin) edits for HGTV and later she notes that she is the first woman of color to hold such a position on a masthead. Renee is elegant, as is her cashmere-looking wardrobe. Beth Wann (Alyse Alan Louis) is trying to figure out just who she is since her husband recently left the scene. Beth's clothing is haphazard-looking. Pam Annunziata (Christina DeCicco) needs more than one cell phone and, unafraid of anyone, she appears to be one who drinks a lot of wine. Pam has plenty of chutzpah and it looks as if she could breathe fire if she wished for that.

Diane, vocally declarative but not strident, advocates for pawpaw, which is a fruit tree. She is also visualizing a large, systemic adjustment to society so that upcoming generations, instead of perishing, might survive and even prosper. Meanwhile, she and the suburban housewives must cope with an imminent storm threatening to level them.

Greek mythology versus middle/upper middle class New Jersey proves to be catchy, smart, and comedic. Playwright George adeptly adds sexuality to this mix and the performers (who at the very end become delectably musical) are up-tempo for pretty much the entirety of 90 minutes.

The five cast members are all new to Hartford Stage. Bernadette Sefic, playing Diane, has done a good amount of Shakespeare at The Old Globe. She brings an electric presence to her role as the show begins and takes in the audience with Madeleine George's first words. The four actresses who are friends seem to be close and compatible yet different from one another. They happen to be situated in the fancy Red Bank, New Jersey community just now. Campbell, DeCicco, Alan Louis, and Martin have all been on Broadway and they bring multiple individual talents to Hurricane Diane.

Madeleine George (New Englanders take note) grew up in Amherst, Massachusetts and went to Amherst Regional High School. She has authored a few prize-winning plays, two young adult novels, and is a writer and executive story editor for Hulu's "Only Murders in the Building." She has adroitly create a theatrical stew of sorts, comprising gardening advice, climate change awareness, and activist reference to Greek mythology when Diane steps into the realm of the quartet of suburbanites. They must deal with the storm but also with beneficent Diane, a different sort of challenge. Madeleine George's play at Hartford Stage is deliciously complicated.

Hurricane Diane runs through June 29, 2025, at Hartford Stage, 50 Church St., Hartford CT. For tickets and information, please call 860-527-5151 or visit hartfordstage.org.