Director Darko Tresnjak has mounted an extremely stylish revival of Clare Boothe Luce's 1936 social satire The Women, now at the Old Globe Theater -- so much so that although there are some formidable acting talents on display and Luce's barbs still elicit guffaws, the real stars of the show are Anna R. Oliver's to-die for period costumes. With their myriad of styles, fabrics, and colors, from breathtakingly stunning evening gowns to outrageous hats and lingerie, The Women is a veritable fashion show from start to finish.

If the fashions still elicit oohs and aahs (as well as occasional gasps of disbelief), Luce's cynical social attitudes don't anymore. What was shocking and controversial i[...]