Playwright and Director James Sherman tills well ploughed though still very fertile soil with his latest play, Door to Door. The script centers on the relationships of three generations of women as they struggle to establish themselves and their families over several decades in Chicago. The old chestnuts of how the apple doesn't fall far from the tree and that the women of one generation take after their grandmothers are given more profound depth in Sherman's character study. Not only do we get Jewish mother's guilt aplenty in this wryly self-deprecating dramatic comedy, but we also see completely justifiable reasons as to why each mother pushes their daughter to achieve more than they were able. From a woman's flight from the plundering Cossacks of the Russian steppes to the modern struggle of a woman trying to balance work and home lives, Sherman develops three sympathetic women who inadvertently continue their traditions and are molded into basically individual, though similar wives and mothers. This production, mounted as the first west of the Mississippi by Arizona Jewish Theatre Company, is endearing and professionally handled by director, designers and three talented actresses.

Ordinarily, allowing the playwright to be director can stunt the process, but Sherman does not fall into the traps of such an attempt. Except for some problems early on as actresses play at rather than are youthful, there is serious shading and a sense that these performers were allowed to bring their own to the table. Rather than treating his script as precious, Sherman seems to have done the difficult task of keeping the playwright away from the director during the rehearsal process, allowing the text to guide rather than dominate the exploration. The result is a confident cast and a natural feel to the piece.

The script does have a few rough patches. Those not familiar with Chicago may feel lost as the place names accumulate, and the location becomes an important fourth character. Some of the lines that set era are clunky, but at least the audience can tell where in the past they have landed for each scene. These things aside, the dialogue between grandmother, mother and daughter is never forced, and that's more important than anything else in such a character study.

In a three-person play, chemistry is crucial. Delores Goldsmith as grandmother Bessie, Cathy Dresbach as mother Mary and Angelica Frost as daughter Deborah are completely in synch. They generally age gracefully, and handle the shorthand of mother/daughter relationships with ease. Dresbach is the pivot of the show, the daughter of a brave woman and the mother of an equally brave woman. She is the glue that holds together the generations, thwarted in her attempt to become more than a wife and mother by the demands of her times, defining herself by those for whom she is the support. In that way, Dresbach captures this characters longings and regrets. Goldsmith expertly handles her dialect, and her extensive aging is impressively rendered. Frost is weakest in her presentation of growth, though she captures her character's compassion and fears wonderfully.

Mike Brooks' scenic design is initially jarring, a wall of black scrim and three doors, though when combined with Michael Eddy's subtle lighting, the effect is perfect in keeping with the transience of these women's lives. Julie Cotton's costumes are necessarily fluid, as people must change years in a moment, and her accessorizing keeps us aware of time. Bill Osborne's sound design is strong and successful.

The drama of this script is in its subtlety and quiet struggles. Each crisis is devastating, but never histrionic. The triumphs are of an empathetic nature. In this way, the audience bonds with and learns from Sherman's strong women.