“Going to See the Elephant” Spokane Civic Theatre’s Firth Chew Studio Theatre, Friday, March 7

Lord, spare us from plays written by committee.

“Going to See the Elephant” is a particularly unsuccessful example of the genre. I found no fault with the Studio Theatre’s production, nor did I see any problem with the acting, which was strong throughout. But the script repeatedly made me cringe.

This pioneer-woman saga was written by six different authors, four of whom were actresses in the original L.A. production in 1982. No wonder it sounds as if they made it up as they went along.

First of all, the dialogue swings wildly from such hayseed-isms as, “I guess I’ll take a looksee at that cow,” to pure 1980s California-speak.

One of the climactic speeches of the entire play builds to this line: “I’ll say this to you and then I’ll say no more. Embrace your fear.”

Embrace your fear? Is that something that an 1870s pioneer woman named “Maw” would say? Or is it something that a 1980s California actress would think is deep?

Beyond that, the dialogue is full of lazy cliches: “He worked like a man possessed,” “She was gentle as a lamb,” “The prairie was, like they say, a sea of grass.”

The authors even use the line “Better to keep your mouth shut and be thought a fool than to open it and remove all doubt,” which I believe was an Abe Lincoln line.

The plot is basically non-existent. Four pioneer women are alone on their farm, waiting for the menfolk to come home and ruminating on their past and future. Most of the play is devoted to letting each actress work up to a big speech. Only one of them, young Etta (played well by Belinda Geren), has anything remotely resembling a true revelation (she was kidnapped by the Cheyenne as a young girl).

All of these things might have been overcome, especially with such a strong and talented cast, if it hadn’t been for this: The key dramatic conflict is too contrived to take seriously.

Will Mrs. Nichols be allowed to put her sick husband in a wagon and drive him to Abilene for doctorin’? Or will Maw persuade her to stay until he’s well enough to travel?

I found it impossible to get worked up over this question, for two reasons. First, from a logical standpoint, it didn’t seem to make any difference. Would the guy be better off festering away in a sod hut in the middle of a nowhere, or in a bouncy wagon on the way to Abilene? Second, we never even see Mr. Nichols. We hear his weak voice once or twice, but he’s behind sod walls for the entire play. Why should we care what happens to him?

All in all, I’d rather see another version of “Quilters.”

Now that I’ve got that out of my system, I should say that the director, Marianne McLaughlin, and the quartet of actresses get more out of this material than I would have thought possible. Jean Hardie is once again stunning and dominating as Maw. Kashana Cox does a strong and convincing job as the young mother, Sara. Belinda Geren is a delight (and gets plenty of laughs) as the simple and sweet Etta Bailey. Deborah Anderson-Phillips is suitably austere as Mrs. Nichols.

But I have trouble believing that anyone could breathe much life into this set-piece. The only reason I can think of for choosing this play in the first place is that it has four major female roles. That’s something, I suppose, but not enough.

, DataTimes MEMO: “Going to See the Elephant” continues Thursday through Saturday and March 20-23 and 27-29. All shows are at 8 p.m., except the March 23 Sunday matinee at 2 p.m. All seats are $8, available by calling 325-2507. The Firth Chew Studio Theatre is in the basement of the Spokane Civic Theatre, 1020 N. Howard.