In Lisa Loomer's surrealistic comedy, The Waiting Room, which opens Tuesday, Nov. 5 at NY's Vineyard Theatre, three women from different cultures and centuries meet in the waiting room of a doctor's office. Each lady seeks a cure for maladies endured in the name of "beauty:" an 18th century Chinese woman having her feet bound, a 19th century Victorian woman cinching her waist, a modern American woman undergoing cosmetic surgery.

Veanne Cox, June Kyoko Lu, Michele Shay and Chloe Webb star in the piece, which also features Lou Liberatore, Byron Jennings, Damian Young, James Saito and William Langan. Sets are by G.W. Mercier, lighting by Peter Kaczorowski, costumes by Gail Brassard, and sound by Darron L. West.

Lisa Loomer's plays include Birds, Bocon, Looking For Angels and Accelerando, and they've been produced at such venues as The Public Theatre and Intar in New York, as well as La Jolla and Williamstown Theatre Festival.

Veanne Cox was last seen Off-Broadway in The Food Chain and was nominated for a Tony for her work as crazy Amy in the 1995 Roundabout revival of Company. Chloe Webb was in the original cast of the Off Broadway revue, Forbidden Broadway. June Kyoko Lu played the Chinese woman in Waiting Room both at the Mark Taper Forum and Washington's Arena Stage.

The Top Girls-style play, which is directed by David Schweizer, runs at the Vineyard through Nov. 24. Since this is the first play of the Vineyard's 16th season, the theatre is offering its special season subscription ($60 for 3 productions plus all lab stagings) or a $20 Vineyard membership, which allows patrons to buy a $10 ticket to each production. For tickets ($30) and information on The Waiting Room call (212) 353-3874.

-- By David Lefkowitz