It's ladies' night at Second Stage Theatre, where the new musical "Vanities" just opened. Based on a 1975 play that ran four years off-Broadway and featured a young Kathy Bates, this version proves that sometimes tunes add nothing to a decent story. Just like a naturally pretty woman who cakes on too much makeup, "Vanities" gilds the lily.

The small-town Texas heroines are boy-crazy Mary, played by Lauren Kennedy, mousy nice-girl Joanne, played by Sarah Stiles, and the control-freaky, soul-searching Kathy, played by Anneliese van der Pol. These three characters first come across as stereotypical all-American gals, but soon the turbulent 1960s and 1970s lead them down complex, difficult paths.

You could say playwright Jack Heifner broke new ground in the mid-1970s when he wrote this sympathetic, seriocomic portrait of cheerleaders who grow up and grow apart. Second-wave feminism was sweeping the nation 30 years ago, and Heifner clearly struck a chord, judging by the longevity of the work.

However, "Vanities" the musical isn't nearly as daring today. Instead, the derivative score and trite lyrics, both by David Kirshenbaum, stop the action in its tracks, as we wait for the book scenes to resume. Kirshenbaum's score stays mostly in the pop idiom of the period - bubbly girl groups from the 1960s, a dash of folk rock and Burt Bacharach, the showtune ballads - but none of it really sticks in your head, unless you count the actual hit songs they sound based on.

The play itself isn't great drama, but it's an efficient and emotionally involving vehicle for three actresses to span teenage years to bittersweet middle age. Judith Ivey's fluid direction helps gloss over the material's weakness, and her charming performers give it their all.

While I wouldn't recommend "Vanities" in general, the cast is charming and it's a relatively fast 90 minutes. Take your mother or grandmother. It's disappointing, but not an effort completely in vain.