In Lawrence Community Theatre’s “The Cover of Life,” three young women in rural Mississippi – Tood, Weetsie and Sybil – have married the three Cliffert brothers, who promptly enlisted in the World War II military.

For mutual support and economy, the women have moved in with their mother-in-law, Aunt Ola. They are (as one says) “colorful,” and are generally good people, but each has her problems to deal with.

But the men in their lives – only one of whom appears on stage – are generally no darn good. We learn that the men are mostly interested in war, drinking, other women and owning a bait and tackle shop. Meanwhile, the women are trying to deal with Southern male domination in their own ways. These include the strategies of accepting the status quo, rebelling against it and planning to move away from it.

Onto the scene from New York comes Kate, a reporter/photographer for Life magazine, with the assignment of a feature story that puts the Cliffert wives on the cover of Life. She becomes a catalyst whose presence changes the family dynamics, and who becomes changed herself as she is drawn into their lives.

LCT newcomer Amber Dickinson is a perfect ingenue as Tood, the youngest Cliffert wife and the one who grows closest to Kate. In Dickinson’s portrayal we can feel Tood’s naivete, her energy and intelligence, and her willingness to question established ways.

Sybil, the most troubled of the Cliffert wives, is played with touching false bravado by Sarah May Shaffer. Sybil tries to deal with the conditions of Mississippi love and marriage by denial and alcohol, and leaves the audience with the uneasy feeling that things may end badly.

Weetsie – earnest, plain, and utterly conventional – seems slow, but her second-act summary of successful Southern marriage shows she thinks things through. Laura Rose Clawson plays her with a well-tuned, anxious-to-please demeanor that blossoms into deadly spite when challenged by Sybil.

LCT perennial Peggy Sampson plays the pivotal role of Kate, easily coming off as worldly as the Mississippi group are provincial. She smoothly manages the character’s gradual transition from New York cynicism to vulnerable humanity, and her quiet scenes with Tood are among the play’s most affecting.

Life magazine’s interest in the Clifferts is prompted by a newspaper story written by local journalist Addie Mae. She’s played by Mary Sean Ratzloff as a fine mix of busybody, attention-seeker and classic syrupy Southern belle, all magnolias-and-honeysuckle, grits-and-pecan pie.

Darcy Schild, in her 33rd LCT role, is convincing as Aunt Ola, who is resigned to the limits of her place as a Southern wife and mother, but is clear-eyed about them. Schild credibly projects the character with neither illusions nor bitterness.

The play’s sole man, Tood’s new husband, Tommy, is played by Jason Gibson. Tommy is the best hope for a sympathetic male who genuinely loves his wife. Gibson makes his reunion with Tood in the final scene a telling measure of that hope.

Directed by Piet Knetsch, it’s filled with tension between the young wives, between them and their husbands, and between the drama’s “man’s world” and “woman’s place.” It’s not a comfortable play, but its characters will draw you in.