These bearded ladies live on the fringe things, where nothing is quite as it seems. Their beards are invisible, but the women -- and men -- in these highly acclaimed black comedies are just as out of step and out of place as if they were in a side show.

Thirteen stories deal with a lone traveler, a brief affair, an elderly spinster, a betrayed wife, a favorite aunt, a reunion of former roommates, and a woman's first meeting with her potential mother-in-law