The gulf between "The Maids," Jean Genet's 1947 political psychodrama, and "The Help," Kathryn Stockett's popular 2009 novel that turned into a hit movie, probably says something about the difference between French and American cultures.

Wouldn't both writers be surprised to think there was any connection at all?

But there is, one that goes beyond the similar titles. Both stories revel in the "discovery" that rich people can be so stupid, they take for granted the esteem their servants seem to hold them in. They don't guess at the depths of loathing a respectful expression can hide.

Both writers also confine themselves to relationships between female employers and female domestic workers. These take place in an intimate setting, breaking the ordinary rules of privacy.

Stockett goes in for melodrama, telling her story through exaggerated characters who engage us through their excesses (of drink, of wit, of thoughtfulness, of ugly racist evil). It's a soap opera, complete with villains to boo at and heroines to root for. They may not be believable, but they're appealing.

Genet, on the other hand, sculpts his characters out of political philosophy. The production of "The Maids" that just opened at Upstream, in a Martin Crimp translation directed by Wieslaw Gorski, makes it impossible to pick anyone to sympathize with. These characters aren't human enough for that.

The mistress (Elizabeth Ann Townsend), a cartoon of one-percenter shortsightedness, is so engrossed in her romantic problems that she fails to notice how the sisters who work for her live. (Her lover is a thief, Genet's shorthand for capitalist.)

When the mistress is out, self-destructive Claire (Brooke Edwards) and rebellious Solange (Emily Baker) play elaborate dress-up games in her posh boudoir (designed by Jason Coale) as they fantasize about her death. This cannot end well.

The performers turn in meticulous work, but it doesn't add up to much more than a glimpse of political thought in mid-century Paris. Who goes to the theater for that? We go to discover other lives, but "The Maids" settles for theoretical silhouettes.

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'The Maids'

Who Upstream Theater • When Through March 4 • Where Kranzberg Arts Center, 501 North Grand Boulevard • How much $25; $20 for older adults, $15 for students • More info 314-863-4999; upstreamtheater.org