Steel Magnolias

Steel Magnolias is a look into the lives of six ladies in Chinquapin, Louisiana, who regularly meet at Truvy’s beauty salon and how they support each other through the joys and challenges of their lives. First performed in 1987, the play was based on the experiences of the writer Robert Harling who lost his own sister due to complications of Type1 diabetes, and as a play which only has women in the cast he has shown a great insight into the way that conversations run and friendships develop. The play was also made into a successful film in 1989 starring Dolly Parton, Julia Roberts, and Shirley MacLaine.

We were transported to “Truvy’s” salon with a fixed set full of the details you would expect to find in a fully functioning salon, there was even running water for the hair washing. Congratulations to Pete Wright for the set design and build, and to the cast for dressing it to look very authentic – the flamingo wallpaper was a great choice. The audience looked at the ladies through the salon “mirrors” and the actors peered back talking to their supposed reflections. The lighting complimented the set and the subtle changes to interpret mood were good.

Each woman in the cast is a strong character and with so much dialogue the performance is about each performer’s interpretation and ability. There were some very funny one liner, who could not fail to smile at Ouisa’s “I’m not crazy, I’ve just been in a bad mood for forty years,” but amongst the humour there are tears and glimpses of the deep friendship that ties them together.

At the heart of the story were career woman M’Lynn played by Annette Morris and Shelby, her daughter, and the prettiest girl in town, played by Alicia Cook, there was a lovely warmth between them. Annette gave a super portrayal of the concerned mother whose worries about a wedding are quickly overshadowed by the concerns of her daughter’s health, her monologue about Shelby’s death was very moving and well delivered. Alicia was so natural as Shelby, a lovely, believable performance, great accent, and delivery and the first time she has taken on a role of this size - well done Alicia, so proud of you! As the witty and wise Truvy, Pauline Wright was excellent, I really enjoyed her strength of character, her natural accent and the care for the other ladies was tangible, that together with actually setting hair made her character credible. Sarah Hutchinson portrayed the newbie in town Annelle, she gave a sweetness to this shy God loving character with a past, I think this is one of the hardest characters to play as she a bit of an outsider to the others to begin with but Sarah did a great job showing Annelle’s growth in confidence. The characters are well balanced with the addition of the wealthy former first lady Clairee (Jan Forster) and local killjoy Oiuser (Susan Haswell), these two characters had some of the funniest lines in the show. Jan’s characterisation was spot on and her timing of the “hit this” line just perfect, the role really suited her, and she did a great job. As Ouiser Susan gave such an authentic performance, her accent, timing, and delivery were so good that you could be led to believe this was her real personality which it definitely is not. The combination of this cast worked well, working so close together you can tell there was a camaraderie. I am proud to say I have worked with them all previously and watching them was a delight.

Well done, Lee, great job by you and your team, I think this is the best play I have seen this group perform and I hope that it can continue to grow.

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