by erin thursby scopes1925@msn.com
WHAT: Steel Magnolias
WHEN: May 3 - 27, 2007
WHERE: The Limelight, St. Augustine
Steel Magnolias has become a classic standby for community theatre, and for good reason. It doesn’t require a great deal as far as set changes are concerned (all of the action takes place in the beauty parlor) and the success of the play is set upon the acting skills of six women. Each of the six that are in the show at the Limelight definitely carry the show well.
Steel Magnolias was first staged as an Off-Broadway show in the late 1980s. Just a few years later it was adapted to the screen, making it even more popular for community theaters to stage. The plotline is the same in the movie as it is on the stage, but I’ve found it much more interesting to watch the relationships between the women develop on the stage.
The plot, for the unfamiliar, centers around M’lynn and her grown daughter Shelby. The action opens at Truvy Jones’ home beauty salon, where Shelby is getting her hair done for her wedding. We follow the lives of all the women over about two years, using the cathartic setting of the beauty salon to magnify the women’s relationships and lives. Despite medical problems relating to diabetes, Shelby ultimately decides to have a child, even though it puts her own life in danger. Truvy, the hairdresser, takes in Annelle as a junior hairdresser, just when Annelle’s life is on the rocks. The classy Clairee is dealing with her husband’s death and what to do afterwards. Clairee and the supremely cranky Ouiser have an unlikely friendship.
M’lynn has trouble accepting her daughter’s decision to have a child. The relationship between M’lynn and Shelby is one that most women can relate to. Mothers, no matter how old their daughters are, don’t want to let go. Andrea McCook, who portrayed M’lynn, does a beautiful job of showing the love and frustration that a mother-daughter relationship can bring. Kara Casey plays out the exasperation of Shelby as she asserts her independence at just the right pitch. Casey lets the audience know, between all her annoyance, that she loves her mother, but she wants to make her own decisions—even if they are life threatening.
The weakest part of the show had nothing to do with the acting. It was a set change that took so long that confused audience members actually thought it was intermission. I didn’t leave my seat, since the houselights never went up, but other people did. Employing the actors in the change (more than they already were) wouldn’t have worked, since they have wig changes and costume changes. The set change should have started right after the lights went down, and it would have helped if there was more than one person.
This one set change isn’t any reason to skip the show. Since it was opening night, I doubt the problem will reoccur. In the other areas of tech work, the show was excellent. The set had some great touches that added to the realism of the show, from a working hair- rinse station, to a hairdresser’s certification license stuck to the corner of the mirror.
The actresses onstage kept the audience captivated. Cues were dead on, with terrific conversational overlap and comedic timing, particularly on the part of Beth Lambert (Truvy) and JoAnna Vanderkolk (Clairee). Everyone will remember Truvy for her outrageous hair changes during the show, but she really is the glue that holds the show (and these women) together.
Annelle, the naïve assistant hairdresser, is captured well by Megan Hahne. She comes off as a smarter prototype for the Luanne character from King of the Hill. The charmingly cantankerous Ouiser is played with particular verve by Jean Rahner.
It’s a humorous show, but it will make you cry by the last scene. I’d have to say that if my mother were in town, she’d be getting tickets for Mother’s Day. Call the Limelight box office for tickets at (904) 825-1164 through the 27th.
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