Robert Harling's acclaimed first play, Steel Magnolias, is a character study stating that Southern women are soft, gabby, catty, and fashion-conscious, but according to Mr. Harling, at their core, they are the bedrock that supports Southern society. Through the interwoven lives of the six women coming to Truvy's to have their hair coiffed, Harling explores the balance of humor and heartbreak that runs through their lives. Steel Magnolias began as a short story written by Harling about his diabetic sister, who, like the character Shelby in the play, was an inspiration and a spiritual focal point in his life. Steel Magnolias could easily have been a sudsy soaper or a campy bitch-fest, but the script avoids both extremes by sympathetically portraying both the strengths and faults of his characters. One of my colleagues called this "a weaker woman's piece," and while I may agree with her, there's no denying that sassy Truvy, spunky Shelby, and her patient mother M'Lynn have become popular figures since the June, 1987 Broadway premiere, and the subsequent all-star 1989 movie.
Set in a makeshift hair salon in a converted garage, blowzy Truvy and her new charge, the enigmatic and simple Annelle host an impromptu coffee-klatch that includes former-Mayor's wife Clairee and crotchety old heiress Ouiser as well as the soon-to-be-wed Shelby and her mother, M'Lynn. Over the course of two years, through weddings, births, and funerals, the women snap at and support each other with a banter that is best described as "Lousianna-speak."
Helmed by comedic great Bob Sorensen, one would expect amazing things from a Phoenix Theatre production of this hit script. Unfortunately, a few unimpressive performances and the design concept work against the production. While it still has its humor, and can wring tears from all of its audience, there's room for improvement. Mr. Sorensen has done a good job in establishing timing, although there are problems with pacing. The pacing is not of the rhythmic sort, but of the blocking type; in an attempt to keep the stage pictures perky, these ladies are spending quite a bit of their time out of the chair running up and down the awkward and ill-advised center stage stairs. He has also questionably cast two of the roles.
In the important part of M'Lynn, Linda DeArmond is unbeatable. While this is a can't-miss role, Ms. DeArmond is on top of her impressive game. She is so natural, and works so well with the others, she is M'Lynn. As her daughter, Shelby, Katherine Stewart is quite believable as Ms. DeArmond's daughter. She takes this often hopelessly heroic character, and imbues her with some actual humanity. Trish Kiser does a great job with the ditzy Annelle. While sometimes she skates on the edge of caricature-ish dizzy blonde, she dispels any of these thoughts with her great second act speech. Carolyn Pain's standoffish Ouiser is well-played and enjoyable.
The ordinarily great Patty Davis-Suarez is just too young to pull off the sixty-plus character of Clairee. She does what she can, and her interplay is brilliantly handled, but she certainly doesn't seem like someone who should be collecting social security. In the role of Truvy, Heidi Ewart plays as broadly as her character calls for, but doesn't seem connected with her part, and with those around her.
Design-wise, the show is not up to Phoenix Theatre's usual high standards. Thom Gilseth's set is just wrong. Besides the sub-par scenic painting, how does a converted garage rate a steep staircase in the middle of the room? While it's advisable to create different playing areas, the stairs that he has chosen look more like Ziegfeld stairs, and the women in the high heels of Constance Furr-Solomon's otherwise on-target costumes appeared very uncomfortable repeatedly going up and down them. While Michael J. Eddy's lighting design is solid, James Scoggins' sound design is filled with amazingly inappropriate music choices, with songs that sound more like a mid-80s hit parade CD than the type of music one would expect to be played in northern Louisiana at this time.
The Saturday night audience was into the show, laughing loudly and crying openly at the appropriate times. The production definitely works, but one has to wonder how much better it would be if all of the elements had been at the same level.
Production Details:
Steel Magnolias by Robert
Harling
Phoenix Theatre, Phoenix (For
a map to location, click this
link)
(602) 254-2151
February 9th - 25th, 2001