Steel Magnolias isn’t your usual holiday play. But as Stray Dog Theatre’s artistic director said opening night about the play he directed, “It’s about closeness, it’s about celebration, it’s about family, both blood and chosen. And isn’t that what the holidays are, really?” He’s right, of course. And why shouldn’t a play set in Chinquapin, Louisiana, have as much to say about Christmas as one set in Dickensian London or a snowy Manhattan? The intimacy of a small town lends itself even more to storytelling.
When I was growing up, I knew a couple of places like Truvy’s beauty shop, the setting for the play. Women really do tell stories there, and say things they might not in a more formal setting. In a world where Mrs A always has the 3.30 appointment on Friday afternoon, Mrs. B. has the 4 o’clock that same day, and Miss C. has the 4.30 (and is usually early), even if they don’t have kids on the same Little League team or go to the same church, they’ll know each other soon enough. There you are, an ongoing novel in chapters.
Sarah Gene Dowling makes her SDT debut as Truvy, the beautician who firmly pronounces, “There is no such thing as natural beauty.” Dowling makes us understand Truvy really doesn’t quite believe this, but loves her job and what it entails. Another debut performance comes from Alison Linderer as Annelle, the rookie stylist who Truvy is hiring in the first scene. She’s eager and gawky and apprehensive; Linderer takes her from that to self-assured but still understanding she’s the shop’s second banana through the performance, and it’s fun to watch her evolve.
Eileen Engel and Jenni Ryan are the daughter and mother pair, Shelby and M’Lynn, two of the customers. Engel’s Shelby is the sugar-and-spice kid, the sort who’s too sweet for even the most cynical (of whom more in a moment) to loathe, probably a Tri Delt at LSU, charming but impermeable in her optimism. Despite that, Engel shows us her polite but determined resistance to her mother’s preferences. Ryan’s M’Lynn, a mental health professional who’s married to a guy who shoots off guns to scare birds away before his daughter’s outdoor wedding reception, is almost implacable, one of those quietly iron-spined women who persevere in the face of almost everything. It’s a strong performance from her.
A particular note of thanks to author Robert Harling who doesn’t relegate his older female characters to raising their eyebrows and saying, “Dear me!” The two elder stateswomen of Truvy’s coterie are Clairee, played by Liz Mischell and Ouiser, Andra Harkins. (Surely that spelling is to avoid the phonetic Wheezer – there was some mental dialogue over that decision, I’ll bet.) Clairee is a football fanatic and the dowager mayoress – which is to say her late husband was the town mayor for quite a spell – who’s slightly at loose ends when we meet her. Mischell has a good time playing Clairee finding her groove. Andra Harkins’ Ouiser is wonderfully irascible, taking no prisoners in a setting where she can let fly. The worst thing anyone will say about her is, “Oh, that’s just Ouiser.” In a more formal environment, she could be Violet in Downton Abbey, and Harkins is delightful in the role.
Gary Bell directed the production, whose rhythm is near-perfect. The beauty shop setting, from scenic designer Josh Smith, is wonderful – those posters of 1980’s hair styles are a delight. Bell and Engel, both in dual roles for the production, did the costumes, including Ouiser’s Bohemian-style outfits, particularly outstanding.
A warm, well-done evening (or afternoon) of theatre with much laughter and humanity.
Steel Magnolias
through December 16
Stray Dog Theatre
Tower Grove Abbey
2336 Tennessee
314-865-1005