Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, September 17, 1994 TAG: 9410240009
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 12 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: KAREN DAVIS SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES & WORLD-NEWS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Set in a beauty salon, where women concentrate on such seemingly frivolous affairs as styling hair and coloring nails, the play examines the deeper issues that bond women in life-long friendships.
Robert Harling wrote the two-act play as part of the grief process after the death of his sister, said director Denis Deane. The script was made into a movie in 1989 that starred Sally Field and Dolly Parton.
Unlike the movie, the play has no men in the cast and only one set, Truvy Jones' beauty shop. The set is beautifully designed by Gene Galvin, who overlooked no details in props. Only minor set changes occur between scenes to denote the passage of time.
The action takes place during the 1980s in Chinquapin, Louisiana, and covers a period of a couple of years or so. Taped songs of the era provide the beauty shop's background radio music.
Beth E. Moody is Parton's counterpart as beautician and salon-owner, Truvy Jones. Moody plays her character a bit more subdued than Parton. Barbara Johnson is Field's counterpart as M'Lynn Eatenton, mother of the bride. Her character is iron-willed yet vulnerable. The bride is Shelby, played by Sonya McMillion, who aptly conveys her character's insatiable zest for life.
Act I Scene I centers on preparations for Shelby's wedding, but the audience does not see the actual ceremony. Instead, as Shelby gets her wedding hairdo, the audience watches her drift into insulin shock and learns of her deadly battle with diabetes. The events that progress from this key scene illustrate the bonds that draw these women together and give them strength in unity.
Completing the six-member cast are Jenefer Davies as Annelle Dupuy-Desoto, the lost waif who finds God and religion; Beth Ramos as Clairee Belcher, the lonely widow who finds her independence; and Dorothy Johnston, the crotchety old coot who finds love at last. All three are marvelously funny and likable in their roles.
Although the play's strength is in its fine writing, its presentation demands a closely-knit, well-balanced ensemble cast, which Deane and his assistant director, Ellen Simpson, achieve in this production.
``Steel Magnolias'' continues through Sept. 25 at Showtimers' McVitty Road Studio Theatre. Tickets are $8. Performances start at 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and 3 p.m. on Sunday. 774-2660
by CNB