If "Steel Magnolias" had been written and produced in 1994 instead of the mid-'80s, it might have inspired a best-selling book of "Ouiserisms" - like the recently hot "Gumpisms."
But if it had been just newly written, we would've had to wait another five or six years to see the Hale Center Theater version.And, yes, it would have been well worth the wait.
At the risk if sounding sexist, there are probably quite a few men out there thinking "Oh, no! Another `women only' play!" - especially coming hot on the heels of "Jane Eyre: The Musical."
But guys will find "Steel Magnolias" to be a fascinating, maybe even slightly voyeuristic peek at what goes on behind the closed doors of a typical beauty salon.
While the 1989 film version was a big hit (with a screenplay by the playwright himself), the original stage version is much more intimate and, I believe, more emotionally rich.
Ron Jewett, assisted by Annette Nashea, has directed not one but two casts for this Hale Center Theater production. (As a critic, I am constantly frustrated by the handful of local theaters that "double-cast" their plays. If I see both casts, then I'm faced with making comparisons. So, to play it safe, I just flip a coin and see one or the other.)
The cast I caught this past weekend was particularly strong, with Mary Parker Williams as Annelle Dupuy, a nervous newcomer to the little Southern town of Chinquapin, La., who takes a job in Truvy Jones' (Jackie Forrest) beauty parlor.
Truvy's credo is: "There's no such thing as `natural beauty' - and don't scrimp on the hair spray."
I hope Truvy's cans of hair spray are environmentally correct. If not, she could be held accountable for a massive Ozone Disaster.
In this setting, on four separate Saturday mornings during a span of more than 21/2 years, four of Truvy's "regulars" weave in and out of each others' lives, touched by everything from the joy of a wedding day and a variety of day-to-day problems to heart-wrenching tragedy.
Of the six actresses in the weekend cast, Williams is the one who has the longest stretch. As Annelle, she starts out as a somewhat mousy novice ("I was number one in trade school in frostin' 'n' streakin,' " she informs Truvy, when she first applies for a job at the salon.) During the rest of the play, Annelle's confidence and demeanor grow by leaps and bounds.
Sharon Lynn Kenison and Elizabeth Whitney are superb, too, as iron-willed M'Lynn Eatenton and her headstrong daughter, bride-to-be Shelby.
Sally Hale Swenson is also terrific as Clairee Belcher, until just recently the "first lady" of Chinquapin - and the merriest of widows.
But the real scene-stealer is Annette Nashea as the curmudgeonly acerbic Ouiser Boudreaux. This outrageous character has all the best lines.
Nashea is no slouch as a grouch.
She blows in early in the show, mad-as-all-get-out because M'Lynn's husband is shooting away with his rifle, attempting to scare the birds away from that afternoon's wedding reception. The noise has frightened her dog and left her with a naked magnolia tree.
During the course of the show, she comes up with such Ouiserisms as:
- "Just when you think things can't get any worse . . . they can."
- Her idea of Christmas decorations: "Keep off the grass" signs . . . with holly.
- "I am not crazy! I have just been in a bad mood for four years!"
- "I'm not sure I can be gracious under pressure."
- "She's so dumb, she thinks Sherlock Holmes is a subdivision."
- "I don't go to plays because I can nap at home for free. And I don't read books, 'cause if they're any good, they'll turn 'em into a mini-series."
- "A dirty mind is a terrible thing to waste."
Those are just a few .
The six women in Harling's partially autobiographical play are the "Steel Magnolias" - bolstering each other up in the bad times, laughing with (and at) each other during the frivolous moments.
The scenery - credited to Mark Dietlein, Bob Swenson and Phillip Behling - puts the audience right inside Truvy Jones' beauty parlor, complete with working sinks (I'd be worried if I sat in the front row on the south side) and a black-and-white tiled floor.
The light and sound (Andrew Nielsen) and the hair designs (David Nance) are right on target, too.