At the heart of Theatre Calgary’s production of Steel Magnolias is the bond between women, how that bond is so strong, like steel but also so delicate, a push and pull. This bond, like no other, keeps the women in the performance from falling apart without confining them to something they have to be. It’s a fine balance.
Set in 1987, in Chinquabin Parish, Louisiana, the story takes place in Truvy’s Beauty Salon. Truvy (Katelyn Morishita) has hired a brand new hair artist Annelle (Allison Lynch) to help her out at the salon. Clairee, the funny one, (Patricia Darbasie) comes in and meets Annelle and is getting her hair done, as she does every Saturday morning, but the focus is on Shelby (Donnon Root) who is getting married today. She and her mother M’Lynn (Normal Lewis) come in and argue and discuss the wedding arrangements while the beauty shop occasionally rattles from gunshots going off. Shelby’s father is shooting the birds in the trees to make sure that the wedding ceremony is bird poop free. It agitates Ouiser (Laura Parken) and her dog, who is the cranky one of the group. The women discuss the wedding and Shelby’s fiance, and it is revealed that Shelby is a diabetic and has a bit of a fainting incident in the salon.
The play is a telling of the unfolding of the lives of the ladies and their narrative arcs over the course of three years on Saturday mornings, in four different scenes. The next scene is centered around Christmas and things have changed for the clients of Truvy’s Salon. Clairee is starting to come into her own and make decisions in her life that lead her to a new hobby. Annelle has found the church and cleared up the confusion around her marriage while Shelby is growing into married life, and has big news to share.
When hardship and tragedy strike mother and daughter in the last two scenes, the ladies come together and also give space for grief to breathe. The dynamic between the friends is strong and provides a safe place for everyone to land. Steel Magnolias is a nuanced look at the dynamics of friendship that evolves through happiness and sorrow.
The play is full of a talented cast with Lewis’ M’Lynn taking on a lot of the serious drama and conflict with Root’s Shelby. M’Lynn has a grief breakdown and Lewis’ performance is poignant and rings with truth and pain. Parken as Ouiser and Darbasie as Clairee hold much of the responsibility for humour in the play and they both handle it so well. Truvy says that laughter through tears is my favourite emotion and these two artists make the audience feel deep sorrow followed by full on laughter. It is a hard thing to do. Lynch’s Annelle and Morishita’s Truvy carry the narrative on their shoulders and show the strength it takes to support our friends.
Set design by Beth Kates is full of details, from the greenery hanging from the ceiling to the Christmas decorations that adorn every part of the salon on stage. Kates’ projection design depicts the scenery in the background and is a beautiful starry night during scene changes. Lynch also composed and designed the sound for the play and captured the tension and fun in the play.
There is a line in the play that says, we are all entitled to our sorrow. In the case of the ladies of Steel Magnolias, we are also entitled to our happiness, our laughter, our anger. The audience goes through it all with the characters on stage, guided by the strong hand of director Valerie Planche. Under Planche’s guidance, she won’t leave you astray.
Theatre Calgary’s Steel Magnolias runs until April 3rd. More information is available online.
Photo Credit: (l to r) Allison Lynch, Norma Lewis, Patricia Darbasie, Katelyn Morishita, Donnon Root in Steel Magnolias. Photo by Trudie Lee.