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6-member cast delivers likable performances in Coach House drama
By Elaine Guregian
Beacon Journal arts and culture critic
Published on Sunday, Oct 05, 2008
Y'all can relax about the Southern accents at Coach House Theatre's new production of Steel Magnolias, which opened Friday night.
The play is set in Chinquapin, La., which to us Northerners might seem to call for thick drawls. But director Nancy Cates and her excellent cast of six women have avoided the gumbo that can ensue from uncertain tries at regional accents. These actresses go light on the accents, taking the emphasis off the locale and onto the characters.
Robert Harling wrote in a note preceding his play, ''The women in this play are witty, intelligent and above all, real characters. They in no way, shape or form are meant to be portrayed as cartoons or caricatures.'' Actresses and audience alike owe him, and Cates, too, for short-circuiting stereotypes in this light but affecting drama.
The coherent, likable performances made a promising opening night for Coach House and a strong beginning to a new season of community theater under its two new artistic directors, Cates and Terry Burgler.
The women of Chinquapin meet at Truvy's Hair Salon to trade zingers and offer each other comfort. Set designer Bob Schaefer has extended the usual back wall to make use of every possible inch of the small stage. Revamped lighting equipment and an unobtrusive, effective lighting design by John Estep helped create a clean look.
Linda Graske is the wise salon owner, Truvy, who takes in the naive Annelle (Beth Judy) as a new worker. Frequent customer Clairee, played with a brisk, self-deprecating humor by Karen L. Wood, is the widow of the former mayor. Another regular is M'Lynn, played by Dede Klein. M'Lynn's daughter, Shelby is a young bride and a diabetic whose overriding urge to become a mother proves to be a dangerous thing.
A young Julia Roberts played Shelby in the 1989 movie made from the play, which opened in 1987. Tess Burgler brought radiant self-possession and understatement to the role of Shelby. She delivered the line ''I would rather have thirty minutes of wonderful than a whole lifetime of nothing special'' almost offhandedly, instead of milking it, ''chick flick'' style.
Likewise, Maureen Johnson's performance as the crotchety character Ouiser (pronounced ''Weezer'') was winning on its own terms, not as an imitation of Shirley MacLaine's movie role. Johnson delivered her funniest lines like a tennis player serving winners.
The costumes and the dialogue bring back the '80s. When Ouiser talks about having her colors done, it's a flashback to the fad of going to consultants to discover whether we were a winter, summer, fall or spring — and all the makeup and clothing purchases attendant to the enlightenment. Jonathan Fletcher's costumes were true to late '80s details, like high-waisted pants and tunic-length sweaters.
Ribbing each other, or consoling each other, members of the cast warmed to their roles as the evening progressed, so that the terrible news that seeped out in the second scene of the second act felt convincingly bad.
Klein (Shelby's mother) often plays characters who are emotionally reined in. Here, she also communicated the despair behind her stoic front.
Cates will next direct the Ohio Shakespeare Festival's performance of Barrymore's Ghost, Oct. 31-Nov. 2 at Coach House. Artistic director Terry Burgler's first directing assignment of the season is Light Up the Sky, Dec. 4-21.
Details
Play: Steel Magnolias
When: 2:30 p.m. Sundays; 8 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, through Oct. 19
Where: Coach House Theatre, 732 W. Exchange St., Akron
Tickets: $16 adults; $8 students
Information: 330-434-7741
Elaine Guregian can be reached at 330-996-3574 or eguregian@thebeaconjournal.com.
Y'all can relax about the Southern accents at Coach House Theatre's new production of Steel Magnolias, which opened Friday night.
Get the full article here.
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