by Mike Hoban
Steel Magnolias – Written by Robert Harling. Directed by Paula Plum. Set Design by Cassie Chapados; Lighting Design by Chris Bocchiaro; Sound Design by Kyle Lampe; Costume Design by Chelsea Kerl. Presented by Hub Theatre Company of Boston at Club Café, 209 Columbus Avenue, Boston through August 3.
Following a tragedy towards the end of the play Steel Magnolias, which is set entirely in an in-home beauty salon where women come as much for the sisterly camaraderie as the hair care, Truvy Jones, the owner of the salon, remarks to her customers/friends, “Laughter through tears is my favorite emotion.”
In this highly entertaining production, now being presented by the Hub Theatre Company at Club Café in the South End, there’s plenty of laughter but a surprising dearth of tears, as director Paula Plum opts to emphasize the humor in the piece – creating a much-needed light summer offering. Plum, one of Boston’s premier comic actresses herself, has assembled a talented cast of new and seasoned talent to give the play a kind of comic makeover. I must confess that I have never seen the star-studded (Dolly Parton, Sally Field, Julia Roberts, Shirley MacLaine, Olympia Dukakis) movie version – or any previous version of the play for that matter – but my companion assured me early on in the performance that despite the non-stop one liners, that I should brace myself for a tear jerker. That never really occurs as the tragedy is given a bit of a softening, but to the untrained eye, Steel Magnolias works just fine as a comedy.
Set in the parish of Chinquapin in northwest Louisiana, Truvy’s salon is where women ostensibly come to have their hair done, but the space serves a much higher – and sometimes lower – purpose, where the women come to bond, gossip and unburden themselves in the (relative) safety of the sisterhood. When the story opens, Truvy (Catherine Lee Christie) is auditioning recent hairdressing school grad Annelle (Lauren Elias), her troubled young recruit. She has arrived just in time, as local beauty Shelby (newcomer Oye Ehikhamhen in an impressive local professional debut) is scheduled to tie the knot with Jackson, her “good ole boy” beau that afternoon, and Shelby, her mother M’Lynn (Liz Adams) and the rest of the ladies of the parish need some last minute care before the ceremony. The event also gives us a chance to speed-meet the rest of the all-female cast of characters rounded out by Clairee Belcher (June Kfoury), the well-to-do widow of the former mayor of Chinquapin, and Ouiser (pronounced ‘Weezer’ like the band) Boudreaux, the wealthy local crank played with a superb crustiness by Maureen Adduci.
The story covers a period of several years, from Shelby’s wedding, to her decision to have a baby despite the dangers posed by her medical condition, to the aforementioned tragedy. In the process, we get to watch the women grow and change, as Annelle goes from jilted new bride to overly enthusiastic Born Again to her second shot at wedded bliss; Ouiser fires up an old romance at an advanced age; and football enthusiast Clairee becomes a media mogul when she buys the local radio station. But mostly what we get is a nonstop succession of laughs, courtesy of playwright Robert Harling’s biting zingers and the comic abilities of the cast under Plum’s adroit direction.
As Truvy, Christie effectively channels her inner Dolly Parton without resorting to imitation as the spiritual leader of the group (“I have a strict policy that nobody cries alone in my presence”) and makes the most of the zingers aimed at her husband’s slovenly behavior. Adams brings her trademark high status bearing to the role of the intellectual and somewhat controlling M’Lynn in a convincing performance; Ehikhamhen is radiant as Shelby and Elias plays the clueless Annelle with an amusing befuddlement. But it is the more senior members of the cast that really steal the show. Kfoury’s cheery Clairee is a fountain of caustic one-liners aimed mostly at her nemesis/pal Ouiser (“Ouiser, you sound almost chipper. What happened today – did you run over a small child or something?”), and Aducci makes her curmudgeonly presence felt in every scene, beginning right from the get-go when she nearly explodes onstage with her first entrance.
Set designer Cassie Chapados transforms the cozy Club Cafe into a low-rent camp/chic salon, complete with posters of the 80’s hair icons Morgan Fairchild, Brittany Morgan, Linda Evans and Farah. And costume designer Chelsea Kerl really gets it right, from Clairee and M’Lynn’s stylish outfits (Adams is stunning in her mourning dress) to the trashy/uber-sexy getups worn by Truvy. If you’re worn out by the horrible news or yet another play with a heavy political message, this is a worthwhile antidote, and all tickets are Pay-What-You-Can. For more information, visit www.hubtheatreboston.org.
