The Milan News-Leader
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
'Steel Magnolias' shines
PUBLISHED: November 27, 2008
With the production of "Steel Magnolias," which wrapped up its run last Friday and Saturday at the Performing Arts Center, the Milan High School drama club has once again flexed its stagecraft muscles, rising to the high standards set by its previous shows.
Advertisement
In the past several years, the club has demonstrated, in musicals such as "The Wizard of Oz," "Grease" and "The Sound of Music," an impressive depth of technical talent, and that same level of talent is seen in the stage and lighting design for "Steel Magnolias."
The dedicated stage and technical crews comprised of students and parents recreate in remarkable detail a beauty salon in Chiquapin Parish, La., in which the lives of six friends intersect.
The set decoration doesn't scrimp on a single detail and utilizes the entire stage. It's an impressive achievement for a high school production and reveals a drama program that is consistently stretching and challenging the capabilities of the students.
In turning to the six women who make up the cast of "Steel Magnolias," this review will regrettably be unfair. Director Lisa Goerlitz made the intriguing decision to create two casts, performing in alternate shows, and I could only make opening night, which deprived me of seeing the performance of the second cast, which I would have enjoyed for the sake of appreciating the contrasts and differing character interpretations.
Robert Harling's "Steel Magnolias," which made its Broadway debut in 2005, covers a two-year time period in the lives of six women in the small town of Chinquapin, La. Truvy's beauty shop is the center of the action. It's not only where these women meet to have their hair done, but where they socialize, share their lives and forge lifelong friendships.
Truvy (Lauren Kartje) hires a new assistant named Annelle (Genevieve Harwood) on the morning of a busy Saturday. Truvy and Annelle perform a day of beauty for a couple of their regular customers: Clairee (Anne Borema), the stylish widow of the late mayor; Ouiser (Amanda Burch), the town's resident grouch; as well as M'Lynn (Ashley Chudzinski) and her vivacious, strong-willed daughter, Shelby (Amanda Williams), whose wedding is that afternoon.
The women learn Shelby's doctor has informed her that she should not have children due to a severe diabetic condition.
Seven months after being married, Shelby becomes pregnant and, despite serious risks to her health and the protestations of her over-protective mother, she is determined to have the child. Shelby gives birth to a healthy baby boy, but pregnancy damages her kidneys and she needs a transplant. Though M'Lynn donates one of her kidneys to her daughter, the transplant fails, and Shelby passes away.
This is an ambitious play for high school students, and not just because the characters all speak with southern accents. The themes of friendship, loss and mother-daughter relationships are profound, and Harling's treatment of them is often subtle. Some of that subtlety is lost on occasion as are the southern accents, but the young cast is faithful to the script and one another.
As Truvy, Kartje is endearing. Williams captures Shelby's innocence and Harwood nicely plays the quiet, shy Annelle. Borema pulls off Clairee's sophisticated air and Chudzinski is both stoic and acerbic as Shelby's mother, M'Lynn. Burch shines as the cantankerous and ornery Ouiser, enthusing the stage with her electric energy.
In the second cast, Burch takes on the role of Truvy, which I would have loved to have seen. Jenna Rieberger portrays Ouiser; Katie Bean is M'Lynn; Liz Wysocki is Clairee; and Kalsia Reiley is Annelle. Williams stays on as Shelby.
Brian Cox is a freelance writer. He can be reached at bcox1001@gmail.com.
Not all stories are guaranteed to appear
online. The Web edition contains a reasonable
sampling of the print edition stories.
For the most complete news coverage, we invite you to
subscribe
to the print edition of the paper.
Expanded
Web
Coverage
Staff Blog, "Inside The Newsroom"
TOP JOBS
