By John Quinn

Posted: Jan. 26, 2015 at 3:30 p.m.

There are plays that get produced over and over – fortunately, those tend to be the best of the best. The critic, therefore, will be reviewing the same show many times in his or her career. It’s not a bore. It’s like dropping in on an old friend from time to time; reliving old memories, learning what’s new. And when an excellent company revives an excellent show, there’s ALWAYS something new.

We come, then, to the happy congruence of The Purple Rose Theatre Company and “Steel Magnolias,” a play that touches so close to the heart of the human condition that it enjoys universal appeal. It is called a dramatic comedy or a comic drama; take your pick. Imagine – it’s taken me three times to realize that this play’s “real feel” stems from the fact that a life is never all smiles or all tears, and how we humans deal with each profoundly defines our humanity.

All six characters in “Steel Magnolias” are women. So how did a man, namely playwright Robert Harling, achieve such a sensitive understanding of the feminine condition? “Steel Magnolias” is based on experiences within his own family, and began as a way of building a legacy for his late sister.

The time is the latter years of the 1980s and the scene is a breezeway cum beauty parlor in a small Louisiana town where, for 15 years, Truvy Jones (Rhiannon Ragland) has catered to an elite clientele. On this special day in June, the belles are getting done up for an afternoon wedding. Shelby (Rachel C. Hull), “the prettiest girl in town” and daughter of long-time customer M’Lynn Eatenton (Michelle Mountain), is marrying her beau. Shelby and her mother are on the scene, as well as Truvy’s new, fresh out of beauty school assistant, Annelle (Lauren Knox), who (though very young) may have a “past.” Or as Truvy succinctly puts it, “This is the eighties. If you can achieve puberty, you can achieve a past.”

They are joined by two long-time sparring partners. They are Clairee Belcher (Susan Craves), widow of the former mayor, and cantankerous Ouiser Boudreaux (Laural Merlington), who asserts that people are nice to her only because “…I have more money than God.” The six proceed to do what playwright Harling would have us believe women do out of sight of their men. When otherwise not engaged in washing and setting hair, they sit and gossip.

Boring? Never. Harling’s wordplay is delightful and the ensemble misses no opportunity to deliver it adroitly. There are some interesting and illuminating surprises in store. Truvy has some of the most ear-catching bon mots in the script and Rhiannon Ragland’s absolute deadpan delivery makes them even funnier. It is, however, Rachel Hull’s Shelby that is the eye-opener here.

The material is there to play the character as the gushing, blushing young bride. Hull’s approach takes an alternate path. Her Shelby is self-possessed, self-absorbed, and something of a brat. This is strong motivation for the tension between M’Lynn and her daughter that ultimately drives the plot. Our growing animus with the character is suddenly upended when Shelby goes into insulin shock and it is revealed that her diabetes would so seriously affect childbirth that she should never conceive. Hull’s play of subtext is a marvel.

No less marvelous is Michelle Mountain’s delivery of the climactic monologue. It is here, when the emotional conflicts – not only for M’Lynn, but for all the characters – are their most extreme that we discover that this catharsis has been implicit since Act I, scene 1. Ultimately, she delivers the moral of “Steel Magnolias:” “We should handle it the best way we know how and get on with it.”

The design team for “Steel Magnolias” need a special shout-out. Each, in his and her area of expertise, have worked a little stage magic in helping us achieve our willing suspension of disbelief. Bartley H. Bauer’s meticulously appointed set, coupled with Danna Segrest’s detailed props grab us out of a Michigan theater and drop us definitively into that Louisiana beauty parlor. The average patron isn’t going to notice the lighting. You never do, unless something goes horrible wrong – like an instrument falling to the stage (or into the audience). Let me, therefore, note the subtle, atmospheric effect of Dana L. White’s design. The Purple Rose’s thrust stage is bathed in warm amber light from directly overhead, which parallels the appealing glow among the characters. Angie Kane Ferrante’s sound design ranges from hot radio hits from the ’80s to a pretty convincing, wall-shaking explosion.

Who may have had the most fun in her work, if finding costumes for this show was less work than I suspect it was, is Christianne Myers. There’s no element of parody of what was, in retrospect, a pretty garish era. Truvy’s slinky duds are just this side of tasteful, and the mannish tailoring of Ouiser’s outfits shouts “no nonsense!”

What guy could be able to keep it real with all this lady stuff going on? That would be PRTC Artistic Director, Guy Sanville, who has yet again assembled an elegant ensemble capable of limning unique, memorable characters.

For The Critic, one of the most memorable quips of the evening issues from crusty, shoot-from-the-lip Ouiser. “I do not see plays, because I can nap at home for free.” See “Steel Magnolias” and just try napping. I dare you.

SHOW DETAILS:
“Steel Magnolias”
Purple Rose Theatre
137 Park Street, Chelsea, Michigan 48118
2 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 28, Feb. 4, 11, 18, 25, Mar. 4, 11
7 p.m. Wednesday & Thursday, Jan. 28, 29 Feb. 4, 5, 11, 12, 18, 19, 26, Mar. 4, 5, 11, 12
8 p.m. Friday & Saturday, Jan. 30, 31, Feb. 6, 7, 13, 14, 20, 21, 27, 28, Mar. 6, 7, 13, 14
3 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 30, Feb. 6, 13, 20, 27, Mar. 7, 14
2 p.m Sunday, Feb. 1, 8, 15, 22, Mar. 1, 8
11 a.m. Thursday, Feb 26
$15-42
734-433-7673
www.purplerosetheatre.org

– See more at: http://www.encoremichigan.com/article.html?article=9315#sthash.r0J3DMUW.dpuf