Review: STEEL MAGNOLIAS at Connecticut Theatre Company

The suspension of disbelief: Every single person who goes to the theater participates in this concept. Simply put, the suspension of disbelief means that when you are watching a play or a musical, your brain just ignores the reality of what you’re doing so that you can immerse yourself in the story. Think about it: When you watch a musical, the characters just randomly burst into a spontaneous yet choreographed song and dance with those around them. That doesn’t happen in our reality, and yet our brains let us believe it so that we can enjoy the show. That happens across all forms of entertainment media: including film and television. They say that in a well-made film, a viewer shouldn’t notice the music or the sound effects, because those should support the story and not distract from it, and the same can be said for theater- musicals notwithstanding.

Immersion is one of my favorite parts of the theater experience, and one that the Connecticut Theater Company nails with their current production of Steel Magnolias. Written by Robert Harling, Steel Magnolias has been performed since 1987, and I remember seeing this show many times as a kid. Even so, as I walked into the Repertory Theatre, it felt like I was seeing it for the first time again. The show is directed and designed by Duane Campbell and David Nunner, and their set design took immersion to the next level. The whole set made you feel like you were sitting in a 1980’s hair salon down to the tiniest detail. From the moment the lights came on, I was taken back to the 80’s: a time that I wasn’t around to experience but felt so natural to me in this moment. Every aspect of this production came together to create such an immersive experience that I can’t recall a single moment during the show that I remembered that I was sitting at a table, watching actors recite lines in a room full of other people. Both as a reviewer who is there to critique “theater magic” and as an artist who knows how “theater magic” is created, I can’t recall the last time that I got sucked into a performance as deeply as I did here.

The icing on the cake in this production of Steel Magnolias was the cast. There is a reason why Steel Magnolias is still performed to this day. On one hand, Steel Magnolias has a cast of 6 women, where each character is unique and well-developed, which is a joy for any actor to dig into and have fun with. On the other hand, the story of Steel Magnolias- one of sisterhood, community, support, and loss- is timeless and as prescient today as it was when it first premiered. I could spend a whole page talking about each character and the depth that each actor brought to them, but I like to keep these brief enough for today’s bite-size attention spans, so let me rapid-fire: The foil between the carefree Clairee (Kelly Lazenby) and the stone-faced Ouiser (Susan Bailey) kept the audience in a state of tension as we questioned whether or not they actually liked each other. Kelly and Susan leaned into what made these characters so different and yet the love between them was palpable when it needed to be. The gossiping busybody of Truvy (Marie Altenor) brought the maternal power that was needed to help Annelle (Sarah Gass) grow into herself, even as the two women grow apart, spiritually. That relationship and guidance is the throughline at the heart of the play, and Marie’s warmness paired beautifully with Sarah’s anxiety to create a beautiful emotional foundation. Lastly, the core of Steel Magnolias rests in the hearts of M’Lynn (Susan Smith) and Shelby (Simone McMahon). The mother-daughter relationship is strong as we watch Shelby grow up right in front of our eyes from a young woman getting married, to having a child, to the health issues that follow. Even when they are fighting, you feel the love that exists between the two and that is due to the passion that Susan and Simone pour into their art. All-in-all, the six women in this cast each brought their own heart and soul to these characters, and it shone on stage from beginning to end

Steel Magnolias at the Connecticut Theater Company runs from March 14 – 23, with performance on Fridays and Saturdays at 7pm and Sundays at 2pm. Also, don’t miss the rest of their season, as CTC is just getting started! They’re following Steel Magnolias up with The Producers, The Wedding Singer, and Escape to Margaritaville, before wrapping up the year with Miracle on 34th Street!

To post a comment, you must register and login.