A timeless tale of family and community plays at Creative Cauldron's new Falls Church space.
In the fictitious parish of Chinquapin, Louisiana, there is a beauty shop – Truvy’s Beauty Shop, to be exact. An intimate carport-turned-salon, Truvy’s is a gathering place for several of the ladies in town. It’s here they swap gossip, recipes, tales of loafing husbands, and everything else that makes up this messy experience we call life. It’s a place where these women come to love, laugh, and cry. It is, in many ways, the center of their universe.
This is the setting we find ourselves in for Creative Cauldron’s production of STEEL MAGNOLIAS, and it’s hard to believe this story has now been in our collective consciousness for the better part of three decades. Having been a Broadway hit in the late 1980s and a box office success in 1989, STEEL MAGNOLIAS still holds up as a heartwarming tale of sisterhood, community, and even conflict. It’s a piece that’s most likely familiar to audiences, and for Creative Cauldron, a safe but strong choice for its inaugural season in a new space. By the way, the theatre’s new space in Falls Church is spectacular and a great achievement for the Virginia-based theatre company.
When the lights come up, it’s the morning of a spring day in April in Chinquapin. Truvy (Miss Kitty), whose namesake is on the palm frond-laden sign canopying the action, is training her new hire, Annelle (Margaret Anne Murphy). Annelle is a novice, both at doing hair and making coffee, but we soon find out she’s a woman in need. Having recently split from her husband with a checkered criminal past, Annelle needs a fresh start and finds it at Truvy’s.
As the day goes on, we meet the other women in Truvy’s orbit – the boisterous and football-loving Clairee (Krista Grimmett-Adams); the youthful bride-to-be Shelby (Molly Rumberger); and Shelby’s mother, M’Lynn (Mindy Shaw). Of course, no production of STEEL MAGNOLIAS would be complete without the largest personality of them all – Ouiser (Karen Lange). The woman come and go throughout the play and create the world of Chinquapin through their stories, trials and tribulations.
In the play’s first scene, the shop is buzzing with anticipation for Shelby’s impending marriage. She’s come to get her hair styled for the big day, a style much to the dismay of her mother I might add. M’Lynn joins her daughter at the salon to get herself ready, and it’s here where we get our first taste of their sometimes-tense but often loving mother-daughter relationship. Far from a harmonious relationship, Shelby’s desire for independence and a bucking of the norm leaps right off the stage and frustrates her mother. However, we soon learn M’Lynn’s resistance comes not from a failing of parenting but from deep concern for her daughter’s welfare. Shelby is a diabetic and appears to have a particularly severe case at that. It’s not long into the piece before we witness one of Shelby’s episodes caused by her illness. It’s jarring and a presence that will linger over the rest of the proceedings.
We then jump several months into the Christmas season. Seasons have changed, hairstyles have changed, and even the novice Annelle has changed. She’s now a born-again Christian and free from her deadbeat husband! This scene, and all subsequent scenes, follow a similar pattern in that much of the “action” is not on stage but off - it is recounted to us through the women’s gossip with each other.
Though the women are certainly dynamic, the set is rather static. We never leave the beauty shop, and all the action takes place within it. It’s perhaps a symbol of the importance of our community spaces and where we choose to gather. Our gathering places are the constant in a life that is defined and shaped by change. For these women, the beauty shop is their constant.
As we begin Act II, the tone shifts into something a bit more serious. Shelby’s rebellious nature has only grown over time. Ignoring the warnings from her doctor if she ever were to try to conceive, Shelby lets her mother know she is pregnant. M’Lynn expresses concern for Shelby, and her future grandchild’s, welfare as her diabetes presents a very real health risk. Still, Shelby’s quest for independence wins the day. As the piece has been around for more than 30 years now, it’s hardly a surprise where the story ends but it is no less powerful when it comes. The women must cling to their community both when the good times roll and when life inevitably challenges them as well. It’s a stark reminder of life’s twists and turns and that no one can handle the burden alone. Despite the heavy themes, the piece leaves you with a warm, comforting hug of a conclusion, and it still resonates some 30+ years later.
While the material itself is unquestionably superb, there are a few obstacles preventing Creative Cauldron’s production from rising to this same level. First, there is certainly a pacing issue with the ensemble of players. This is a script that craves a quick tempo with rapid-fire dialogue that can fully capture and elevate the comedy and tragedy that comes with a community gathering space. Robert Harling’s script provides ample opportunity for laugh-out-loud moments and tear-jerking ones if the players have done their part. In this production, the pacing is slow and drawn out, which works against the momentum and funnier parts of Harling’s dialogue.
As this is a piece of the “slice of life” genre, there should also be a naturalism to the proceedings. While it’s true the piece showcases the regionalism of small-town Louisiana, the ensemble tends towards caricature, which lessens the impact of the show’s enormous heart. There were several moments that lacked a realism to them, and therefore, lacked an entry point for the audience into feeling a connection with the character.
Though the ensemble never quite functions cohesively as a unit, Molly Rumberger and Mindy Shaw have a good chemistry as Shelby and M’Lynn, respectively. They play the mother-daughter dynamic well and do a fine job exploring the tensions and deep love for each other as well. As Ouiser, Karen Lange delivers the adequate comedic punch, but her character is so often at the mercy of the players around her that it stifles the plentiful comedic chops of Lange.
Margie Jarvis’s scenic design of the interior of Truvy’s Beauty Shop gets most of the details right, but Laura Connors Hull’s direction feels a bit stagnant when it comes to creatively using the space to the show’s advantage. Wanting to create a sense of 360 realism, there are several instances where characters have their backs turned to a good portion of the audience. I don’t consider myself a stage purist who thinks this an insult to the live theatre, and having a player face upstage does have its place. However, it is not utilized well here. There are far too many moments where we lose the personal connection to the characters in critical moments because they are facing upstage.
These challenges do create a ceiling for the production that feels a bit lower than I expected. STEEL MAGNOLIAS is a beloved and cherished piece, especially for those of us born and raised in the South. This connection that so many feel for the piece arguably makes it more of a challenge than many companies realize. Sometimes it is the familiar that can stifle creativity and a sense of newness, and it does seem that is the case here with Creative Cauldron’s production. Still, audiences should be able to find connection with the piece's evergreen themes of family, community, love, and loss.
STEEL MAGNOLIAS runs from now until March 9, 2025, at Creative Cauldron’s new space at 127 E. Broad St. in Falls Church, VA. Members of the creative team include Laura Connors Hull (Director), Margie Jervis (Scenic & Costume Design), James Morrison (Lighting Design), Nicholas J Goodman (Stage Manager), and Solis Pettitt (Asst. Stage Manager).
STEEL MAGNOLIAS runs approximately 2 hours 30 minutes.
PHOTO CREDIT: (from L to R) Karen Lange (Ouizer), Margaret Anne Murphy (Annelle), Molly Rumberger (Shelby), Mindy Shaw (M'Lynn), Krista Grimmett-Adams (Clairee), Miss Kitty (Truvy). Photo by William T. Gallagher Photography.
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