I cried last night – and I wasn’t alone. There were quite a few of us in the audience at the Racine Theater Guild who were moved to tears by a really fine performance of “Steel Magnolias,” a really intriguing play that most of America knows because of the all-star film adaption which was made a few years back.
I really did not want to go – although I love the play and certainly wanted to support the RTG – but it had been a long and taxing weekend and I had plenty to still to do – although just sitting on the couch and doing nothing sounded like a nice idea as well. But Kathy, as a member of the board, really felt obligated to go – and I finally decided that I wanted to be with her, even if it meant dragging my tired keister (sp?) to the theater.
And I am really grateful that I did, because it turned out to be a very nice and very moving performance. There were some slow spots, where the lines didn’t pop quite quickly enough, and a couple of moments of uncomfortable silence when a line was completely forgotten. But there was so much that was praiseworthy about this production, including a cast that had the kind of easy chemistry that really can’t be taught or directed; either you have it or you don’t, and they had it. You came away believing that this intriguingly diverse group of female characters (a group of “mixed nuts” if there ever was one) could actually be friends with one another.
And what was especially neat was that the cast featured not only a couple of well-known veterans of the RTG stage, but also a couple of women who hadn’t been in a play in decades (literally) and one woman, who played the hairdresser (Dolly Parton’s role in the film) had never been onstage before. You would not have guessed that in any case, and if much of the credit belongs to the actresses in question, a lot of credit also goes to the director of the production, Tom Spraker. I’m sure his loving care had a lot to do with the great work of these neophytes.
And at the risk of singling anyone out in this fine group, I have to say that the woman who played M’Lynn (Sally Field’s role in the film) managed the big monologue at the play’s end at least as well as Ms. Field did, and actually a bit better. It seemed more real – more heartfelt – and less like an actress contending for an Oscar nomination. (And I like Sally Field and loved her in the film- but the actress at the RTG was even more authentically believable.) I will say, however, that the moment which ends the monologue- when M’Lynn says she wants to hit something out of her sense of pain and rage, and one of the older women grabs her cranky sidekick and says “Hit HER!” . . . still strikes me as one of the most absurdly ridiculous moments on the American stage. I really can’t stand that moment and this performance didn’t really change that. But my quarrel is with the playwright, not this production.
It was also neat to be reminded of the simplicity and focus of the play versus the film. The play occurs only in the beauty shop – and we never see anyone except the six women. No husbands or boyfriends. No church or hospital or city park. Just the beauty parlor and these friends. I like that, and I think I would have liked the film better if it had stuck more to that simplicity. (I fear that the film version of “Doubt” will diverge from the original play, which I’ve seen four times and love. If you hear reports of someone vandalizing a movie screen in Racine during a showing of “Doubt,” chances are it will be me.) Then again, almost everyone in Hollywood would benefit from singing a few choruses of “Tis a Gift to be Simple.”
I’m not sure when Kathy was crying, but oddly enough, most of my tears were shed while the lights were off right before the final scene began – – – which is when we have just learned that M’Lynn is going to be donating a kidney to her daughter Shelby. If you know the film or the play, you know that things do not go well, and young Shelby dies tragically. It was the weirdest thing, but as the lights went dark and the stage was quickly set for the last scene, I found myself with a huge lump in my throat and tears forming in my eyes, in simple anticipation of what was about to unfold. It says something about how beautifully crafted a play is that it can bring you to tears even before the events in question have even unfolded yet. And what is ultimately most moving of all about this play is to see the power of friendship depicted so vividly and movingly. What can possibly be more precious in this life than to have friends or family – or both – upon whom you can completely depend in life’s most sorrowful moments.
One more little memory of Steel Magnolias- but this time an interview I saw about the film. Actually, Julia Roberts was on Oprah one time, and at some point they showed a clip of an earlier Oprah episode featuring most of the cast of the Steel Magnolias film….. and Julia told the story of one day on the set when she (and probably some others) was/ were complaining about how hot and sticky it was and how slowly the filming was proceeding that day. And rather quietly and gently – yet firmly – Dolly Parton said that she dreamt for all of her childhood that she might be rich and famous someday . . . . and incredibly, she was both – so she was not about to complain about how hot and sticky it was. And Julia Roberts realized that she had been taught a very very valuable lesson in that moment. I can’t say that Dolly Parton is on my list of Most Admired Human Beings, but that story really shows us something about what true blue decency and goodness is all about. . . which is also what “Steel Magnolias” is all about.
pictured: the curtain call for the RTG’s Steel Magnolias