"Steel Magnolias"

February 26, 2017 — For the third and final play of its winter season, the Peterborough Players presented "Steel Magnolias" by Robert Harling. I hadn't seen this popular play before, nor had I seen either of the two movies based on it, so it was all new to me. Directed by Gus Kaikkonen for the Players, six actresses gave funny, heartfelt performances in scenic designer Charles Morgan's excellent reproduction of a beauty salon.

Set in a small Louisiana town near the end of the 20th Century, Salon owner Truvy (Brenny Rabine) and her newly-hired assistant Annelle (Alycia Kunkle) take care of the beauty needs of four local women of diverse backgrounds and personalities. Truvy stresses to Annelle that there is no such thing as "natural beauty." If there were, "we'd be out of business."

Shelby (Katelyn Manfre) and her mother M'Lynn (the always outstanding Lisa Bostnar) are the first customers this morning. Shelby is getting married in the afternoon. Wise-cracking Clairee (Kathy Manfre, Katelyn's mother in real life) drops in. Still later, Ouiser (Pamela White), tall and gangly, arrives, and spices up the conversation with her cynical, unsentimental observations on life.

We learn Shelby is diabetic and doctors have advised her not to have children. For now, this is acceptable to Shelby and her husband-to-be. But things change, doctors recommendations are not always followed, and a deeper human story is added to this otherwise light-hearted play.

The characters are well-defined, each has her own life story, and all the actresses are excellent, but Bostnar's performance as the doting mother stands out. A full house witnessed this final performance of the final play of the winter season and gave the cast a well-deserved standing ovation at curtain call.