Theater Review -- Tom Titus

There’s a good reason why “Steel Magnolias” has been the most produced

play locally over the past few seasons (along with “Joseph and the

Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat”).

The Robert Harling dramatic comedy is one of the most effective -- and

affecting -- plays around. It pushes both the comic and dramatic buttons,

and it pushes them hard. Never mind that the comedy is built on a series

of carefully set up one-liners; the punch lines still tickle the audience

members, no matter how many times they’ve heard them.

The latest version of “Steel Magnolias” is now onstage at the Costa

Mesa Civic Playhouse, where director Jack Millis has brought the 1983

play into the 21st century with great success. An updated line making

reference to Anne Heche, for instance, drew the loudest guffaws of

opening night.

The “Steel Magnolias” of the title are six women of varying ages

congregated in a small-town beauty salon in Louisiana where they first

rock the house with laughter, then chill it by turning the prevailing

mask from comedy to tragedy. And Millis has attracted a half-dozen highly

accomplished actresses to present this familiar, but still highly

involving, play.

The central conflict of a volatile but heartfelt mother-daughter

relationship is particularly well-depicted by Kristina Leach as the

headstrong but physically frail beauty and Roxie Lee as her often

adversarial but always caring mother. Leach brings a plethora of facial

grimaces to her determined character, and her timing (as well as her

Southern accent) is the finest of the cast, while Lee delivers a riveting

and heart-rending monologue that caps a marvelous interpretation.

Jane Nunn as the beauty shop proprietor offers homespun wisdom in a

somewhat uneven but attractive performance, maintaining the salon’s

folksy atmosphere. Her new assistant, a young girl with a mysterious

past, is delicately underplayed by Kristina Davis, whose eagerness to

please is affecting, but whose newfound religious zeal rankles the other

customers.

The town’s former first lady, widow of its mayor, receives a sparkling

performance from Marie Nussle, whose velvet-tinged wisecracks soften the

prevailing comic antagonism. And Judy Jones gives a rollicking

interpretation of the crotchety old crone (with, of course, a heart of

gold) who stirs up most of the neighborly insurrection.

Playwright Harling based “Steel Magnolias” on a true incident

involving his mother and sister, and the authenticity of the story is

reflected in the Costa Mesa production’s staging and interpretation.

Kathy Endicott’s colorful setting gives off a warm, welcoming quality,

abetted by the lighting designs of Mark Phillips and Megan Endicott, who

also serves as assistant director.

Yes, “Steel Magnolias” has been around -- and around and around -- but

even on the umpteenth viewing, its rich comedy and compelling drama still

mesh for a pleasurable experience, particularly when the cast is as

strong and accomplished as the sextet performing at the Costa Mesa Civic

Playhouse.

* TOM TITUS reviews local theater for the Daily Pilot. His reviews

appear Thursdays and Saturdays.

FYI

* What: “Steel Magnolias”

* Where: Costa Mesa Civic Playhouse, 661 Hamilton St., Costa Mesa

* When: 8 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays, 2 p.m. Sundays until April

7

* Cost: $15

* Call: (949) 650-5269