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Review: 'Steel Magnolias' at Longmont Theatre Company

As the first act of Steel Magnolias starts unfolding, you might think you are in for a lite evening, a snarky, funny "drawing room" comedy, and although there are plenty of snarky one-liners to lighten the evening like, "There I've said it.
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(Mark Ivins/Longmont Observer)

This content was originally published by the Longmont Observer and is licensed under a Creative Commons license.

As the first act of Steel Magnolias starts unfolding, you might think you are in for a lite evening, a snarky, funny "drawing room" comedy, and although there are plenty of snarky one-liners to lighten the evening like, "There I've said it. I am having an affair with a Mercedes Benz" and "I was built for comfort, not speed," nothing could be further from the truth.

Written by Robert Harling and directed by Brie Michaels, 'Steel Magnolias' follows six women, Shelby (Laura Gibson), M'Lynn (Ann Harbin), Truvy (Ghandia Johnson), Annelle (Kiersten Lillis), Ouiser (Amy Steiner), and Clairee (Pam Strahan), as they come to unburden themselves of their life's events, both big and small, at Truvy's Beauty Salon in Chinquapin, Louisiana.

It is a safe haven here, where their idiosyncrasies are well known; even "the new girl" fits in, is welcomed and embraced immediately and seems to have been there forever.

Taking place over about a year they find love, mourn love lost, embrace and damn change; it is life and life only for them.

Ghandia is perfectly cast as Truvy and her snarky and funny one-liners deliver comedic relief throughout the evening. Kiersten delivers a wonderful performance as the "new girl". Ann's portrayal of M'Lynn captures the internal struggle of a mother who wants her daughter to be both happy and safe. And Laura portrays Shelby, M'Lynn's diabetic daughter, extremely well and captures the headstrong and free-spirited qualities of the character. Pam and Amy also do a phenomenal job of adding warmth and humor to the performance.

The set, designed by Robert Janacek (also helped design November's 'Becky's New Car'), is simple yet cleverly littered with what you'd find at beauty salons. Both Ghandia and Kiersten curl and brush hair, and even Ann's hair is washed onstage. These little, but important, attention to details help bring you further into the drama that unfolds.

And as Ann delivers the final monologue - an emotional and powerful outburst unlike anything I've experienced - you are no longer just an audience member, but a part of the steel magnolias.

'Steel Magnolias' is an estrogen-driven drama that is brought to life by six talented actresses. At times, its funny; at others, its a near-perfect representation of how a group of friends share the laughs, loves, and pain of life together. And regardless of what path life does take us, it's a simple reminder that we are all in this together.

‘Steel Magnolias’ is presented by The Longmont Theatre Company at 513 Main Street. Show dates are February 2, 3, 9, 10, 16, 17 at 7:30 p.m. and February 4, 11 at 2:00 p.m. Please visit longmonttheatre.org or call 303-772-5200 for tickets.

Mark Ivins and Ellen Anderson also contributed to this article.