Theater Reviews : Laughs Are Major Strength of Irvine’s ‘Steel Magnolias’

Some people love small talk. Others can’t stand it. You know who you are. “Steel Magnolias” is a play made of small talk. That ought to tell you whether Robert Harling’s chatty Southern comedy, set in a rural beauty parlor and tinged with rue, is your dish of grits.

Given its many revivals, the show clearly appeals to a wide audience.

Before this season there had been at least 10 productions in Orange County and the greater Los Angeles region since the original New York staging in 1987, including a national touring version. There also was an all-star movie that launched Julia Roberts’ screen career. (Or perhaps you remember it as the one that helped keep Dolly Parton’s alive.)

All these offerings apparently have not sated the public appetite for a Louisiana kaffeeklatsch that convenes every Saturday in Truvy’s converted carport to get the latest stylings in “Southern hair” while dishing the town gossip.

Three weeks ago the Garden Grove Community Theatre opened its current season with “Steel Magnolias.” Now the New Community Center Theatre has inaugurated its maiden season with yet another revival, bringing the number of regional productions I know of to an even dozen.

Admittedly, the small talk in “Steel Magnolias” doesn’t wilt as readily as most. It comes preserved in hair spray, not unlike the teased curls that Truvy (Bonnie M. Mikoleit) washes and sets. She has an endless supply of cute zingers. “I gotta tell you,” Truvy says, “when it comes to suffering, she’s right up there with Elizabeth Taylor.”

Ouiser (Norma Binmore), a temperamental crank, also is full of quips. “I’m not crazy,” she says. “I’ve just been in a very bad mood for 40 years.” And Clairee (Denise Needham), the late mayor’s wealthy widow, is catty. About an older woman suspected of playing around with a married man, she remarks: “At her age she should be playing ‘Beat the Clock.’ ”

The main plot, which develops offstage, revolves around Shelby (Valerie Swaim), the prettiest girl in town. It is her wedding day when the play opens, and she has come in to have her hair done. Without ever leaving Truvy’s shop, we follow Shelby through marriage, motherhood and more, until--in the second act--the comedy turns into a tear-jerker and the focus shifts to Shelby’s self-sacrificing mother M’Lynn (Corrine Ehlers).

Each of the play’s women has a story. For instance, Truvy’s assistant, Annelle (Bonnie Kovar), starts out as a waif who has just moved to town after being abandoned by her husband and ends up becoming a born-again Christian.

The playwright has insisted in a note to his published text that these women “in no way, shape or form are meant to be portrayed as cartoons or caricatures.” Ironically, he has written a play that begs for that treatment. It’s the laughs that keep “Steel Magnolias” from sinking in bathos.

New Community’s revival gets its biggest boost from Mikoleit, whose comic timing and Southern accent as Truvy lend the production buoyancy and flavor. Binmore is another major asset as Ouiser, largely for her authoritative presence.

Swaim has the right look for Shelby but doesn’t do much with what is basically a dull role. Kovar’s Annelle is strictly caricature, with a little too much mugging. Needham gets by adequately as Clairee. And Ehlers needs to loosen up as M’Lynn.

Technically, the production values are fine. Kudos to the designers for the detailed sets and costumes.

* “Steel Magnolias,” New Community Center Theatre, 2025 Alton Parkway, Irvine. Fridays-Saturdays, 8:30 p.m. Open-ended. $16. (714) 442-9252. Running time: 2 hours, 20 minutes. Norma Binmore: Ouiser Boudreaux

Corrine Ehlers: M’Lynn Eatenton

Bonnie Kovar: Annelle Dupuy-Desoto

Bonnie M. Mikoleit: Truvy Jones

Denise Needham: Clairee Belcher

Valerie Swaim: Shelby Eatenton-Latcherie

A New Community Center Theatre production of a play by Robert Harling. Directed by Ryan Kray. Producer: Alex J. Palermo. Set designer: Lee Jones. Lighting designer: Alison Brummer. Costume designer: Metanel Rasmussen. Sound designer: Marie-Noelle Palermo. Wig stylist: Shirley Arnett. Stage manager: Robert Murphy.