Most people know about “Steel Magnolias” from the popular film made in 1988 and released a year later with Dolly Parton, Sally Field, Julia Roberts, Shirley MacLaine, Olympia Dukakis, and Daryl Hannah. The play from which it was based opened off-Broadway in 1987 and ran for three years. Robert Harling’s play, about six women in a hair salon in the Deep South, is a tragicomedy about life- six different women with six different points of view in four scenes that take place over a span of 2 ½ years. People’s Light has brought it to its stage this winter. The acting is so strong. I can’t imagine a better ensemble!
We meet each of the women in the first scene. Truvy is the owner of the salon which was previously a carport before it was converted to a salon by her husband so she could work and support the family. Annelle is new in town, a young hairstylist recently hired, who is most private because of an embarrassing recent past. Shelby is the young woman who is having her hair done because she is getting married that evening. She does have a serious physical issue. She is often squabbling with her mom, M’Lynn over almost everything. M’Lynn’s husband is often firing his gun in the yard, creating noise that disturbs the neighborhood, and particularly Ouiser, the town grouch. And finally, there is the widow Clairee who shares with us so many stories of the town. And that is what these six women talk about when they get together on Saturday mornings at the salon to have their hair done.
I saw this play performed three years ago and it was a good production. This one, directed by Abigail Adams, was great. That is because the comedy of Harling’s writing truly came through where the actors played it so naturally. Kudos to all six- Teri Lamm, Brynn Gautheir, Janis Dardaris, Claire Inie-Richards, Susan McKey, and Marcia Saunders. These are real people, not caricatures. Though they speak with a sudden dialect, it was perfectly clear to my old ears thanks to the dialect coach, Melanie Julian and these fine actors. The jokes felt honest too, just part of a normal conversation. I won’t repeat them here lest I spoil the spontaneity of the humor.
We learn about the men who never appear, from the guy who is marrying Shelby, to the gay nephew of Clairee, to the man who brought Annnelle to town (then ripped her off). to the woman who lost her husband in World War II and her son in Vietnam. And yet through all this, they meet every Saturday to get their hair done and to just talk.
The jokes continue in the second scene but there is more focus on Shelby’s pregnancy since she was warned by the doctor not to get pregnant because of her diabetes. Throughout it all, you don’t want to miss a word of Harling’s great script. There is so much story. And this production has it all- great set by Daniel Zimmerman, great costumes (four for each actor) by Tracy Christensen, and as I mentioned before, Director Abigail Adams who brings this amusing and powerful story together. It’s a must see!!!
“Steel Magnolias” by Robert Harling at People’s Light, 39 Conestoga Rd., Malvern, PA 19355, 610-644-3500, peopleslight.org Thru February 15, 2026
Philadelphia Theater Reviews by Frank Burd 