Steel Magnolias Theater Review

In my theater class I was given the assignment of having to write a critical review of the play “Steel Magnolias,” by Robert Harling. So on the Wednesday before the holiday weekend (Rosh-Ha-Shana) I decided to make the trip over to the Hand Chapel on the Mount Vernon Campus, to see this play that I had already convinced myself was going to be dreadful, or at least that was what I wanted myself to believe. It was for this reason that in the beginning I wanted to be over critical and to pick apart every little detail. There was only one problem, the fact I thought the play was absolutely terrific. The caliber of this play was far superior to that which I had expected. Although, there were a few minor complaints I did have they hardly took away from the overall production.

In my opinion, the most successful aspect in this play was the actresses, not just because they were good, but rather because they were incredibly believable. I did not feel that I was watching actors on the stage, rather that I was watching the lives of the six individuals unfold. They became their characters. A perfect example of this can be seen when Sabrina Hyman, who was playing the part of Truvy, was decorating the salon for Christmas and had to improv. While placing tinsel on the couch she was unable to keep it on the desired spot, because it kept falling off of the arm. Initially when she realized that the tinsel was not staying in its place she did not panic, as one would have thought. Instead she simply tried again, and then even a third time without showing any signs of a problem, she had to finally walk away without properly placing the tinsel where it should have been. This quick change in events did not throw her off in the least; she played it off like nothing was wrong. She played it off, as Truvy Jones would have in real life. Although I did feel that the acting in the play was truly amazing I did have two problems, and a couple of instances where I was given a reality check and reminded that it was just a play. My first complaint was that although Patricia Jenson and Jenny Towns did a terrific job, they were not able to play the part of elder women simply because of their age.