Steel Magnolias bloom in Douglas College theatre production Gr" vy’s beauty salon in for business onstage at Douglas College Chinquapin, Louisiana, is the for their production of Steel Magnolias. place where everyone who is As the centrepiece of both the popular anyone goes to have their hair done. 1980s film and Broadway production of From March 8 to 16, Truvy’s will be open Steel Magnolias, Truvy’s beauty salon ES Chelle Tanner (top left), Tina Djurectic (top right) and Yolanda Buchan (below) are cast in Steel Magnolias, which opens March 8 in the Studio Theatre. The mainstage production Village of Idiots opens March 15 in the Performing Arts Theatre. 10 quickly became a cultural icon representing the strength and humor found in female friendships. The women of the play, ranging from owly Ouiser to wisecracking Truvy, form an affectionate, eccentric community as the plot follows the life of one young woman through her marriage, motherhood, and premature death. “Tt deals with the large things that touch all of our lives,” says director Pamela Hawthorn, formerly the creative manager of Telefilm Canada and artistic director of The New Play Centre in Vancouver. “It’s a light comedy, but has undertones of mortality and the big questions in life.” Setting an all-female play in a beauty salon would seem to be a sure path to sexist caricature, but the women of Steel Magnolias are gifted with intelligent, witty dialogue (“I swear to you that my personal tragedy will not interfere with my ability to do good hair,” says Annelle) that portrays them as unique, likable individuals. The play’s frank humor and lack of pretense allows its characters to be funny without being slapstick, and bittersweet without being morose. “The strength of the play has to do with the affection and love of a group of women in a neighborhood,” says Hawthorn. “It’s a play that supports those kinds of human values, the kind of help and affection friends can give each other.” The Theatre and Stagecraft Departments chose to stage Steel Magnolia because of the current alignment of talent and venue. The play’s two main demands - a strong female cast and an intimate setting in which the audience can feel like it’s eavesdropping on the characters - perfectly suited a senior theatre class that has plenty of female talent working in the College’s smaller Studio Theatre. Steel Magnolias runs from March 8 to 16 at 8pm (including a Saturday matinee, March 16 at 2pm) in the Studio Theatre. For information and reservations, call 527- 5488. }