“The appeal of this show lies in the fact that these people come together to share their lives with each other,” said Donnie Bowes, director of Steel Magnolias, the new play opening at Upper Canada Playhouse July 7 until July 31.
“The women are characters audiences will feel they know. Marshall Button once said that the thing that truly appeals to people is a real good story. Well, Steel Magnolias is a great story, an enduring story,” Bowes added.
Set in Truvy’s Beauty Shop, in the heart of a small Southern town, Robert Harling’s much loved play revolves around the lives of six remarkable women. They share a lot of laughter, the ups and downs of everyday life, and, sometimes, the sadness that is also part of life.
To play Harling’s strong Louisiana women, Bowes has brought together an equally strong cast.
Veterans of other outstanding Playhouse productions, Kate Egan Veinotte, Brenda Quesnel, Linda Goranson, AnnaMarie Lea and Erin MacKinnon will be familiar to many in the audience. Newcomer Alison MacKay will soon become a favourite.
Bowes laughs that he has been under pressure for some years from actresses to stage Steel Magnolias.
“This is a really good play; it has so much to it. But it’s also a play that very much looks at life through a comic lens. I like the well drawn, realistic characters.”
Creating Truvy, M’Lynn, Annelle, Clairee, Shelby and Ousier is both a delight and a challenge for the cast.
“What’s beautiful about this story is how it brings intensity to these women and their views of life,” said AnnaMarie Lea, who plays hairdresser Truvy.
“We connect with our characters,” added Linda Goranson, who plays the cantankerous Ouiser. “We really love them. Sometimes we even see ourselves in them, and the characters come from there.
Beauty and strength, that’s the nature of this play.”
From Clairee “who has to know everything”, (Quesnel) to M’Lynn who sees the shop as a place where “we can all be ourselves,” (Veinotte); from Shelby (MacKinnon) just “starting to spread her wings” to Annelle “who goes through quite a transformation” (MacKay), these are women audiences will want to get to know.
Asked, near the end of the interview, how the weeks of intensive rehearsals have been going, Kate Egan Veinotte announced, “Everyone gets along splendidly,” then paused, and to laughter from fellow cast members, added, “so far.”
The actors have been rehearsing the show in the new rehearsal hall just opened this month at the Playhouse.
The large working space has allowed Bowes and his technical crew, headed up by set and lighting designer, Tristan Goethel, to essentially create a full sized mock up of the actual set that will be built on the main stage.
The versatility and functionality of the new space has already made a great difference to Playhouse productions.
And the hall is completely sound proof, a “wonderful quality,” according to Bowes.
For tickets to Steel Magnolias, opening on July 7, contact the Upper Canada Playhouse box office at 613-543-3713.
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