Whether you grew up in the South or not, there’s something about the mixture of laughter and tears in “Steel Magnolias” that resonates with women.
The play and the 1989 movie are set in a hair salon and focus on six women, their ups and downs and the strength they find in their friendships with each other.
We asked the six actresses appearing in the Triad Stage production of the play to talk about the steel magnolias in their lives and what the classic tale of sisterhood means to them.
Cinny Strickland as Ouiser
Strickland, 52, describes her mother, Betty, as having the strength of steel and the kindness of a magnolia.
When Strickland was about 12, her parents took her to New York City for the first time. It was an eye-opening experience for the North Carolina native that became even more shocking as they strolled through Greenwich Village.
A man came barreling out of a building, yelling that the woman in his arms wasn’t breathing. Her father’s instinct was to move his wife and daughter away from the chaos. Her mother would have none of that. She kneeled down and gave the woman mouth-to-mouth resuscitation until help arrived.
“Honey, you don’t walk away from people,” her mother would later say.
“It was a wonderful lesson to me,” Strickland says. “The only thing that really matters is people.”
Elizabeth May as Annelle
May says that all the women in her family are steel magnolias. Her aunt, however, holds a unique claim to that title.
A blacksmith, Elizabeth Brim uses steel for her artwork and has become renowned for her artistry and technique.
May’s grandmother — Brim’s mother — was not pleased when her daughter first took up blacksmithing. Betty Brim didn’t think it was ladylike. As a joke, Elizabeth Brim began wearing pearls as she worked. The pearls have become signature for the artist who makes very feminine things out of metal, such as flowers, high heels and women’s hats.
Meanwhile, Betty Brim has come around. “Now, she wouldn’t say that,” says May, 23. “Now, we’re as ladylike as we need to be.”
Elisabeth Lewis Corley as Clairee
Corley’s mother, Kit, was born in a small South Carolina mill town and had big dreams of becoming a journalist. Those plans were derailed when her husband became a career Army officer. She traveled the world with her husband, becoming the logistics manager for their many moves, the party hostess and the main caregiver for their three children.
Their harried life often meant improvising on the fly. Corley remembers one move that required a cross-country trip that fell on her birthday. Corley wanted fried chicken for her birthday feast.
The family, however, was camping. In the desert. In 110 degree heat. Her mother managed to somehow conjure up fried chicken — although she waited until 11 p.m. for the temperature to drop.
“It was an extraordinary life for an extraordinary woman of great beauty and great wit,” Corley says.
Elizabeth Meadows Rouse as Truvy
Rouse saw the original off-Broadway production of “Steel Magnolias” in the late 1980s when her mother took the then-aspiring actress to New York City.
“It stood out for me because it was an all-female cast,” Rouse says. “... I was riveted.”
Rouse knew right away that she wanted to one day play salon owner Truvy, a successful businesswoman who brings the women together.
“She makes the salon a sanctuary,” says Rouse, a Dallas native.
Catherine Charlebois as Shelby
When Charlebois’ mother, Deborah, watches her perform the role of Shelby during Easter weekend, she might feel a sense of familiarity.
Growing up, Catherine Charlebois butted heads with her mother. Charlebois, 23, says the mother-daughter bond of M’Lynn and Shelby depicted in the play is in many ways similar to the one she has with her own mother.
“There are certain moments where she’ll see expressions and moments where she’ll say, 'Aha. I’ve seen that before,’ and I’m sure she’ll see some of herself in M’Lynn,” Charlebois says.
Beth Ritson as M’Lynn
Ritson’s grandmother Jerry Fowler was a woman before her time.
Like Ritson, Fowler was dramatic. She loved to dance, cheated at cards and was a horrible housekeeper. She was one of the first to cut her hair when the flapper look came into vogue in the 1920s.
“If she had been born in this generation, I would have loved to see what she would have become,” says Ritson of Greensboro.
Contact Amy Dominello at amydom08@hotmail.com
