Review: And Yet She Persisted - STEEL MAGNOLIAS Perseveres With Heritage Players

The Heritage Players is a philanthropic theater group which has been around since 1975, regularly donating portions of their proceeds to groups or organizations agreed upon by the cast of each production, along with a donation to Spring Grove and a special Patient Performance for the residence of the facility. A forty-two year history indicates neither luck nor golden circumstance, but dogged determination and deep commitment. These are hallmarks of not just the Heritage Players organization, but also of both the play STEEL MAGNOLIAS and this production.

Writer Robert Harling's script made its debut in 1987, and a mere two years later it became a major Hollywood film with major Hollywood stars. Perhaps not coincidentally, the conditions which have since become known as the Bechdel-Wallace test were originally presented in the conceptually admirable but grammatically horrifying comic strip "Dykes To Watch Out For" in 1985. Both the movie and the script earn a 3/3 rating for minimum feminist standards.

I've not seen the movie. I don't know the story. However, I'm a fan of female-positive theater and look forward to a fresh treat.

Heritage Players currently makes its home on the grounds of the Spring Grove Hospital compound in Catonsville, itself an example of determined longevity since 1798. It is not as gloriously decayed as the semi-inhabited Crownsville Hospital site, but is still in use as a psychiatric facility, and the antiquity of the place peeks through in tantalizing snippets. The Thomas-Rice Auditorium is comparatively new, having opened in 1936. The spacious ballroom area has an impressive vaulted ceiling, sensuously curved, which makes me wonder if the space is tricky for vocals. The seating is provided by rows of chairs on the flat hardwood floor. They're pretty comfy, in fact. A refreshments table, set up with snackables, has no indication of pricing. Make what donation you wish. My $3 coffee is quite nice, and satisfyingly hot.

The single set is small and darling, and not only perfectly functional, but cluttered with various beauty parlor accoutrements, giving it a cozy feel. The cast seems quite at home here.

The lighting design for the show added to the homey feel of the beauty shop, and all cues were prompt and smooth. Sound cues were occasionally a mite off target, which injected moments of hilarity due to the clever reactions of actors clearly well experienced with the caprices of Live Theatre.

My concerns about sound are addressed by some surprisingly swanky mics on the faces of the actors, and although there are a few problems associated with them, everyone is easy to hear and understand.

Directors Kevin James Logan and Katie Sheldon have cast a visually diverse crew of women- varying ages, different physical types-, so once we are introduced to each personage, it is no trouble keeping track who is whom. This is much more common in theatre than in television, where shows can be baffling because the actors are not just all pretty, but all pretty in exactly the same way. Each character also has a signature style of movement, further adding to our ability to distinguish one from another.

I believe in these characters. I believe in their relationships. I believe in their character journeys. Most particularly tricky to capture, but excellently done, is the changing interaction between M'Lynn, played by Kathy Wenerick-Bell and her daughter Shelby, portrayed by Rachel Kelly. Mother-daughter connections are easy to get wrong, but this pair absolutely nails it. Kelly gives Shelby so much charm that Shelby's spoiled, self-centered nature seems a minor matter. Her timing is impeccable. Wenerick-Bell has a wonderfully mobile face that is delightful to watch, particularly in the moments when she has no lines. As for Truvy, the parlor owner and main stylist, powerhouse actor Amy Heller gives her a brashness and over-the-top presence that are immediately familiar. Rebecca Clendaniel, as town outsider and new assistant Annelle, carries her character from mousey tentativeness to unconventional self-assuredness with grace and believability. Clairee, portrayed by Maribeth Vogel, moves from quietly dignified widowhood to vivacious vitality without upstaging anyone. Anne Hull as the curmudgeonly Ouiser has snappy delivery and quirky physicality that make her moments of comic relief authentically funny and never cartoonish.

The costuming, in a move so subtle I nearly miss it, quietly reflects the personal journey of each character during the three year timeline the show encompasses. One character moves from conventionally pretty to sassy and showy, another from deliberately disarrayed to conservative and tailored, and each of them, of course, have hairdo changes, some achieved with convincingly natural wigs.

When hairstyling (or any specialized skill) is presented as an integral part of a show, either casting must be done with an eye to folk already proficient in area, or the actors learn a new skill as part of the rehearsal process beyond the already formidable task of memorizing lines and blocking. This production faced and overcame several additional challenges, such as providing 'running' water onstage, working in a theatrical space that offers no dressing rooms, learning- and sustaining- a consistent, homogenous Southern accent (which they do, beautifully), the lack of a crucial set piece, finally acquired on Opening Night, and the various viruses that ran rampant this season, causing one rehearsal to be done with a voiceless actor walking through her blocking onstage, while the stage manager read her lines aloud.

The script of STEEL MAGNOLIAS celebrates the resilience of women, and this production of it particularly does so.It is a production of heart, from many hearts, and quite heart-warming. Applause to all involved parties.

A portion of the proceeds from this production will be donated to Spring Grove Hospital Center Patient Fund and a charity chosen by the cast, Emily's Gift, Inc.

Remaining performance dates are March 31st and April 1st at 8:00 PM, April 7th and 8th at 8:00 PM, April 9th at 2:00 PM

Admission recognizes two categories: $15.00 General Admission; $13.00 Student/Senior; https://app.arts-people.com/index.php?ticketing=hpinc for tickets.

Heritage Players, Inc.

The Thomas-Rice Auditorium

Spring Grove Hospital Center

55 Wade Avenue

Catonsville, Maryland 21228

Photo credit: John Cholod

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