Boring theater’s ‘Steel Magnolias’ a shear delight

After enjoying the female camaraderie of “Love, Loss and What I Wore,” the women at Nutz-n-Boltz Theater Co. have brought yet another all-female-cast show to life: “Steel Magnolias.”

The play centers around Truvy, beauty salon owner, and her shop in Chinquapin, La., where Truvy has become family to anyone who sits in her chair, including five women of all different walks of life: M’Lynn Eatonton, Annelle Dupuy-Desoto, Shelby Eatonton-Latcherie, Clairee Belcher and Ouiser Bourdeaux.

The show is a classic, which appeals to many new and longtime appreciators of the Boring theater, but this cast also draws you in with their chemistry. You feel like you’re actually sitting in a chair at Truvy’s Beauty Shop with Truvy, Shelby, Annelle, M’Lynn, Clairee and Ouiser. When Kim Berger (Clairee) laughs, you laugh. When Angela Petrjanos (M’Lynn) cries, you cry. And when they all sit around gossiping about town affairs, you feel in on the secret.

As Truvy (played by Kelly Lazenby) says: “It’s up to us to define why we were put on this earth.” And these women were put here to perform in this show.
While “Steel Magnolias” is very well known because of the 1989 movie rendition starring big names, such as Shirley MacLaine, Dolly Parton, Sally Fields and Julia Roberts (to name a few), the play is somewhat different.
The play features the women of the cast and is set against the same one set for the entire run of the show. Because of its focus on the women’s relationships, it provides more context on them than the movie. That said, the play never felt lacking. And the functionality of the set was a pleasant surprise, with an operational hair washing station and everything. Even the smell of the hairspray set the scene.

Like many of Nutz-n-Boltz’s performances, “Steel Magnolias” is a must-see and perfect for audiences of all ages.

The show will run through Oct. 15 with shows at 7:30 p.m. Fridays, 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays. Tickets are available online at nnbtheater.com/theater and at the door, and season tickets are still available until the end of the “Steel Magnolias” run.
If you’re anything like Truvy and think “laughter through tears is (your) favorite emotion” then go check out this production while you still can.