By SASHA PAULSEN
Register Features Editor
I was living in Europe when the film "Steel Magnolias," was released and so I missed this cultural landmark, and when Dreamweavers sent over word that this was their next production, I had to ask around to find out what, in fact, it was all about.
Being told it was the story of six women in a Southern beauty salon, I felt an attack of debilitating snobbery overtaking me.
But I went to opening night anyway, mostly because I admire what Dreamweavers has been able to accomplish in the last few months. Faced with eviction for being behind in the prohibitive rent they have to pay for their tiny theater, they turned to the community, found friends they might never have suspected they had, kept their doors open and went on with their shows.
"We're starting to see the light again," Debbie Baumann, director of "Steel Magnolias" told the audience before the start of the show. The strong hit "Biloxi Blues" brought money into their coffers, and if there's any justice, her own show should fill them much further, while providing entertainment.
She has put together a cast of astonishing actors who work magic with a remarkably funny script and make it their own.
The show takes place entirely in the Chinquapin, La., beauty salon, owned by Truvy Jones, played with flamboyant relish by Jessica MacMillan who, complete with her leopard skin print high heels and matching tunic, espouses the theory "there's no such thing as natural beauty."
She has just hired a young assistant, Annelle (Chandra Bolyarde), who is nervously bewildered by life, and in particular a marriage in which her husband has gone missing, but the police are searching for him.
One by one characters arrive at the salon, where anyone who is anyone in Chinquapin goes. These include Clairee Blecher, (Patte Quinn) a football-loving widow who is getting used to not being the First Lady of Chinquapin after the death of her husband, the mayor. M'Lynn Eatenton (June Alane Reif) is the mother of the belle of Chinquapin, and wife of one of the resident lunatics, who is given to shooting off his gun and scaring the dog of Oiser Bourdreaux, (Rose Marie Sweeney), a woman who by right of riches, says anything she pleases, most of it nasty.
The focus of this haven of femininity is the impending wedding of M'Lynn's lovely daughter, Shelby (Brookyn Santiago). Shelby, a diabetic, who has struggled with her disease mightily, is determined nonetheless to live her life fully, and her own tragedy grounds the wicked cynical humor that swirls around her.
The cast is a marvel, shooting off their one-liners, back and forth like firecrackers at a Fourth of July picnic. Utterly believable as critics of love and life in general, they reflect on the invisible men in their lives with wry humor that never quite loses its heart. I found myself, however, just waiting for one of them to turn their acerbic observations to the number of typos in the local newspaper. Fortunately, it was spared.
Again, the crew has created a great set, rich in detail down to the jar of Ponds cold cream and framed portraits of movie stars.
A renewed Dreamweavers seems to be heading in a good direction, providing much needed laughter and heart for the community. The show is a delight, and a credit to supporters, including Napa Valley Petroleum, which sponsored this production.
Performances continue April 15, 16, 17, 22, 23, 24, 29 and 30 and May 1. Show times are Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., Sundays at 2 p.m. A special performance Thursday, May 14 at 8 p.m. is a benefit for students going on a Sierra Service Project to Owens Valley this summer. Tickets to all shows are $18, general and $15 for students and seniors. For tickets or information, call 255-LIVE (5483).
From the Napa Register's website - © 2003, Pulitzer Newspapers, Inc.
