Steel Magnolias debuted as a stage play in 1987, followed by the film two years later. Since then, it has been produced throughout the country numerous times. Seeing it on the stage today is like dusting off a book you have read before and reliving the experience.

The latest presentation by the Ramona Hillside Players has its pluses and minuses. In some ways, it is the age-old differences between mother and daughter and the gossipy neighborhood gossip meeting place.

Act I opens in a home beauty salon where the owner (Amanda Lashmit), Truvy and her newly hired young employee (Macy Weinfurter), Anelle, are fussing about prepping for the day to come.

Soon the women begin to join them and then the fun begins. A very rebellious (Sheila Burke) Shelby, whose impending marriage is the talk of the town, sits in the beautician’s chair and Truvy starts to work on her hair when they are joined by (Monica Reichl) M‘Lynn. Shelby’s mother strongly objects to the wedding, claiming she is too young to marry. This becomes a battle of wits between the two throughout the first act, But Shelby is set on marriage and that is that.

A woman of means and wife of a former mayor (Janet Fulton), Clairee bounces in as a lady who knows how to dish the gossip as well as anyone in town and she doesn’t fail to perform her duty. Combine that with the town grouch with a heart of pure gold (Cheri Gilbert) Ouiser, a close friend of Clairee. Ouiser is as cantankerous as all outdoors. She is unhappy because she has no one in her life, but she slowly admits that a man has come to live with her but claims it is only a platonic relationship. It is evident to this group of gossipy women that she is hiding something. In Act II, she finally confesses there is more to it and seems, at last, to show a softer side.

Shelby decides she is going to have a baby. Her mother strongly objects, reminding her of “what the doctor says.” Mama insists that she should adopt, so the mother/daughter continues.

Annelle shows up in Act II, obviously in the final stages of pregnancy. She, who prays over and with anything and anyone and quotes the bible frequently, seems to have become more human.

This cast has loads of experience and it is amazing how well their staccato conversations move the action. These women are so typically southern that if you are from the south, you will immediately remember the gossip who would talk about her neighbors behind their backs and be the first to come in time of need. They wield a companionship that few men would understand. All of their husbands and boyfriends are only referred to.

The real action comes in Act II after a short intermission. Shelby gets married and has her baby, but she develops a problem and needs dialysis. She has kidney failure and true to her mother’s warnings, she is in deep trouble. Mama volunteers one of her kidneys to save her child’s life, but it doesn’t work and the crux of the play takes place when Shelby dies.

That is when this play meets its truth.

Despite their differences in politics, love and existence, they come together as one for M’Lynn’s time of grief and sorrow. They show the kind of strength women have when it comes to emotions. Coming together when one of them is in need reflects the strength of women and particularly in women of the deep south.

The final scene of Act II erupts into a knockdown community weeping and wailing that quickly turns to laughter, proving the old adage that tragedy always turns to comedy but it takes some serious directing for that to happen so suddenly. Sarah Gibbon had the task of bringing so many personalities together that it seemed a miracle she could bring it off as successfully as she did.

No play is successful without good lighting, sound (a bit wobbly here) and settings. The staff deserves kudos.

If the play was a bit slow initially, it soon raced on to the end.

About the standouts in acting. Truvy keeps the pot boiling with aplomb and dialog rolling off her tongue like an auctioneer. Monica Reichl and Shealagh Burke were perfectly paired as the mother and daughter who loved each other despite the stubbornness of them both.

Janet Fulton and Macy Weinfurter were more than adequate but the standout to me was Cheri Gilbert who stole every scene. She presented a satiric personality with so much conviction that it seemed she was incapable of warmth until she showed who she really was. Outstanding.

Just sayin’

rustystrait@gmail.com

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Ramona Hillside Players have opened auditions for “Come Blow Your Horn”

What does it mean to “grow up?” When does it happen? And, does everyone have the same experience? Neil Simon’s semi-autobiographical play, “Come Blow Your Horn” examines all of these questions through the lens of the Baker Family.

It’s the story of a young man’s decision to leave the home of his parents for the bachelor pad of his older brother who leads a swinging ’60s lifestyle.

In the story, there is Mr. Baker, who began working at age eleven and was married at twenty-one: he’s adept at the art of emotional manipulation and is prone to hysterics; Alan, his eldest son, is a thirty-three-year-old confirmed bachelor and womanizer who lives in an apartment in the East Sixties, New York City; Buddy, the youngest, is a 21-year-old virgin and obviously is Alan’s opposite—hard-working, obedient, reserved, and unsure.

Throughout the course of the play, the family struggles to understand and adjust to one another, as the two sons begin to grow up, and the parents realize that they are growing old. Alan discovers real feelings for one of the many women with whom he is currently sleeping and, when she elects to leave him, he falls apart in response. This juxtaposes Alan’s hunger for companionship with Buddy’s metamorphosis into a ladies’ man himself. The playwright points out the fundamental spiritual and emotional emptiness of the playboy lifestyle for which the younger sibling desperately yearns.

“Come Blow Your Horn” is Neil Simon’s first play, which premiered on Broadway at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre on February 22, 1961 and had a London production in the West End in 1962 at the Prince of Wales Theatre. The play closed on October 6, 1962 after 677 performances and one preview. Also, the play was made into a film in 1963, starring Frank Sinatra as Alan and Tony Bill as Buddy. After that, Simon’s play was revived at the Jewish Repertory Theater, New York City, running in December 1987. Then in June 2005 Jacob Murray directed a production at the Royal Exchange, Manchester.

Howard Taubman, in his review for The New York Times, wrote that the play was “smoothly plotted and deftly written…Mr. Simon has served up a multitude of sprightly lines. Best of all, he has provided some explosively hilarious moments rooted in character.” A curious fact is that Simon modeled the on-stage parents on his own mother and father.

Now, Ramona Hillside Players in Hemet will hold open auditions for “Come Blow Your Horn,” this time Directed by Matt Riggle who is looking for the perfect faces and energy to give life to these interesting characters on stage. The Auditions will be held on January 20 & 21, 2020 at 7:00 PM. The performances for this amazing play will be on March 13, 14, 15, 20, 21 & 22, 2020 at Ramona Hillside Players in Hemet.

The audition will consist of cold readings from the script. All applicants to earn a role in the play must be prepared with a resume, headshot, pen or pencil, and a list of conflicts.

Below there is a list of the full cast of Characters and what is required to complete the teamwork:

*** All Ages are Relative ***

Alan Baker: 30-39
30-year-old male, a man about town, handsome.

Peggy Evans: 20-29
A beautiful young lady in her 20s.

Buddy Baker: 21
Alan’s 21-year-old brother, naïve.

Mr. Baker: 60-69
in his 60s; hard-working business owner.

Connie Dayton: 20-29
A beautiful young lady in her 20s.

Mrs. Baker: 55-59
In her late 50s, a housewife, manipulative with her sons.

A Visitor: 50-59 In her fifties

Ramona Hillside Players would like to wish all applicants good luck and invite all who have the requirements that are requested in the Character List to give their best shot and give their best at the auditions.

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