Robert Harling's Steel Magnolias is not a play for jaded cynics. It's a lovely production, and all you have to do to enjoy it is to sit back and let yourself be a participant in the lives of these Southern women, well played by a fine ensemble cast: Delta Burke, Lily Rabe, Frances Sternhagen, Rebecca Gayheart, Christine Ebersole and Marsha Mason. The humor is folksy Americana, the characters have a reality to them and zing lots of amusing lines as they congregate to communicate in the local beauty shop. The set by Anna Louizos gives special flavor to the proceedings, as do the costumes by David Murin. Jason Moore has directed with a fine sensitivity to the drama as well as the comedy. The play takes place in 1987, but there is a timelessness to it, and as the concerns become more apprehensive, we feel for these "steel magnolias" and are uplifted as they show they can cope with whatever misfortune befalls them.
