'STEEL MAGNOLIAS' Characters are tough but sweet

The story is about six feisty women who go to the same beauty shop.
By L. CROW
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
The lives and friendships of six women are portrayed in Robert Harling's "Steel Magnolias," which opens Jan. 20 at Youngstown Playhouse.
Many are familiar with the movie, but the story actually came to life first as a play in 1987. The movie was produced in 1989, and the play began its Broadway revival in 2004.
Longtime Playhouse veteran Kathy Appugliese, the director, describes the play as "poignant, bittersweet and touching, but with lots of laughs."
The action takes place in the '80s at Truvy's Beauty Salon in a small town in Louisiana. "This is a group of feisty women who meet every Saturday to gossip and have their hair done," said Appugliese.
"You get the feeling these women have known each other for a long, long time," said Laura Phillips of Campbell, who plays M'Lynn. "And they all love each other very much. They are close enough that they can bicker, and there are lots of digs and inside jokes. But they are always there for each other when they need support."
Phillips describes her character as down-to-earth, and not pretentious. "She is a basic mom," Phillips said. "She has two sons, and a daughter [Shelby] she dotes on."
Favorite scene
The play opens on the wedding day of Shelby, played by Sara Klimenko. Both Appugliese and Phillips chose this as their favorite scene.
"Shelby's father, Drum, is shooting birds out of the trees," said Appugliese. "The wedding is in their back yard, and he doesn't want the guests to have to dodge bird-doo. Ouiser is complaining because the shots are scaring her dog. There is all kinds of chaos going on."
"They are all at the beauty parlor having their hair and nails done for the wedding," Phillips added. "M'Lynn and Shelby are arguing about nail polish. The audience gets a lot of background information from this scene that will make the rest of the play make sense, but they don't realize it at the time."
Ouiser (pronounced "weezer") is one of the neighborhood "elders," and Appugliese describes her as acerbic. She is played by Anne Finnerty-James, who was seen last fall at The Oakland as Sunny Jacobs in "The Exonerated."
The other elder, Clairee, is the matriarch of the town. She is played by Regina Reynolds. Truvy, owner of the beauty salon, is played by Terri Wilkes, who was Mother Superior in "Nunsense," the season opener at the Playhouse.
Michelene Pancoe, a newcomer to the Playhouse, will play a newcomer to the town, Annelle, whom Truvy hires to work at the beauty shop.
Paul and Kadey Kimpel designed the set and costumes. "The beauty shop is real basic, not fancy," said Appugliese. "It was a former carport that was converted, so it's not upscale. But the town itself is homey, suburban, comfortable. And the costumes reflect the '80s era. We had a lot of fun picking out clothes and looking back to what we wore then."