For Whom the Belles Toil

“Steel Magnolias,” like most plays, can be many things, depending on the director and actors. The chameleon qualities of Robert Harling’s play, now at Costa Mesa’s Theatre District, are more evident because it’s such an ensemble piece, depending on six actresses who are on stage for almost the entire time.

“Magnolias” takes place in Truvy’s beauty salon in Chinquapin, La., on four Saturday mornings over a three-year period. Truvy’s regulars have Saturdays to themselves, or more specifically, all to each other, for their lives are intertwined like a Gordian knot.

The plot is strong, but it has a soapy quality about Shelby, a young woman whose diabetes precludes her having children and is overshadowed by the play’s determined sense of family among the six women. It’s this family feeling that makes it such an interesting play, from the constant chattering, parrying and thrusting, to its funny and authentic conversational high-jinks.

The play’s changing colors--in New York it was about the young woman, at the Pasadena Playhouse it was about her mother--are largely directorial. In this staging, director Mario Lescot makes it about the family of friends, a portrait of Southern womanhood working feverishly to survive.

The story of Shelby’s eventual pregnancy, and her mother M’Lynn’s efforts to deal with the danger and its aftermath, is still central to the drama, but Lescot has brought it carefully into balance with the rest of Harling’s magnolia-scented characters. In some ways, this makes the drama more poignant; it also makes Harling’s message more clear.

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At rare moments the inner energy of the action softens, but it all seems to fit with the authenticity of Lescot’s staging.

The performances are sure and colorful. Shannon Hunt’s spiky Shelby is that typical Southern icon, the spoiled cheerleader-type daughter of a well-to-do family who, along with Karen Mangano’s solid down-to-earth mother M’Lynn, tries to have a life that means something in spite of M’Lynn’s bubba of a husband and Shelby’s two mini-bubba brothers. Hunt’s bubbling optimism and Mangano’s resigned wisdom are beautifully matched.

Nancy Petersen is a restrained but flamboyant Truvy, weary of her own “sofa slug” of a husband and perfectly matched with her new assistant, Annelle, a klutzy and not-too-bright young misfit, played with carefully laid-back humor by Jessica Learned.

The town’s grand lady, Clairee, widow of the former mayor, is often given a heavy-handed feel, but here Christi Sweeney gives her a nice touch of elegance and charm in a gratifyingly rounded portrait of a woman who might hold her money over the others but never does.

The town character, Ouiser, often played way overboard, is also given much charm by Suzan Kane in a performance notable for its wealth of detail and moderation.

* “Steel Magnolias,” Theatre District, 2930 Bristol St., Suite C-106, Costa Mesa. Friday-Saturday, 8 p.m.; Sunday, 7 p.m. Ends Oct. 3. $15-$20. (714) 435-4043. Running time: 2 hours, 25 minutes.

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“Steel Magnolias,”

Jessica Learned: Annelle

Nancy Petersen: Truvy

Christi Sweeney: Clairee

Shannon Hunt: Shelby

Karen Mangano: M’Lynn

Suzan Kane: Ouiser

A Theatre District production of Robert Harling’s comedy-drama. Directed by Mario Lescot. Scenic design: Two Blue Chairs Inc. Lighting design: Extended Visions. Sound design: Bonnie Vise, Endeavor Audio. Stage manager: Sharon Evans.