From November 16th to 18th, the Montrose Upper School Players presented Steel Magnolias, a play which director Mrs. Juge promised would make the audience both “laugh and cry.” Mrs. Juge proved right – and echoed the words of main character Truvy: “laughter through tears is my favorite emotion.”
For the first time in Montrose School history, the six-person play was double-cast, with the “Blush” cast performing on Thursday and Saturday evenings and the “Bashful” cast making their debut on Friday night and ending their run at the Saturday matinee. The double-cast allowed more students to participate and to receive larger roles than would have otherwise been possible. Leading up to the performances, the casts often played acting games together and watched each other’s performances, in order to learn from each other. In the words of Lucy Elliffe, ’26 (playing Shelby): “It was really fun, and I feel like I got really close with people I wouldn’t have if the play wasn’t a thing.” Her sister Sienna Elliffe, ’27, praised both casts as “great!”
Steel Magnolias – which was written by Robert Harling as a memorial to his sister Susan Harling Robinson, who died of diabetes complications – presents many dramatic challenges to the actors. At one point in the script, the new girl in town, Annelle, cries hopelessly, “I really don’t think things can get any worse!” to which the cynical Ouiser retorts: “Of course they can!”
In a tight script that runs about an hour and a half, Harling tackles mother-daughter tension, debt, weddings, broken marriages, aging, romantic entanglements, neighborhood drama, diabetes, dialysis, pregnancy, death – and, perhaps most of all, grief. Quite a daunting list for a cast of 14–18 year olds!
To prepare for these issues, Mrs. Juge had the cast create backstories for their characters and also watch a presentation on the 80’s, which included information about Harling and his sister. All of this behind-the-scenes character work seems to have paid off. Ruby Quintiliani, ’27, stated: “I loved being in the show. I loved my character [Ouiser]; it was so much fun to play her.”
For the tech crew, perhaps the biggest challenge was coming up with a set that would be engrossing enough to hold the audience’s attention for the duration of the show. In contrast to productions such as the Middle School Players’ Willy Wonka, Jr, there were no constantly moving set pieces to add interest to the production. The tech crew had to create the world of Truvy’s Beauty Salon with such care that the audience would keep discovering new details throughout the play – such as receipts and advertisements taped to a bulletin board, 80’s beauty posters, shampoo and nail polish bottles of every variety, and even three real salon chairs. The tech crew was up to the challenge, creating a phenomenal set that took the audience back to 80’s small town Louisiana.
One of the most famous lines of the play comes from the character of Shelby, who states: “I would rather have thirty minutes of wonderful than a lifetime of nothing special.” Hats off to the Upper School Players’ cast and crew for creating a truly “special” production.
Lara Cratty ‘27, Contributing Writer
