“Today” and “tonight” signify Friday, April 3.
SEQUIM — The women come from New Jersey, Kentucky, Port Angeles and Sequim. Together, they are our “Steel Magnolias.”
These ladies, mind you, “are not afraid to throw down and really speak their mind with one another,” said Angela Poynter-Lemaster, the Kentuckian who portrays M’Lynn, one of the six women we meet inside Truvy’s Louisiana beauty parlor.
Truvy’s — women, hairdos and all — takes shape at Olympic Theatre Arts, as “Steel Magnolias” opens tonight for a three-week run. And Poynter-Lemaster, who’s as outspoken as her character, feels the play is a stronger work than the 1989 movie version.
The film certainly made “Magnolias” famous, what with stars Julia Roberts, Shirley MacLaine, Daryl Hannah, Olympia Dukakis, Sally Field and Dolly Parton. It also had Tom Skerritt, Dylan McDermott and Sam Shepard.
But in Robert Harling’s play, the men are not seen. Instead, the women exchange confidences, fears and plenty of the frank talk that occurs inside hair salons everywhere.
“You really get to know these women. The story line is not diluted by other characters,” said Poynter-Lemaster.
As M’Lynn, she portrays the mother of Shelby (Lauren Denton), who marries and becomes pregnant early in the story. Shelby is a type I diabetic; because of her illness, her doctor advised her against having children.
We also meet Annelle (Lily Carignan), a hairdresser at Truvy’s. She’s relatively new in town, and when Ouiser, played by Darlene Clemens of Port Angeles, comes into the beauty shop and presses her for details about her life, Annelle delivers a confession that her husband has disappeared.
There’s also Clairee (Olivia Shea), the widow of the town’s mayor and a woman who, early on, is “kind of lost without my husband,” as Shea puts it.
Truvy, the hostess and blondest, is played by Jennifer Horton.
“Isn’t our Dolly Parton great?” asked Shea, referring to the actress who played Truvy in the movie.
“She nails it,” added Poynter-Lemaster.
Besides back-combing, curling and baby’s-breathing Shelby’s hair for the wedding, Truvy lets fly some zingers. But then, so does each of the women.
“It’s a real ensemble cast. Everybody gets their shining moment,” said Shea, who has acted in and directed many shows in Sequim — including Olympic Theatre Arts’ “Steel Magnolias” in 1991.
Shea played M’Lynn last time. As Clairee, she discovered something: Shelby, whose story ends tragically, becomes a catalyst in the others’ lives. Having known her, each one grows into a different, stronger woman, Shea believes.
Denton auditioned for the role of Shelby after a long hiatus from the stage. Originally from Westfield, N.J., she moved to Sequim last year with her husband and two young children. She hasn’t been in a theater production for some 15 years, since she was a student at Villanova University.
“This popped up at the perfect time,” she said. “I really needed something of my own.”
“Steel Magnolias,” Denton added, is about women sharing their resilience.
“I love all the characters. They’re strong because of the relationships they have with each other.”
