Sound production
‘Steel Magnolias’ in radio-theater hybrid style at Popejoy
Inger Tudor is always up for a challenge.
Her latest certainly is fitting. Tudor is playing M’Lynn in
L.A. Theatre Works’ staging of “Steel Magnolias.” The production makes a stop at Popejoy Hall at 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 4.
Tudor says the challenge for this production is the radio-theater hybrid style.
This means that each actor stands at a microphone and performs individually.
“I’m a fan of the radio play style, and this is the first one I’ve done off book,” she says. “The challenge for this is it requires a lot more listening and concentrated attention, as well as a lot of imagination, because the actors don’t get to interact with each other.”
“Steel Magnolias” is the bittersweet story of six women in a small Louisiana town who gather under the dryers at Truvy’s Beauty Salon to share gossip, laughter, recipes and beauty secrets.
When tragedy strikes, they face it with sass and strength, supporting one another through thick and thin and forging a lifelong bond.
At turns both laugh-out-loud funny and deeply touching, “Steel Magnolias” reveals the strength of the human condition and our shared need for companionship.
The play was an instant hit when it opened off-Broadway at the WPA Theatre in New York City in 1987. The film version, directed by Herbert Ross, was one of the top-grossing films of 1989 and earned Julia Roberts her first Oscar nomination as well as a Golden Globe.
The story and staging helped draw Tudor to the production.
One other aspect is the diversity of the actors.
“Everybody brings something to the play,” she says. “We’re all from different backgrounds.”
The relationship between M’Lynn and her daughter, Shelby, is one that Tudor wanted to help tell.
“There’s a lot in it and that’s challenging emotionally,” she says. “There’s a lot of meat to the relationship. I connected with their relationship, because there is a history of diabetes in my family. That’s a big issue for Shelby. I’ve dealt with a lot of person loss, and M’Lynn is a very strong woman and she is professional. Before I started acting full time, I used to be a lawyer. I’ve been doing this for 25 years this year.”