Stepping into a different area today as I review a live performance of a theater piece. My reasoning here is that it is important for me to do what I can to support this incredible company here in my hometown of Bowling Green, Kentucky, and a professional company deserves a fitting review. Part of Musiterania’s mission is an emphasis on LIVE performances. I’m concentrating on live, locally produced performances — not recordings, not live streams, and not videos on YouTube.
There were two performances of Steel Magnolias: the premiere was on Saturday, February 21, 2026, at 7:30 p.m., and today, Sunday, February 22, 2026, at 3:00 p.m., a matinee, which I think is a great thing to offer.
I have never watched the movie Steel Magnolias. I had heard of it. This is good, because in my mind it was a “World Premiere.” I had no idea what it was about or what the message was going to be. Also, this was originally written as a play and then adapted for the silver screen — not the other way around.
I’ll start by saying that I loved that it was about people speaking text in a theatrical piece. There was no leaning on special effects or hyped musical pieces to prop up the energy and hold the audience’s attention. There was no murder, sex, or lewd language used, and the characters weren’t stereotyped but portrayed human beings as they really are. There was no reliance on silly slapstick gags to get laughs; the light-hearted comedy was a result of the natural interaction between the characters. In today’s world of hype and overdone theater, this honesty was a breath of fresh air.
As the piece started, I began to ask myself the question, “What is this about?” It figured to be a comedy, but that is usually a device used to deliver serious thematic material as the piece progresses.
It is set in a beauty parlor somewhere in Louisiana, with a small brood of cackling women of a certain age, hosted by the flamboyant hairdresser and beautician, Truvy Jones (Ashlee Wilson Quinn), assisted by her newly hired help and born-again Christian, Annelle Dupuy-Desoto (Abby Luckett). M’Lynn Eatenton (Catherine Mary Stewart) and her daughter Shelby Eatenton-Latcherie (McKenna OGrodnik) provided the dramatic theme for the play. The two “plenty-to-add” customers of the salon, Ouiser Boudreaux (*Kirsti Carnahan) and Clairee Belcher (Abby Apple Boes), rounded out the delightful cast.
The play unfolds as naturally as a slow-developing disease becomes apparent. The ingénue, Shelby, faints during the dialogue created amid the preparation for her wedding day. It is revealed that she has diabetes. The piece proceeds naturally as Shelby gets pregnant, gives birth to a premature son, is forced to go on dialysis, and her mother donates one of her kidneys to “give Shelby life twice.” The operation is successful, but Shelby’s body rejects the kidney, and she passes away.
As I watched this play, I was forced to recall my brother’s recent Liver transplant a couple of years ago. I remember him sitting in the wheelchair at 4:00 a.m. as his family and I wished him well on his operation and watched as they carted him back to the operating room. How does one handle that moment the right way? How should we act? What is it like for the patient to be put under, not being sure they’ll wake up again? These are things that came to mind for me this evening, and the actors played it exactly right.
What does this tell us? That our lives are temporary? That our family and friends aren’t just there in good times, but give us strength in hard times? People need each other, even with all of their faults and shortcomings. Life is messy. We are messy. But we can make it a good mess.
The authenticity of the drama lies in the nature of people to gloss over bad news and tragedy with humor and goodwill. My father was doing this all the time, often to the point of insensitivity. The piece is really genius in the fact that the dialogue isn’t overburdened with the theme of illness. It is used as the backdrop for conversations about each of the women. In the end, after all of the personality clashes and comedic situations, the fact remains that long-time friends and family who have been part of the fabric of life become an inseparable part of it and a welcome comfort during hard times.
McKenna OGrodnik’s Shelby was a lively, positive, and seemingly healthy young woman whom you liked from the beginning. This made losing her all the more tragic. Oddly enough, I found myself happy to see that she didn’t really die, but came out for the curtain call. Catherine Mary Stewart was an elegant woman who held herself together for her daughter. There was some tension between the two, as all mother-daughter relationships have, and I believed them.
Ashlee Wilson Quinn’s loud and humorous Truvy held the entire evening together; after all, she owned the joint. Abby Luckett was a convincing born-again Christian assistant, Annelle. I thought the unannounced pregnancy was possibly the result of her visit to the Christian retreat in the Ozarks, and I found it a slight tease on the “purity” of religion. *Kirsti Carnahan’s Ouiser owned the stage the moment she stepped on it and never gave it up. Her characterization was edgy and annoying, which is exactly how it was meant to be. Abby Apple Boes’ Clairee was pointed and well delivered. Her nonchalant attitude and sharp wit made for many light moments.
Tim Altmeyer’s direction was mature and well-balanced. The dialogue flowed in an almost subconscious stream of thought from one actor to the others, just as it would in a beauty salon. One of the most difficult things to direct is naturalism on stage. The characters were not forced or overdirected. I noticed no points of the common “The director told me to do this” moments. At the end of the day, if you can recognize each character clearly, believe in their interaction, and be pulled into the story of Shelby’s disease without mushing around in it, that is no small feat. There was no giving in to theatrical thrills to force emotion in the audience; he fell for no such tricks.
The set was beautifully executed, expansive, and filled the entire stage with a level of finish and cohesion one expects from a fully professional production. Designed, built, costumed, and staged entirely by the Ramsey Theater Company, this was not “community theater” in the casual sense, but a professional production mounted to national standards. Presented in SKYPAC’s nearly 1,800-seat hall — a venue equal in scale and technical capability to major regional houses — the performance demonstrated that Bowling Green is home to serious, professional theater. My congratulations to the entire SKYPAC and Ramsey Theater Company team for delivering work of this caliber.
*Appearing courtesy of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.
About Musiterania
Musiterania is dedicated to supporting LIVE performance and the artists who bring it to life. By focusing on locally produced events and professional artistry at every level, Musiterania seeks to highlight excellence, integrity, and authenticity in the performing arts. When a production is reviewed by Musiterania, it represents a commitment to thoughtful engagement, respect for the craft, and the celebration of artists who shape our cultural landscape in real time.
