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| Cowgirls | Review |
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THEATRE REVIEW:
“STEEL MAGNOLIAS” at the Moonlight
Theatre & “JULIE JOHNSON” at the Diversionary
Theatre & “COWGIRLS”
at the Old Globe Theatre
KPBS AIRDATE: January
24, 1996
Actresses are eternally -- and justifiably -- complaining
that there are not enough good, juicy roles for women.
Well, at this moment at least, they can’t really
gripe. There are no fewer than three shows on San
Diego stages that feature women prominently or exclusively.
These are not feminist tracts or treatises. They’re
much more about the joys of sisterhood and the value of
asserting your independence. Though they all lean
toward the sentimental, they’re also loaded with
laughs.
The most genuinely humorous is “Steel Magnolias,”
Robert Harling’s 1987 valentine to his late sister,
his mother and their friends. Even having seen the
1989 all-star film, it’s easy to get caught up in
the down-home humor and humanity of Truvy’s House
of Beauté in Chinquapin, Louisiana, and to forget
that there’s a heavy-duty, tearjerker ending coming
at you.
Up at Moonlight Amphitheater’s new Avo Playhouse,
Kathy Brombacher has cast and directed very solidly, and
the evening moves along with the jaunty lilt of a country
tune.
Speaking of which, there is “Cowgirls,”
making its West coast debut at the Old Globe Theatre.
It’s a country music confection, like one of those
ultra-sweet Southern divinity candies that melts away
before you even get to taste it. The flimsy premise
of this six-woman musical comedy is an all-’girl’
(as they say), classical trio being erroneously booked
into a Rexford, Kansas saloon. Everybody’s
life is hanging in the balance, one way or the other,
so necessity -- and theatrical contrivance -- help the
melodious longhair triumvirate miraculously, incredibly,
turn into country wailers literally overnight.
The most believable part of the whole affair is Rhonda
Coullet’s twangy talk and gut-wrenching singing.
Her songs are the most tuneful and authentic, too, especially
the aching “Time to Come Home.” The
rest of the score is cute, sometimes clever, but it won’t
touch your achy, breaky heart. The other singers
do better in ensemble than solo; the a capella harmonies
are spectacular. And the talent of these women,
playing multiple instruments in multiple genres, is awesome.
The set and lighting are right fine, and Eleanor Reissa
has buoyantly directed and choreographed her lively troupe,
which includes composer-lyricist Mary Murfitt and librettist
Betsy Howie. If hand-clappin’ and foot-stompin’
are what you favor, just send your extremities to the
theater; leave your critical, analytical mind at home.
You might have a few more brain cells firing during “Julie
Johnson,” New York playwright Wendy Hammond’s
sometimes funny, sometimes poignant coming-out story,
currently running at Diversionary Theatre. Director
Bill Poore has insisted on dragging the piece into the
sludge of melodrama, prolonging every moment and every
scene change beyond endurance, and apparently encouraging
his actors to go over the top with every beat. But
still, Gayle Feldman is centered and believable as the
title character, who, in turning away from her narrow-minded,
anti-intellectual environment, learns that moving up and
coming out can be exhilarating as well as alienating.
The same can be said for the performance of Elizabeth
Anderson, whose boisterous best friend is hilarious when
she doesn’t push too hard. Touching songs by local
singer-songwriter Jessi Benton Jones underline the play’s
themes. At least this show has them.
I'm Pat Launer, KPBS radio.
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COWGIRLS
An
American Family
