MARCH 11, 2022, KEIZERTIMES, PAGE A1
LIFE
Keizer Homegrown
kicks off Women’s
History Month with
Steel Magnolias
BY CHARLES GLENN
Of the Keizertimes
Two
years
ago,
Keizer
Homegrown Theater (CKHT) was
all set to proudly put on the play
Steel Magnolias, by Robert Harling.
The six-person, all-women cast had
prepared for weeks, memorized their
lines, decided on costumes, set per-
formance times – and then COVID
crashed the party. This Friday, they
finally get to “break a leg,” – and
coincidentally, they’re also kicking
off Women’s History Month.
“We had already rehearsed for
two weeks,” said Jennifer Johnson,
the play’s director and member of
the KHT board. “Four of our six
actors are returning from two years
ago. So it’s been a long process.”
“It was, you know, we’ll go up
in four months, then it was six
months,” explained an exasperated
Johnson. “We’ve just been pushing
it out and pushing it out. So it’s been
great that we’ve hit it at exactly the
right time.”
Despite the delays, and having to
replace two of the previous actors,
Johnson says the cast is ready to go
and excited about the play.
Most people know the film of the
same name starring Sally Fields,
Julia Roberts and Dolly Parton. The
play, which is very similar to the
film version, takes place on a sin-
gle set and is based on a true story.
Harling wrote the original play in
the early 1980s about the death of
his sister and the women he grew
up around in northwest Louisiana.
The play has been immensely
popular since it debuted and has
appeared in community theaters
across the country, and even in
far-flung venues such as Poland
and Estonia. It was performed on
Broadway in 2005 and starred Delta
Burke and Rebecca Gayheart.
“What I love about this show is
that the actors are all very different
women,” said Johnson. “The char-
acters are all different and they are
strong in their own ways. So I love
Theresa Burke, left as "Annelle" and Danna Swananberg prepare for their Friday opening
Photo by CHARLES GLENN
performance at the Keizer Homegrown Theater.
that it’s not just ‘women are fab-
ulous and men are stupid,’ it’s not
that kind of show at all. I appreciate
that it’s building bridges as well as
showing the strength of women.”
Danna Swanenberg is one of the
cast members from the original
Cynthia Hicks, left, as "M'Lynn," Amanda Konstantin, middle, as "Shelby," and Danna Swanenberg, right, as "Truvy"
production. She plays the role of
Truvy, who she describes as a “spir-
ited woman.”
“I will say that it was one of those
roles that I had specified that I was
interested in,” said Swanenberg.
“The idea is that these women are
tender as magnolias and as
hard as steel.”
Swanenberg
joins
Theresa Burke as Annelle,
Wendy Braun as Ouiser,
Cynthia Hicks as M’Lynn,
Amanda Konstantin as
Shelby, and Shelley Stoye
as Clairee.
“This is our 10 year anni-
versary,” said Johnson.
“We’ve also been hosting
other groups in the the-
ater. We have an acting
class that goes on here four
times per week, we have a
comedy club that comes
about twice a month. We’re
also doing The Music Man
later this year at the high
school.”
Steel Magnolias runs
from Mar. 11-27 at the Keizer
Cultural Center. Tickets
can be purchased online
or at the door for $15 (free
with the Oregon Trail card,
limit one per transaction).
Showtimes are 7 p.m.
each Friday and Saturday
in March, and each Sunday
at 2 p.m.
Photo by CHARLES GLENN