WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Since it premiered off-Broadway in 1987, Robert Harling's "Steel Magnolias" has proven to be as resilient as the characters it portrays and the autoimmune disease survivors who identify with the story it tells.
After star-studded 1989 motion picture, a Broadway production in 2005, a TV film remake in 2012 and countless regional productions over the last few decades, the tale of fellowship and heartache in the American South will be told in North County on Friday, Sept. 13, by a group of Mount Greylock Regional School students.
Sophomore Mai Dekel is the ringleader of the six-person cast that will bring the show to life for one night only, but don't call her the show's director.
"I'm kind of running it," Dekel said recently. "I've been the organizer of it. I've been giving everyone their off-book dates. I've been going to all the costuming stuff. But it's definitely more collaborative. We've been giving feedback to each other.
"We're doing any titles like director or anything. We're just calling it ‘Steel Magnolias,' and we're performing it."
Dekel does take credit for the idea to do the play, an inspiration she had after viewing the 1989 Julia Roberts version.
She felt a special connection to the story. Dekel in 2020 was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, a condition she shares with the character portrayed by Roberts and the sister of playwright Harling, who inspired him to write the play.
"It was an emotional experience," Dekel said of her first time seeing the film. "When I first saw it, I went in kind of blind to the plot.
"Right off the bat, in the first scene when [Shelby] has a low blood sugar in the salon – that's a powerful and relatable scene for anyone with Type 1."
It was not long before Dekel was able to relate the characters in the play to friends from Mount Gryelock's theater program.
"I came up with the idea maybe in the late spring, I think," she said. "I ran it by a couple of my friends to see if they'd be interested. They responded very positively. I already had a cast in mind."
But in the months that followed, with a rehearsal schedule that worked around cast members' family vacation schedules, the project developed from the collective minds of the actors, Dekel said.
"It's been such a collaborative process," she said. "It's been great to work with all of them. They've been so enthusiastic to come up with new ways to interpret scenes.
"It's been rewarding to see everyone do that. I see the characters and read the play one way, but they come with their own takes on the characters."
In addition to drawing inspiration from the film version of "Steel Magnolias" Dekel was spurred by last fall's Mount Greylock student production of Oscar Wilde's "The Importance of Being Earnest." That show was a fund-raiser for The Trevor Project, a nod to the playwright's life in 19th century London.
This month's show will, likewise, double as a fund-raiser for Breakthrough T1D, the organization formerly known as the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and, more recently, JDRF.
"There have been so many advances [in Type 1 diabetes]," Dekel said. "They're working nonstop on cures and more technological advancements. It's wonderful to be able to reach out to people to donate. Whatever we can give back to them will be amazing."
The student-led production of "Steel Magnolias" is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 13. To buy tickets or donate, visit its fund-raising page here.
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Williams Grad Takes Silver at Paralympic Games
Williams College Sports Information
PARIS -- Sitting in the starting blocks of the Mixed PR3 Coxed Four A Final, lined up next to Italy, France, Great Britain, Germany, and Australia, 2023 Williams College graduate Ben Washburne and his crew were determined to take home a medal from the 2024 Paralympic Games on Sunday.
The American boat had won its heat two days earlier and pulled the third fastest time overall, so the United States boat was conceivably in contention for podium spots.
As the traffic lights on the start dock went from red to green, the race was off, and every crew came flying off the line with something to prove. For the first 250 meters, the leader of the race was anyone's guess. At the 500, the pack had started to separate, with Great Britain narrowly in front. Close behind were the Americans, the French, and Germans.
Through 1k, there was clearer separation, with Great Britain and the Americans pulling away from the rest of the field. The British looked unstoppable, but the USA wasn't going to let them get away easily. France and Germany were fighting each other hard for third but still trailed the Americans substantially.
This held true for the rest of the race, and despite a deep push from the USA to catch Great Britain, the British crossed the line first with a time of 6:55.30. Team USA finished second, going 6:58.59. They were followed by France (7:03.11), Germany (7:03.17), Australia (7:14.78), and Italy (7:15.63).
"Just crazy intense," Washburne said. "We were just all in the entire time, going for a medal. It seemed like we were possibly going to get it after the race started. Just trying to hold on the whole way through and pushing."
Washburne was the first Williams alumnus to compete at the Paralympic Games.
This month's show will, likewise, double as a fund-raiser for Breakthrough T1D, the organization formerly known as the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and, more recently, JDRF. click for more
The Mount Greylock Regional School Committee last week accepted a couple of financial gifts to the district and heard that a project eight years in the making should be ready for use this spring. click for more
The Planning Board last week talked about balancing housing and land conservation in the rural parts of town and protecting the aquifer that supplies drinking water to most of the town's inhabitants. click for more
The district's construction adviser, Bruce Decoteau, provided the committee with a number of updates in a brief session at the current fire house on Water Street.
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CATA, based in Great Barrington, is a wide-ranging program that serves artists in nearly every discipline imaginable, from painting to acting to juggling to creative writing.
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