[NoHo Arts District, CA] – The Group Rep has been a cornerstone of NoHo’s theater scene for over four decades, and their current production of Steel Magnolias is exactly the kind of live theater Los Angeles needs right now.
We chatted with playwright and The Group Rep’s Artistic Director Doug Haverty about why Steel Magnolias still resonates, how this cast came together, and what’s ahead in a season that includes courtroom drama, musical theater, and classic mystery.
Steel Magnolias has been making audiences laugh and cry since 1987. What made you want to bring it to The Group Rep right now?
I love the play; I love the humor, the honesty and the camaraderie. Most of all, I admire the writing. There are classic funny lines in this play that have all withstood the passage of time. I also love that this is a play about a family of choice as opposed to family by blood. At the end of the play, M’Lynn says as she’s getting ready to exit, “I don’t think you all realize how wonderful you are.” It’s just a perfect capsule of humanity. The message is that “life goes on” but also that it’s richer if shared with a community.
We had never done this play at Group Rep., and I felt (along with my Artistic Council) that this year, our audience needed a play like this to remind us that life can be funny and to appreciate the good things we have in our lives.
This show lives or dies on the chemistry between six women. How did you find this cast and how did you know you had the right group?
The Group Rep is a membership company. So, we “try” and cast every production from within the roster of our acting members. We have an embarrassing array of very talented actresses in our company, and we knew this would be a tough choice; and it was. You can cast wonderful actors, but you never know about the chemistry – that is something magical that comes about during the rehearsal process. I will say that our director, Kathleen R. Delaney, is very skilled at both direction and building an ensemble where that chemistry is allowed to grow, bloom and flourish.
This story wrecks people every time. Is there a moment in this production of Steel Magnolias that still gets you even after all the rehearsals?
There are several for me. I love it when M’Lynn (the mother of Shelby) says that she feels privileged because she got to be there when this beautiful soul came into this world, and she got to be there when she departed. I’m paraphrasing here. And it always gets me when M’Lynn gets angry because she’s so healthy still and her daughter wasn’t. And she’s angry that her little grandson will never know how wonderful his mother was and what sacrifices she made to give him life. I love that the author, Robert Harling, chose anger at this moment. It would have been so easy to just have her cry about her loss, but he chose anger and it’s so theatrical, unexpected and real. It’s just lovely writing and the actors (under the direction of Delaney) do it beautifully.
A lot of people know Steel Magnolias from the 1989 film. Why should someone in their 20s who has never seen it live get off their phone and come to the Lonny Chapman Theatre for this one?
As much as I love the play (and I do), I also love the film. The film, with its incandescent cast: Olympia Dukakis, Sally Field, Darryl Hannah, Shirley MacLaine, Dolly Parton and Julia Roberts, gave voice to Harling’s script and gave us a lasting treasure for many generations to see.
Why should people, of any age, leave the comfort of their homes and brave traffic and parking to experience this play? Because it is soul food. We get to laugh and see this family-of-choice weather life’s challenges and survive it all because of community. Like all good theater, it holds a mirror up to us and makes us reflect on our lives and choices and ultimately feel good about humanity. It is a perfect prescription for the heartache this country is currently going through. It reminds us that people need people and that life is precious and to savor it. And there is something about seeing a play with other people so that it becomes a shared experience. No two performances are alike, primarily because of the alchemy of the audience and performers. It turns up the volume of the experience of the play and makes a lasting impression.
What is your favorite production you have been part of at The Group Rep and why?
It’s hard (and politically incorrect as Artistic Director) to name any one production as a favorite. But to answer your question, one of my best acting experiences was with a play we did in 2008 called Inspecting Carol. This was in November/December and the city was experiencing the pains of the Financial Downturn. Everyone was glum. But this little play was so funny, it was like a tonic. I have never experienced such huge gales of laughter. We had people coughing and wheezing because they were laughing so hard. There is an expression in the theatre called “holding for laughs” where the actors pause and wait for the laughter to die down and as soon as it starts to fade, you jump back in the waves. But this play had so much holding for laughs that the pausing became funny. And it was so fulfilling as an actor (and a Group Rep company member) to be able to offer this remedy to the public. The play deals with a small regional theater experiencing a downturn in support (from granting foundations and other sources). So, their one possible grant is contingent on an inspector coming to see their work. This inspector turns up during the run of the theater’s annual production of A Christmas Carol, which is usually augmented by people from the community. Well, at this particular performance, anything that could go wrong does. Way wrong. Hysterically wrong.
We don’t often produce shows we’ve already produced, but since we’re now in our 53rd season, it seemed all right to revisit this one. Again, people in Los Angeles need this respite. There is a current trend in theatre of plays that go “wrong.” This play was one of the forefathers of that movement. So, we’re marketing it as Inspecting Carol (A Christmas Carol gone awry).
How did you get involved in the Group Rep?
I had seen some plays at Group Rep and they were all very good. And Lonny Chapman (Founding Artistic Director) was leading a playwright’s group, so I sent him a play. The first night I turned up for a membership meeting, they did a presentation of a new play. This presentation had been skillfully directed, the actors were completely memorized, they had props and costumes, and they were performing on a set not necessarily conducive to the play. But the work was riveting. This play could have opened to the public the next day; that’s how well it had been rehearsed. I was impressed with the discipline, commitment and insanity of the process. These actors and this director had been working on this play for several weeks with no guarantee that it would be produced. They believed in it and that shared passion was awesome. I knew, then and there, that I had stumbled into the right place. These were my kind of people.
What is coming up next at The Group Rep and what can audiences look forward to in the 2026-27 season?
As always, I am excited about our season. Next up, we have the compelling courtroom drama based on John Grisham’s A Time to Kill. This, too, was made into a film (starring: Matthew McConaughey, Sandra Bullock and Samuel E. Jackson). I saw a production of this play ten years ago at our NoHo Arts District fellow company, The Theatre 68 directed by Ronnie Marmo. It was exquisite, compelling, and, again, held a mirror up to the audience that asks, “what would you do in a situation like this?” Rupert Holmes (one of my favorite writers) adapted the novel for the stage and he did an excellent job.
Following that, we have a theatrical musical called Applause. This is based on the Academy Award-winning film All About Eve. This is the showbiz story for the ages. There is even a song called “Fasten Your Seatbelts, It’s Going to Be a Bumpy Night.”
Great score, great book. This won the Tony for Best Musical. It was very hard for us to get, but we did get it and we’re thrilled to be able to present this rarely done epic musical.
For the fall, we’re also going to Agatha Christie’s second most popular play, A Spider’s Web. It’s easy to see why it’s such a favorite; it’s like a drawing room comedy with a murder mystery woven in. This, too, was made into a film starring Glynnis Johns.
For the holidays, we’re doing the aforementioned Inspecting Carol and we are closing out the season with Noel Coward’s ever-popular Blithe Spirit.
Did you know? The Group Rep was founded in 1973 and has been in NoHo since 1980!
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