Source : PERTHNOW NEWS
Last time Lisa McCune took to the stage at His Majesty’s Theatre, she was a 13-year-old extra in The Pirates Of Penzance.
Four gold Logies and decades later, McCune is stepping out to lead a powerhouse cast of women in Lee Lewis’ production of Steel Magnolias.
The Perth run is not just another stop on the play’s national tour, but a homecoming of sorts.
“When I was growing up, His Majesty’s Theatre was the theatre in town — the biggest and best place to perform. It will be really special,” McCune says, chatting to STM while sitting on stage at Sydney’s Theatre Royal ahead of the production’s final performance in the harbour city before it heads west.
Though born in Sydney, McCune moved to WA as a toddler and spent her formative years in Perth. She studied musical theatre at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts and built a career that saw her become one of Australia’s most beloved performers.
“Being able to study away from the Eastern States and be an unknown quantity hitting the east . . . that was really special, to come from the west and go east,” she says.
“It’s interesting to come back. I always marvel at how big WA is getting in the arts, with the new film studios and WAAPA campus.”
That homecoming arrives via one of the most enduring stories in modern theatre.
Based on playwright Robert Harling’s experience of losing his sister, Steel Magnolias follows six women whose lives intersect in a small-town Louisiana beauty salon, balancing comedy with a profound exploration of friendship, family and grief.
McCune takes on the role of M’Lynn Eatenton, the devoted mother memorably portrayed by Sally Field in the film 1989 adaptation. Her daughter Shelby, played on screen by Julia Roberts and on stage by Home And Away’s Jessica Redmayne, is the spirited young woman at the heart of the story.
“The beauty with Steel Magnolias is because the play came first, before the film, and most people don’t know that. I think it actually works better (on stage) than the screen,” co-producer Neil Gooding says.
“You see these six women and the way their lives wrap around each other, the stories they tell each other and the secrets that they share.”
One moment the audience are doubled over with laughter. The next, they’re reaching for a tissue.
But despite the play’s heavy themes, the audience, surprisingly, spends more time laughing than crying.
“How often do you get to sit in a room next to a stranger and laugh with 1200 people? It’s a lovely feeling to share that experience,” McCune says.
The Blue Heelers star believes the emotion it evokes is at the heart of why Steel Magnolias continues to resonate with audiences nearly 40 years after its debut.
“I think Robert Harling’s take on family, not just sometimes being your immediate family, but they can sometimes be your extended chosen family . . . and how important that is,” she says.
In an era of social media and AI-generated advice, part of Steel Magnolias’ enduring appeal may also lie in its reminder of a more tangible form of connection, Gooding suggests.
“The need that individuals have for that set of people they can go and offload to, who’s not their husband nor their family,” he says.
McCune’s portrayal is one of quiet strength. While many of the play’s biggest laughs belong to the women around her — including Belinda Giblin, Mandy Bishop and Debra Lawrance — M’Lynn serves as its emotional anchor, carrying much of the story’s heartbreak in a passionate crescendo.
“Lisa’s role is relatively quiet for 60 per cent of the show and then becomes the emotional and beating heart of the play,” Gooding says.
“She naturally has this likeability. Lisa walks on stage and you just know that you want to follow her and follow that story,” he says.
“The shock is when it turns dramatic in the last third. Lisa’s acting skill in that, and the ability she has to restrain her emotions and then erupt out quickly . . . she makes it look very easy, and it’s not. It’s a really tricky role.”
Living in M’Lynn’s world night after night has also prompted McCune to reflect on her own role as a mother to three children in their 20s, recognising the delicate balance parents must strike between protecting their children and allowing them to make their own decisions.
“One of the lessons I’ve learnt in being a mother is letting them live their own life . . . and that’s M’Lynn’s journey,” she says.
“Sometimes you do have to just zip it and just be accepting. Maybe the best mothers are that.”
Steel Magnolias is playing at His Majesty’s Theatre from July 7 to 18. Buy tickets at www.artsculturetrust.wa.gov.au
