... and--to a lesser extent--Annelle. What organizes the play, then, is not narrative momentum, but emotional complexity, the unfolding of a pattern of feeling and friendship that defines this small community of women. In the first of the play's four scenes, we are introduced to Truvy, to Annelle, her new assistant, and to the four customers who come to the beauty shop in preparation for the upcoming wedding. We learn that each of these women bears a personal burden: Truvy's husband "hasn't moved from in front of the TV set in fifteen years;" Annelle's husband has deserted her; Clairee's husband has died; and Ouiser, the survivor of marriages to "two total deadbeats," lives alone with only a dog to keep her company. Shelby, of course, is suffering from diabetes, a fact brought home to everyone on stage when she experiences a sudden fainting spell. And M'Lynn, Shelby's mother, is not only ...

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