'STEEL MAGNOLIAS' SOFTENS FALCON.

Byline: Evan Henerson Theater Critic

WASN'T IT only yesterday that the Falcon Theatre was trumpeting a subscription season featuring edgy product like Lee Blessing's ``Cobb'' and John Belluso's ``Gretty Good Time?''

Clearly this is another year, another season. Bye bye, Blessing and Belluso. Hello, Jack Klugman - and good morning, you hairstyling ladies of Chinquapin, La.

Plays don't get much safer than Robert Harling's ``Steel Magnolias,'' an estrogen-soaked weepfest that's probably more well-known because it became a movie that offered Julia Roberts one of her first leading roles. But it was a play first, and now, among the community and dinner theater circuit, it's an easy crowd-pleaser, theatrical comfort food at its most warm-blanketish.

Not that it comes across especially fun or heartwarming at the Falcon, where D. Lynn Myers' sextet of performers looked under-rehearsed opening night. Lines were noticeably fumbled and stepped on. Maybe it was opening jitters, and there was nothing show-stoppingly egregious, but with material this flimsy, a cast better be at the top of its game.

Myers' ensemble looks the part: beauty-parlor owner Truvy (played by Beth Grant) with a heart as big as her hair; rich but cranky Ouiser (Kathryn Joosten, who was far more menacing as the president's secretary Mrs. Landingham on ``The West Wing''); kooky and mysterious newcomer Annelle (Madison Dunaway) and vivacious Clairee (Ruta Lee), the former mayor's wife - a widow as merry as you're likely to see. Line flubs aside, all of the performers are fine - boisterous, energetic or somber as the case may be.

The action of ``Steel Magnolias'' is the push/pull relationship between M'Lynn (Karen Valentine) and her daughter Shelby (Beth Anne Garrison). Shelby has a debilitating form of diabetes but wants to live life to its fullest, much to the disgruntlement of the overprotective but doting M'Lynn. The clashes and the outbursts telegraph as expected, given the material's familiarity.

Garrison generates the most heat, making Shelby's naivete seem far less disruptive than her beneficence. The play martyrs Shelby, given that she's the character who pretty much always has to be serious, but Garrison routinely rises above the ooze.

Lewis Abramson's beauty-parlor set - a not-too-feminine blend of greens and whites - gives Truvy's the personalized air of a cherished neighborhood haunt. You can understand why this group of friends is drawn back for milestones significant and otherwise.

Evan Henerson, [phone]

evan.henerson(at)dailynews.com

STEEL MAGNOLIAS - Two stars

Where: Falcon Theatre, 4252 Riverside Drive, Burbank.

When: 8 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, 4 p.m. Sunday; through Nov. 22.

Tickets: $25 to $37.50. Call [phone].

In a nutshell: As safe and soppy as ever.