Steel Magnolias

Description

For Immediate Release The Magenta Theater proudly announces their latest production "Steel Magolias", directed by Dorinda Toner. It opens April 30th for 9 performances. This heart wrenching drama is about a beauty shop in Louisiana owned by Truvy (Hillary Marshall), and the tragedies of all of her clients. Shelby (Erin Smith) is a diabetic and getting married to a rich southern hunk of a lawyer. Her mother M'Lynn (Amanda Goff) is bossy, but caring. M'Lynn's friends include a cast of colorful and dynamic southern women of a multitude of ages and views. Shelby falls pregnant, despite having Type 1 diabetes much to her mother's disapproval. A pregnancy could be fatal for someone of Shelby's condition, but she claims she'd rather have thirty minutes of wonderful, than a lifetime of nothing special. Will Shelby live through this pregnancy and watch her baby grow up? Alternatively, will she die young and leave her mother asking why she couldn't go first. We also get a glimpse of the unlikely friendship between Clairee (Tamara Neill) and Ouiser (Sheila Macormack); Annelle's (Annaliese Gove) transformation from a shy, anxious newcomer in town, to a partying woman, then to a religious fundamentalist; and Truvy's relationships with the men in her family. Although the main storyline involves Shelby, her mother, and Shelby's medical battles, the underlying group-friendship among all six women is prominent throughout the drama. Through the views of these different women we see love, apathy, pain, loss, secrecy and a desperate attempt at living a life of happiness. Dreams built and burnt, the power of hope, the love between a mother and her child and the bond that can be so unbreakable between true friends. Their strengths will be sorely tried, their wit often stretched thin and their hearts broken. The story of Steel Magnolias is based on the tragic death of Robert Harling's younger sister, a diabetic. It began as a short story and evolved into a full-len