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DRURY LANE THEATRE

Steel magnolias now extended by popular demand, show details, steel magnolias, june 10 - august 7, 2022.

  By: Robert Harling

In a beauty parlor in northwestern Louisiana, life is anything but boring. Steel Magnolias follows six women over the course of three years as they face life’s challenges together and find comfort in one another. Embracing both laughter and tears, this story celebrates the power of female friendship. The play received one Drama Desk Award nomination, and the popular film adaptation was nominated for an Academy Award and two Golden Globes.

Steel Magnolias is rated PG

Meet The Cast

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100 Drury Lane Oakbrook Terrace, IL 60181 Box Office:  +1 (630) 530-0111

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Theater | Review: ‘Steel Magnolias’ is a story well worth…

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Theater | review: ‘steel magnolias’ is a story well worth rediscovering this summer at drury lane theatre.

You’ve got a sympathetic portrait of a rural Southern town, a comedy entirely populated by female characters and yet gently penned by a man, a play sympathetic to rural Christians and working-class folks, a play focused on women of maturity, a play that makes no mention whatsoever of any political or contentious issues and makes no apology whatsoever for its own sentimentality. “Steel Magnolias” is like the Dolly Parton of the American theater, except Dolly has more courage to speak to everyone than theater producers.

But, you know, “Steel Magnolias” well understood some timeless truths. Older women dominate theater audiences. Plays in which characters struggle not with each other but with the mortality of one of their number are able to unify audiences of all races, creeds and ages. And communities under stress make for great shows because the audience becomes part of their fight. Just consider “Fiddler on the Roof.”

Plus Harling knew how to construct comedy. Take for example this delicious little bit from matriarch Trudy, salon owner, hair washer and chief confessor to all who walk through her doors with their problems. She’s been offered a pair of shoes.

“I wear a size 6 but 7 feels so good I wear a size 8.”

“8 and a half?”

“Perfect.”

The delightful Elizabeth Ledo, who sports a bespoke beehive hairdo she might borrow for parties, delivers that crawfish boil of comedy with pitch-perfect timing, feeling the laughs roll through the theater as she lovingly goes.

If you’ve never seen the movie (speaking of Parton), know that this comedy is set entirely in a beauty shop (Lillian Castillo plays Annelle, Truvy’s bumbling, neophyte assistant) and probes the feisty, truth-telling, vulnerable women who find community there along with escape from their irritating menfolk. Events center on the pending marriage and then difficult pregnancy of Shelby (Cordelia Dewdney), daughter of M’Lynn (Amy J. Carle), friend of caustic Ouiser (Janet Ulrich Brooks) and Clairee (Susie McMonagle). The women laugh, cry, support each other and feel surrounded by the kinds of friends we all wish we had, despite our mutual imperfections.

Director Johanna McKenzie Miller doesn’t mess with what works and she has an all-star cast at her summer disposal, all brimming with experience and comedic aplomb. With the exception of a couple of lulls that need more pace, I laughed my socks off all night and even shed a requisite tear or two, which seemed to appear even against my will.

The best aspect of this warmhearted, affectionate production, which features a set by Angela Weber Miller that looks more like a home than a salon (smart idea), is that not one of these fine Chicago performers condescends to their characters nor looks down upon their lives. That absence of camp and stereotype make this a superior “Steel Magnolias” compared to some I recall, but here you also have Carle, wrestling with M’Lynn’s emotions as if she were playing King Lear.

After all, it’s just a matter of degree.

You’ve likely had a good, long break from this play (and the film, too). You may well find it a happy little rediscovery this summer.

Chris Jones is a Tribune critic.

[email protected]

Review: “Steel Magnolias” (3 stars)

When: Through Aug. 7

Where: Drury Lane Theatre, 100 Drury Lane in Oakbrook Terrace

Running time: 2 hours, 25 minutes

Tickets: $64-$79 at 630-530-0111 or www.drurylanetheatre.com

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Steel Magnolias

Approximate running time: 2 hours and 30 minutes

Event Notes

In a beauty parlor in northwestern Louisiana, life is anything but boring. This heartwarming comedy masterpiece of six unforgettable women celebrates the power of motherhood and friendship. Through laughter, tears, and a thick fog of hairspray, these women face trials and triumphs armed with their greatest strength: each other.

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Fathom’s Big Screen Classics

Steel Magnolias 35th Anniversary

Six icons of the silver screen – Sally Field, Dolly Parton, Shirley MacLaine, Daryl Hannah, Olympia Dukakis and Julia Roberts – come together in this hilarious and heartwarming story of life, love and loss in a small Louisiana parish. At the center of the group is Shelby, newly married and joyfully pregnant, even though her diabetes could make childbirth life-threatening. Terrified at the possibility of losing her only daughter, M’Lynn looks to her four closest friends for strength and laughter as she battles her deepest fear of death to join Shelby in celebrating the miracle of new life.

A classic story of family, strength in women, and big southern hair, the big screen is the perfect way to experience the Magnolia’s Louisiana charm and celebrate 35 years of Steel Magnolias.

Other Upcoming Events

The Muppet Movie 45th Anniversary

Jesus Thirsts: The Miracle of the Eucharist

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

The Secret World of Arrietty

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Steel Magnolias

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Charming and Heartfelt.  The bond among a group of Southern women shows as they deal with the good fortune and tragedy that comes to them. It is a touching portrait of women that celebrates their strength as humor and irony abound with charming yet powerfully comedic sensibility. Time passes, and the women and their friends grow stronger and closer in the process.

Please be advised that this production contains gunshot sound effects.

Lohrey Theatre

Both the Lohrey Theatre and the Next Stage Theatre are wheelchair accessible with a handicapped accessible restroom on the same level as the main lobby to both venues. The Lohrey Theatre also provides hearing assisted equipment to any who may require or request it, at no charge.

Lohrey Theatre Seating Chart

(Next Stage is open seating)

The black box Next Stage seats up to 110 and is also wheelchair accessible with state of the art equipment for sound and lighting.

Steel Magnolias

October - November 2023

Center Players is thrilled to introduce our stellar cast for our season opener -- Steel Magnolias!  Robert Harling's endearing play takes place in a beauty salon in Louisiana where all the ladies who are “anybody” come to have their hair done. What begins as a comedy eventually turns tragic, and the sudden realization of the characters' mortality and underlying strength through friendship makes the play truly touching and memorable.

MEET THE CAST

Andrea Bell Wolf – Truvy Jones

Andrea was plucked from Professional Children's School to play Ermengarde in the first National Tour of Hello Dolly starring Carol Channing and alternated as Minnie Fay and Ermengarde in a total of five productions of the legendary musical production (where President Johnson came to her dressing room to kiss her hand!} including Broadway and a requested audition for the movie. She played Josie Cohan in the regional tour of George M! Mammy Yolum in Lil Abner at Goodspeed Opera House, Frenchy in Grease in Philadelphia with Andrea McArdle directed by Scott Ellis and choreographed by Susan Stroman. Grease at Sacramento Music Theater with Linda Purl and Desi Arnez Jr. Imaginary Invalid at Walnut Street theater with E.G Marshall, Ruby Dee and Tammy Grimes. Warm up girl for the Ed Sullivan show and appearing as lead singer on the show with Your Fathers Mustache Band. In 2018 her Stevie Nicks Cabaret show had an over capacity audience at the Cutting Room NYC.  Her work in the revue, Bottoms Up! took her from Ceasar's Palace in Las Vegas to Australia for an extended run and was the basis for her autobiographical Adventures in Vegas taken from her actual diary and performed at the ATM off Broadway theater in 2022 in which she got nominated for a Broadway World and MAC award. Last year Andrea received the Perry Award for outstanding actress in an original play A Tomato Can’t Grow in the Bronx at Centers Players. Andrea is married to Robert and has two children and two grandchildren who are the joy of her life! She is thrilled to have the opportunity to play Truvy in Steel Magnolias . [email protected] .   www.andreabellwolff.com

Christa Collier – Annelle

Growing up in Dallas, Texas, Christa learned to love theater and music throughout school productions, regional theater performances and Dallas' Shakespeare in the Park. Some of her favorite roles growing up included Funny Girl (Fanny Brice), Into the Woods (Baker's Wife), and Taming of the Shrew (Katherine). Between high school and college, Christa had the opportunity to study theater at Cambridge University (Jesus College), as well as the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. Christa earned a degree in theater (along with her Linguistics and English degrees) from Dartmouth College where she helped finalize Pulitzer Prize winner Wendy Wasserstein's last play, Third , and originated the role of Emily in its first performed reading. From there, Christa went to work in NYC for New York Theater Workshop (originators of Rent ), Disney's Theater of the Stars, and various off-Broadway shows. Christa earned her Master of Fine Arts at Case Western Reserve University's scholarship program, where she performed in several seasons at Lort B Theater Cleveland Playhouse, in shows such as Venus in Fur (Vanda), Twelfth Night (Olivia), In Arabia We'd All Be Kings (Chickie), as well as Oberlin's Summer Festival, where she starred in Light up the Sky (Irene). Her favorite performances to date include Proof (Catherine), Urinetown (Hope), and Baby Girl  (Ashley), which she helped debut at NYC Fringe. After a 9-year absence from theater, Christa feels incredibly fortunate and excited to return to the stage in Freehold Center Players' Steel Magnolias with this amazing cast and production crew.

Jenn Hyman Zimmerman – Clairee Belcher

Jennifer is very excited to be making her Center Players debut in such an iconic comedy play. Local credits include various performances with Misfits Theatre Company of Manalapan and Monmouth County Parks. NYC credits include Liz in "Checking In" (June Havoc Theatre), "People Like Us" (Danny's Skylight), "Jenn and Friends" (Don't Tell Mama), and Hillary in "The Jungle Fun Room" (Friday Night Footlights). Jenn also enjoys traveling to one of her favorite places, Boothbay Harbor Maine, to perform in multiple cabarets. Movie roles include: "Checking In" (Amazon Prime) and various short films. Jenn graduated from SUNY Oswego with a degree in acting and directing. She would like to give special thanks to her husband, son, dogs, and cat for holding down the fort while she continues her love of performing. 

Julia Angeliadis- Shelby Eatenton-Latcherie

Julia is a Monmouth County native who has been acting for 5+ years. She studies at the Count Basie Center for the Arts and Atlantic Theater Company, focusing on the Meisner Technique in commercial and film. Julia has appeared in multiple PSA & indie films, showcases, and made her theatre debut playing Molly Ralston in The Mousetrap at First Avenue Playhouse Dessert Theatre. Besides acting, Julia is also an artist, dance instructor, and avid beach goer!

Samantha Ambler - M’Lynn Eatenton

Samantha is thrilled to make her Center Players debut in her bucket list role of M’Lynn a dozen years after playing Shelby at First Ave Playhouse. Other favorite community theater roles include Stella in A Streetcar Named Desire , Annette in God of Carnage , Fairy Mae in The Curious Savage , Marnie in Wrong Window , Libby in The Maiden’s Prayer , Claire in Proof and Alice in Closer . She is a 4-time Perry Award nominee, winning once for Best Production of an original play for Angels in Boston , for which she was also nominated for Best Supporting Actress. She has numerous film and television credits including Law & Order , Howard Stern’s Private Parts , A Miracle on 34th St , and fX’s The Pet Dept . Off Broadway credits include Men are Dogs , Sex Relationships and Sometimes Love and more.

Thank you to everyone at Center Players for believing in this show and its cast. Big thanks to Sharon and Mark for taking a chance on casting a full time Mom with zero free time.

Thanks to family and friends for their continued support. 

This performance is dedicated (as always) to Lochlan- my real-life Jackson Latcherie Jr. “Moon of my life. My sun and stars”

Rachel Hamilton -Ouiser Boudreaux

Rachel is no stranger to Center Players where she has enjoyed acting, teaching, and directing over the past five years. You may recognize her from Italian Funerals and Other Festive Occasions , Lend Me a Tenor, or California Suite . Rachel has also played various roles throughout other community theaters in NJ. Some of her favorites include M'Lynn Eatenton in Steel Magnolias, Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest , Reggie Fluty in The Laramie Project , Maggie Mundy in Dancing at Lughnasa, and Florence Unger in The Odd Couple . Her favorite role, however, will always be Mom to Abigail. 🙂 Rachel has also spent many years behind the scenes as a director, writer, technical director, and educator. She is also co-founder of Lighthouse Productions where she is currently working with her father to turn one of their original musicals, The Search for Christmas , into a graphic novel. Rachel would like to thank Sharon and Mark for the opportunity to play the iconic spitfire, Ouiser. She is honored to share the stage with such talented, strong women and is thankful to the CP Board for providing a space to play. Special thanks to Rachel's family and friends for their love and support, her theater peeps for always being up for a good character chat, and her husband, Bruce, for running lines with her with patience, love, and precision. 😉 Rachel is blessed to have many steel magnolias in her life, including her mother, sisters, daughter, and stepdaughter. She would like to dedicate her performance to those steel magnolias as well as her former director, the late Bill Zielinski, who believed in laughter through tears.

Sharon Coyle - Director

Sharon performed since the age of 5 in professional and in community productions. As a performer, she was nominated for NJ Perrys for the lead roles in Gypsy & Little Me . After performing in the original cast of Merrily We Sing and Dance : A VanZandt/Milmore production, she was signed with Shirley Grant Management and was booked to go on a New England tour of Camelot . Life had other plans for her as she became severely ill with Crohn’s/ulcerative colitis which put a halt on her theatrical endeavors. After major surgery, the doctors (similar to Shelby) advised against having children. Like Shelby, she didn’t listen to them and had one challenging birth with her first child, and with her second (oddly enough, on June 21 like Jackson Jr) Sharon had an emergency C-section from a very serious complication called placental abruption. Sharon’s passion for theater took hold once again in 2019, she was cast as Joanne in Company and during the pandemic was chosen by Theatre 68’s New York/LA based company to read Nora in A Doll’s House 2 with Director Ronnie Marmo. Sharon, along with co-director Mark, just won a Perry Award for the 2023 Best Production of a Play -  Driving Miss Daisy at First Avenue Playhouse. Recently she directed another Coyle/Papa production of Color & Light : A Sondheim Musical Revue . She wants to thank her incredible mentors/directors from her past for their insight, exploration on helping to explore characters and to be quite frankly their non bs work ethic and respecting the art of creating art: Gary Cohen, Mark Hopkins, Peter Loewy, Ronnie Marmo, Billy Van Zandt, John Mentor, the late Michael Boyd and to acting teachers at HB Studios and Jared Kelner. To the greats: Constantin Stanislavski, Sanford Meisner, Uta Hagen and Stella Adler….and to her codirector Mark without your support, insight, and valuable input all this could never have been accomplished.

Mark Papa – Director

My earliest and eternal influence in the world of acting came from a passionate High School teacher, Mr. Ed. Roberts, who taught a rather unique program titled 'Film as an Art Form'.  I've not watched a stage presentation or movie in the past forty years without thinking of the things I learned in Mr. Roberts’ class. 

I began acting on stage in 2022 and have appeared in community theater productions of Clue, Rainbow Holiday, Things My Mother Taught Me, and Twelve Incompetent Jurors .  In 2023 I appeared with my daughter Vanessa in The Ultimatum Queer Love  on Netflix.

I have co-directed Driving Miss Daisy which received six Perry nominations and Color and Light a Sondheim musical review . As a director, my philosophy is that the audience member should feel engaged with the production the moment they walk into the theater and remain engaged long after they have left the theater.  

When not "playing" or working I volunteer in the Foster Care system as a Guardian Ad Litem and as a grief counselor for children at IMAGINE in Mountainside NJ.

Roberta Fallon - Producer

Roberta is very pleased to be producing her 19th show for Center Players. She enjoys working as a producer, as it allows her the opportunity to work with many different directors, and to take part in the development of a show from first audition to opening night. She has appeared on Center Playhouse stage as Helen the Maid in A Doll's House, Mrs. Rodgers in And Then There Were None, and Irma Kronkite in Picnic. She most recently played multiple roles in “Classic Radio Road Shows” production of It’s a Wonderful life”. Roberta has served on the Business Board of the theater as secretary for many years. She has just been nominated for two 2023 NJ Perry Awards-Best Production and Best Properties. In addition, at most performances she can be found serving refreshments and mingling with the patrons, telling them all about the wonderful events happening at the theater. She is Vice-President and co-owner, with her husband Sheldon, of The Leigh Insurance Agency in Freehold. She is pleased to be working with Sharon and Mark, two extremely talented directors as well as this awesome cast. She thanks her husband Sheldon for encouraging her to join him at Center Players and being her biggest supporter.

Anne Kaufman – Stage Manager

Anne stepped on stage at two years old and never really left it. From there, she went on to study dancing, singing, and acting well into college. Always eager to steer a production, Anne began directing and choreographing shows in college and stage managing shortly thereafter with the American Repertory Ballet.

By day, Anne teaches middle school theater and directs spring musicals, where she has delighted in fostering young theater artists for over twenty years. In the evenings when she’s not home with her family, she can be found stage managing, most recently with Capital Productions for Annie, Company, and Hello, Dolly!  

Anne is delighted to be working with Center Players for the first time, and to be reunited with Sharon Coyle once again. She sends much love to Dan and her boys (I’ll be home again soon!), and gratitude forever to the woman who was her biggest fan and is now her guardian angel: Mom.

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Steel Magnolias

Two generations of strong women share the joys and sorrows of life, and a good dose of local gossip at Truvy’s rural Louisiana beauty shop.

Estimated Run Time

Additional details.

Health: Masks are now optional for our patrons at our indoor performances. If you are feeling unwell, experiencing any COVID-related symptoms, or come into close contact with someone who has COVID-19 up to 14 days before a performance, please stay home. If you are not feeling well and unable to attend your scheduled performance, we will offer an exchange. Please contact the box office at 215-247-9913. Updates available here: https://thestagecrafters.org/covid/

Creators: Written by Robert Harling, directed by Suki, featuring the talents of Jen Allegra, Angela Cooper, Cordelia Dunston, Krishna Dunston, Bella Main and Laura Kate Marshall.

Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible. Space for wheelchair is limited. Please call to reserve the space for the chosen date 215.247.9913, even if tickets have been purchased online.

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Steel Magnolias

by ROBERT HARLING directed by LISA ROTHE

McGuire Proscenium Stage

A tenderhearted favorite

Truvy’s salon is Chinquapin, Louisiana’s go-to place for a beauty fix with a hearty side of gossip. Along with her overeager assistant Annelle, Truvy pampers her small-town clients with hairdos, manicures and all kinds of unsolicited advice. Anybody who’s anybody is a regular: There’s the doting M’Lynn and her soon-to-be-married daughter Shelby, the moody Ouiser and the well-to-do widow Clairee. Through witty banter and wisecracks, this hodgepodge group of women form friendships as strong as steel, which they are forced to lean on when tragedy strikes.

Three things to know

• Steel Magnolias was a play before it was a movie. After its off-Broadway premiere in 1987, playwright Robert Harling wrote the screenplay for the 1989 film starring Olympia Dukakis, Sally Field, Daryl Hannah, Shirley MacLaine, Dolly Parton and Julia Roberts.
• Harling based Steel Magnolias on the life of his sister and their experience growing up in Natchitoches, Louisiana.
• Inspired by the play’s all-female cast, our production features a female director and an all-female design team.

Ticket prices

Prices range from $25 to $79.

Pro tip: Preview performances start at $15 (October 26–31). Hurry, these go quickly! 

Detailed pricing

Approximately 2 hours, 30 minutes (including intermission)

Content advisory

This production contains gunshot sound effects. 

Steel Magnolias will take place on the McGuire Proscenium Stage.

Pro tip: Can't do stairs or have a special seating request? Call the Box Office for details. 

ASL-interpreted, audio-described and open-captioned performances are available on select dates.

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McGuire Proscenium

*ASL Interpreted Performances

*audio described performances, *open captioned performances.

Play guide 

Want to dig deeper into this story? Download the  play guide .

In the news

“This is a show that everyone should see.”

Read the full Star Tribune review. 

“[Lisa] Rothe's ensemble of actors delight in the rich quips and stand resolute through the despair.”

Read the full City Pages review. 

"A salon is more than a workplace. It's a community."

Read the full Star Tribune article featuring our community partner, Beauty Lounge.

Truvy says there’s no such thing as natural beauty. But knowing this cast, we (politely) disagree.

Feature 

In STEEL MAGNOLIAS there are too many memorable moments and witty wisecracks to count. Here’s a small sampling of our favorite one-liners.

Austene Van and Amy Van Nostrand in Steel Magnolias . Photo by Dan Norman. 

Nicole King, Austene Van and Amy Van Nostrand in  Steel Magnolias . Photo by Dan Norman. 

The cast of  Steel Magnolias . Photo by Dan Norman. 

Amy Van Nostrand, Adelin Phelps, Austene Van and Nicole King in  Steel Magnolias . Photo by Dan Norman. 

Melissa Maxwell and Nicole King in  Steel Magnolias . Photo by Dan Norman. 

Nicole King

  GUTHRIE  Debut.  THEATER Syracuse Stage: Possessing Harriet ; Virginia Stage Company: The Bluest Eye ; Folger Theatre: Antony and Cleopatra ; Hangar Theatre: Shakespeare’s R + J ; Shakespeare Theatre Company: Macbeth ; Children's Theatre Company: Buccaneers , Pippi Longstocking ; Shakespeare’s Globe (London): A Midsummer Night’s Dream . TRAINING  B.F.A., Rutgers University, Mason Gross School of the Arts; Shakespeare’s Globe Conservatory; Saint Paul Conservatory for Performing Artists; Guthrie Theater Shakespeare Project. www.nicole-king.com

Melissa Maxwell

GUTHRIE Steel Magnolias . THEATER Selected: Great River Shakespeare Festival (Company Member); George Street Playhouse; The Public Theatre (Maine); Pearl Theatre; Capital Repertory; Alabama Shakespeare Festival; Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park; Crossroads Theatre; The Kennedy Center. FILM/TELEVISION   The Thomas Crown Affair ; “FBI: Most Wanted,” “Manifest,” “Mrs. Fletcher,” “Madam Secretary,” “Hostages,” “Law & Order,” “The Sopranos.” OTHER Director, award-winning playwright and motivational speaker; TEDxMosesBrownSchool: “Taking Ownership” and TEDxBarnardCollegeWomen: “On Courage.” TEACHING Director of Professional Development, Stella Adler Studio of Acting. UPCOMING Gertrude ( Hamlet) and Beatrice ( Much Ado About Nothing ) in rep at GRSF. www.melissamaxwell.com

Adelin Phelps

GUTHRIE Steel Magnolias . THEATER Jungle Theater: Georgiana & Kitty: Christmas at Pemberley ; Transatlantic Love Affair: These Old Shoes , The Devout , Promise Land , Ballad of the Pale Fisherman , Ash Land , Red Resurrected ; Trademark Theater: Understood ; History Theatre: Teen Idol , Watermelon Hill ; Park Square Theatre: Cardboard Piano , King Lear ; Girl Friday Productions: Idiot’s Delight ; Six Points Theater: We Are the Levinsons , Bad Jews ; Carlyle Brown & Company: Down in Mississippi ; Theater Latté Da: Lullaby ; Theatre Forever: The Nature Crown ; Dark & Stormy Productions: The Drunken City . UPCOMING Asolo Rep: Intimate Apparel . TRAINING B.A., Theatre Arts, Coe College; The Actors Workout (2010–2018). www.adelinphelps.com

Amy Van Nostrand

GUTHRIE A View From the Bridge , Six Degrees of Separation . THEATER Broadway: The Hothouse ; Off-Broadway: The God Committee (Lamb’s Theatre); Scrambled Eggs (Samuel Beckett Theatre); Stalking the Bogeyman (New World Stages/Southwark Playhouse, London); Regional: Trinity Repertory Company (eight seasons, tour to India and Syria); Huntington Theatre Company; Shakespeare Theatre Company; Pittsburgh Public Theater; George Street Playhouse; Coast Playhouse; Williamstown Theatre Festival; Chautauqua Theater Company; Weston Playhouse; People’s Light; Westport Country Playhouse; Gulfshore Playhouse. FILM/TELEVISION Year by the Sea , Landslide , Bereft , Ruby Cairo , Partners in Crime ; TV credits on www.imdb.com. AWARDS First Peter Kaplan Fellow at Trinity Repertory Company; Drama-Logue Award; Pell Award; Member of The Actors Center; Board member at New York Rep. TRAINING B.A., Theatre, Brown University

Austene Van

GUTHRIE Director: A Raisin in the Sun ; Actor: Steel Magnolias , Familiar , Disgraced , Trouble in Mind , Crowns , The Darker Face of the Earth . THEATER DIRECTION Asolo Rep: Intimate Apparel ; Yellow Tree Theatre: Rule of Thumb , Lady Day… , In the Next Room , Passing Strange , The Royale ; New Dawn Theatre: Crowns ; Ordway: Annie , Blues in the Night ; Park Square Theatre: Gee’s Bend ; History Theatre: Lonely Soldiers . THEATER Penumbra Theatre: Wedding Band , The Owl Answers , Detroit ‘67 , Spunk , The Amen Corner , Ain’t Misbehavin’ , Dinah Was , Blues... , Seven Guitars ; Theater Latté Da: Aida ; Ten Thousand Things: A Streetcar Named Desire , Henry IV , Into the Woods ; Jungle Theater: In the Next Room ; Children’s Theatre Company: Once on This Island ; Ordway: Singin’ in the Rain

Sally Wingert

GUTHRIE More than 90 productions since 1985, most recently Murder on the Orient Express . THEATER  Broadway/West End: La Bête ; McCarter Theatre Center/Yale Repertory Theatre: Tartuffe ; A.R.T.: Paradise Lost ; Arena Stage: Native Gardens ; Asolo Rep: Sweeney Todd ; Theater Latté Da: Hello, Dolly! , A Little Night Music , Underneath the Lintel , Six Degrees of Separation , Sweeney Todd , Master Class , Cabaret ; Mixed Blood Theatre: Animate , Hir , Winter ; Artistry: Wit ; Six Points Theater: Rose , Woman Before a Glass ; Jungle Theater: Stinkers , Entertaining Mr. Sloane ; Ten Thousand Things: Iphigenia at Aulis , Doubt , Vasa Lisa .   FILM/TELEVISION   North Country , Factotum , Grandfather’s Birthday , Fargo , The Straight Story

Robert Harling

Robert Harling is an actor, playwright, screenwriter and director who was born in Natchitoches, Louisiana. He graduated from Tulane University School of Law but opted to become an actor instead of taking the bar exam. After successfully working in voiceovers and commercials, Harling was inspired to write the highly acclaimed stage play Steel Magnolias based on his mother and sister. The play premiered off-Broadway in 1987, and Harling bridged his career from stage to screen by adapting his original play into the popular 1989 film of the same name starring Olympia Dukakis, Sally Field, Daryl Hannah, Shirley MacLaine, Dolly Parton and Julia Roberts. Harling continues to be a sought-after screenwriter whose credits include Soapdish , The First Wives Club , Laws of Attraction and The Evening Star , which he also directed.

GUTHRIE   Hold These Truths . THEATER Kansas City Repertory Theatre; Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park; Irish Repertory Theatre; Two River Theater; Indiana Repertory Theatre; Virginia Repertory Theatre; People’s Light; PlayMakers Repertory Company. UPCOMING  The Cultch (Vancouver): Hold These Truths ; Kansas City Repertory Theatre: Fun Home . AWARDS SDCF’s Joe A. Callaway Award for Direction; Theatre Bay Area Awards for Outstanding Direction and Production for  Hold These Truths ; Director of new works at Kansas City Repertory Theatre; Co-artistic director of The Actors Center in New York City; Recent co-president of the League of Professional Theatre Women; Usual Suspect with New York Theatre Workshop; Member of the National Theatre Conference; Former director of Global Exchange (The Lark in New York City); Drama League and Fox Fellowships. TEACHING Guest lecturer and director at NYU, Yale School of Drama, The Juilliard School and Barnard College. TRAINING M.F.A., NYU Tisch School of the Arts. www.lisarothe.com

Narelle Sissons

Scenic Designer

GUTHRIE Debut. THEATER Broadway:  All My Sons (Roundabout Theatre Company); Off-Broadway: Original productions of How I Learned to Drive , Stop Kiss , In the Blood , Kit Marlowe , Julius Caesar and The Little Flower of East Orange (The Public Theater); New York: Mabou Mines; LAByrinth Theater Company (co-member); St. Ann’s Warehouse; Playwrights Horizons; WP Theater; New York Theatre Workshop; International:  Jesus Hopped the ‘A’ Train directed by Philip Seymour Hoffman (West End/New York); Mabou Mines' DollHouse directed by Lee Breuer (national and world tours); The Syringa Tree (Vienna, Austria/Frankfurt, Germany); Sokrates: A Banquet in Prytaneion (VAT Theatre, Estonia). UPCOMING Halfway Bitches Go Straight to Heaven by Stephen Adly Guirgis (Atlantic Theater Company). AWARDS Fulbright Specialist Program; Drama Desk, Helen Hayes, Elliot Norton and Kevin Kline award nominations; Exhibitor at Prague Quadrennial (2007, 2011). TEACHING Associate professor, Carnegie Mellon University School of Drama. www.narellesissons.design

Kara Harmon

Costume Designer

GUTHRIE Guys and Dolls , Native Gardens . THEATER Off-Broadway: Lockdown (Rattlestick Playwrights Theater); The Niceties (Manhattan Theatre Club); Dot (Vineyard Theatre); Regional: Goodnight, Tyler ; Angry , Raucous and Shamelessly Gorgeous (Alliance Theatre); Two Trains Running (Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park); The Color Purple (Portland Center Stage); The Purists , A Guide for the Homesick (Huntington Theatre Company); Nina Simone: Four Women (Arena Stage); Much Ado About Nothing , The Comedy of Errors (Oregon Shakespeare Festival). TELEVISION Assistant costume design for “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” (Amazon), “Daredevil” (Netflix) and “Boardwalk Empire” (HBO). AWARDS Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Costume Design (The Wiz); NAACP Theatre Award for Best Costumes (Barbecue). TRAINING M.F.A., NYU Tisch School of the Arts. www.karaharmondesign.com

Cat Tate Starmer

Lighting Designer

GUTHRIE Frankenstein – Playing With Fire , Hold These Truths . THEATER Alley Theatre: The Winter’s Tale , Murder on the Orient Express ; The Old Globe: They Promised Her the Moon ; Epic Theatre Ensemble: The Winning Side ; Ensemble Studio Theatre; The Civilians; Working Theater; HERE. ARCHITECTURE Plaza 33, a pedestrian plaza near Penn Station in New York City. AWARDS Two Lumen Awards; SOURCE Award (for architectural work with Focus Lighting). TEACHING Rutgers University, Mason Gross School of the Arts; Guest lecturer and designer at Yale University, Princeton University, Brown University, Barnard College and Bard College. TRAINING M.F.A., Yale School of Drama

Sound Designer

GUTHRIE The Tempest , A Christmas Carol , Steel Magnolias . THEATER New York: Roundabout Theatre Company; Playwrights Horizons; Manhattan Theatre Club; Second Stage Theater; Theatre for a New Audience; Mint Theater Company; National Black Theatre; Repertorio Español; NYTW; Cherry Lane Theatre; Bedlam; Regional: Geffen Playhouse; Alley Theatre; Hartford Stage; Cleveland Play House; The Old Globe; Mark Taper Forum; Asolo Repertory Theatre; TheatreWorks Silicon Valley; A.C.T.; A.R.T.; Northern Stage. AWARDS Drama Desk Award; Connecticut Critics Circle Award; Henry Award; Bessie Award; Meet the Composer Grant; NEA/TCG Career Development Grant; Nominations: Lucille Lortel, Elliot Norton, Henry Hewes. TRAINING Harvard University; Yale School of Drama. www.janeshaw.com 

Carla Steen

Resident Dramaturg

GUTHRIE More than 85 productions since 1996; Shakespeare productions include Hamlet (2023, 2006), The Tempest , Twelfth Night , As You Like It , Romeo and Juliet , King Lear , Pericles (2015, 2005), A Midsummer Night’s Dream , Othello , The Winter’s Tale and Macbeth. THEATER Dramaturgy: The Acting Company ( The Comedy of Errors , Henry V ); University of Minnesota/Guthrie Theater B.F.A. Acting Program; Hammerstein Center; NYU Tisch School of the Arts; Augsburg University ( Cymbeline ). PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS Member of Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas (LMDA). TRAINING M.F.A., Columbia University; B.A., Augsburg University

Jill Walmsley Zager

Resident Voice Coach

GUTHRIE Emma, A Christmas Carol, Twelfth Night, Steel Magnolias, The Glass Menagerie, Floyd’s, As You Like It, Noises Off, Frankenstein – Playing With Fire, An Enemy of the People, Blithe Spirit, Indecent, Romeo and Juliet, Sunday in the Park With George, The Bluest Eye, King Lear, The Lion in Winter, The Parchman Hour . THEATER Milwaukee Rep (more than 30 productions); American Contemporary Theater (more than 25 productions); Marriott Theatre (more than 20 productions); Chicago Shakespeare Theater; Steppenwolf; Utah Shakespeare Festival; Arizona Theatre Company; Repertory Theatre of St. Louis; Drury Lane Theatre; Lyric Opera of Chicago. TEACHING University of Minnesota/Guthrie Theater B.F.A. Acting Program; M.F.A. Actor Training Program, American Contemporary Theater; M.F.A. and B.F.A. Actor Training Programs, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. TRAINING Master’s degrees at Royal Central School of Speech and Drama (London) and Northwestern University 

Jason Clusman

Stage Manager

GUTHRIE Stage Manager/Assistant Stage Manager: Nearly 50 productions, most recently including A Christmas Carol and Shane . THEATER History Theatre; Ten Thousand Things; Theater Latté Da; The Moving Company; Shapiro & Smith Dance; Quicksilver Productions; Three Legged Race Productions; Playwrights’ Center; Penumbra Theatre; Minnesota Centennial Showboat; Walker Art Center: Ocean . OTHER North Star Events, including implementing COVID-19 testing and vaccination efforts for the state of Minnesota and 2023 inauguration events for Governor Tim Walz and Lt. Governor Peggy Flanagan. TRAINING B.A., University of Minnesota

Katie Hawkinson

Assistant Stage Manager

GUTHRIE Stage manager: Cyrano de Bergerac , BAD NEWS! i was there… ; Assistant stage manager: Steel Magnolias , Floyd’s , A Christmas Carol (2018), Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner , Romeo and Juliet , The Bluest Eye . THEATER Chanhassen Dinner Theatres; Ordway Center for the Performing Arts; Minnesota Orchestra; Jungle Theater; History Theatre; Dark & Stormy Productions; Cardinal Theatricals; Stages Theatre Company; New Theatre Group; Theater Latté Da’s NEXT Festival; Playwrights’ Center. OPERA Minnesota Opera; Skylark Opera; Mixed Precipitation. TRAINING B.A., Lawrence University

Jamie J. Kranz

GUTHRIE Stage manager: Frankenstein – Playing With Fire , Watch on the Rhine ; Assistant stage manager: As You Like It . THEATER Utah Shakespeare Festival: Treasure Island , As You Like It , Hamlet , Antony and Cleopatra ; Children’s Theatre Company: Seedfolks (national tour); Pinocchio , 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea ; Mixed Blood Theatre: DJ Latinidad’s Latin Dance Party , Pussy Valley ; Park Square Theatre: 30 productions, including Evita , The Rocky Horror Show , Flower Drum Song , Murder for Two , The Color Purple , Romeo and Juliet , The Snow Queen , Sherlock Holmes and the Ice Palace Murders , The School for Lies , Of Mice and Men , A Midsummer Night’s Dream , Cyrano , Ragtime and August: Osage County . TRAINING M.F.A., Columbia University

Jennifer Liestman

Resident Casting Director

GUTHRIE Artistic Team member since 2003; More than 70 productions, workshops and readings since 2015, including the History Plays,  Dial M for Murder ,  'Art' ,  For the People , The Importance of Being Earnest , Shane , Into the Woods , Murder on the Orient Express , Hamlet , The Little Prince , Sally & Tom , Vietgone , Sweat , A Raisin in the Sun , The Tempest , A Christmas Carol , Dickens’ Holiday Classic , Noura , Floyd’s , West Side Story , Familiar , Watch on the Rhine , Native Gardens and Disgraced . FILM/TELEVISION  Casting Consultant:   Master Servant . TEACHING University of Minnesota/Guthrie Theater B.F.A. Acting Program; Other universities in MN and the U.S. TRAINING B.A., Theatre, MSU Moorhead

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The Destination of Travelers since 1714

Steel Magnolia Film Tour (Self Guided)

Steel Magnolias  – 1989

• Shelby’s wedding – St. Augustine Catholic Church, LA Hwy. 493, Melrose.
• Post-game interviews – Northwestern State University Field House, NSU-468 Caspari Street
• Shelby’s Funeral – American Cemetery, 2nd Street between Demeziere and railroad tracks
• Ouiser’s House – Lemee House, 310 Rue Jefferson
• Steel Magnolia’s House – Eatenton home (Also a Bed & Breakfast), 320 Jefferson
• Truvy’s church – Trinity Episcopal Church, 533 2nd Street
• Mrs. Robeline’s boarding house — Private Home, 301 Rue Touline
• Aunt Fern’s home – Chaplin House (Private Home), 434 2nd Street
• Susan Harling Robinson Memorial Park – Corner of Cypress Avenue and Pine Street
• Truvy’s No. 2 – Blanchard Building, 700 block of Front Street adjacent to Ducournau Square
• Easter egg hunt – Beau Jardin, 800 block of Washington Street
• Annelle and Sammy’s home – Private Home, 515 St. Maurice Lane
• Truvy’s home – Private Home, 453 Henry Boulevard
• Shopping with Clairee and Ouiser — Super One, 318 Dixie Plaza on Keyser Avenue
• Baby’s birth – Natchitoches Regional Medical Center, 501 Keyser Avenue
• Clairee’s home – Tauzin Plantation Home (Private Home), 1950 Williams Avenue
• Shelby and Jackson’s home – Odalie Lambre-Gwinn House (Private Home), 1972 Williams Avenue

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Steel Magnolias 2024

Approximate running time: 2 hours

Sometimes laughter is the best medicine. Grab a glass of sweet tea, the table wine of the south, and gather with the ladies at Truvy’s beauty shop to ponder life & death, husbands & children, and hair & nails - all of the most important topics that unite and celebrate women!

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Cast Theatrical Presents STEEL MAGNOLIAS In June

Performances will be held at Cast Theatrical Company, 1909 Avenue G in Rosenberg from May 31 to June 16, 2024.

Cast Theatrical will present Steel Magnolias by Robert Harling .

Steel Magnolias is the story of six vibrant Southern ladies who share their lives and loves in a small-town Louisiana beauty salon. Alternately hilarious and touching, Steel Magnolias reveals the strength of character and friendship through life's highest highs and lowest lows.

“The audience will laugh, love and cry with these women as they live their lives in a small Louisiana town,” says Director Lisa Jones Bevil.

The film adaptation of Steel Magnolias turns 35 years old this year, as Cast Theatrical Company also celebrates its 35th anniversary as a non-profit theatre arts organization.

Performances will be held at Cast Theatrical Company, 1909 Avenue G in Rosenberg from May 31 to June 16, 2024. Show times are 7:30 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, 2:30 p.m. on Sundays and two Thursday evening performances at 7:30 p.m. on June 6 and 13. Tickets at $25 each, with discounts for senior, military and student patrons and are available at  www.casttheatrical.com .

 “This is a feel-good story of the highest order and it has been my honor to play a part in bringing it to life on the stage,” says Bevil. 

“I guess you could say I'm tickled pink.”

Cast Theatrical Company is the longest running community theatre in Fort Bend County. Founded by Bill Long in 1989, CAST's vision is to provide easy access to quality theatrical productions for the enjoyment of the local community and visitors to Rosenberg.

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Review: Steel Magnolias, Richmond Theatre

A brilliantly cast makes for a wonderfully perky and poignant steel magnolias at richmond theatre and then touring the uk.

“I’m not crazy…I’ve just been in a very bad mood for 40 years”

With its affirmations that “the higher the hair, the closer to God”, it can be easy to dismiss Steel Magnolias as a delightful piece of bouffant camp. But whilst Robert Harling’s play certainly is that in places, it is also a considered and affecting study of female friendship and the solace it can provide when dealing with feckless husbands and lovers and the trouble they can bring. It’s a play I like – indeed I saw a previously touring production here at Richmond Theatre back in 2012 and adored Matthew Parker’s intimate version at  the Hope Theatre in 2016 – and Anthony Banks’ new touring production meets the mark, with an exceptionally well-cast ensemble.

Set over a handful of years in small-town Lousiana, a group of women regularly gather in Truvy’s beauty parlour to gossip mercilessly, complain about the men in their lives and occasionally get their hair did. As they celebrate marriages and births, contemplate life as a widow or taking a new lover, we can’t help but fall in love with them and the safety net of support that they variously offer each other. And as sacrifices are made, in order to please those men, the physical and emotional toll that this takes manifests itself in heartbreaking ways, something that Banks’ direction astutely reinforces through the recalibration of some of the relationships here.

Call the Midwife may have largely kept Laura Main from the stage in recent years (she was in a brilliant Company back in 2011 that also featured Cassidy Janson and Katie Brayben) but she is phenomenal as the estimable M’Lynn, whose emotional turbulence is kept in as long as she can bear – though wrought across her deeply expressive face – until she shatters painfully. Diana Vickers impresses as her daughter Shelby, dogged in pursuit of what she wants, whether baby’s breath in her hair or actual baby breath in her home. And as the redoubtable Ouiser, Harriet Thorpe offers a more genial interpretation of the character which only serves to deepen the emotional connections she brings.  

That warmth is absolutely a hallmark of this production. Lucy Speed’s Truvy epitomises this beautifully, as the plain-talking, straight-shooting nucleus around which the group spins and with echoes of Dolly Parton on both the stereo and in her magnificent coiffure (shout-out to Richard Mawbey’s wig work), her deeply compassionate natures radiates throughout. Caroline Harker’s Clairee and Elizabeth Ayodele’s Annelle round out the cast – Serena Hill’s casting is expertly done (and the production will be getting their money’s worth from her as the company will be largely recast for the latter part of the tour). But whilst this pitch-perfect ensemble is in place, there’s so much to enjoy in this wonderfully perky and poignant show. 

Running time: 2 hours 30 minutes (with interval) Photos: Pamela Raith Steel Magnolias runs at Richmond Theatre until 28th January and then continues to tour to: 31 January – 4 February Lyceum Theatre, Sheffield 7 – 11 February Yvonne Arnaud, Guildford 14 – 18 February Theatre Royal, Bath 21 – 25 February The Lowry, Salford 28 February – 4 March Theatre Royal, Brighton 7 – 11 March Palace Theatre, Southend 21 – 25 March Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham 28 March – 1 April Wycombe Swan Theatre, High Wycombe 4 – 8 April Curve Theatre, Leicester 11 – 15 April Theatre Royal, Nottingham 18 – 22 April New Theatre, Cardiff 25 – 29 April Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham 2 – 6 May Malvern Theatre 9 – 13 May Northcott Theatre, Exeter 16 – 20 May Milton Keynes Theatre 23 – 27 May Everyman Playhouse, Liverpool 30 May – 3 June Theatre Royal Glasgow 6 – 10 June The Gaiety Theatre, Dublin 13 – 17 June New Theatre, Hull 20 – 24 June Wyvern Theatre, Swindon 4 – 8 July Orchard Theatre, Dartford 11 – 15 July Grand Theatre, Leeds 18 – 22 July Royal & Derngate Theatre, Northampton Laura Main  and  Caroline Harker  will appear up to and including Cardiff. Harriet Thorpe ,  Diana Vickers  and  Lucy Speed  will appear up to and including High Wycombe. Elizabeth Ayodele  will appear at all venues. Further casting to be confirmed soon

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Steel Magnolias

By robert harling directed by laura braza, november 9 — december 5, 2021, quadracci powerhouse.

Approximate Running Time: 2hrs and 30 minutes including one intermission Recommended Age: 12 and up

A Tenderhearted Favorite

In Chinquapin, Louisiana everybody who is anybody gets their hair done at Truvy’s beauty shop—where the women are all sass and brass. Through clouds of hairspray and over the buzz of blow dryers, six southern spitfires gather each week to gossip and support each other through thick and thin. But those bonds are tested when the ladies face a life-changing event. Infused with heart and humor, Steel Magnolias is a hilarious story of love, loss, and enduring friendship.

"This is a show that everyone should see." – Star Tribune

Executive Producers Cheryl & Bill Guc

Associate Producer Dr. Eric Durant

COVID PROTOCOLS

As announced in September , all patrons will be required to follow the protocols listed below when attending our productions. For those 12 and older:

• Proof of a full COVID vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test taken within 72 hours of your performance date
• Wear masks through your time in our building

Note: If a patron can’t provide one of the items above, they will not be able to attend. For those audience members 11 and younger they do not need to provide the above but do need to wear a mask.

Please be sure all the people attending with you know about the COVID safety protocols.

Arrival Time Please arrive 30 minutes prior to curtain to allow time to go through our vaccine safety check-in station before you enter the theater.

Learn more about our COVID Health & Safety protocols here .

Subscriptions Still Available - Click Here

Pay What You Can Tuesday, November 9, 7:30pm Wednesday, November 10, 7:30pm (Based on availability)

Early Bird Performance Tuesday, November 16 at 6:30pm Audio Described Performance Tuesday, November 16 at 6:30pm ASL Performance Thursday, December 2 at 7:30pm Captioned Performance Sunday, December 5, 2pm Bus Matinee Performance Wednesday, November 17, 1:30pm

Wednesday Matinee, 1:30pm performance November 17 & December 1

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A Chicago-based actor, Janet has appeared in over 15 productions with TimeLine Theatre where she is a Company Member, most recently playing Maria Callas in Master Class (Joseph Jefferson Award-Performer in a Principal Role) and garnered Jeff nominations for several other roles, including Queen Elizabeth II in The Audience . Other highlights include The Children (Steppenwolf), Tiny Beautiful Things (Victory Gardens), 2666 , Vanya & Sonia & Masha & Spike , The Seagull (Goodman) and Plantation (Lookingglass). Films include: “Divergent,” “Conviction,” “One Small Hitch,” “M.O.M.” TV highlights: “Fargo,” “Sense8,” “Work in Progress,” “Boss,” “Chicago Justice/Med/Fire.”

Phoebe is a Mexican-Irish-American actor and singer born and raised in Washington Heights (yes, like the musical!). Chicago credits include work with Steppenwolf, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, The Marriott Theatre, Teatro Vista, The Hypocrites and Writers Theatre. Regionally, she has worked with American Players Theatre, Forward Theater and the Kennedy Center. She studied acting, musical theatre and playwriting at Northwestern University. TV: “Chicago Med.” For my parents, Daniel and anyone who has ever found sanctuary in a hair salon. phoebegonzalez.com

Rebecca is so thrilled to be back (in all senses). Milwaukee Rep: Junk and Jane Eyre (co-pro with Cincinnati Playhouse). Selected New York: Vietgone (Manhattan Theatre Club), Romeo & Juliet (Classic Stage Company) Bullet Catchers (Judson Memorial) and The Tower (HERE Arts Center). Selected Regional: Cry It Out (City Theatre), Dracula (Actors Theatre of Louisville), Caviar on Credit (The Guthrie), The Most Deserving (Denver Center for the Performing Arts), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Triad Stage), Vietgone & Fault (TheatreSquared) and 36 Views (The Huntington and Quantum Theatre). Television: “Law & Order,” “Elementary,” “Unforgettable” and “Gossip Girl.” Education: MFA Acting, Columbia University; BA Psychology, Boston University.

Maeve is so grateful to be able to perform again! She has worked with the Guthrie Theater, Children’s Theatre Company, Park Square Theatre, Minnesota Opera, Theater Latté Da, Red Eye Theater, Gremlin Theatre and Montana Shakespeare in the Parks. TV: “Bluebloods.” She is a graduate of the University of Minnesota/Guthrie Theater BFA Actor Training Program. Starting in March, catch her on the road with the first national tour of To Kill a Mockingbird . Special thanks to my DGRW team, Kate for being my Milwaukee host, my wonderful fam and my rock, Mike!

Stage: Steep Theatre, The Den, Goodman, Steppenwolf, Route 66, Detroit Public Theatre, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Victory Gardens, Next, Northlight, Chicago Dramatists, Travel Light, Wisdom Bridge, Pheasant Run, The Playhouse. TV: “Paper Girls,” “Shameless,” “Empire,” “Chicago Med,” “Chicago Justice,” “Chicago Fire,” “Easy Abby,” “Detroit 187,” “ER,” “Joan Cusack Show,” “Turks,” “Chicago Hope,” “Early Edition,” “EZ Streets,” “The Untouchables,” “Chicago Story,” “Jack & Mike,” “Justice: Greylord Style,” “The Richard Speck Case,” “Through Naked Eyes.” Film: “Christmas Again,” “This Day Forward,” “Henry Gamble’s Birthday Party,” “Bad Johnson,” “Hannah Free,” “Check Please,” “The Company,” “U.S. Marshals,” “Poltergeist 3,” “A Family Thing,” “The Babe,” “Class.”

Tami is happy to return to the Powerhouse stage where she was last seen as Jean in Good People . Other Milwaukee Rep credits include Louise in Always…Patsy Cline and Mrs. Cratchit and the Ghost of Christmas Past in A Christmas Carol . Additional Milwaukee credits include Luna Gale at Renaissance Theaterworks, A Secret Mask alongside her husband Jim Pickering, Milwaukee Chamber Theatre, First Stage, Optimist Theatre, Milwaukee Shakespeare and the Marcus Center. Regional credits include Goodman Theatre, Court Theatre, Organic Theater, Bailiwick Repertory Theater, Rochester Civic Theatre, Orlando Shakespeare Festival, Shakespeare in the Park Fort Worth and Taproot Theatre. Tami is also a licensed Medical Massage Therapist: stillmassage.com. This performance is dedicated to her sweet Dad, who could not carry a tune in a bucket, and is now holding up the bass section in heaven.

Creative Team

Laura is a director, teaching artist and the Artistic Producer of Milwaukee Rep. At Milwaukee Rep: Grounded , Souvenir , Always...Patsy Cline , Songs for Nobodies and Two Pianos Four Hands . Regional: It Came From Outer Space (Chicago Shakespeare Theater – upcoming), The Dispute and If You Give a Pig a Pancake (Hangar Theatre) and Theophilus North (Dog Days Theatre with FSU/Asolo Rep). Select NYC: The Tutors , The Notebook of Trigorin (NYC Premiere), Strictly Dishonorable , the dreamer examines his pillow , On the Verge, or the Geography of Yearning and Jericho (World Premiere) (The Attic Theatre); work at Atlantic Theater Company’s Stage II, Keen Company, New York Musical Theatre Festival, FringeNYC, Dixon Place and more. Drama League Directors Project Alumnus. BFA: NYU Tisch School of the Arts.

Mr. Harling made his directorial debut with “The Evening Star” for Paramount, which he also wrote for the screen based on Larry McMurty’s novel. “The Evening Star” reunited Shirley MacLaine and Jack Nicholson and co-stars Juliette Lewis, Bill Paxton, Scott Wolf, Miranda Richardson and Marion Ross. “The Evening Star” is the continuation of one of the most beloved and acclaimed movies of our time, “Terms of Endearment.” Before launching a successful stage and screenwriting career, Robert graduated from Tulane University School of Law, but instead of taking the bar exam, he opted to become an actor in New York. After years of productive work as an actor in voiceovers and commercials, Harling was inspired to write the highly acclaimed stage play Steel Magnolias , which was based on events from his personal life. Steel Magnolias continues to thrive in theatrical productions throughout the world. Immediately bridging a career from stage to screen, Harling adapted his original play into the popular film of the same title, which starred Sally Field, Julia Roberts, Shirley MacLaine, Olympia Dukakis, Dolly Parton and Daryl Hannah. Over the years, Mr. Harling has become a much soughtafter screenwriter: other credits, to name a few, include “Soapdish,” which was based on Harling’s acting experience and starred Sally Field, Whoopi Goldberg and Robert Downey Jr., and “The First Wives Club” for Paramount, starring Bette Midler, Goldie Hawn and Diane Keaton.

Collette returns to Milwaukee Rep where credits include Eclipsed , The Legend of Georgia McBride and The Chinese Lady . Recent Chicago credits include: Fannie , Roe , The Wolves and The Happiest Song Plays Last (Goodman Theatre), Lindiwe , HIR , The Fundamentals and Between Riverside and Crazy (Steppenwolf Theatre Company), Miracle (Miracle Productions), Smart People (Writers Theatre) and A Shayna Maidel (TimeLine Theatre) where she is an artistic associate. Recent and upcoming regional credits include Angry, Raucous and Shamelessly Gorgeous (Hartford Stage and Alliance Theatre), My Father’s War (TheatreSquared) and The Cake (Asolo Repertory Theatre). Collette is the recipient of several Jeff Awards and is an Associate Professor of Design at the School of Theatre and Music at UIC. Many thanks to the endless support from her family.

Samantha is excited to be making her Milwaukee Rep debut with this wonderful group of people and this classic play. Previous credits include work with Court Theatre, Victory Gardens Theater, Steppenwolf Theatre, Northlight Theatre, Drury Lane Theatre, Writer’s Theatre, Lookingglass Theatre Company, Chicago Children’s Theatre, American Blues Theater, TimeLine Theatre, Porchlight Music Theatre, Jackalope Theatre and others. Regionally, Jones has worked with Kansas City Rep, Alley Theatre, Seattle Children’s Theatre, First Stage, Skylight Music Theatre, Indiana Repertory Theatre, Peninsula Players Theater and others. Her work can be viewed at samanthacjones.com

Noele is delighted to be lighting a play in front of a live audience again at Milwaukee Rep. Recent prior work includes The Niceties , The Chinese Lady and Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley . Noele’s lighting has appeared onstage at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, Sydney Opera House, Carnegie Hall, The Library of Congress Theatre, as well as the opera companies of Santa Fe, Ontario, Houston, Portland, Vancouver, New Orleans, Nashville, Madison and Milwaukee. Regional design for the theatre includes Jeff Daniels’ Purple Rose Theatre, Baltimore Center Stage, Houston’s Alley Theatre, Milwaukee Chamber Theatre, Renaissance Theaterworks, Skylight Music Theatre, American Players Theatre, Next Act Theatre, Forward Theater and First Stage. As Lighting Director for Houston Grand Opera, she supervised the lighting and special effects for over 50 productions along with designing the lighting for such productions as Andrei Serban’s Elektra , Dr. Jonathan Miller’s Der Rosenkavelier , Aida , and the world premieres of Harvey Milk , Desert of Roses and Dracula Diary . Her AIA award-winning architectural and public space lighting is installed throughout the Midwest. Member United Scenic Artists Local 829

Pornchanok (Nok) is a Thai artist, sound designer and composer. Nok has worked with theater companies across the United States including Lincoln Center, Huntington Theatre Company, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Steppenwolf, McCarter Theatre Center, Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, Geva Theatre Center and Cincinnati Playhouse among many others. She has also collaborated with performing groups and theatre companies in Thailand since 2008. Nok graduated from the Yale School of Drama and is a member of the TSDCA, USA Local 829. www.wishnok-music.com

Jill is very happy to return to Milwaukee Rep where she has coached over 35 productions. She has also served as Resident Voice Coach at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis and American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco. Regionally Jill has worked at Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Steppenwolf, Utah Shakespeare Festival, Arizona Theatre Company, Drury Lane Theatre and the Lyric Opera of Chicago. She earned her Master’s Degrees in Voice and Dialects from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama (London) and Northwestern University. She has worked extensively as an actress on stage and in voiceovers.

Deanie is the Literary Director at Milwaukee Rep, overseeing the John (Jack) D. Lewis New Play Development Program. Select Milwaukee Rep dramaturgy credits include Junk , The Chinese Lady , Songs for Nobodies and Lost Girl . Previously she’s worked with Baltimore Center Stage, Asolo Repertory Theater, the Kennedy Center and Forward Theater. She is a facilitator with the National New Play Network and the VP of Institutions for the Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas. She received her MA from the University of Cambridge.

JC is the Casting Director at Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre Company and a freelance stage director. He has cast productions out of Chicago and New York over the past decade including the Broadway productions of Linda Vista , The Minutes and Pass Over . Prior to Steppenwolf, he spent four seasons as casting director at Milwaukee Rep where he has directed seven productions including Forever Plaid , Murder for Two and The Nerd . He is currently serving as Associate Director on the upcoming Broadway musical The Devil Wears Prada . JC is a proud member of SDC and the Casting Society of America.

Tara is tickled pink to be returning to live theatre at Milwaukee Rep for Steel Magnolias . She was previously here for West Side Story . Selected Credits: Cruel Intentions: The 90s Musical (1st National Tour); A Night with Janis Joplin (Capital Rep); 42nd Street (Engeman Theater); Smokey Joe’s Café (Arkansas Rep); Broadway Backwards 2012 & 2013; Marriott Theatre; Asolo Rep; Atlantic Theater Company; STAGES St. Louis; Maine State Music Theatre. Tara can be heard as a host on the podcast Uncharted Tara/Tori. Miss & Love you always Mom & Dad. “We’re all stories in the end… just make it a good one, eh?” – The Doctor. www.lovetarakelly.com

David is excited to be back at Milwaukee Rep where he most recently worked on Hedwig and the Angry Inch and 2 Pianos 4 Hands . He has also worked on several productions for American Players Theatre, ACT Theatre Seattle, Seattle Rep, Seattle Shakespeare Company, Seattle Children’s Theatre and Eugene Ballet. David currently lives minimally out of a backpack and small carry-on bag and travels the world during his downtime… or hopes to get back to that soon. Thanks for coming out to support the arts!

Kelly (she/her) is a native of Indiana. Kelly graduated from Ball State University where she received her degree in Production Stage Management. Kelly has worked professionally in stage, production and company management. She has also recently entered the emerging profession of COVID safety management and has worked as a Certified COVID Safety Officer (CCO). Professional credits include Cortland Repertory Theatre (ASM/ACM), Cedar Rapids Opera (SM), Indiana Public Radio (SM) and Southeastern Summer Theatre Institute (CCO). Kelly would like to thank Milwaukee Repertory Theater for the opportunity to return to the theatre after an unprecedented year. She would also like to thank her parents and Ball State family for their continuous support! Find out more about Kelly at kellydelisle.com IG: kellydelislesm

Daniel is an award-winning director, actor, writer and editor, and a recent graduate of the BFA Acting Program at UCSB. Since graduation, Daniel has been focused on continuing his work in creating and presenting unique stories about the Latinx experience through both film and theater. He is very excited to be joining Milwaukee Repertory Theater for the season! Daniel has most recently co-directed On the Verge Santa Barbara’s Home Project and directed Center Stage Theater’s Malcolm and UCSB’s Trumpus Caesar . Aside from theater, Daniel has also written and directed the Salsa-Noir film “Sorpresas,” as well as the SBIFF Stay-at-Home Showcase Audience Favorite “El Cantante” and is currently wrapping up a new three-part series “De La Luna, Del Sol.” Daniel’s dream is to write and direct a jukebox Fania musical about his family, but will settle on starting a Salsa band if that doesn’t pan out.

* Member of Actors' Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.

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CREATE MEMORIES THAT WILL LAST A LIFETIME

Steel Magnolias Tour

Plan a  Romantic Weekend for two or a Fun Friends Trip  in historic  Natchitoches, Louisiana . Stay in the  Steel Magnolias Bed and Breakfas t, home of the Movie Family, Drum and M’Lynn Eatenton.  Enjoy a Steel Magnolias Tour  with  Tour Natchitoches with Barbara.  

The movie  “Steel Magnolias” , based on the Stage Play by  Robert Harling Jr. , came to Natchitoches in 1988, but the real Steel Magnolias have been here for much longer. Bobby’s family story was his inspiration. A story of love and friendship, a story of relationships, of loss and grief but most of all a story of how a family and a community lived through it all. As engaging as is the movie, the  real life story behind the movie  is even more fascinating. It has warmth, humor and the capacity to touch something very deep within us. The story of one family’s experience provides a life lesson for us all.

Hear the real life story. See the site of Truvy’s (Dolly Parton) Beauty Shop. Drive down Harling Lane. See Shelby’s (Julia Roberts) “home”, the  Steel Magnolias House  and more. Visit  St. Augustine Catholic Church at Melrose  where the wedding took place.  

“… it was a total blast. Led by beautiful, sassy, “Don’t Worry, I Know the Sheriff—Go Ahead and Jump that Fence” Barbara Bailey of Tour Natchitoches with Barbara, it was one of the most pleasant experiences we’ve had on a recent vacation. She rides in the back of your car and directs you to all the major locations in the film, from Shelby’s (Julia Roberts) house to Truvy’s (Dolly Parton) beauty shop (plus the real neighborhood, off-the-house beauty shop that inspired the fictional version) within Natchitoches, as well as a picturesque drive a few miles south to the church where the big pink wedding scenes were filmed. Along the way, stop at historic plantations and other unique points of interest, like playwright Robert Harling’s childhood and current homes. (This is where your fence-jumping may come in handy.) Best of all, Barbara is extremely knowledgeable and passionate about her town. Plus, the fact that she admits to watching Steel Magnolias at least once a month, she can tell you just about everything from behind the scenes. She customizes each tour specifically to your wishes, so call her today for pricing and availability. “ The Pink Traveler

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An Overview of Chapter Events:

We currently have Monthly Golf Outings, Networking Events, Competitive and Special Events. Check the Events Calendar for details of all Steel Magnolias events.

Monthly Outings:

An 18-hole stroke play event is scheduled once a month at area courses.

Semi-Annual Weekend Golf Getaways:

Two weekend golf getaways are planned every year. Great fun and a great opportunity to spend time with other Steel Magnolias!

Competitive Play:

Our annual Championship tournament is a stroke play event played in the fall.

Special Events:

Membership kick-off party:.

The official party to “kick-off” the Steel Magnolias' season and recruit new members is held in March.

Social Events:

Monthly social networking opportunities at popular local establishments. Bring a friend!

Annual Christmas Party:

Always a festive gathering to end the year.