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Culture
'Steel Magnolias' opens festival "Steel Magnolias," the blockbuster play by Robert Harling, will launch the 2008 season of Theater of the American South Thursday evening. "Steel Magnolias," a hit on Broadway and in Hollywood, will play Thursday and Saturday evenings at 8 p.m. and Sunday afternoons at 2 p.m. through June 1 at the Boykin Center. "Steel Magnolias" will play in rotation with "Fair and Tender Ladies," a stage adaptation of the novel by Lee Smith. "Steel Magnolias" is a tale of abiding friendship among six Southern women bonded by their local beauty parlor. They hold their ground and hold on to each other in the face of unworthy husbands and unkind providence. A blend of uproarious humor and touching drama, "Steel Magnolias" shines with a humanity that is both richly Southern and entirely universal. The play opened off Broadway in 1987 and made its Broadway debut in 2005 in a production starring Delta Burke, Christine Ebersole and Marsha Mason. "Steel Magnolias" was triumphantly adapted for film in 1989. The movie starred Julia Roberts (who earned her first Academy Award nomination), Sally Field, Shirley MacLaine and Dolly Parton. Donna Shannon, who directed Theater of the American South's acclaimed 2007 production of "Driving Miss Daisy," returns to the festival to direct "Steel Magnolias." Quinn Hawkesworth, who stars as Ivy Rowe in "Fair and Tender Ladies," will showcase her versatility by playing Ouiser in "Steel Magnolias." She starred in last year's "Oldest Living Confederate Widow: Her Confession." Sue Ellen Christensen makes her Theater of the American South debut as Clairee. She has performed in more than 140 productions in the Portland, Ore., area in the last 30 years. Triangle-area actress Lenore Field plays M'Lynn. She's a company member with Little Green Pig Theatrical Concern in Durham. Shelby is played by Caroline Kapo, a recent graduate of Queens University. She will work with Snow Camp Historical Drama this summer. Meredith Sause plays Annelle. Sause has appeared in regional productions as well as on the WB's "One Tree Hill," where she played Nurse Molly. "Steel Magnolias is that rare combination of hilarious comedy and real human feeling," said Gary Cole, managing director of Theater of the American South. "Audiences who loved the movie should not miss the original." TICKETS to Steel Magnolias are $20, $18 for seniors, students and groups. Festival packages are also available. Theater of the American South is once again offering its Special Family Performance Series, which enables those 18 or under and an accompanying adult to attend a Thursday or Sunday performance of "Steel Magnolias" for only $10 per person. For tickets and information, contact the Arts Council at 291-4329, ext. 10 or visit www.theateroftheamericansouth.org.
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