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Theatre Oxford presents
Steel Magnolias
by Robert Harling
August 22, 23, 24, & 25, 2012
The Powerhouse
Community Arts Center
CLICK HERE to order tickets online!
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Directed by Michael Ewing
THE CAST
Truvy -- Detra Payne
Annelle -- Savannah Sirkel
Clairee -- Kaye Bryant
Ouiser -- Lynn Wells
Shelby -- Elizabeth Huff
M’Lynn -- Jaime Adams
Produced by Melanie Addington & Susan McPhail
Assistant Director -- Toby Douglas
Stage Manager -- Greg Earnest
THE STORY
The action is set in Truvy's beauty salon in Chinquapin, Louisiana, where all
the ladies who are "anybody" come to have their hair done. Helped by her eager new assistant, Annelle (who is not
sure whether or not she is still married), the outspoken, wise-cracking Truvy dispenses shampoos and free advice to the town's
rich curmudgeon, Ouiser, ("I'm not crazy, I've just been in a bad mood for forty years"); an eccentric millionaire,
Miss Clairee, who has a raging sweet tooth; and the local social leader, M'Lynn, whose daughter, Shelby (the prettiest
girl in town), is about to marry a "good ole boy." Filled with hilarious repartee and not a few acerbic but humorously
revealing verbal collisions, the play moves toward tragedy when, in the second act, the spunky Shelby (who is a diabetic)
risks pregnancy and forfeits her life. The sudden realization of their mortality affects the others, but also draws on the
underlying strength—and love—which give the play, and its characters, the special quality to make them truly touching,
funny and marvelously amiable company in good times and bad.
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A first play which met with immediate critical and popular acceptance in its premier production
by New York's WPA Theatre. Concerned with a group of gossipy southern ladies in a small-town beauty parlor, the play is
alternately hilarious and touching—and, in the end, deeply revealing of the strength and purposefulness which underlies
the antic banter of its characters. "Harling has given his women sharp, funny
dialogue…The play builds to a conclusion that is deeply moving."
– NY Daily News "…a skillfully crafted, lovingly evoked picture of eccentricity in the small-town South…Robert
Harling is a new voice in the theatre and the qualities of STEEL MAGNOLIAS suggest he may be an important one."
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Drama-Logue "…suffused with humor and tinged with tragedy."
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NY Post
Theatre Oxford is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization. All contributions are tax deductible as allowed by law.
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