“I swear to you, I will not let my personal tragedy interfere with my ability to do good hair.”
Yearning for some laughter, luxury, and a little chit-chat? Then come right in to Truvy’s beauty salon, where all are welcome to rest a spell, try a new coiffure, and partake in the local news. Nestled in Chinquapin, Louisiana, this sassy salon hosts an eclectic gathering of spirited Southern women led by M’Lynn and her daughter Shelby, whose precarious health condition hinders dreams of starting a family. Well-to-do frenemies, the whimsical Miss Clairee and the cantankerous Ouiser, hurl grandiose tales and snarky retorts while Truvy and her fledging assistant Annelle lather up some antics, prudence, and southern comfort.
Yearning for some laughter, luxury, and a little chit-chat? Then come right in to Truvy’s beauty salon, where all are welcome to rest a spell, try a new coiffure, and partake in the local news. Nestled in Chinquapin, Louisiana, this sassy salon hosts an eclectic gathering of spirited Southern women led by M’Lynn and her daughter Shelby, whose precarious health condition hinders dreams of starting a family. Well-to-do frenemies, the whimsical Miss Clairee and the cantankerous Ouiser, hurl grandiose tales and snarky retorts while Truvy and her fledging assistant Annelle lather up some antics, prudence, and southern comfort.
Cast List
Truvy: Somerton Zbranek
Annelle: Mikayla Putty
M'Lynn: Reanna Fornash
Shelby: Lanie Norris
Clairee Lacey Donley
Ousier: Rachael Clark
Annelle: Mikayla Putty
M'Lynn: Reanna Fornash
Shelby: Lanie Norris
Clairee Lacey Donley
Ousier: Rachael Clark
Hair Research
fITTINGS: aNNELLE
fITTINGS: sHELBY
fITTINGS: tRUVY
fITTINGS: m'lYNN
fITTINGS: cLAIREE
I want to keep Clairee in shades of blue and silhouettes like Nancy Reagan, with more structured pieces. I love the royal blue dress and the light blue jacket on her. The peach suit also looks good. I think the tweed skirt is a little "young", but it is an appropriate fabric for winter in the last scene, but I feel it would need to have darker pieces to go with it to pull it into the correct season.
fITTINGS: oIUSER
Total Spent on costumes, makeup, and hair: $1588.39
23 total costumes, 6 actors, pieces
Waco Tribune Herald
The small-town women of “Steel Magnolias” — Shelby (Lanie Norris, from left), M’Lynn (Reanna Fornash), Ouiser (Rachael Clark), Annelle (Mikayla Putty), Truvy (Somerton Zbranek, seated) and Clairee (Lacey Donley) — find the bonds of community that form between beauty shop customers provide the strength to cope with life’s challenges. The McLennan Theatre production opens a four-performance run Thursday night.
JOSEPH TAYLOR, provided
"Steel Magnolias"By McLennan Theatre
Performances: 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday at McLennan Community College's Ball Performing Arts Center.
Tickets: $10, $8 for senior adults, students and military personnel. Call 254-299-8200.
By Carl Hoover
Nearly four decades have passed since Robert Harling wrote “Steel Magnolias,” his tribute to a circle of warm-hearted, but tough-in-a-pinch women in a small Louisiana town, but translating that sense of social community to a young cast proved an unexpected challenge for McLennan Theatre director Joseph Taylor.
For one thing, there’s not quite a counterpart to the in-home beauty salon that’s the gathering place for the women of the play. And, thanks to omnipresent social media, in-person interaction isn’t the default for many connections.
People still gossip, though, and chat and help, so when Taylor found cast members chatting and unloading in the parking lot after an early rehearsal in which they were criticized for their stiffness, he knew he had found a teaching moment: that give-and-take between different personalities, that mix of humor, warmth and sometimes cattiness — that’s the working environment for the characters of “Steel Magnolias.”
The 1987 play, made into a movie two years later with an all-star cast headed by Julia Roberts, Sally Field and Shirley MacLaine, follows the community that forms in the beauty shop that Truvy Jones (Somerton Zbranek) runs in her home. Among her regulars are Shelby Eatenton (Lanie Norris), engaged to be married and eager to have kids, although her diabetes is a constant concern for her mother M’Lynn (Reanna Fornash). There’s prickly, cantankerous Ouiser Boudreaux (Rachael Clark) and her more genteel, well-connected friend Clairee Belcher (Lacey Donley). The newcomer to the circle, both in her time on the job and her friendships, is Truvy’s apprentice beautician Annelle Dupuy-Desoto (Mikayla Putty).
The women bond over everyday triumphs, tragedies, romances and breakups, and it’s that community that serves them well in the play’s more serious moments.
The McLennan Community College associate professor of movement and dance picked the play for its wealth of female characters, which serves as a showcase for the department’s acting talent. “It’s the first time MCC has done ‘Steel Magnolias’ It gives a moment for the girls in the department to shine,” he said.
Performances: 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday at McLennan Community College's Ball Performing Arts Center.
Tickets: $10, $8 for senior adults, students and military personnel. Call 254-299-8200.
By Carl Hoover
Nearly four decades have passed since Robert Harling wrote “Steel Magnolias,” his tribute to a circle of warm-hearted, but tough-in-a-pinch women in a small Louisiana town, but translating that sense of social community to a young cast proved an unexpected challenge for McLennan Theatre director Joseph Taylor.
For one thing, there’s not quite a counterpart to the in-home beauty salon that’s the gathering place for the women of the play. And, thanks to omnipresent social media, in-person interaction isn’t the default for many connections.
People still gossip, though, and chat and help, so when Taylor found cast members chatting and unloading in the parking lot after an early rehearsal in which they were criticized for their stiffness, he knew he had found a teaching moment: that give-and-take between different personalities, that mix of humor, warmth and sometimes cattiness — that’s the working environment for the characters of “Steel Magnolias.”
The 1987 play, made into a movie two years later with an all-star cast headed by Julia Roberts, Sally Field and Shirley MacLaine, follows the community that forms in the beauty shop that Truvy Jones (Somerton Zbranek) runs in her home. Among her regulars are Shelby Eatenton (Lanie Norris), engaged to be married and eager to have kids, although her diabetes is a constant concern for her mother M’Lynn (Reanna Fornash). There’s prickly, cantankerous Ouiser Boudreaux (Rachael Clark) and her more genteel, well-connected friend Clairee Belcher (Lacey Donley). The newcomer to the circle, both in her time on the job and her friendships, is Truvy’s apprentice beautician Annelle Dupuy-Desoto (Mikayla Putty).
The women bond over everyday triumphs, tragedies, romances and breakups, and it’s that community that serves them well in the play’s more serious moments.
The McLennan Community College associate professor of movement and dance picked the play for its wealth of female characters, which serves as a showcase for the department’s acting talent. “It’s the first time MCC has done ‘Steel Magnolias’ It gives a moment for the girls in the department to shine,” he said.