Steel Magnolias

by Robert Harling

Directed by Debbie Keyt

By special arrangement with Dominie Drama Pty Ltd

A heartwarming story, yet one of the funniest plays ever to make you cry!

Steel Magnolias is a beautiful, bittersweet comedy set in America's deep south in Truvy's Beauty Parlour as six very special friends bond together by their mutual triumphs and tragedies. Despite their differences, beautiful and impulsive Shelby, her strong-willed mother M'Lynn, beauty parlour owner Truvy, elegant widow Clairee, sharp-tongued Ouiser and 'mousy' newcomer Annelle, enjoy a friendship that spans age and status. Sharing each other's strength and loyalty, these six remarkable women survive cycles of life, birth and death to emerge stronger, closer and still laughing!

Steel Magnolias has six strong roles for our actresses. Choosing from the 60 ladies who auditioned was extremely difficult. Six outstanding actresses were cast, and the warmth, depth and humour these ladies brought to their parts was outstanding!

New to the Beaumaris Theatre family was Trudi Sheppard in the role of Shelby, and Lesley Wardrop (our award-winning White Witch from The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe) returned as Truvy; Stacey Stewart (Cosi and 1984) as Annelle; Cheryl Threadgold (writer/director of our 50th Anniversary Panto/Revue, and in Summer and Smoke and Hiss the Villain on our stage 'some years ago') as Clairee; Debra Drape (in Antigone here a few years ago) as M'Lynn and Barbara Stewart (in many of our Christmas Revues and in Lipstick Dreams and Rose a couple of years back) as Ouiser.

This exceptional play was our VDL entry for 2006.