Arts & Entertainment

'Steel Magnolias' Now Open at the Laguna Playhouse

The famed comedy/drama will run through May 26.

Submitted by Laguna Playhouse:

Laguna Playhouse is thrilled to present the final show of its 2012-2013 season, STEEL MAGNOLIAS, written by Robert Harling and directed by Jenny Sullivan.  The cast of STEEL MAGNOLIAS will feature Elyse Mirto, Teri Ralston, Alyson Lindsay, Joanna Strapp, Von Rae Wood and Stephanie Zimbalist.  STEEL MAGNOLIAS will open on Saturday, May 4 at 7:30 pm and run through Sunday, May 26, 2013 at the Laguna Playhouse, 606 Laguna Canyon Road in Laguna Beach.

This heartwarming true story follows a group of friends who gather each week at a salon in Chinquapin Parish, Louisiana. Truvy dispenses shampoo and advice to Ouiser, the town curmudgeon (“I’m not crazy; I’ve just been in a bad mood for forty years”), Miss Clairee, an eccentric millionaire with a sweet tooth, and M’Lynn, whose daughter Shelby is about to get married. Tough as steel and fragile as the blossoms of magnolia trees, these hilarious characters gossip, tease, laugh, fight, cajole, and comfort each other as they go through life’s big joys and challenges.

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ABOUT THE CREATIVE TEAM AND CAST

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ROBERT HARLING (Playwright) writer, producer and film director best known for his play Steel Magnolias, was an aspiring actor when the death of his younger sister inspired him to write the play that remains his most famous work. He went on to adapt the screenplay for the film version of the play that was produced in 1989 starring Sally Field and Julia Roberts. He played a small role in the film as a minister.  Harling has concentrated on working as a screenwriter in subsequent years. He is the author of the screenplays to the films Soapdish (1991), The First Wives Club (1996), and Laws of Attraction (2004), and more recently served as writer and producer of the TV show GCB. He also wrote and directed the sequel to Terms of Endearment titled The Evening Star (1996).

JENNY SULLIVAN (Director) Ensemble Theatre of SB: The Year of Magical Thinking, The Lion in Winter, The Mystery of Irma Vep, The Clean HouseThe Memory of Water, Dublin Carol and Tea at Five. Recent work: Geffen production of Nora and Delia Ephron’s Love, Loss and What I Wore!; BeautifiedWiesenthal (Ovation nominations); The Dresser at Manitoba Theatre Centre;  Rubicon Theatre: Our Town, The Mystery of Irma Vep (Ovation nominations), Doubt, Trying, Steel Magnolias, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, You Can’t Take It With YouHamlet, The Rainmaker, The Little Foxes, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Tuesdays with Morrie, Food Confessions, Happy Days, Defying Gravity, Art, Dancing at Lughnasa and Old Wicked Songs. Associate Director for the L.A. production: The Vagina Monologues. Jenny is most proud of The Baby Dance, which began at Pasadena, moved to Williamstown, Long Wharf (CT Critics’ Directing Award) and Lucille Lortel Theatre Off-Broadway. Film credits: Access All Areas and The Next Best Thing (in which she had the good fortune to direct her father Barry). RTC produced the world premiere of Jenny’s autobiographical play J for J with Jeff Kober and the late great John Ritter.

The cast of STEEL MAGNOLIAS will feature: Elyse Mirto as M’Lynn, Teri Ralston as Ouiser, Alyson Lindsay as Shelby, Joanna Strapp as Annelle, Von Rae Wood as Clairee and Stephanie Zimbalist as Truvy.

STEEL MAGNOLIAS has assembled an award-winning design team. The Scenic and Props Design is by Jim Prodger.   The Sound Design is by Corinne Carrillo.  The Lighting Design is by D. Martyn Bookwalter.  The Costume Design is by Heidi Leigh Hanson.  

 

ABOUT THE SCHEDULE AND PRICING

STEEL MAGNOLIAS will open on Saturday, May 4 at 7:30pm and run through Sunday, May 26, 2013 at the Laguna Playhouse, 606 Laguna Canyon Road in Laguna Beach.

Performances will be Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays; Fridays at 8pm Saturdays at 2pm and 8pm; Sundays at 2pm. There will be additional performances on Sunday, May 5 and 12 at 7pm and Thursday, May 16 and 23 at 2pm.

Tickets range from $35 - $65 and can be purchased online at www.lagunaplayhouse.com or by calling (949) 497-ARTS (2787).  Student discounts are available at the Box Office.  Group discounts are available by calling 949-497-2787 ext. 229.   The box office is open Tuesdays – Sundays: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (open until 8 pm on performance days).


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