Theatre Tuscaloosa Opens 2019-20 Season With STEEL MAGNOLIAS
By: Stephi Wild Sep. 13, 2019
Theatre Tuscaloosa will present Steel Magnolias, October 4-13, 2019 in the Bean-Brown Theatre on the Martin Campus of Shelton State Community College.
Written by Robert Harling, Steel Magnolias is set in Truvy's beauty salon in Chinquapin, Louisiana, where all the ladies who are "anybody" come to have their hair done. 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 her life to bear a child. 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.
Steel Magnolias is being directed by Bethe Ensey, who previously directed Love is a Blue Tick Hound and other remedies for the common ache and Grand Concourse in Birmingham, AL.
Executive Producer Tina Turley said, "I never get tired of seeing productions of Steel Magnolias. It is a brilliant script with identifiable Southern characters. We have an enthusiastic, talented cast and production team. Laughter is abundant, and loss is confronted by these steel-strong women that will leave you deeply moved and highly entertained."
The production team includes: Wheeler Kincaid, lighting designer & sound designer; Jeanette Waterman, costume designer; Jameson Sanford, set designer; and Alexandra Smith, stage manager.
The cast includes: Faith Bonitz, Kenyatta "Yaya" Browne, Carol DeVelice, Jill DeFreese, Rachel Potts, and Kathy Wilson.
Performance dates and times for Steel Magnolias are as follows: Friday & Saturday, Oct. 4 & 5 at 7:30 p.m.; Sunday and Wednesday Oct. 6 & 9 at 2 p.m.; Thursday and Friday, Oct. 10 & 11 at 7:30 p.m.; and Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 12 & 13 at 2 p.m. A pay-what-you-can final dress rehearsal will be presented on Thursday, Oct. 3 at 7:30 p.m., proceeds of which will benefit the Charlie Dennis Memorial Scholarship Fund.
Steel Magnolias is produced in cooperation with Shelton State Community College and is sponsored by Mercedes-Benz, WVUA23, AFFLINK, TotalCom Marketing, Tuscaloosa Radio (2019-20 Media Sponsor), and Claire Friday (signature sponsor). Additional support is provided by grants from the Alabama State Council of the Arts, National Endowment for the Arts, and the City of Tuscaloosa.
Tickets are $19 for adults; $17 for seniors, members of the military, and SSCC employees; $14 for students and children; and $7 for SSCC students. Special rates are available in advance for groups of 10 or more. This play is appropriate for ages 10 and up.
A free, pre-show discussion will be held on Thursday, October 10, at 6:30 p.m. in the Alabama Power Recital Hall on the Martin Campus of Shelton State Community College. Cindy Jade, DCH Dietitian, will lead the discussion titled, "Symptoms of and Living with Type I and II Diabetes." Admission is free, and seating will be general admission and on a first-come-first-served basis.
Tickets and more information are available at www.theatretusc.com or 205.391.2277.
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