Senior Housing Options' STEEL MAGNOLIAS Opens at The Barth Hotel Today

"Steel Magnolias," written by Robert Harling and directed by Ashlee Temple, is the sixth annual summer theater fundraiser for Senior Housing Options (SHO), a non-profit organization providing quality affordable housing and services for 500 adults in Colorado. The production is SHO's major -- and only -- annual fundraiser and builds on the success of past runs such as "Chasing Manet" (2011), and "Driving Miss Daisy" (2012).

Award-winning former Broadway actor Billie McBride returns to the SHO production this year as Oiuser, and director Ashlee Temple (Denver Center for the Performing Arts) once again takes the reins for SHO after directing "Driving Miss Daisy" last year.

Two-time Ovation award winner Rhonda Brown plays Truvy, a beauty salon owner in the fictional town of Chinquapin, Louisiana, where the town's leading ladies come for hair care, gossip, and wise-cracking free advice. Devon James, who recently won "Best Supporting Actress" from the True West Awards, plays Truvy's young assistant Annelle. McBride takes on the town curmudgeon, Ouiser, and Patty Figel is cast as the eccentric millionaire Miss Clairee. Celebrated actress Rachel Fowler plays socialite M'Lynn, whose daughter Shelby - played by local favorite Adrian Egolf - is planning her wedding.

Filled with hilarious repartee, the play moves toward tragedy when, in the second act, the spunky Shelby (who is a diabetic) risks pregnancy, leading all the characters to appreciate both the fragility and strength at the core of Southern women.

"Steel Magnolias" performs in the historic lobby of The Barth Hotel (1514 17th St.) in the heart of downtown Denver. The Barth is one of SHO's 14 residences and is home to 62 elderly and disabled adults. The play opens Thursday, August 1 and runs every Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. through August 24. Tickets are $25 for general admission and $35 for preferred seating. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit www.seniorhousingoptions.org or call 303-595-4464 x10.