Beef & Boards Opens 2020 Season With STEEL MAGNOLIAS

Filled with both sass and Southern charm, Steel Magnolias opens the 2020 Season at Beef & Boards Dinner Theatre, with performances now through Feb. 2.

Set in 1987, Steel Magnolias is the story of six Southern women who share recipes, beauty tips, and gossip in Truvy's beauty salon in Chinquapin, Louisiana. Helped by her eager new assistant, Annelle (who is not sure whether or not she is still married), the outspoken, wise-cracking Truvy dispenses shampoos and free advice to the town's rich curmudgeon, Ouiser; an eccentric millionaire, Miss Clairee, who has a raging sweet tooth; and the local social leader, M'Lynn, whose daughter, Shelby, is about to marry a "good ole boy."

Best known as a popular star-studded film featuring Olympia Dukakis, Sally Field, Daryl Hannah, Shirley MacLaine, Dolly Parton and Julia Roberts, Steel Magnolias was initally a play, written by Robert Harling. After making its Off Broadway premiere in 1987, Harling went on to write the screenplay for the 1989 film.

Harling based Steel Magnolias on the life of his sister, Susan, and their experience growing up in Natchitoches, Louisiana. In a recent article in Southern Living, Harling notes most of the story was true to life. "My father shot at birds in the trees, there was an armadillo wedding cake, all of that's true. My mother donated a kidney to my sister. It failed. All of it."

Making their Beef & Boards debuts in Steel Magnolias are Diane Kondrat as M'Lynn Eatenton, Kay Francis as Oiser Boudreaux, Morgan Jackson as Annelle Dupuy, and Lari White as Shelby Eatenton. Deb Wims, who played Annelle in Beef & Boards' previous production of Steel Magnolias, returns in the role of Truvy Jones. Suzanne Stark (Hairspray, Shear Madness, Into the Woods, Beauty and the Beast) plays Caliree Belcher.

Steel Magnolias is rated PG and is on stage for 33 performances through Feb. 2. Tickets range from $47.50 to $72.50 and include Chef Odell Ward's buffet, fruit & salad bar, unlimited coffee, tea, and lemonade.

For tickets, visit beefandboards.com, or call the box office at 317.872.9664 anytime between 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays. For complete show schedule, visit beefandboards.com.

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