Weston Theater Company presents what organizers call “the funniest play that will ever make you cry,” Steel Magnolias, now playing through Sunday, Sept. 4, at Weston Playhouse.
Tough as steel. Exquisite as magnolias. Six friends gather for hairdos, manicures, juicy gossip, and witty banter in Truvy's salon. Anybody who's anybody is a regular. Through thick and thin, these women form friendships strong as steel - friendships they are forced to lean on when tragedy strikes.
“Steel Magnolias is a story about community,” said director Sarah Elizabeth Wansley in a news release. “This group of women gather every Saturday morning to gossip and tease and support each other (and yes, make their hair look fabulous), and Truvy's salon becomes a second home for all of them. It's especially joyful to tell this story as we climb out of the pandemic when we are craving these kinds of neighborly spaces.”
Currently the associate artistic director at Northern Stage in White River Junction, Sarah Elizabeth Wansley is making her directing debut at Weston. Wansley is a member of Bold Theater Women's Leadership Circle, an initiative to bridge the career gap for women in the American theater.
Steel Magnolias stars Weston alums Amy Van Nostrand as M'Lynn, Thursday Farrar as Clairee, Dorothy Stanley as Ouiser, and introduces Almeria Campbell as Truvy, Nyla Sostre as Annelle, and Lexi Lapp as Shelby to Weston audiences.