STEEL MAGNOLIAS: Laughing Through Tears and the Value of Friendship

Many of us know the inspiring and heartfelt story of Steel Magnolias. 

American writer Robert Harling created this comedy-drama about the bonding among a group of Southern women in northwest Louisiana as a way of coming to terms with a very personal family tragedy. No spoiler alerts here, but many people know the life-altering plot development that has made this play a modern classic.

Given its subject matter and story line, Steel Magnolias is a natural to be included in The Sharon Playhouse’s “Season of Joy.” Because this story leaves theatergoers with a profound sense of community and an understanding that while we all experience loss and grief, we are buoyed by the love and support of friends and family. It is important to include the way the characters used humor and lighthearted conversations to cope with the seriousness of the underlying situations.

The title suggests the "female characters are as delicate as magnolias but as tough as steel.” The magnolia specifically references a magnolia tree the women are arguing about at the beginning. 

While most people know Steel Magnolias from its star-studded movie version of 1989, Harling began the narrative’s journey as a short story, then adapted (in only ten days!) into an Off-Broadway play, eventually reaching Broadway in 2005. An all-Black Lifetime version aired in 2012 and a brief television series was broadcast in the 1990s. Moreover, the play has been performed throughout the U.S. and in several countries worldwide.

Many notable and esteemed theater actresses have taken a crack at these meaty roles, including Marsha Mason, Frances Sternhagen, Anne Pitoniak, Polly Bergen, Elaine Stritch, Queen Latifah, Alfre Woodard, Phylicia Rashad, and Condola Rashad, Margo Martindale, Rosemary Harris, June Lockhart (theater and television). 

However, many may not remember it was the movie debut of a young Julia Roberts, who was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, and won a Golden Globe Award for her endearing performance, alongside the likes of Sally Field, Shirley MacLaine, Olympia Dukakis, Dolly Parton, and Daryl Hannah. Sally Field also snagged a Golden Globe nomination. The movie itself picked up a People’s Choice Award for Favorite Dramatic Motion Picture.

So come laugh and cry with Sharon Playhouse friends and family at Steel Magnolias, playing August 30 – September 8 in the Bobbie Olsen Theater. And bring tissues!