Limestone College

Cast members of Steel Magnolias: (left to right) Jena Morgan, Phyllis Randolph, Latracey McDowell, Sarah Kier, Susan Baxter-Ferguson, and Aidan Baxter-Ferguson.

Limestone College Theatre and Gaffney Little Theatre are joining talents to present the witty, sometimes emotional, often touching, and ultimately thoughtful comedy Steel Magnolias by Robert Harling.

The comedy opens Thursday, July 21^st and will run through Saturday, July 23^rd in the Limestone Center Theatre, 130 Leadmine Road. Curtain time for each performance is 7:30 p.m.

Tickets, which will be available at the door or can be reserved online , are $8 for adults, and $4 for seniors (65 and older) and children (12 and younger).

Those unfamiliar with Harling's comedy will be unaware of the trials and tribulations of these six Southern women. The play centers around six women who frequent the lovable Truvy's salon:

• Truvy, unhappy with her husband's lazy couch-potato ways, finds comfort in hearing all the gossip of the neighborhood.
• Annelle, her newly hired assistant, transforms from a shy, naïve wallflower to a confident, strict church member with a fondness for arts and crafts.
• Clairee learns how to live life to the fullest after the loss of her husband.
• Ouiser, a grumpy, opinionated woman gets in touch with her softer side.
• M'Lynn and her newlywed daughter, Shelby, deal with the risks and sacrifices of Shelby's diabetes.

The playwright, Robert Harling writes, "The women in this play are witty, intelligent, and above all, real characters."

Drama Logue praises Harling for his well-developed portrayal of Southern women, writing that the play is a  "...a skillfully crafted, lovingly evoked picture of eccentricity in the small-town South...Robert Harling is a new voice in the theatre and the qualities of Steel Magnolias suggest he may be an important one." However, it is the New York Post that captured the bittersweet feeling of the play, stating that Steel Magnolias is "...suffused with humor and tinged with tragedy."

The Limestone and Gaffney Little Theatre's production of Steel Magnolias is directed by Limestone theatre graduate Melissa Scott of Gaffney and is produced through special arrangement with Dramatists Play Service.

The cast is comprised of

• Aidan Baxter-Ferguson (Annelle); Gaffney
• Susan Baxter-Ferguson (M'Lynn); Gaffney
• Sarah Kier (Clairee); Gaffney
• Latracey McDowell (Ouiser); Spartanburg
• Jena Morgan (Shelby); Gaffney
• Phyllis Randolph (Truvy); Gaffney