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PERFORMANCE DATES & VENUES
Thursday Oct. 16th & Friday, Oct. 17th, 2008 -
7 PM
Grace Fellowship 1412 E Nashville Ave (Highway 31) Atmore, AL 36502
Update: The show played to large crowds on both nights at Grace Fellowship
in Atmore, AL requiring extra seating on Friday night! The performances were superb. Tell your friends and family not
to miss the chance to see this great production. Two more shows scheduled for next week in Brewton, AL. See below.
*******
CLOSING NIGHT PERFORMANCE TONIGHT!
Friday Oct. 24th & Saturday, Oct. 25th, 2008 - 7 PM
Jefferson Davis Community College, 220 Alco Dr Brewton, AL 36426 (Neal
Colonial Center Auditorium) Click here for Directions
Update: The show played to receptive crowds in Brewton, AL this past Friday
and Saturday night, including several audience members who traveled from the Pensacola area. Every performance held its
own special brand of magic. All in the cast look forward to future productions. GECA productions offer a
quality and professionalism equivalent to the very best in community and regional theatre.
Robert Harling
Robert Harling was born in 1951 in Louisiana. Harling is an American writer and film director best known for his play Steel Magnolias.
Harling was an aspiring actor when the death of his younger sister inspired him to write the play that remains his most
famous work. He went on to adapt the screenplay for the film version of the play that was produced in 1989 starring Sally Field and Julia Roberts. He played a small role in the film as a minister.
Harling has concentrated on working as a screenwriter in subsequent years. He is the author of the screenplays to the films
Soapdish (1991), The First Wives Club (1996), Laws of Attraction (2004), and is currently working on the screenplay for the film version of Dallas. He also wrote and directed the sequel to Terms of Endearment titled The Evening Star (1996).
"...[t]hen Mr. Harling stepped forward to explain the origins of the play. It was based entirely on a true story of
his family in a small Louisiana town where he grew up. Twenty years ago, his sister Susan (who is the character Shelby in
the show), died after a kidney transplant, leaving a year-and-a-half-old-son. The loss was so great to Harling that at someone’s
suggestion he wrote a play about it. The play of course went on to become enormously successful and launched Harling on a
career as a playwright and screenwriter." - Excerpted from The New York Social Diary 2005 article.
Click here for other pics and article discussing the 2005 Broadway premier of Steel Magnolias (Courtesy of www.newyorksocialdiary.com)
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DIRECTED BY SHERRIE HURSH
GECA CAST
"Truvy Jones".............Mitzi Dixon
"Annelle Dupuy-Desoto.....Ellen Johnson
"Clairee Belcher"..........Patty Castleberry
"Shelby Eatenton-Latcherie"..,Melanie Bennett
"M'Lynn Eatenton".......Sharon Poulsen
"Ouiser Boudreaux".........Jo Downing
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Radio Announcer Voice...........John Mascaro
Sound Effects & Lights
......Phil Johnson & John Mascaro
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Synopsis
The action centers around Truvy's beauty parlor and some women who regularly gather there. The drama begins on the morning
of Shelby's wedding to Jackson and covers events over the next year, including Shelby's decision to have a child despite having
Type 1 diabetes and the complications that result from the decision. We also get a glimpse of the unlikely friendship between Clairee and
Ouiser; Annelle's transformation from a shy, anxious newcomer in town, to a partying woman, then to a religious fundamentalist; and Truvy's relationships with the men in her family. Although the main storyline involves Shelby, her mother, and Shelby's
medical battles, the underlying group-friendship among all six women is prominent throughout the drama.
Stage Play
Steel Magnolias, the stage play, written by Robert Harling, is still popular
today and has frequent productions mounted throughout the United States. It was originally staged Off-Broadway. All of the action of the play takes place solely on one set - Truvy's beauty salon (which is part of her house). There are
only six characters (all female) that appear on stage. There is the voice of a DJ on the radio that is heard during the play.
All the other characters (like the male characters) that appear in the film version are only referred to in the dialogue.
The original stage production opened at the WPA Theatre, in New York City, on 28 March 1987. It was directed by Pamela Berlin, and featured Margo Martindale as Truvy, Constance Shulman as Annelle, Kate Wilkinson as Clairee, Mary Fogarty as Ouiser, Blanche Baker as Shelby, and Rosemary Prinz as M'Lynn. The production moved to the Lucille Lortel Theatre on 19 June 1987, with Betsy Aidem taking over the role of Shelby.
GECA PERFORMANCES UPDATES
Update: The show played to large crowds on both nights at Grace Fellowship
in Atmore, AL requiring extra seating on Friday night! The performances were superb. Tell your friends and family not
to miss the chance to see this great production. Two more shows scheduled for next week in Brewton, AL. See below.
*******
CLOSING NIGHT PERFORMANCE SATURDAY, OCTOBER 25 2008 AT:
Jefferson Davis Community College, 220 Alco Dr Brewton, AL 36426 (Neal
Colonial Center Auditorium) Click here for Directions
Update: The show played to receptive crowds in Brewton, AL this past Friday
and Saturday night, including several audience members who traveled from the Pensacola area. Every performance held its
own special brand of magic. All in the cast look forward to future productions. GECA productions offer a
quality and professionalism equivalent to the very best in community and regional theatre.
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