'Steel Magnolias' auditions set for Jan. 28, 29

SOAP LAKE — Auditions for the Masquers production of “Steel Magnolias” are scheduled for 1 p.m. Jan 28 and 29 at the theater, 322 East Main St.

Director Randy Brooks said it would be a “cold read” audition, where prospective actors read selections from the script with no advance rehearsal or study, at least on stage. Forms for prospective actors will be available during audition sessions, and actors are asked to bring a current picture.

The Masquers production opens April 21 and runs for three weekends. “Steel Magnolias” debuted off-Broadway in 1987, the work of playwright and screenwriter Robert Harling, and was made into a movie in 1989. Harling wrote it as a tribute to his sister, a diabetic who had died after childbirth due to complications from the disease.

“It’s a great show. It really is,” Books said. This will be his second time directing; the first was with a theater company in Moses Lake about 15 years ago, he said. “We wound up doing an extra weekend,” he said, due to the production’s popularity.

“One of the best ensemble plays ever written.” The play, unlike the movie, has an all-woman cast. It’s six roles “and they’re all lead parts,” Brooks said.

“Steel Magnolias” tells the story of “six strong - strong - ladies” in the fictional town of Chinquapin, Louisiana. Truvy owns the beauty shop and runs it with the help of Annelle, her lone employee. The shop is a hangout for the town’s ladies, including Clairee, widow of the former mayor, and Ouiser, the cranky old gal who becomes Clairee’s friend. But the story revolves around M’Lynn and Shelby, a mother and daughter. Shelby has diabetes, which poses a considerable risk when she gets married and wants kids.

“Just a heck of a lot of fun to do,” Brooks said.

The production will also require people who want to work behind the scenes, said Masquers board member Joanne Bracht, helping with lights, scenery and makeup, all the technical aspects of putting on a show. A good tech crew is “worth their weight in gold,” Brooks said.

A veteran actor as well as director, Brooks said he directed his first play at 15, “and I’m a couple weeks past that now.” Counting them up, he’s directed about 200 plays, he said.

Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at education@columbiabasinherald.com.