After playwright Robert Harling’s sister died in 1985, he wrote a comedy-drama called “Steel Magnolias” that was first produced in 1987 and would be adapted into a popular film in 1989. Like Harling’s sister, the character of Shelby in the play has Type 1 diabetes, which begins in childhood and affects her ability to have children.
At the start of the play, Shelby is about to get married and having her hair done at a beauty shop surrounded by a group of women who share both heartbreak and humor.
Opening this weekend at Long Beach Playhouse, “Steel Magnolias” features six actresses, some returning and some new to the Playhouse, all steeped in Southern accents reflecting the play’s small-town Louisiana setting.
Gioia Moen plays nurse Shelby, the newlywed; Sarah Green is her counselor mother M’Lynn; Andrea Stradling is recent widow Clairee; Phyllis M. Nofts plays wealthy curmudgeon Ouiser; Roxy Payne is quiet outsider Annelle, who may or may not have a shady past; and Katrina D. Richard plays Truvy, owner of the beauty shop where the women’s life stories play out.
Despite their personality differences and squabbles, “they are best friends, Southern to the core; they are beautiful and strong, like steel magnolias,” according to the Playhouse.
“I wanted a play that centers on women and highlights their strengths,” noted Sean Gray, the theater’s artistic director. “This show explores the ways women experience life as a cycle of birth, death, rebirth and ultimately victory over circumstances.”
The play is also directed by a woman, Phyllis Gitlin, who previously directed “The Diary of Anne Frank” at the Playhouse in 2023.
“Gitlin took a heart-wrenching and difficult story and found the humanity in the characters,” Gray said. “It was one of the best shows of the season.”
The theater’s resident costume designer, Christina Bayer, said she took a cue from Gitlin’s own mother’s beauty shop and its sense of community when researching how to dress the actors, including the practical aspect of how they could make quick costume or hair changes between scenes.
“At the same time, they are all very different people, and it was a lot of fun going through all of our vintage ’80s clothing to find the right pieces to show their different personalities,” Bayer said. “There was definitely a sense of nostalgia in the costume shop. I had several people say the clothing reminded them of their aunts or their mothers, or it was something they might have worn at the time.”
Since each scene takes place months after the prior scene, Bayer said she also had to show the passage of time and how the women’s journeys reflect in their clothing.
“I hope I’ve helped bring these characters to life for audiences,” Bayer said. “I hope they feel a little bit of that nostalgia, too, when they see the show.”
Prior to its regular run, the Playhouse is offering two lower-priced previews — pay-what-you-can on Thursday, May 15, and $10 tickets on Friday, May 16. Saturday’s opening night performance on May 17 will feature a champagne reception with the cast sponsored by the Port of Long Beach.
Executive Director Madison Mooney said “Steel Magnolias” is the kind of play that will make you both laugh and cry and “have your heart singing and breaking” — and make you want to come back again for more.
“Steel Magnolias” performs at Long Beach Playhouse’s Mainstage Theater, 5021 E. Anaheim St., from May 17 to June 14, with shows Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. Tickets range from $20 to $30. For tickets and information, call the box office at 562-494-1014 or visit LBPlayhouse.org. Free parking is available in the lot behind the theater and on surrounding streets. Reasonably priced concessions are available in the lobby.