An event every day that begins at 7:30 pm, repeating until December 3, 2023
Thurs (11/30) 7:30
Fri (12/1) 7:30
Sat (12/2) 3:00 – The Understudy Show!
Sat (12/2) 7:30
Sun (12/3) 3:00
Concerned with a group of gossipy southern ladies in a small-town beauty parlor, the play is alternately hilarious and touching— and, in the end, deeply revealing of the strength and purposefulness which underlies the antic banter of its characters.
Truvy Jones runs a successful beauty salon in Chinquapin, Louisiana, where all the ladies in the neighborhood have a standing Saturday appointment. Along with her anxious and eager assistant, Annelle, Truvy styles the hair of many of the women about town: wealthy widow and former first lady of Chinquapin, Clairee Belcher, local curmudgeon Ouiser Boudreaux (“I’m not crazy, I’ve just been in a bad mood for forty years”), intelligent and compassionate career woman M’Lynn, and her daughter Shelby, the prettiest girl in town. Shelby’s engagement is the talk of the town, but the joy and excitement of her wedding quickly turn to concern as she faces a risky pregnancy and a myriad of health complications. Eventually, when Shelby dies from complications related to her diabetes, M’Lynn has to deal with the most difficult of life’s challenges: the loss of one’s only child. As the women of Chinquapin make their ways over life’s many hurdles together, they find comfort (and a fair amount of verbal ribbing) in one another. “You have no idea how wonderful you are,” M’Lynn tells the ladies at the end of the play. Truvy responds, with a smile, “Of course we do.”
Written by Robert Harling
Directed by Steve Winegard
Cast List
Marilou Johnson ….. Truvy
Buffi Holland ….. Annelle
Karen Aspinwall ….. Shelby
Helen Nafziger ….. Clairee
Gail Arthur ….. M’lynn
Roz Collins ….. Ouiser
Lois Whetzel ….. Truvy Understudy
Elizabeth Jerlinski ….. Shelby Understudy