Buckhannon — On Feb. 20-23, the Theatre and Dance Department at West Virginia Wesleyan College will present the heartwarming comedy classic, “Steel Magnolias,” by Robert Harling. All performances will be in Culpepper Auditorium in the Virginia Thomas Law Center for the Performing Arts.
Show times are 8 p.m. Feb. 20, 21, and 22, and 2 p.m. Feb. 23. Tickets are available at the door.
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 the characters.
“Harling has given his women sharp, funny dialogue and the play builds to a conclusion that is deeply moving,” said the New York Daily News. “Steel Magnolias” is a skillfully crafted, lovingly evoked picture of eccentricity in the small-town south,” stated Drama-Logue.
“The play is suffused with humor and tinged with tragedy,” added the New York Post.
The cast list for the performance in order of appearance includes:
- Truvy – Taylor Pugh, musical theatre major, Glen Jean
- Annelle – Meg Alderman, theatre arts major, Hedgesville
- Clairee – Julian Marshall, pre-drama therapy major, Triadelphia
- Shelby – Sinead Tobin, musical theatre major, Fairmont
- M’Lynn – Savannah Teter, theatre arts major, Girard, Ohio
- Ouiser – Pippa McGinley, musical theatre major, Morgantown
- DJ – M. Eric Jett, director of strength and conditioning at the college
The crew includes:
- Stage manager: Elizabeth Tweel, theatre major, Elkview
- Sets and Lighting Designer: Keith Saine, technical theatre director
- Costume Designers: Heather Bokey, elementary education, Bridgeport, and Jacob Spruce, theatre education, Charleston
- Sound Designer: Felicia Cochran, theatre arts major, Midway
- Director: Gregory Mach, associate professor of dramatic arts
- Properties: Sky Pulliam, pre-nursing, Round Rock, TX, and Dominick Gray, music education, Belle