Steel Magnolias

Encore Theatre and Gallery opens its fourth season with a limited run of “Steel Magnolias,” with a new take on the popular theatre classic.
The play is delivered by an all-Black cast in roles that were originally performed with an all-white ensemble . A unique twist on a widely produced classic.

The theatre considers the production “a fresh new take on a timeless classic” and features veteran actors and new faces. The performers include Halo Wheeler (Shelby), Donna Thornton (Clairee), Shronda Major (Truvy), Chalethia Williams (Ouiser), Jessica Briana Kelly (Annelle), and Erika Kellom (M’Lynn).

Marc Raby, the producing artistic director of Encore Theatre and Gallery and the show’s director, sees this as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the cast to give voice to a universal story that some may regard as a timeless theatre staple. “It’s an honor to seize opportunities to present nontraditional and colorblind casting.”
The play, which was written by Robert Harling as an off-Broadway, takes place in a beauty shop. Often billed as a comedy-drama , Steel Magnolias tells the story about the bond between a group of Southern women who are described as delicate as a magnolia but as tough as steel.

Although Encore Theatre and Gallery is not the first American theater to stage “Steel Magnolias” with an all-Black cast, they are thrilled to stage this interpretation in the Magic City.