•August 30, 2017•

By Ellen Ferrera
for the news progress

They told me it was a chick-flick, but I really enjoyed it”, said Weldon Brown. Mitch Miller said, “I thought it was really well done” as they exited the Little Theatre after seeing “Steel Magnolias”.

And, indeed,” Steel Magnolias” has a cast of six southern women whose friendships are old as dirt and just as permanent. Their standing Saturday appointments at their she-shack, Truvy’s beauty salon, are never to be missed. “The beauty salon is women’s territory”, says M’Lynn. And, unlike the movie, the male characters are only alluded to and never seen.

The author, Robert Harling, is well-known for his sensitive portrayals of women’s relationships in other movies such as “Terms of Endearment”, The Evening Star”, and “First Wives Club”. “Steel Magnolias” was written about his sister’s death from diabetes and his need to tell her son how very special she was. The title suggests that the female characters are strong as steel but fragile as magnolias.     Login or Subscribe to read the rest of this story.