Delicate as Magnolias, Tough as Steel: Judy Ford and Lisa DeFuso rehearse a scene from “Steel Magnolias,” the first production of the year by the Little Theatre Group, opening Feb. 11 at the Laurence Olivier Theater in San José.
Photo by Phil Copeland
Having received inside advice on how to pronounce “coiffure” (kawfewer) and “Louisiana” (loozeeana) in the U.S. Deep South, the cast of “Steel Magnolias” is ready to roll.
The play written by Robert Harling – and made into a 1989 film starring Sally Field, Shirley MacLaine and Julia Roberts – is the first offering of the year by the Little Theatre Group (LTG), Costa Rica’s oldest English-language community theater company.
“Steel Magnolias” is the story of four friends who meet every Saturday morning at Truvy’s Beauty Salon to have their hair or nails done and share their lives. Two other women come into the story, one “with a past” and the other about to get married.
All must “come to terms with their grips,” as Truvy says in Act 1, and all face challenges ranging from widowhood and deadbeat or runaway husbands to a dangerous pregnancy and the death of a child.
The international cast of old-timers and newcomers includes Samantha Black, Lisa DeFuso, Judy Ford, Susan Liang, Angela Lucas, Jennifer McLennan and Suzy Nagel, who will share the role of Ouiser with DeFuso.
The play is directed by Caroline Kennedy, who previously directed “Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean” and “Calendar Girls” for the Little Theatre Group.
The play is set to open Feb. 11 and will run three weekends, with evening performances at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday matinees at 2:30 p.m., at the Laurence Olivier Theater in San José, on Avenida 2, Calle 28, next to Sala Garbo. Dinner theater options are available with online reservations.
For information and to reserve tickets, call 8858-1446 or visit www.littletheatre group.org.
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