Home » Steel Magnolias, Music Theatre of Connecticut, Norwalk, USA

Steel Magnolias, Music Theatre of Connecticut, Norwalk, USA

Music THeatre of Connecticut - Steel Magnolias - Andrea Lynn Green, Kristi Carnahan, Rachel Rival, Raissa Katona Bennette _ photo by Heather Hayes
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The play Steel Magnolias directed by Pamela Hill at the Music Theatre of Connecticut located in Norwalk, is a must see production! Featuring a talented ensemble cast of Raissa Katona Bennett, Kristi Carnahan, Andrea Green, Cynthia Hannah, Kala Monroe, and Rachel Rival, the play will have you running the gamut of life’s emotions from laughing out loud to dealing with times of sadness. The play runs until November 24, 2019.

Andrea Lynn Green (Shelby), Kristi Carnahan (Ouiser),
Rachel Rival (Annelle), Raissa Katona Bennett (Truvy)
Steel Magnolias

While we had seen, and loved, the 1989 film, Steel Magnolias starring Sally Field, Dolly Parton, Shirley MacLaine, Daryl Hannah, Olympia Dukakis, and Julia Roberts, to name but a few members of the stellar cast, little did we know that the film was an adaptation of Robert Harling’s 1987 play, Steel Magnolias. For us, it was a case of learning about which came first, the chicken or the egg. In this case, the play was the first version.

Music THeatre of Connecticut - Steel Magnolias - Andrea Lynn Green - photo by Heather Hayes
Andrea Lynn Green (Shelby)
Steel Magnolias

Interesting to note is that Robert Harling wrote the play as a tribute to his sister. At a loss with how to cope with the death of his sister in 1985 from type 1 diabetes, a friend encouraged him to write down his feelings and thus ten days later he had written a play. Steel Magnolias first played Off-Broadway in March 1987, followed by a three-year run on Broadway beginning in June 1987. The plot remains as enduring and endearing as it was when it ran in 1987.

Music THeatre of Connecticut - Steel Magnolias - Kala Monroe - photo by Heather Hayes
Kala Monroe (M’Lynn)
Steel Magnolias

We had the pleasure of seeing the Music Theatre of Connecticut’s performance of Steel Magnolias on Friday, November 8, 2019, and fell in love with the story, and its amazing cast of characters all over again. Set inthe South in a small town in Louisiana from 1987-1988, the play takes place in Truvy’s beauty salon (played by Raissa Katona Bennett) where the important ladies of the town gather not only to have their hair styled, but for the friendship and juicy gossip and advice as well, that Truvy and her assistant Annelle, (played by Rachel Rival), happily dish out to entertain their lively clientele including the well-to-do but continually disgruntled Ouiser (played by Kristi Carnahan), the group’s social leader M’Lynn (played by Kala Moore), Shelby, M’Lynn’s daughter who is getting married (played by Andrea Lynn Green), and the wise-cracking, sports and sweets loving, cheerful, wealthy widow, Clairee (played by Cynthia Hannah).

Music THeatre of Connecticut - Steel Magnolias - Kristi Carnahan - photo by Heather Hayes
Kristi Carnahan (Ouiser)
Steel Magnolias

It is a play that will have you running the gamut of emotions from laughing out loud from their wise-cracking outrageous comments to crying along with the ladies as they try to make sense and cope with life’s tragedies and move on.

Music THeatre of Connecticut - Steel Magnolias - Raissa Katona Bennette _ photo by Heather Hayes
Raissa Katona Bennett (Truvy)
Steel Magnolias

From Ouiser, "I’m not crazy, I’ve just been in a very bad mood for 40 years." From Clairee with a gleam in her eye, "If you don’t have anything nice to say about anybody…come and sit by me." FromTruvy, "Laughter through tears is my favorite emotion." With smart and snappy dialogue like that deftly delivered by a truly talented cast, how could you not come to love these Southern ladies?

Music THeatre of Connecticut - Steel Magnolias - Raissa Katona Bennette, Kala Monroe _ photo by Heather Hayes
Raissa Katona Bennett (Truvy), Kala Monroe (M’Lynn)
Steel Magnolias

The play Steel Magnolias is about the strong bonds of women friends in the face of adversity and life’s everyday trials and tribulations. Whether laughing together in the good times or crying together during times of sadness, make no mistake, the women of Truvy’s beauty salon epitomize the phrase, "steel magnolias," meaning there is strength under their froth of femininity.

Music THeatre of Connecticut - Steel Magnolias - Rachel Rival, Cynthia Hannah - photo by Heather Hayes
Rachel Rival (Annelle), Cynthia Hannah (Clairee)
Steel Magnolias

Steel Magnolias performance schedule: Fridays at 8:00 pm, Saturdays at 4:00 pm and 8:00 pm, and Sundays at 2:00 pm.

The play runtime is 2 hours plus a 15-minute intermission.

Until next time, keep enjoying and supporting the arts!

Cast:

Raissa Katona Bennett

Truvy

Kristi Carnahan

Ouiser

Andrea Lynn Green

Shelby

Cynthia Hannah

Clairee

Kala Monroe

M’Lynn

Rachel Rival

Annelle

The Creative Team:

 

Robert Harling

Playwright

Pamela Hill

Director

Jim Schilling

Stage Manager

Jessie Lizotte

Scenic Design

Diane Vanderkoef

Costume Design

Merrie Dietch

Props Design

RJ Romeo

Lighting Design

Will Atkin

Sound Design

For information on the play or to purchase tickets, please call the box office at +1-203-454-3883 or visit them on the website at www.MusicTheatreofCT.com

For information on upcoming events and other performances, please visit the website: www.musictheatreofct.com

Upcoming Performances – 2019 and 2020

Plays 2019 Season

Dates Running

Ragtime The Musical

September 27 – October 13, 2019

Steel Magnolias

November 8 – 24, 2019

Sylvia

February 7 – 23, 2020

BUDDY The Buddy Holly Story

March 20 – April 5, 2010

About MTC

"Music Theatre of Connecticut is the premier provider of musical theatre performance and training. Founded in 1987, we produce an annual series of Equity productions featuring New York professionals (MTC MainStage), numerous annual student productions, and a conservatory-style School of Performing Arts with curriculum-based training for students ages four through high school, including the nationally-recognized College-Bound in the Performing Arts program for performance career-focused high school students."

Music THeatre of Connecticut, Norwalk, CT, USA

Music Theatre of Connecticut
509 Westport Avenue
(Enter the Bright Beginnings parking lot and look for MTC’s orange awning)
Norwalk, Connecticut 06851
United States
Box Office: +1-203-454-3883
Fax: +1-203-557-0496
Website: www.MusicTheatreofCT.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MusicTheatreCT
Instagram: @musictheatrect
Twitter: @musictheatrect

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