Parkway Playhouse’s 2016 season opens with Steel Magnolias

PRESS RELEASE: 

BURNSVILLE, NC: The celebrated Southern classic of family and friendship, Steel Magnolias by Robert Harling and directed by Andrew Gall, is set to open at Parkway Playhouse on May 7. Performances continue on Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30pm and Sundays at 3:00pm, through May 21. Tickets range from $10 for students to $20 adults. (A limited number of ‘Pay-What-You-Can tickets are available on the day of performance as seating allows.) All performances are at the historic Parkway Playhouse theatre, located at 202 Green Mountain Drive in Burnsville, NC. Tickets can be purchased by visiting the Parkway Playhouse Box Office (open 1-5pm Thursdays through Saturdays from 1:00pm – 5:00pm); calling 828-682-4285; or by visiting the Parkway Playhouse website at www.parkwayplayhouse.com.

There will be a complimentary Opening Night Reception at Parkway Playhouse for the cast and patrons attending the May 7 performance. On Sunday May 8 and Sunday May 15, there will be a post show discussion with the cast on stage.

Steel Magolias is the story of a group of strong and beautiful women who cluster around Truvy’s Beauty Parlor in a small Louisiana parish. The story centers on Shelby, who moves from wedding to childbirth to medical complications with a love of life and a willingness to face its possibilities bravely. Popularly adapted for the screen, the play has remained a perpetual favorite since its Off-Broadway opening in 1987.

Parkway Playhouse’s production of Steel Magnolias is directed by Parkway Playhouse Artistic Director, Andrew Gall and the cast includes Parkway Playhouse veterans Jenny Pearson Martin (of Burnsville, NC as Truvy); Myra McCoury (of Newland, NC as Annelle); Roberta Whiteside (of Burnsville, NC as Clairee); Alesa Bryant (of Bakersville, NC as Ousier); and Jennifer Russ (of Marshall, NC as M’Lynn). Reagan James (as Shelby), currently a theatre student at Eastern Tennessee State University is making her Parkway Playhouse debut.

Parkway Playhouse opened in 1947, and for years operated as a summer-extension program where college students would spend several weeks each summer honing their craft. Parkway Playhouse has continued to make education and making high-quality live theatre available to visitors and residents of the Western North Carolina Mountains. The theatre is now a thriving year-round performing arts company that takes tremendous pride in its history, community, and future.

For more information about Parkway Playhouse, performances, volunteer opportunities, classes, auditions, and more please visit www.parkwayplayhouse.com, or call 828-682-4285.

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About Thomas Calder
Thomas Calder received his MFA in Fiction from the University of Houston's Creative Writing Program. His writing has appeared in Gulf Coast, the Miracle Monocle, Juked and elsewhere. His debut novel, The Wind Under the Door, is now available.

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