Steel Magnolias is Coming to Clarksville!

Written by Andrea Stehle for the 8/5/26 edition of the Mecklenburg Sun

Next year will mark the 40th anniversary of the off-Broadway premier of Robert Harling’s Steel Magnolias. The iconic play follows the story of six southern women in the fictional town of Chinquapin, Louisiana. The tragicomedy embraces the joys and triumphs of life, as well as dealing with the reality of grief and sorrow. The women in the play are based upon Harling’s memories of the women from his childhood, who always seemed to have quick-witted, one-line comebacks that would make perfect bumper stickers. 

The Clarksville Community Players are proud to announce our production of Steel Magnolias on November 13, 14 & 15, 2026. Although it has been done by CCP in the past, it will be the first production of the play in the area for almost a decade. Doing a little research in preparation for directing this show, I discovered some interesting things about the true-life story that inspired the author who wrote Steel Magnolias. 

Robert Harling’s sister, Susan, was a type 1 diabetic. The doctors warned her there could be serious complications if she got pregnant. Susan decided to have a child anyway and the strain on her system caused kidney failure. Her mother donated a kidney to try to save her, but it was not enough. Steel Magnolias was written as a tribute to the strength of his sister, his mother, and the friends who supported them through the tragedy. Harlan has said that Steel Magnolias is his sister's story, he just happened to be the one who wrote it down. 

Since the play included characters based upon real people in his hometown, Harling worried his mother’s friends might be offended, especially by the grumpy, wise cracking Ouiser, and even refused to tell anyone who the character was based up. His mother’s friends surprised him, when they ALL claim Ouiser must be based upon them. Ouiser continues to be a favorite with fans. During casting for the movie, Shirley MacLaine was given first choice of any part in the play. She immediately chose "the really bitchy one." She claims playing Ouiser was rehearsing for old age to see if she could get away with being brutally honest and yet still funny.

Steel Magnolias wasn't originally intended as a comedy.  It was the story of the tragic end of his sister’s life, and the cast rehearsed it as a drama. Margo Martindale, the actress who Harling wrote the role of Truvy for, admits that it wasn't until audiences came in and started responding to the colorful dialogue that they realized they had a tragicomedy. Harlan commented at the time, “I guess this is funny—until it's not”. 

I hope many of the actresses in our community will consider coming out to audition for Steel Magnolias. There are two parts for young women in their twenties: Shelby – the bride and Annelle – the new girl in town. This show calls for four more mature women. M’Lynn - Shelby’s mother, Truvy – the owner of the beauty shop, Claire – widow of the former mayor, and of course the wise-cracking Ouiser. Although we would love to have men help with the technical aspects of the production, I am afraid the play has only female roles. The entire play takes place in Truvy’s beauty shop. The colorful men in their lives are only talked about and never actually appear on stage. Harlan had a very important reason for that.

After his sister’s funeral, the whole town came over to the house. The men congregated in the den and were a mess. No one knew what to say or do.  On the other hand, the women gathered in the kitchen, laughing and telling stories about Susan. They were Steel Magnolia who weathered life’s ups and downs with grace, strength and humor. Most importantly they faced life together. Harling shared that when one of the men wandered into the kitchen that day the laughter stopped and the spell was broken. He realized that his sister’s story needed to be told by the women of the town - somewhere there were no men. And so, Truvy’s beauty salon was born.  

Auditions for the CCP production of Steel Magnolias will be Friday, August 14 from 7-9pm and Saturday, August 15 from 2-4pm at the Clarksville Fine Arts Center (914 Virginia Avenue Clarksville, VA). Anyone wishing to audition should go to the CCP website (clarksvilleplayers.org) to fill out the Google form before the audition. You do not have to prepare anything in advance. We will be doing cold readings from the script with everyone reading several different parts.  People are encouraged to come to both auditions, but that is not a requirement to get a part.  If you have any questions, feel free to contact the director, Andrea Stehle at magistrastehle@gmail.com. 

I am grateful for two articles that helped me with my research. The Heartbreaking Real-Life Story Behind 'Steel Magnolias' by Maria Carter that appeared in Country Living in July of 2017 and Thirty Years of Steel Magnolias by Julia Reed from the May 2017 issue of Gun & Garden.