Six dizzy modern-day southern belles hang out in Truvy’s Beauty Parlor down in Chinquapin, Louisiana – dishing dirt while dying their roots.
Dolly Parton is Truvy, who believes “what separates us from the animals is our ability to accessorise.” Shirley MacLaine is the town bitch who’s been “in a bad mood for forty years.” Darryl Hannah is a birdbrain beautician “first in her class in frostin’ and streakin'” . . .
But they’re not all zonked-out Scarlett O’Haras – there’s also Sally Field, a devoted mother whose daughter, Julia Roberts, is young, beautiful, newlywed and a diabetic risking her life to have a baby.
The actresses work well as an ensemble, proving the true meaning of friendship through good times and rough hauls alike. And Robert Harling’s script captures the essence of today’s South with a musical ear for dialogue.
Steel Magnolias has a warmth that hugs your heart and a down-home humanity as real as grits.
You’ll laugh and cry and come to know these people like neighbours.
M’Lynn Eatenton
Sally Field Truvy Jones
Dolly Parton Ouiser Boudreaux
Shirley MacLaine Annelle Dupuy Desoto
Darryl Hannah Clairee Belcher
Olympia Dukakis Shelby Eatenton Latcherie
Julia Roberts Drum Eatenton
Tom Skerritt Spud Jones
Sam Shepard Jackson Latcherie
Dylan McDermott Sammy Desoto
Kevin J. O’Connor Owen Jenkins
Bill McCutcheon Aunt Fern
Ann Wedgeworth Tommy Eatenton
Knowl Johnson Jonathan Eatenton
Jonathan Ward Belle Marmillion
Bibi Besch
