This feels like such a pivotal moment. Here we all are in a theater once again, slowly the world crawls to re-open to gatherings of friends, families, and strangers. Though we are still in the midst of a pandemic, we need to heal and there is no time better than now.
We come, like children, vulnerable and open to hear a story, to connect with people we have never met, to watch life unfold in front of us and to feel. That is so beautiful and Steel Magnolias is a perfect balm.
It is a story of love, loss, humor, integrity, fierce loyalty and joy. We have six women of all ages, as themselves, fully and with no apologies.
This may be a play that is done often but that concoction is rare on stage. Women being, loving, and living as their whole and complex selves. This play, with certain cultural and societal changes, could be plopped anywhere on the globe and we could watch how women commune together, alone. It is a celebration of life in all its beauty and pain. We are human. We need one another.
The author wrote this play for his late sister who died very young. He wrote this play to honor her and the women he was surrounded by as he grew. His deep respect for them is evident. The women who raised him like a village.
So, let’s sit back, take a deep breath and like children huddling together in excitement for a story to be told, let it unfold and wash over you. Theater is healing. We need it. Thank you for being here.
