To submit school announcements, click on image.
Northern Essex Community College Theater presents Steel Magnolias, the comedy-drama by Robert Harling, next month.
Set in a close-knit Louisiana beauty salon, “Steel Magnolias” follows a circle of Southern women who lean on humor, gossip and each other through life’s biggest joys and hardest losses. The play’s title captures its heart: characters as delicate as magnolias, yet as resilient as steel.
The production is directed by national award-winning Director and Northern Essex Professor Brianne Beatrice, with student Jay Ouellette serving as assistant director. The cast is led by national award-winning actor Naima Eve as Truvy, alongside Katherine Caulfield, Rachael Knipe, Tawny Marshall, Gianna Proia and Laurille Wirling, an Excellence in Performance nominee for her portrayal of Harper in NECC Theater’s “Angels in America.”
Beatrice said the show’s themes feel especially timely and wasn’t chosen because of Dolly Parton, who played Truvy in the 1989 film adaptation of the play, she said the country icon’s passing last month gave the production a new resonance.
“It’s really poignant, and I think necessary right now in our world, to remember the core value of female camaraderie,” Beatrice said. “Women that lift up other women—that’s really what it’s all about. We all need that reminder that, at the end of the day, we’re here for each other.”
In tribute to Parton, the production will open with a special, surprise pre-show musical performance of celebrated tunes—tying into the show’s broader identity, inspired by Southern women who have shaped culture and history.
Performances take place Thursday, Oct. 15, 4 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, Oct. 16 and 17, 7 p.m.; and Sunday, Oct.18, 2 p.m., all at Chester H. Hawrylciw Theater, Spurk Building, 100 Elliott St, Haverhill. General admission is $25 and students and seniors are $10 each. Tickets are available at the door or in advance via Ticket Leap.