Northern Essex Community College (NECC) Theater will present Robert Harling’s comedy-drama “Steel Magnolias” at the Chester H. Hawrylciw Theater in Haverhill.
Set in a close-knit Louisiana beauty salon, the play follows Southern women who lean on humor, gossip and each other through life’s joys and losses. Its title captures its heart: characters as delicate as magnolias, yet as resilient as steel.
National Award-Winning Director and NECC Professor Brianne Beatrice directs, with Jay Ouellette as assistant director. National Award-winning actor Naima Eve plays Truvy alongside Katherine Caulfield, Rachael Knipe, Tawny Marshall, Gianna Proia and Laurille Wiring, an Excellence in Performance nominee for Angels in America.
Dolly Parton played Truvy in the 1989 film adaptation. Beatrice did not choose the play because of Parton, but Parton’s death last month gave it 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.”
The production opens with a surprise pre-show musical tribute to Parton. “I want this show not just to be about Steel Magnolias, but the steel magnolias — in honor of powerful, iconic [Southern] women,” Beatrice said.
Performances are Thursday, October 15, at 4 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, October 16–17, at 7 p.m.; and Sunday, October 18, at 2 p.m. The theater is in the Spurk Building, 100 Elliott St., Haverhill. Arrive 15 minutes early.
Tickets are $25 general admission or $10 for students and seniors, available at the door or through TicketLeap. For information, contact Beatrice at bbeatrice@necc.mass.edu or 978-556-3276.
Northern Essex Community College serves North Andover and the broader Merrimack Valley region.
