CEDAR CITY — The play Steel Magnolias by Robert Harling started as a short story written by Harling to help him deal with the death of his sister. In the therapeutic world, we see this as a part of expressive arts therapy, and it is one of the best methods. The short story evolved into an off-Broadway play and later, two movie adaptations. Directed by Melissa Maxwell at the Utah Shakespeare Festival, the story of friendship and love proves just as delicate and powerful as the title represents.
A scene from Utah Shakespeare Festival’s 2025 production of Steel Magnolias
The story follows a group of six friends in Chinquapin, Louisiana, as they navigate through the joy and challenges of following Shelby, played by Amara Webb, a young woman with diabetes who gets married, has a baby, and suffers the health consequences. All of the action takes place in Truvy’s beauty and hair salon. Truvy, played by Alia Shakira, has just hired a new hair stylist, new to town Annelle, played by Valerie Martire. Shelby’s mother M’Lynn, played by Olivia D. Dawson, is a mental health counselor and is anxious to learn how to best help her daughter. Rounding out the cast are Sarah Shippobotham as Clairee Belcher, the former first lady of Chinquapin learning how to navigate life as a rich widow, and Evelyn Carol Case as Ouiser Boudreax, the grumpy southern woman with a secret heart of gold. This ensemble play about friendship utilizes the talents of the actresses to tell the nuanced story.
The small cast of six play out all of the action in the comfort of Truvy’s salon in the 1980’s. Set designer Jo Winiarski creates quite a magical space. As any fan of the 1989 movie knows, Steel Magnolias is full of a lot of great quotable one-liners. One of the first comes from Shakira’s Truvy, “There is no such thing as natural beauty.” Because of the amount of time these women spend in the salon, the care with which designer Winiarski creates the scene left me feeling like I was sitting in the salon as a bystander, rather than an audience member. Another impressive choice is the décor and the colors, invoking the perfect 1980’s vintage vibe. With vibrant patterns, this is also reflected in the costume design by Lauren Roark, with the fun 1980’s fashions that are one of the most memorable parts of the entire production. The costumes paired with the amazing wig design, (the designer isn’t credited in the program), crafts an outstanding visual story. Because the show is set in a salon, hair design is essential. Not only do the wigs look amazing, Shakira as Truvy and Martire as Annelle spent much of the production doing hair. From actually washing hair, to creating a beautiful wedding updo, I was truly inspired by their ability to be hairdressers in addition to actresses.
A scene from Utah Shakespeare Festival’s 2025 production of Steel Magnolias
Speaking of matching acting and design, each actress adds to the full picture of friendship amidst challenges. Webb’s pure optimism as Shelby was refreshing. Her delivery of the line, “I’d rather have 30 minutes of wonderful than a lifetime of nothing special,” reminded me of why the movie version of this show inspired me to seek for joy as often as I could. Martire as Annelle provides a lot of comedic interaction and understanding about what it looks like to be a newcomer in a small town. Her ability to play with these interactions is highly entertaining. Shippobotham as Clairee and Case as Ouiser are such highlights, and their comedic scene at the end is the stuff of legends. One this note, I must commend the marketing of the Utah Shakespeare Festival for selling perhaps the best T-shirt in their gift shop that could possibly exist. For fans of this script, the line, “We’ll sell T-shirts!” stands out, and now they do. (I must also confess that I bought one.)
At the end of Act One, Shelby drops some difficult news on her mom. In response, the rest of the characters all rally around her as true friends. The direction of this particular scene by Maxwell feels like a picture perfect example of why we need best friends, and it made me so grateful for my own. The show ends with the final tragic speech by M’Lynn. Dawson delivers this monologue with the same star quality as Sally Field does in the movie. As she talks about how women are made of steel, the strength and power that she shares in her character echoed through the hall. When she then switches to the humor of the scene, her humanity seeps through in such perfect fashion that I almost forgot that I was watching a show.
Sarah Shippobotham as Clairee in Utah Shakespeare Festival’s 2025 production of Steel Magnolias
Stories like Steel Magnolias showcase the best of humanity. I have already been chatting with my best friends and seeing if there is a way to make it down to Cedar City again to see it before the summer is over. While their merchandising is great, their production is even better.
