February 25 is Opening Night at Theatre at the Center
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Steel Magnolias, written by Robert Harling, is a hilarious and heart-warming play set in a Louisiana beauty shop. It follows the hopes, dreams, triumphs, and tragedies of six colorful characters. The play inspired the 1989 film starring Julia Roberts, Sally Field, Shirley MacLaine, Daryl Hannah, Olympia Dukakis, and Dolly Parton. The story explores the bond between a mother and daughter, and the friendships of those who feel like family.
“Before Steel Magnolias became an iconic film and garnered an Academy Award for Julia Roberts, it was a funny and touching off-Broadway play about the bonds of friendship and family,” said Theatre at the Center Artistic Director Linda Fortunato, who will direct this new production of Steel Magnolias. “I believe TATC audiences will laugh and cry with these ladies and find a connection to their own lives as well.”
The cast
Cory Goodrich returns to TATC for her 13th production, having previously appeared in Women On the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown and Ring of Fire: The Music of Johnny Cash. She won a Jeff Award for her role of June Carter in Ring of Fire and another Jeff Award for her role as Mother in Drury Lane’s production of Ragtime. As a singer/songwriter, Cory has four solo albums.
Landree Fleming is returning to TATC where she was last seen in Godspell and The 25th Annual Putman County Spelling Bee. She has worked at Drury Lane, Paramount, and Chicago Shakespeare, among other Chicagoland theaters and is a member of the comedy group Off Off Broadzway.
Heidi Kettenring returns to TATC where she was seen in Annie Warbucks, I Do! I Do!, and Here’s Love! She is a Jeff Award winner in addition to having received several Jeff nominations, the Sarah Siddons Chicago Leading Lady Award, an After Dark Award, and the Richard M. Kneeland Award.
Joslyn Yvonne Jones has appeared in Once On This Island at Marriott Lincolnshire, Weekend at TimeLine Theatre, and Escape at Live Bait Theatre. She now makes her TATC debut.
Jeannie Affelder has appeared in Silent Sky at First Folio and The Little Flower of East Orange at Eclipse, which earned her a Jeff Nomination for Best Actress. She is making her TATC debut, as is Myesha-Tiara, who has been seen in The Wedding Band at The Artistic Home and Netflix & Kill at the Pride Arts Center. Myesha-Tiara was also featured in the film 12 Years a Slave.
The director
Linda Fortunato is director of Steel Magnolias. She has been involved with more than a dozen shows at TATC, including directing Big River, The Tin Woman, Cabaret, Annie Warbucks, and A Christmas Story. She choreographed Spamalot, Big Fish, A Christmas Carol, Guys and Dolls, Crazy for You, and Fiddler on the Roof. And she performed in Lend Me a Tenor and The Diary of Anne Frank. Fortunato has been nominated for five Joseph Jefferson Awards for her work as a choreographer and director. She received both the Equity and Non-Equity Jeff Awards for Outstanding Choreography, including garnering Theatre at the Center’s first Jeff Award for her choreography of 42nd Street.
Fortunato as TATC’s Artistic Director is teamed with Richard Friedman as General Manager and Ann Davis as Head of Production.
The creative team
The creative team for Steel Magnolias includes Scenic Designer Greg Pinsoneault, Lighting Designer Michael Trudeau, and Costume Designer Brenda Winstead. Wig Design and Hair Design are by Kevin Barthel, Prop Design is by Brittney O’Keefe, and Sound Design is by Barry Funderburg. The Stage Manager is Jessica Banaszak.
Ticket information
Performances are 2:00pm on Wednesdays and Thursdays; 7:30pm on Fridays; 3:00pm and 7:30pm on Saturdays; and 3:00pm on Sundays, with select Thursday and Sunday night performances.
Individual ticket prices range from $42–$46. To purchase individual tickets, call the Box Office at 219-836-3255 or Tickets.com at 800-511-1532. Group discounts are available for groups of 11 or more. Gift certificates are also available.
Theatre at the Center is located within The Center for Visual and Performing Arts at 1040 Ridge Road, Munster, Indiana. For more information on Theatre at the Center, visit www.TheatreAtTheCenter.com.
