The cast is set for Abington Theatre Company’s one-night-only reading of Steel Magnolias, set for May 20 at Off-Broadway Lucille Lortel Theatre.
Tony nominee Brenda Braxton (Smokey Joe’s Cafe, Chicago) will play Truvy, the beautician with a loose tongue. Julie Klausner (Difficult People) will play her apprentice, Annelle.
Joining the two are Tony nominees Sandy Duncan (Peter Pan, Finding Neverland) as Clairee and Nancy Opel (Urinetown, Wicked) as Ouiser. Carrie St. Louis (Kinky Boots, Wicked) will portray the doomed Shelby with Dear Evan Hansen star Lisa Brescia as her mother, M’Lynn.
Blanche Baker, who originated the role of Shelby onstage in 1987, is set to direct the reading, which will use Robert Harling’s script.
In addition to regular regional performances around the country, the play is preserved with a beloved 1989 film adaptation starring Dolly Parton as Truvy, Daryl Hannah as Annelle, Olympia Dukakis as Clairee, Shirley MacLaine as Ouiser, Julia Roberts as Shelby, and Sally Field as M’Lynn.
