Whidbey Island Center for the Arts Presents STEEL MAGNOLIAS, 2/10-25

Whidbey Island Center for the Arts opens 2012 with the 1987 Off-Broadway comedy-drama Steel Magnolias. Written by Robert Harling, the play morphed into a movie of the same name in 1989. It runs for three weekends, Feb. 10-25, 2012.

Directed by Tim Rarick, who last directed On Golden Pond at WICA, Steel Magnolias takes place in a beauty parlor in Chinquapin, Louisiana. It revolves around six distinctly different women, illustrating how their lives are interwoven via the small town gossip that shadows the ongoing cycles of birth, marriage and death. Filled with lyrical Southern repartee and no shortage of lively verbal collisions, the play draws on the town’s underlying strength and love. These two human elements give its characters the special qualities that make them truly touching, funny and amiable company in both good times and bad.

The cast features Bristol Bloom, Deana Duncan, Eleanor Fye, ElizaBeth Grant, Shelley Hartle and Dana Linn.

The 1989 film starred Sally Field, Dolly Parton, Shirley MacLaine, Darryl Hannah, Olympia Dukakis and Julia Roberts.

Other members of the WICA production team include Taylor Raymond and Tim Rarick, Scenic Design; Val Johnson, Costume Design; Larry Woolworth, Set Dressing and Props; Ann Deacon, Lighting Design.

Tickets are on sale now and range from $12-$16. They’re available by contacting the WICA Ticket Office at (360) 221-8268 or (800) 638-7631. Additional information may be found online at www.WICAonline.com.