Rialto Players to present Steel Magnolias
MORRILTON — The Rialto Players will present Steel Magnolias on two upcoming weekends at the Rialto Theater in Morrilton.
Performance times are 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday and again Friday, Dec. 3, and Saturday, Dec. 4. A Sunday matinee will be offered at 2 p.m. Dec. 5. General-admission tickets are available for $10 each at the Morrilton Area Chamber of Commerce or by calling Shawnna Bowles at (501) 477-9955.
Special performances include a dinner theater on Saturday, Dec. 4, with doors opening at 5:30 p.m. so guests may dine on a Southern meal of fried chicken, smashed potatoes, green beans, hot rolls and pecan pie. Tickets for the dinner are $10, making the cost of the dinner and a show $20.
Theater patrons will be invited to take part in an Armadillo-Themed Red Velvet Cake Competition on Friday, opening night. Entries can be in any shape, but an armadillo theme is encouraged. Entry forms may be picked up at the Morrilton Area Chamber of Commerce or by contacting Bowles at (501) 477-9955. Entry forms must be returned to the Chamber by Wednesday, and the entry should be delivered to the Rialto Theater, 215 E. Broadway in Morrilton, before 2 p.m. Friday.
Bowles, executive director of the Rialto Community Arts Center, said there is no charge to enter the contest.
“It will be judged before opening night’s performance and announced following the show,” she said. “The audience will be invited to come sample the entries and enjoy coffee and visit with the cast. Entries will be judged on creativity and taste. The prize is an embroidered apron commemorating the event.”
Steel Magnolias is under the direction of Rick Beck, with Dianna Denton as assistant director. David Garrett is stage manager.
The action centers on Truvy’s beauty parlor and the group of close-knit women who meet there. The drama begins on the morning of Shelby’s wedding and covers events over the next three years, including Shelby’s decision to have a child, despite having type 1 diabetes, and the complications that result from the decision. The play focuses on the friendships formed between several of the characters.
This marks Beck’s first time to direct a play with the Rialto Players, although he has appeared in a number of the group’s productions. Beck, of Center Ridge, played Nick Noir, private eye, in the Rialto Players’ production of Death by Chocolate earlier this year.
“We’ve got a great cast,” Beck said. “It’s neat to see the talent we have in the Morrilton area. We have lots of new faces in this play.”
Denton, better known as “Miss D,” has directed many of the local productions in Morrilton. A resident of Morrilton, she taught theater at Morrilton High School for many years.
Cast members of Steel Magnolias include the following:
• Ashton Taylor of Greenbrier portrays Shelby, known as “the prettiest girl in town.”
This is Taylor’s first time to appear with the Rialto Players. She is no stranger to appearing in public, however; she is a local radio personality, known as the Mouth of the South on the KVOM 101.7 FM morning show.
Taylor, a graduate of Greenbrier High School, received a bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism from Arkansas State University at Jonesboro.
• Allyson Curry of Conway plays Annelle, the beauty shop assistant, and Jennifer Thompson of Perryville is the understudy for Annelle.
Curry is a substitute teacher with the Conway School District. A recent graduate of Hendrix College, she has acted before at Hendrix and with the Conway Community Arts Association in Conway.
“My character, Annelle, is very nervous,” Curry said. “She’s having trouble adjusting to a new town and a new job. She’s on a journey of self-discovery.”
Curry said she auditioned for the play at her mother’s encouragement. Curry’s mother, Mary Boyer, is also in Steel Magnolias.
“I am having a good time with it,” Curry said.
Thompson, of Morrilton, last appeared with the Rialto Players in The Rented Christmas. “They call me the assistant assistant director,” Thompson said with a smile. “I do whatever needs to be done.”
• Stephanie Koontz of Morrilton is Truvy, owner of the beauty shop.
“I play Truvy, the owner/operator of the ‘most successful shop in town,’” Koontz said. “Truvy has a strict philosophy that she has stuck to for 15 years — there is no such thing as natural beauty. Truvy’s beauty shop is the hub of all activity, and the ladies come there to get their weekly uplifting and their hair done. Truvy loves all the ladies, and she supports them no matter what.
“I love this play and I have waited 18 years to have the opportunity to be a part of it. I think the cast is wonderful, the directors have more patience than God, and I love, love, love the understudies and the amazing crew.”
Koontz is a longtime player with the local acting troupe. She is the business office manager at the Arch Ford Education Cooperative in Plumerville.
