Roxana Nazarene Theater to host “Steel Magnolias”

The cast for the Curtain’s Up Theater Company production of “Steel Magnolias” March 1-3 at Roxana Nazarene Theater includes, front row left to right, director Diana Enloe, Carol Hodson and Donna Wilson. Back row left to right, Gwen Chapman, Debbie Maneke, Christy Luster and Dianna Pallas
NA — Thirty-five years after its release, the movie “Steel Magnolias” still resonates with a large fan base, and now the story will come to life on a local theater stage.
Steel Magnolias” will be directed by Diana Enloe, who has been directing for 55 years both at the high school level and the community theater level.

“I retired three or four years ago but that didn’t last very long,” Enloe said, laughing. “This theater organization is pretty much like a family to me and they all pitch in and work very hard, and this cast is amazing.”

Classic story
The movie version of “Steel Magnolias” stars Academy Award winners Sally Field, Shirley MacLaine and Olivia Dukakis with Dolly Parton, Daryl Hannah and Julia Roberts. The film is an adaptation of Robert Harling’s play of the same name about the bond a group of women share in a small-town Southern community, and how they cope with the death of one of their own.

Harling based the story in part on his sister, Susan Harling Robinson. She died in 1985 of complications from Type 1 diabetes. In the film, Julia Roberts plays Shelby, the character based on Susan.

“A lot of people know the movie and it’s based on real events,” Enloe said. “After his sister’s death, Robert Harling wrote this play in 10 days. It went to Broadway, and it was successful there and then they made the movie.”

“We’ve done research about the town in Louisiana that this took place in and the background of the playwright (Harling) and his relationship with his mother and sister.”

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Enloe is especially familiar with “Steel Magnolias” as this marks the third time that she has directed the play.

“We had a crew put the set together but all the women in the cast got together last Saturday (Feb. 17) and started wallpapering and painting, so they’re doing it all,” said Enloe, who previously assisted Christy Luster with the Curtain’s Up production of “The Wizard of Oz.”

Historic theater
Enloe and the cast members have a deep appreciation for Roxana Nazarene Theater, which opened as Roxana Theater on Sept. 1, 1940, showing Bing Crosby and Bob Hope in “Road to Singapore.” The building was owned by Albert Critchlow, who formerly managed the Temple Theater in Alton.

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The theater’s history includes having its roof torn off by a tornado on May 21, 1949, and reopening on Nov. 20, 1949. After serving local audiences for six decades and a name change to Roxana Cine, it showed its final film in February 2002 as Kerasotes Theatres closed the old movie house.

The building was then acquired by Roxana Church of the Nazarene, which is located next door at 500 N. Central Ave. The theater typically shows movies one weekend a month and hosts plays, concerts and other programs.

Roxana Nazarene Theater became the home of Curtain’s Up Theater Company in June of 2022, and the company hosts several plays there each year.

“There are some challenges with it being an older building, but it’s a nice intimate setting,” Enloe said. “We’ve had some upgrades in lighting and hopefully with some of the money we’ll be able to raise from this play, we can do even more.”

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5th production
Carol Hodson is vice president and artistic director for Curtain’s Up, and like Enloe, she is excited about bringing “Steel Magnolias” back to the stage.

“Some of us had done ‘Steel Magnolias’ before with Diana directing and we thought it would be a great show for this theater,” Hodson said.

“It’s such a well-loved movie and it’s so special to many people and we thought it would be a good draw. We wanted to do it as a fundraiser for the theater because we feel like this is our new home now.”

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The cast members began rehearsing for “Steel Magnolias” in January at other venues and moved to the theater in early February. They are now rehearsing four nights a week.

“Steel Magnolias” will be the fifth Curtain’s Up production at Roxana Nazarene Theater, following “School of Rock,” “Best Christmas Pageant Ever,” “The Wizard of Oz” and “Christmas Story.”

“This building has a lot of charm and the people from the church have been so gracious to us,” Hodson said. “We love the theater itself.”

Memorable characters
Hodson plays “Ouiser,” who is portrayed in the movie by Shirley MacLaine.Article continues below this ad

“She’s a sassy little thing,” Hodson said, laughing. “She has no filter. It’s one of my favorite roles and she’s really funny.”

Luster, who is a Curtain’s Up board member, is playing Shelby in “Steel Magnoli