From the Beaufort County Arts Council

The Beaufort County Arts Council will present a reading of Robert Harling’s “Steel Magnolias” in honor of the play’s 25th anniversary. The reading will take place tonight at 7:30 p.m. There is no admission charge for the reading, but a $5 donation is suggested.

Originally, the arts council had hoped to stage the full production, but a variety of factors prohibited the effort from gaining traction. According to BCAC Executive Director Joey Toler, rehearsals were interrupted many times by scheduling conflicts, a terrible flu season, bad weather and ultimately the withdrawal of a cast member due to an unavoidable but completely understandable conflict.

“We rehearsed off and on for almost a month, but obstacles kept popping up that made all of us realize we would need to regroup,” Toler said.

So, in an effort to salvage the time and effort already put forth, the arts council came up with the idea of doing a reading.

“We staged a reading of David Sedaris’ ‘Santaland Diaries’ over the holidays, and it was a lot of fun and very successful, so we thought we would do the same with Steel Magnolias,” Toler said, adding that the program will consist of the actors sitting onstage, scripts in hand, reading the play out loud. “We’ve assembled a great group of ‘readers,’ and the public’s familiarity with the play should make this a wonderful way to spend an evening at the Turnage.”

Taking part in the reading will be Maegan Doss as Annelle, Katie Paul as Truvy, Rebecca Sipprell as Miss Clairee, Kayla Maddox as Shelby, Vail S. Rumley as M’Lynn and Brenda Rogers as Ouiser.

“Some of the play’s stage directions will be read out loud to help the audience follow the action,” Toler said.

The theatre will open at 6 p.m. for pre-show socializing, along with a cash bar.  There will be an intermission between acts and the reading should last no more than two hours. Call 252-946-2504 for more information.