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<p>SWOYERSVILLE &#8212; His mother was a fan of the delicate-as-flowers yet stalwart characters in &#8220;Steel Magnolias,&#8221; and Jim Williams, of Dunmore, grew up watching the 1989 film version with her.</p><p>&#8220;I fell in love with those ladies,&#8221; said Williams, who is directing the stage version of Robert Harling&#8217;s story at the Music Box Dinner Playhouse in Swoyersville.</p><p>Fans of the show know most of the action takes place in Truvy&#8217;s beauty shop in small-town Louisiana, where Clairee, M&#8217;Lynn and Ouiser are regular customers, Annelle just got hired, and Shelby, who is M&#8217;Lynn&#8217;s daughter, comes to get her hair styled right before her wedding.</p><p>Director Williams has dedicated the local production to the memory of his mother, Alice Williams, who recently passed away, and his two late aunts, Mary Ann Caputo and Lou Ann Fontinella, who, like Truvy, were beauticians.</p><p>Spending time at Truvy&#8217;s beauty shop is a regular ritual for most of the characters, said Adele Tavella, of Pittston, who plays &#8220;Ouiser, the grumpy one.&#8221;</p><p>The women may not always get along &#8212; Ouiser, for example, exchanges lots of barbs with Clairee &#8212; but they&#8217;ve forged a sisterhood, and they rally around M&#8217;Lynn when her daughter Shelby&#8217;s diabetes wreaks havoc.</p><p>&#8220;Having good friends gets you through even the roughest of times,&#8221; Tavella said. &#8220;Part of the theme is that life continues.&#8221;</p><p>Author Harling wrote &#8220;Steel Magnolias&#8221; after his own sister, Susan, passed away from complications of diabetes, which worsened after she gave birth to a baby son.</p><p>&#8220;He wrote it because he wanted his nephew to know how wonderful his mother was,&#8221; Williams said.</p><p>The script was written during and set in the 1980s, but Williams brought it into the 21st century. You can expect to see the women using cell phones while they&#8217;re at the beauty shop.</p><p>&#8220;It could have stayed in the 1980s, but I wanted to bring it to modern times because diabetes is still out there, still a rough thing for a lot of people to go through,&#8221; Williams said.</p><p>For Williams, &#8220;Steel Magnolias&#8221; is his first chance to direct a full production rather than stage a revue or choreograph a show.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;m completely blown away&#8221; by the job the cast is doing, he said.</p><p>Though the show includes the inherently sad death of a young mother, Williams said, there&#8217;s a good amount of humor sprinkled throughout.</p><p>&#8220;Shelby talks about the colors of her wedding &#8212; &#8216;blush&#8217; and &#8216;bashful&#8217; &#8212; and her mother says, &#8216;Your colors are pink and pink,&#8217;&#8221; Williams said, adding he&#8217;s often chuckled over that line as well as another from the show: &#8220;If you don&#8217;t have anything nice to say, come sit next to me.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">The cast of &#8216;Steel Magnolias&#8217; at Music Box Dinner Playhouse includes, front: Kelly Jean Graham as Shelby. Middle: Alicia Nordstrom as Clairee, Sarah Thomas as Truvy, Shelly Bartolomei as M&#8217;Lynn. Back: Adele Tavella as Ouiser and Stephanie Booth as Annelle. Audience members who saw the 1989 film version will remember Julia Roberts, Olympia Dukakis, Dolly Parton, Sally Field, Shirley MacLaine and Daryl Hannah in those roles. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/web1_Magnolias.cmyk_-3.jpg</photo0><caption0>The cast of &#8216;Steel Magnolias&#8217; at Music Box Dinner Playhouse includes, front: Kelly Jean Graham as Shelby. Middle: Alicia Nordstrom as Clairee, Sarah Thomas as Truvy, Shelly Bartolomei as M&#8217;Lynn. Back: Adele Tavella as Ouiser and Stephanie Booth as Annelle. Audience members who saw the 1989 film version will remember Julia Roberts, Olympia Dukakis, Dolly Parton, Sally Field, Shirley MacLaine and Daryl Hannah in those roles. </caption0><photoCredit0>Submitted photos </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/web1_magnolias.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Tavella, left, plays Ouiser Boudreaux, and Nordstrom plays Clairee Belcher in the Music Box production. These two friends frequently antagonize each other, yet are part of a strongly bonded sisterhood. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/web1_magnolias.jpg</photo1><caption1>Tavella, left, plays Ouiser Boudreaux, and Nordstrom plays Clairee Belcher in the Music Box production. These two friends frequently antagonize each other, yet are part of a strongly bonded sisterhood. </caption1><photoCredit1>Submitted photos </photoCredit1></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Music Box presents &#8216;Steel Magnolias&#8217;</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p><strong>By Mary Therese Biebel</strong></p><p>mbiebel@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p><strong>IF YOU GO</strong></p><p><strong>What:</strong> &#8216;Steel Magnolias&#8217;</p><p><strong>Where:</strong> Music Box Playhouse, 196 Hughes St., Swoyersville</p><p><strong>When:</strong> 8 p.m. today and tomorrow, 3 p.m. Sunday with dinner served 90 minutes before curtain time</p><p><strong>Tickets:</strong> $35, $25 for dinner and show; $18 and $14 for show only</p></factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Mary Therese Biebel at 570-991-6109 or on Twitter @BiebelMT.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Music Box Playhouse in Swoyersville presents production of ‘Steel Magnolias’