Steel Magnolias: Ms. Marklund's Newest Play

 Photo from Cleve Scene.

Shannon O’Dwyer

Hamilton Comm. Arts teacher, Ms. Marklund will be performing in the play Steel Magnolias  coming this May. The play is similar to the movie by the same name with actors such as Dolly Parton, Julia Roberts, and Sally Field. 

Ms. Marklund has been acting since her time in middle school and high school. She states, “I was a member of my high school's drama department and acted in many shows like Alice in Wonderland as a card my freshman year, all the way to starring in Julius Caesar as Caius Cassius my senior year. I also student directed my senior spring play, which was super cool because my adult directors and our associate principal were actually in the show!” Her love of drama and acting continued into college as she minored in Theatre from UWM. She hopes to continue acting and potentially becoming a theatre teacher in the future. 

Steel Magnolias is set in a fictional town in northern Louisiana, opening in Truvy’s in-home beauty parlor where a group of women gather regularly. Here, they talk about the upcoming wedding of Shelby and her fiancé, Jackson. The rest of the story covers the events over the next three years relating to Shelby’s health, and how the rest of the women deal with turmoil in their lives, while maintaining their friendship. The plot covers how Shelby wrestles with wanting a child despite health issues, Clairee’s friendship with Ouiser; Annelle’s blossoming from a soft spoken newcomer to a repentant revival-tent Christian; along with other subplots. Much of the main story revolves around Shelby and her mother. Marklund states: “Steel Magnolias is a play about a group of strong, witty, and beautiful women. The play is written with the perfect balance of clever banter and heartfelt moments. Between the dialogue and the action on stage, it never gets boring.”

Ms. Marklund will be playing Daryl Hanna’s character (from the movie), Annelle. When asked about the most challenging aspect of her character, Marklund replied, 

My character, Annelle, is a hairdresser, which means I have to actually do other characters' hair. There will be working hair wash stations and hair drying chairs on stage! For some characters, I am literally washing and styling their hair in real time in front of the audience, all while delivering lines. Not only have I had to polish my line memorization and acting, I have had to learn how to do hair (and do it quickly) for this character.

If you would like to come see a performance and support Ms. Marklund and LCP, she would be more than delighted. The show runs May 6 through May 22, with performances on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights at 7:30 pm and Sunday performances at 2:00 pm. There will be drinks sold and lots of raffles and charity donation opportunities at the shows as well.