NEW YORK, Feb. 16 (UPI) -- Before "Steel Magnolias" was a popular movie it was an off-Broadway play, and beginning in the fall it will be a Broadway revival.
The casting call went out Monday from producers Roy Gabay and Robyn Goodman for actresses capable of southern accents to fill the six main female parts in the play set in a Southern beauty parlor. They said they already have drawn up a list of 50 potential actresses for the roles and it does not include the stars of the 1989 film version -- Julia Roberts, Daryl Hannah, and Dolly Parton.
"There's no exercise more fun than casting this play with new faces," said Gabay. "We want to introduce it to an audience who knows it only from the movie."
Robert Haring's original play had its premiere at the WPA Theater in 1987 and moved on to the larger Lucille Lortel Theater when it became an instant hit.
The Broadway revival will be directed by Jason Moore, who currently is represented on Broadway by the hit musical "Avenue Q."
