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Robert Harling's Steel Magnolias At The Shawnee Theatre

Robert Harling's play Steel Magnolias at the Shawnee Theatre in Bloomfield is set in Truvy's beauty salon in Chinquapin, Louisiana. Originally from Lake Charles, Louisiana, actor Missy Thibodeaux-Thompson comes by the accent for the show honestly.

"Truvy's motto is, ‘There's no such thing as natural beauty,'" Thibodeaux-Thomason says. "She runs not just a hair salon but a community center. It's a regular gathering of people who know one another intimately. They talk, they chat and they share new developments and changes, but they're always told in light of past histories."

A Family Affair

Shawnee is a family affair for Thibodeaux-Thompson. She's at the theater with her husband, actor Eric Thibodeaux-Thompson. They're joined by their nine year old daughter, Emma, who she says keeps them "entertained, enlightened, and just a little bit exhausted."

Actor and director Alicia Bush plays one of Truvy's regular customers, M'Lynn. "M'Lynn is a fascinating character to play because during much of the play she's a master of control. She's a very supportive and positive person, but it is a strain. When she does melt down it's pretty awesome."

Theater For All Ages

When Bush isn't focusing on her role in Steel Magnolias, she's working on final plans for the Shawnee's Children and Teen's Theater Workshops, both of which begin on July 5th. "It's going to be very exciting and very busy," she says. "The teens will be performing Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, while the younger group will perform No Girls Allowed!, a new work by Casey Ross."

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