Steel DRAGnolias! May 14, 2010

STAGEStheatre Spoofs a Classic With Steel DRAGnolias May 14-June 12.

Fullerton, CA—STAGEStheatre is proud to present Jeffery Rockey’s new play Steel DRAGnolias, a spoof of the timeless Robert Harling classic, Steel Magnolias. Opening May 14, 2010, Steel DRAGnolias runs as a late night partner with the prime time offering, Steel Magnolias. Stephen John directs this gender-bending tale of friendship, love, loss and wigs set in steamy Chinquapin, Louisiana. Six southern “ladies” come together to trade advice and hairspray in this hilarious parody. You’ll never look at your hair dresser the same way ever again after watching this must-see event of the theatre season!

“Steel DRAGnolias started as a joke,” says playwright Rockey, “We all laughed about how great an all-male version of “Steel Magnolias” would be. But then I couldn't get it out of my head, and I thought, 'Why not?' Robert Harling's characters are so wonderfully written that they lend themselves to a drag treatment. All I had to do was let them talk and the play practically wrote itself!”

Rockey met with director Stephen John to build out the proposal and treatment. “What is really exciting about this show is that it was just an idea blurted out in a meeting. Then grew to a show concept, then a script treatment, and now it has a cast and is to be fully produced!  All within 4 and a half months!  This show is more of a workshop then any show that I have ever been a part of and we are looking to the cast to really bring the personalities of these ladies to life in a way that audiences have never seen before!  It’s going to be a hilariously exciting ride for sure!” says Stephen John.

The Steel DRAGnolias ensemble includes: Miss Barbie Q, David Campos, Jeffery Rockey, Jon Sparks, Sean Brown, and Dennis Tong.

Tickets for Steel DRAGnolias are $12.00/ $10.00 for students and seniors and can be purchased on our website at www.stagesoc.org. Show times are Fridays and Saturdays at 10:30 p.m.

For the past 17 years STAGEStheatre’s mission is to present a broad spectrum of the very best of contemporary and classic theatre that speaks to audiences of all backgrounds. A significant part of STAGEStheatre’s mandate is to provide an arena for new works and to foster the development of those works in a supportive and inspiring workplace. STAGEStheatre’s 2010 season will feature Frank Wedekind’s Spring’s Awakening; Robert Harling’s Steel Magnolias; Ken Ludwig’s Lend Me a Tenor; Thorton Wilder’s Our Town; A.L. Trone’s Joshua; Johnna Adams’ The Miracle of Mary Mack’s Baby; David Macaray’s Freud and the Android; and Joe Landry’s It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play.

STAGEStheatre is located at 400 E. Commonwealth in Downtown Fullerton (between Lemon and Balcom.) www.stagesoc.org