The Knoxville Area Community Theater’s (K-ACT) production of “Steel Magnolias” will open on Friday.

The production will be presented Friday, Saturday and Sunday at the Knoxville Performing Arts Center. Friday and Saturday’s performance will be at 7:00 pm with the Sunday performance taking place at 2:00 pm. Steel Magnolias is a comedy drama by Robert Harling, first performed in 1987. It was also adapted to a film of the same name in 1989. The play gives a glimpse into the lives of six southern women whose friendship buoys them through the happiest and saddest of times.

The Steel Magnolias cast includes Rachael Stoops, Anna Curiel, Monica Newendorp, Camille Cook, Chandra Clark, and Kristy Bennett. They will be joined by ensemble cast members Autumn Calahan, Jason Krasko, Adel Lee, Kadyn Boyd, Ash Jackson, Ali Pearson, Avery Dittmer, and Addison Hake. Phyllis Boyer and John Calahan are directing the play, with Troy Errthum providing technical direction. Marty Adkins with K-ACT says this production is filled with a talented cast and he encourages everyone to come out as the audience is a significant part of the show.

“The audience is really a partner in this, the cast have been rehearsing for themselves for a couple months now and that’s great, but they are not going to have the same energy and the same quality of performance without the audience there. When the audience is there laughing at the funny stuff and tearing up at the sad stuff that energy all comes back at the cast and that is a huge and important thing. A lot of why we do community theater is community.”

Tickets are $12, and can be purchased at kact50138.seatyourself.biz. Hear more from Adkins on today’s Let’s Talk Knoxville.