Drag version of "Steel Magnolias" on hold after licensing issue
WILMINGTON, NC (WECT) - You might remember M'Lynn and Truvy from Steel Magnolias but probably not with muscles. A local play promised a good show from a new perspective, but the crew may not be able to keep that promise.
After 65 days of rehearsal and several thousands of dollars in expenses, BUMP Productions in Wilmington was ready for opening weekend. Their adaptation of Steel Magnolias replaced six main characters with male actors while the script was kept the same.
Director Steve Vernon managed the same production in Chicago and had a successful run. He purchased the licensing for both shows from Dramatist Play Services in New York City for about $750.
According to Vernon, shows typically send in their payment for licensing after a show has closed. Dramatist could not be reached for further clarification of their policies since the switchboard was closed throughout the day.
Dramatist's website includes a FAQ page that mentions the change of gender in a script, nothing that the short answer is usually, "No." However, written permission is sometimes granted.
Vernon says the information was different in the sources he received and he intends to work with Dramatist to come to a resolution.
Steel Magnolias is based on the life of the playwright and includes dramatic and emotional scenes between a group of women and how they cope with love and loss.
Vernon says the idea to dress his actors in drag was not intended to mock or make light of the story. Instead, he says it was intended to honor the women in a man's life from a different perspective.
The show was jokingly titled "Dragnolias" on Facebook and had already netted about 60 reservations.
In light of Dramatist's warning letter, opening weekend will be postponed and the credit card reservations will not be processed.
The show promised to net anywhere between $8,000 to $10,000 in revenue and Vernon hopes to find a quick solution to the issue before having to postpone another weekend.
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Characters Of Steel Magnolias - News
Their adaptation of Steel Magnolias replaced six main characters with male actors while the script was kept the same. Director Steve Vernon managed the same production in Chicago and had a successful run. He purchased the licensing for both shows from
"Steel Magnolias" director Steve Vernon likes to say his cast is "playing it straight." Where: City Stage, 21 N. Front St. (fifth floor), downtown Wilmington The audience will laugh and cry, and by the end of the play, if everything
When done well, Robert Harling's 1987 “Steel Magnolias” still has the power to gently evoke “laughter through tears,” as one of the play's characters describes her favorite emotion. Rebecca Sink Evatt's zesty and poignant staging of this Southern-fried
But if DPS revoked BUMP's license to perform ”Steel Magnolias” based on the grounds that Vernon was having men play female characters, even though it appears to be their right, doing so was a disservice. Not just to the performers, who had been in
Aux Folles” and “Steel Magnolias” can attest to that. For the current production of “Hairspray,” which is winding down at the center, Leffert not only directs the musical but brings a unique, clever and unexpected twist to one of the characters.
The show that didn't go on, but should have – The WAE - Wilmington ...
I was all stoked about reviewing BUMP Productions’ all-male staging of the Southern classic “Steel Magnolias” this weekend.
So let’s just say my heart sank when I got an email from the play’s director, Steve Vernon, yesterday morning saying the show couldn’t go on due to “a licensing dispute.” And not just because I had to scramble as we were going to press with our entertainment section to strip out a preview of the show, replace it with a wire story and then update our calendars to reflect this new reality.
Mainly, I was upset that I wouldn’t be able to see the work of one my favorite local directors, whose gender-switching staging of Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing” at Greenfield Lake last June brought life to that long-running summer series.
At this time, neither Vernon nor Dramatists Play Service, which licenses the rights to about a billion plays, is commenting as to the nature of the licensing dispute. But if you take a look at the Dramatists Play Service website , you’ll find this little caveat: “All performers must be of the same gender as their character described in the script.”
Now, since no one’s commenting I’m more or less speculating here. But if DPS revoked BUMP’s license to perform ”Steel Magnolias” based on the grounds that Vernon was having men play female characters, even though it appears to be their right, doing so was a disservice. Not just to the performers, who had been in rehearsal for more than a month, but to the audience that was excited about seeing this production. Not to mention another kind of license – creative license.
First of all, I’m not sure how performing “Steel Magnolias” in drag — or “Steel Dragnolias,” as a Facebook page for the play was named, potentially violating the licensing clause that “the title of the play may not be altered,” even though the play was officially billed by its original name — hurts the play or its author.
“Steel Magnolias,” which was written by Robert Harling and was made into a 1989 movie that added male characters, is traditionally played by an all-female cast. It is well-loved by both men and women, and for good reason. It’s funny. It’s emotional. It’s about real people and their problems. Vernon and his cast, as far as I can tell, weren’t trying to play this legacy for laughs or ridicule the play. They’re staging the play because they like it. They wanted to tell its story.
Characters Of Steel Magnolias - Bookshelf
Steel magnolias
CAST OF CHARACTERS TRUVY JONES— 40ish. Owner of the beauty shop. ... SPECIAL NOTE All groups receiving permission to produce STEEL MAGNOLIAS are required ...New York Magazine
.There is love among these 'steel magnolias,' and from the writer for all. ... efficacy of a comedy depends on how quickly its characters leave Terre Haute ...My Lucky Stars, A Hollywood Memoir
... (1970) Desperate Characters (1971) The Possession of Joel Delaney (1972) The ... Cannonball Run II (1984) Madame Sousatzka (1988) Steel Magnolias (1989) ...Working girls, gender and sexuality in popular cinema
In Steel Magnolias, for example, the mother/daughter narrative of ... Whilst various men are mentioned by the other characters they never appear on stage. ...Social and cognitive approaches to interpersonal communication
For example, the character in the scene from Winter People was described as " dazed," "shocked," "in a trance," whereas the character in Steel Magnolias was ...Day-to-day Note Directory
Steel Magnolias - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The movie is based on a 1987 play Steel Magnolias by Robert Harling, which in turn dealt with the playwright's experience with the death of his sister. ...
Steel Magnolias: Information from Answers.com
Steel Magnolias . Plot: The title refers to those seemingly frail Southern belles who survive any and all deprivations through whims of. Visit Answers.com for Cast, ...
Steel Magnolias (play) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Steel Magnolias is a comedy–drama play about the bond among a group of Southern women in northwest Louisiana. ... There are only six characters (all female) that appear on stage. ...
Steel Magnolias (1989) - IMDb
Revolving around Truvy's Beauty Parlor in a small parish in modern-day Louisiana, STEEL MAGNOLIAS is the story of a close-knit circle of friends whose ...
steelmag
Having never previously written either fiction or drama, he completed Steel Magnolias in ten days. ... Like steel magnolias, the characters in this play show a kind of ...