Christine Ebersole Tapped for Broadway's Steel Magnolias Revival
"I think it's a terrific story," Ebersole told Broadway.com. "People need to experience catharsis in these times, and I think you can find that in Steel Magnolias."
Ebersole won the 2001 Tony Award and the Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical for her performance in the Broadway revival of 42nd Street. Her other Broadway credits include Dinner at Eight, Gore Vidal's The Best Man, Getting Away With Murder, Harrigan 'n Hart, Camelot, Oklahoma!, On the Twentieth Century, I Love My Wife, Angel Street, Ziegfeld Follies of 1936 and Lady in the Dark. Ebersole also received a Drama Desk Award nomination for her performance in Talking Heads off-Broadway. She received a 1984 Daytime Emmy nomination her supporting role in One Life to Live. Her film credits include Tootsie, Amadeus, Folks!, Richie Rich, My Girl II, Mac and Me, Ghost Dad, Black Sheep, Thief of Hearts, 'Til There Was You, My Favorite Martian and True Crime. Ebersole has two solo albums, Live at the Cinegrill which was recorded during her 1997 engagement at the Hollywood Roosevelt's Cinegrill in Los Angeles and In Your Dreams a recording that was recently released by Ghostlight Records and features her 42nd Street co-star Billy Stritch.
"What is so great about the career I've been having so far is that I've been able to venture into these different lands," Ebersole said. "I don't have to just play in one area. I get to play in all different areas--cabaret, musicals, straight plays, dramatic roles, comedic roles… So I feel really lucky."
Steel Magnolias is set it a small town beauty parlor in Louisiana and follows the lives of several women who often meet there. The story pays particular attention to M'Lynn and her daughter Shelby. Both a comedy and a tearjerker, there are eccentric characters galore in the play with M'Lynn as the strong heart of the group.
The original production of the play opened off-Broadway at the WPA Theatre in 1987 and quickly moved to the larger Lucille Lortel Theatre, where it ran for 1,126 performances. Rosemary Prinz played M'Lynn in the original company and Sally Field took on the role in the popular 1989 film version. Jill Clayburgh was at one point in talks to appear in this revival, but no deal was ever made with the actress.
The Broadway production of Steel Magnolias, directed by Jason Moore, is aiming for an April 4 opening. A production spokesperson could not confirm the casting of Ebersole.