Inside stories about the production of the 1989 box office hit movie “Steel Magnolias,” filmed on location in Natchitoches, will be shared during a Thursday evening, Nov. 13 program at the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame and Northwest Louisiana History Museum at 800 Front Street in Louisiana’s oldest city.
The “Steel Magnolias Memories with Tom Whitehead and Friends” event from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at the Natchitoches museum includes a reception and panel discussion with audience participation, recounting memories of the beloved classic film with a star-studded cast.
Written by Natchitoches native Robert Harling Jr. and originally produced on stage, it was adapted for the screen and featured the breakout performance by future Academy Award-winning actress Julia Roberts, alongside Oscar winners Sally Field, Shirley MacLaine and Olympia Dukakis, superstar entertainer and actress Dolly Parton, and Daryl Hannah, with acclaimed actors Tom Skerritt and Dylan McDermott in key supporting roles.
The comedy/drama continues to resonate four decades later, inspiring thousands of stage adaptations around the world and a 2012 Lifetime Network movie remake, and is treasured for its themes of friendship and reliance and its portrayal of Southern small-town charm.
Harling wrote about the life and 1985 passing of his sister, Susan Harling Robinson, a young mother who died from complications with diabetes.
After he persuaded TriStar Pictures executives to shoot the movie in Natchitoches, the production was a seminal event for the community, with many locals working behind the scenes and appearing as extras or even with small speaking parts in the film. Its release and reception sparked a stream of visitors to Natchitoches to see the film’s location and soak in the ambiance of the city, a phenomenon that continues today.
Whitehead, a professor at Northwestern State University, was the second local person hired by the production company, assisting in logistics and hosting the stars in the cast throughout their stays in Natchitoches.
He will be joined on the panel by others involved in the production.
Tickets are $20 for the public, $10 for NSU students, and free for FLASH members. Enjoy complimentary refreshments during the event.
The event is a fundraiser for FLASH, Friends of Louisiana Sports and History, the local support group for the museum, which is part of the Louisiana State Museum system.
For more information or to join FLASH, call the museum at 318-357-2492. It is open to the public Tuesday-Saturday from 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m. with modest admission prices topping out at $6.
