All-female cast ready to take on ‘timeless’ dinner theatre show

Some of the Sault’s most recognized female actors are taking over the dinner theatre scene next month to kick off Algoma Repertory Theatre’s 2024 season with a spin on Steel Magnolias.

In this production, Sandra Forsell, Christina Johnson, Jaime Miller, Kaila O’Callahan, Trish Rainone and Kyla Robinson will depict the witty, warm, and uplifting story of friendship and the unstoppable strength of women.

ART director Marc Beaudette noted that most people are familiar with the 1989 movie starring Sally Field, Julia Robertson, and Dolly Parton, while fewer are aware the film was actually based on this stage play.

“It’s timeless,” he told SooToday. “What a lot of people don’t realize is there’s only six women in the show. The male characters you see in the movie are only mentioned in the play. The whole thing takes place inside the beauty salon, so it’s sort of a sneak peek into that side of the world that most men wouldn’t know about.”

To suggest the local talent brings in a plethora of experience would be heavily understated according to Beaudette.

Long-time performer Jaime Miller has been involved in more than 20 productions with the Sault’s Musical Comedy Guild, including notable roles like Donna in Mamma Mia, Frastrada in Pippin, and Amalia in She Loves Me.

Forsell received special training during her time at the National Theatre School of Canada, while Rainone built a resume as an actor and producer during her time in southern Ontario.

Meanwhile, O’Callahan and Johnson have done all kinds work in the local theatre scene while Robinson is newer to the stage and performed in recent productions of Tony n' Tina's Wedding and West End Theatre Project’s Priscilla Queen of the Desert.

"We run the gamut in terms of experience; it definitely makes for a very strong show,” Beaudette said. “It’s awesome to watch them work.”

“We had a phenomenal turnout for our auditions, and to be honest, we could have cast this show twice,” he added. “Everybody who came out read very well. It was a very hard decision who the six were going to be. Kudos to the ladies who came out and didn’t get a part, because they read really well.”

In Steel Magnolias, Beaudette notes that one of the characters has diabetes and their mother gives her a kidney. In a slight coincidence, one of the show’s actors had a lung transplant several years ago, while another actor lives with diabetes.

“It’s another great tool to use during the rehearsal process; when you have people who have gone through these things and to share their experiences,” he said. “The actors themselves are really doing things firsthand.”

Steel Magnolias runs from Feb. 7-10 at the Quattro Hotel and Conference Centre.

The performance will be preceded by a dinner that includes fresh bread, mixed green salad, penne and homemade red sauce, roasted chicken, Italian seasoned potatoes, green beans and an apple blossom dessert along with coffee and tea.

Dinner and show tickets are $75 and $40 for show-only. They can be purchased online or by calling Beaudette at 705-943-9519.

Algoma Repertory Theatre is also in the planning stages for a pair of dinner theatre shows in May and November of this year. Those shows are yet to be determined.

“Now that we’re fully open and able to do shows again, we’re really going to concentrate on dinner theatre shows – at least for the next couple of seasons anyway,” Beaudette said. “It’s been going really well and we’re very excited for what’s ahead.”