A play by Robert Harling which met with immediate critical and popular acceptance in its premier production by New York's WPA Theatre. Concerned with a group of gossipy southern ladies in a small-town beauty parlor, the play is alternately hilarious and touching--and, in the end, deeply revealing of the strength and purposefulness which underlies the antic banter of its characters. "Harling has given his women sharp, funny dialogue…The play builds to a conclusion that is deeply moving." --NY Daily News. "...a skillfully crafted, lovingly evoked picture of eccentricity in the small-town South…Robert Harling is a new voice in the theatre and the qualities of Steel Magnolias suggest he may be an important one." --Drama-Logue. "...suffused with humor and tinged with tragedy." --NY Post.