Theater News

Frances Conroy to Replace Kathy Bates in 25th Anniversary Reading of Steel Magnolias

Frances Conroy
in The Subject Was Roses
(© Craig Schwartz)
Frances Conroy
in The Subject Was Roses
(© Craig Schwartz)

Stage and screen star Frances Conroy will replace the previously reported Kathy Bates in a 25th anniversary reading of Robert Harling’s Steel Magnolias at Santa Monica’s Broad Stage on September 9 at 6pm. Bates, who was to have played the role of Truvy, has withdrawn due to scheduling complications.


Conroy’s many stage credits include The Lady From Dubuque, Long Day’s Journey Into Night, The Taming of the Shrew, The Secret Rapture. The Last Yankee, Broken Glass, The Ride Down Mt. Morgan, and The Subject Was Roses. She won the Golden Globe Award and received four Emmy Award nominations for her work on HBO’s Six Feet Under.

Judith Ivey will direct the Steel Magnolias reading, which is presented by David Youse and Four Things Productions, in association with L.A. Works.

The company will also include the newly announced Jennifer Coolidge as well as the previously reported Elizabeth Perkins and Annie Potts. Additional casting is forthcoming.

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 lives come together in a variety of ways. The reading will benefit the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

The staging will feature lighting design by Leigh Allen, sound design by Shannon Slaton, props by Kent Rogers, graphic design by Studio 56, and technical direction by David Toledo.

Click here for more information and tickets to Steel Magnolias.