"Steel Magnolias" is an American comedy-drama play about a group of women who congregate at the local hair salon in the south – Louisiana to be specific. It opened Off-Broadway in 1987 and had a star-studded film adaptation in 1989 featuring Julia Roberts, Sally Field, Shirley MacLaine, Olympia Dukakis, Dolly Parton, and Daryl Hannah.

Director Pat Henderson is now staging a dynamic production of "Steel Magnolias" at Steel Beam Theatre in St. Charles, IL. Featuring some of the Chicago suburbs strongest talents, the production manages to succeed as both a gripping tear-jerker and a playful comedy.

"Steel Magnolias" runs Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays at Steel Beam Theatre through May 12. For tickets visit www.SteelBeamTheatre.com.

On this episode of It’s Showtime with Rikki Lee, host Rikki Lee Travolta is joined by director Pat Henderson and two of the stars of "Steel Magnolias" – Alexus Buford and Julie Utrup-O’Nan.

The group discusses what goes into casting and producing a production like this, the character development process, and why this powerful interpretation of "Steel Magnolias" is going to be so rewarding to audiences.