The cast is set for Abington Theatre Company’s one-night-only reading of Steel Magnolias, set for May 20 at Off-Broadway Lucille Lortel Theatre.

Tony nominee Brenda Braxton (Smokey Joe’s Cafe, Chicago) will play Truvy, the beautician with a loose tongue. Julie Klausner (Difficult People) will play her apprentice, Annelle.

Joining the two are Tony nominees Sandy Duncan (Peter Pan, Finding Neverland) as Clairee and Nancy Opel (Urinetown, Wicked) as Ouiser. Carrie St. Louis (Kinky Boots, Wicked) will portray the doomed Shelby with Dear Evan Hansen star Lisa Brescia as her mother, M’Lynn.

Blanche Baker, who originated the role of Shelby onstage in 1987, is set to direct the reading, which will use Robert Harling’s script.

In addition to regular regional performances around the country, the play is preserved with a beloved 1989 film adaptation starring Dolly Parton as Truvy, Daryl Hannah as Annelle, Olympia Dukakis as Clairee, Shirley MacLaine as Ouiser, Julia Roberts as Shelby, and Sally Field as M’Lynn.

Brenda Braxton has been a special guest performer on Playbill's Broadway on the High Seas cruises. Cabins are now on sale for Broadway in the Great Northwest, Playbill Travel’s first domestic cruise will bring passengers on a journey through the Pacific Northwest from April 26–May 4, 2020, and for Broadway on the Mediterranean (August 31–September 7, 2020), featuring Audra McDonald, Will Swenson, Gavin Creel,Lindsay Mendez, and more to be announced. Playbill Travel is currently accepting waitlist travelers for its sold out cruises: Broadway in Bordeaux With Michael Feinstein (September 1–9, 2019), and Broadway on the High Seas: The Greek Isles (June 24–July 1, 2019). Call Playbill Travel for tickets at 866-455-6789 or visit PlaybillTravel.com.