Seven Days: Vermont's Independent Voice

No Boys Allowed

Just like a traditional ladies’ night, the maiden venture of Girls Nite Out Productions doesn’t allow men in the mix — at least onstage. That’s partly because Steel Magnolias has an all-female cast and partly because GNO formed, earlier this year, to produce “plays and musicals with strong roles for women of all ages ... and men who can take the heat,” says cofounder Janet Stambolian with a laugh. Robert Harling’s beauty-parlor story about the playful and powerful ties among six Louisiana ladies fit the bill, and actor-activist Kathryn Blume was called upon to make her debut as director. It’s “a really top-drawer production,” opines Stambolian, noting that theatergoers can even order from a Magnolias-themed menu at Miguel’s on Main each day of the show. Bleeding Armadillo martini, anyone?