“Steel Magnolias” was originally a play that chronicled the friendship of six Louisiana women who congregate at Truvy’s Beauty Shop to ponder the mysteries of life and death, husbands and children, hair and nails. The 1989 film version, which starred Olympia Dukakis, Sally Field, Julia Roberts, Dolly Parton, Shirley MacLaine and Daryl Hannah, has become something of a gay camp classic for its catty dialogue interspersed within a tear-jerking plot.
On Oct. 7, Lifetime television airs an updated version of the material, with an African-American cast assuming the iconic roles. I spoke with Neil Meron and Craig Zadan, the gay executive producers of the remake. The two were recently named as recipients of the ...