“Steel Magnolias” director Elizabeth Carter receives a French twist hairdo from Jill Hyatt Cook, co-owner of Hyatt’s Hair Studio, while actor Lisa Strum observes during a field trip the cast took to the San Carlos business last month. TheatreWorks Silicon Valley is staging the play with a multiracial cast instead of all lily-white Southern belles. 

Photo: Yalonda M. James/The Chronicle

Where do ‘Steel Magnolias’ actors go to get into character?

A Black-owned hair salon in San Carlos

In the salon-set “Steel Magnolias,” the most dramatic style moment comes when Shelby chops off her long tresses. As with all hair decisions, it’s not just about the hair; it’s a psychic break with a past self, the one her mother had nurtured into the favorite daughter of their small Louisiana town.

But if you’re picturing Julia Roberts and Sally Field from the lily-white 1989 film version, such a vision did not interest Elizabeth Carter, who directs TheatreWorks’ multiracial production of the play, which begins performances Wednesday, June 7, at Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts. Carter was more interested in asking, “What does it mean for a Black mom who is also a professional to feel the pressure?