Apparently, we can never have too many steel magnolias.

Hot on the heels of the City of Savannah’s auditions for its Oct. 1–10 production of Robert Harling’s tragicomic play Steel Mangolias, the Tybee Arts Association has announced its own production, with auditions set for 7 p.m. Sept. 6 and 7 at the Tybee Arts Center.

The cast list calls for six Louisiana women – delicate as magnolias, Harling describes them, but tough as steel.

According to Tybee Arts spokeswoman Renee DeRossett, the group has been considering putting on the Harling play for nearly a year, although it hadn’t been publicly announced, and news of the Savannah production did not deter them.

Although they (briefly) thought about changing their plans, says DeRossett, Tybee and Savannah are two different audiences. “And we’ve got a hundred people out here who want those six roles.”

The Tybee Arts Association’s Steel Magnolias will be onstage for the first two weekends in November.

Heeere’s Mike!

Mike Marshall ought to just buy a house in Savannah, he comes here so often. The California–based master mandolin innovator, a guest at nearly every Savannah Music Festival, returns Oct. 22 for a concert at the Lucas Theatre.

He’s guest–performing with San Francisco’s Turtle Island Quartet, a group he’s been collaborating with for years and years. Turtle Island is famous for stretching the boundaries of both chamber music and straight–ahead acoustic music, ignoring such things as style and label limits to create a vibrant new sound.

That’s what Marshall’s always been about, too.

Not long ago, he was in the studio with Turtle Island recording an entire album of Jimi Hendrix songs for mandolin and strings (Have You Ever Been ...?).

On this, Turtle Island’s 25th anniversary tour, they’ll also be joined by jazz piano great Cyrus Chestnut for a program of “classic jazz, Americana and original works.” With Chestnut, the group has recorded everything from John Coltrane to Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys.

This is looking like one electric, eclectic concert. And it’s only autumn!

Tickets, $20–$55, are on sale now.

One more

@ In the late ‘60s, you weren’t cool if you hadn’t seen the outlaw biker film Easy Rider, with Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper and Jack Nicholson as free spirits in an uptight world. The movie (directed by Hopper) will get the big–screen treatment Sept. 24 at the Trustees Theater. CS