Shelby
In
Steel Magnolias
Repertory Theatre of St. Louis - 1988

"As her daughter, Shelby, Melissa Hurst is most affecting. Her story is really the play's plot, and Hurst acts the fragile, determined young woman with conviction and tenderness. Hurst and Gardner also do a fine job as mother and daughter.  Hurst picks up on some of Rita Gardner's mannerisms as a daughter would;  Gardner vibrates with an exasperated, loving patience as she watches her daughter's life."
The Riverfront Times

"Melissa Hurst is charming and beautiful as the doomed Shelby..."
KWMU-FM

"Hurst is a delight as Shelby, showing the depth of the woman who, both accidentally and by design, causes change."
St. Louis Post-Dispatch