Former deputy prime minister Sheila Copps is making her acting debut at a dinner theatre in Kingston, Ontario next month.

Copps will play Clairee Belcher in a presentation of the play Steel Magnolias. That was the role Olympia Dukakis played in the 1989 movie also featuring Julia Roberts and Dolly Parton.

The former politician, 51, will be paid Equity wages of about $720 each week plus benefits and an RSP contribution.

She says she's always had a secret desire to act, but her mother urged her to stay home after high school to get a "real job."

Tickets for the play, $52 each, include dinner at the Howard Johnson Confederation Place Hotel, and of course, the show. The production's run begins on October 7.

According to her director, Brian McKay, it's worth the price of admission. "She's got the stuff," he says.

It was the husband of the play's co-producer who recommended Copps for the role. Sandy Crawley, executive director of the Documentary Filmmakers of Canada, knew Copps from her days in politics. He also knew she had a secret desire to appear on stage.

Copps, meanwhile, says the timing was perfect. She happened to be between jobs (after losing her much-publicized riding battle to current House Leader Tony Valeri) and her new autobiography will be released on Oct. 25.

"The role I am playing is the role of the ex-mayor's wife, who actually, coincidentally, has a family coliseum named after them," Copps told The Globe and Mail.

Her own last name graces Hamilton's Copps Coliseum, in honour of her father Victor, who was mayor of the city for more than a decade.

"I'm serious. It's hilarious," Copps said. "All the stars were aligning."

Copps, who will be presenting her best southern drawl for the part, rehearses for the next three weeks. The show goes on at the hotel five days a week for four weeks at a brand-new theatre with a 200-seat capacity.