Seeing a production of Crimes of the Heart after almost 30 years only seems to make the play seem stronger, funnier and more touching. Beth Henley's play, winner of the 1981 Pulitzer Prize, is set in a Mississippi backwater. It is the tale of three adult sisters, one of whom lives with their grandfather in the girls' hometown. The grandfather is absent, as he is hospitalized throughout the duration of the play. Still, the sisters discuss him enough to give audiences a clear sense of their relationship to the old man.
Crimes of the Heart is less about Grandpa and more about the three sisters: Meg Magrath, the "wild child" who fled her humdrum life to pursue a singing career in California; Lenny, the "rock" who holds the sisters together and takes care of the grandfather; and little Babe, a married woman in her mid-20s who still has the innocence of a young teen. The three sisters reunite for an odd reason. Babe has shot her husband because "she didn't like his looks," and needs help in fighting an attempted murder rap.
But the "crimes" listed in the play's title go far beyond Babe's current predicament. They involve the absence of the girls' mother, who took her own life; their father, who abruptly left the family; and their bittersweet relationship with the crusty grandparents.
When the play opens, it is Lenny's 30th birthday. The occasion makes her take stock of her life, and she wonders if she will ever find love, marry, have children, get a career, etc. She is waiting for Meg to arrive from California. But first to enter the scene is Chick, a nosy cousin who lives next door. Her exposition brings everyone up to speed on the sisters' lives.
Chick Boyle seems older than the girls, perhaps due to her ever-present frown and one raised eyebrow. Karen Estrada as Chick nearly steals the show whenever she arrives (uninvited) into their grandfather's house. It is a relief not only to the sisters but to the audience as well when Chick gets a taste of her own medicine in Act II. Chick's sudden exit hastened by a swat on the butt by Lenny's broom - is among the play's highlights.
The three actors who play the Magrath sisters give convincing performances. Although they look entirely different from one another (as this reviewer has seen in other productions of the play), they create a sisterly bond. Of the three, Lenny (Laura Gray), has the major role. Gray gives Lenny the appropriate mix of insecurity and backbone. The audiences shares Gray's excitement when Lenny works up her courage to call an old boyfriend.
No less impressive are the other sisters: Georgina McKee as Meg and Laura Frye as Babe. Of the two, Frye has the more difficult job of convincing audiences that Babe could any number of criminal (and social) crimes. But she comes through like a champ, adding a cheerleader's zest to an already upbeat character. McKee gives Meg a sympathetic edge.
Her ex-boyfriend "Doc," now married and the father of two, is played by actor Jonathan Wainwright. He conveys Doc's attraction to Meg and his slight awkwardness at seeing her after so many years. Actor Neil Haven portrays the geeky young lawyer who must bail Babe out of jail.
The play unfolds in a lovely kitchen/living room set that is perfectly appointed for a rural Southern home. It has the right mix of décor that is both homey and tacky.
