Beth Henley's Crimes of the Heart is a view of one 24-hour period in the lives of the McGrath sisters. At a trim, lean running time of 100-minutes it would have been a delight. Alas, this production, with its insightful but bloated dialogue, runs just over two hours.
The three McGrath sisters couldn't be more different. Lenny (Connie DiGrazia) is a 35-year-old spinster. Depressed sister Babe (Teri Brown) recently shot her husband. Meg (Julie Anderson Sachs) has returned to Hazelhurst, Mississippi after a less-than-successful show business career. Add to this potentially explosive mix cousin Chick (Jamie Haire). The males include Doc Porter (Jonathan Sachs), Meg's ex-lover, and Barnette Lloyd (Randy Coull), counsel to Babe.
The life of the play is more the cast, under the direction of Jim Payton, than the script. While seen only briefly, Coull establishes Barnette's concern for his client's defense. He also has a very personal interest in her. Sachs, on his short visits, proves that Doc hasn't forgotten his former lover, Meg. Haire's loud-mouthed, bouffant-coiffured, red-haired Chick brings a delightful conflict to the already conflicted sisters. These three further define the three sisters.
Lenny epitomizes loneliness. She is self-deprecating. She is her worst enemy. DiGrazia is Lenny in her every move, every speech. Her opening solo birthday scene: one cupcake, one candle, and several attempts at a plaintive "Happy Birthday to Me" establishes Lenny conclusively. Her attire is always frumpy. She is the oldest 35-year-old in Hazelhurst.
Enter Meg, just in from the West Coast. Meg is young, vibrant, a true rebel who quite often has trouble facing reality, viewing it through her own fictions. Julie Anderson Sachs has just the right amount of bounce, and verve to mask Meg's pain at failing in show business. Sachs lets Meg's hurt peep through under the facade of a carefree, drinking, smoking, fiction fabricator.
Babe is a mess. Her story ends up becoming quite complex. Her reason for attempting to kill her husband is, at best, fuzzy. She suffers from depression. Through her body language, Brown expresses the complexity of her character, often in a defensive posture.
All three actresses portray the intense turmoil of their characters, as well as their mutual compassion, quite naturally. They're aided by Teri Brown's and LaBeth Thompson's costuming. Sherrie Colbourn's set includes a summer porch, a large working kitchen, and stairway to the second floor, allowing a good variety of playing areas. Dressed by her with Enid Munk and Rosemary King, the set rings of reality.
