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Crimes of the Heart
By Beth Henley
Directed by Frank Merle
Produced by Keyhole Theatre Company
At Josephinum High School
1500 N. Bell
Chicago, IL
Call773-805-5055, tickets $20
Fridays & Saturdays at 8 PM
Sundays at 7 PM
(no performance on March 4)
Running time is 1 hr, 40 min with no intermission
Through April 9, 2006
Crimes of the Heart comes close to delivering
The 1981 Pulitzer Prize winning Crimes of the Heart, written by Beth Henley, started a trend in theatre---the dysfunctional Southern family kitchen drama . Written as a dark comedy, Crime of the Heart comes across a much more of a quirky family melodrama than a funny piece. Hardly a laugh was heard at the opening night audience. I believe director Frank Merle went for the poignant moments more than the dark comedy. He almost succeeded. This worked for me but it’s too bad that Henley’s razor sharp dialogue was devoid of the humor.
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I believe that the funny moments were missed because of two factors: one, the shows uneven slow pacing and two, the actors speaking much too fast having them gloss over the punch lines. Comedy is all about timing and emphasis so when you race over a line the humor flattens. Also, while the Southern American accents were mostly true, people in Mississippi speak quite slowly; this cast spoke the dialect much too quickly, especially Erin Killean ( Babe) and Wendy Hart (Meg). We don’t have time to digest the folksy idioms.
Having said that, I still basically liked the production as the cast offered authentic portrayals of the wacky Magrath sisters. We meet the sisters from Hazlehurst, Mississippi as they struggle with their own foibles during yet another crisis that seems to haunt this dysfunctional family. Lenny (Lisa Butterfield in a funny turn) is stuck at home caring for an invalid grandfather. She is 30 years old today and loved starved. Meg, a failed country singer returns for LA after receiving a note about another family crisis that has Meg (Erin Killean) shooting her abusive husband. Add Chick (Teresa Piwowar), the judgmental relative, a limping Doc (Tom Reedy) and Meg’s lawyer Barnette (Chuck Riffenburg) and the family secrets, scandals and motivations play out in a clever written piece that garners wacky situations from the distinct character types. Unfortunately, the pace and rapid fire speech allowed many of the funny moments to disappear.
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The production’s best moments happen when the key elements allow the three sisters, Lenny, Meg and Babe to rekindle their bond. They land the heartwarming moments sincerely. Lisa Butterfiels’s Lenny and Teresa Piwowar’s Chick possessed the biting sting that all the characters need. Erin Killean plays the damaged Babe much too stiff and wooden not allowing enough empathy for us to care about her.
Crime of the Heart, as presented, delivers enough to warrant seeing it. If the key plays would slow down their speech and hit the humor triggers and if the show’s pace would be tightened, this production would deliver Henley’s script nicely.
Somewhat Recommended
Tom Williams
Tom99@chicagocritic.com for comments
Talk Theatre in Chicago Podcast
Date Reviewed February 25, 2006
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