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‘Crimes of the Heart’ an Engaging Look at Family Actions and Reactions
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Tuesday, July 2, 2019
 

STORY BY KAREN BOSSICK

PHOTO BY KIRSTEN SHULTZ

Moss is hanging from the rafters of the Liberty Theatre. Pots and pans are stacked atop cupboards. A tin  rooster sits on a cabinet amidst Jell-O molds. Moss

Family portraits hang in the hallway. And there are two suitcases on the cot.

And therein lies a hint of what’s in store for you as you watch Company of Fools’ “Crimes of the Heart,” which runs through July 13 in Hailey.

Meg and Babe have returned to the family home where their 30-year-old spinster sister Lenny has been caring for grandpa all these years. And they’re bringing their baggage with them—and not the kind that you fold neatly into piles.

Meg is coming back after having failed to make a go of it in as a singer in Los Angeles—and it’s something that happened in this very house that might have stood in her way.

And Babe—well, she just shot her husband because she didn’t like the way he looked.

And therein lies the premise for one of the most famous examples of Southern Gothic literature in America as penned by Beth Henley.

Southern novelist Pat Conroy, Director Scott Palmer will tell you, has noted that “All southern literature can be summed up in these words: On the night the hogs ate Willie, Mama died when she heard what Daddy did to Sister.”

“My goodness, that is one rough night, y’all,” says Palmer.

And so is the night at the MaGrath house.

Of course, this isn’t the first bad day the McGrath sisters have had. And the tangles audiences must sort out make for a rather fun ride with plenty to chuckle about, despite the crimes of the heart that these sister have perpetrated against each other.

The play won a Pulitzer Prize for Drama when it debuted four decades ago, broaching the subjects of  mental illness, domestic violence, suicide, racism and other topics that weren’t talked about in the 1970s.

And, while the play depicts some of the eccentric ways of the South, anyone who’s ever been born into a family can probably relate.

The Fools’ version of “Crimes of the Heart” is a fun way to spend an evening, despite its peek at how messy and sometimes tragic life can get. It’s kind of like the summer reading you might take along for a day at the beach.

Audry Honaker plays a dutiful, yet sympathetic Lenny. Sharon Barto Gouran returns to her childhood home from her new home in Seattle to play the free-spirited narcissistic Meg. And Aly Wepplo plays the off-kilter Babe.

The cast is rounded out by Tim Gouran, David Janeski and Tess Makena.

IF  YOU GO:

What: “Crimes of the Heart”

When: Tuesday and Wednesday July 2-3; Friday and Saturday, July 5-6; Wednesday through Saturday, July 10-13. The play starts at 7:30 p.m. every night.

Where: The Liberty Theatre in Hailey

Tickets: $35 for members of the Sun Valley Center for the Arts, $40 for nonmembers, $35 for seniors 62 and over, $15 for students with ID, $35 for members of a group of eight or more. The 10 front-row sets cost $10 each.

For tickets call 208-578-9122 or visit www.sunvalleycenter.org.


 

 

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