By Shirley Lorraine –
The Ojai Art Center Theater welcomes you to Hazelhurst, Mississippi for their current production of Crimes of the Heart by Beth Henley, A 1981 Pulitzer Prize winner for drama, this tragicomedy pulls the audience into a swirling miasma of layered situations, past and present.
With generous helping of Southern sweetness, three sisters gather, each wearing their own personal cloak of doom and despair. Grandpa in the hospital, having recently suffered a stroke Lenny carries the role of caregiver and self-appointed guardian of the family. Sister Meg appears, her singing career apparently a dream of the past. Sister Becky has just been released from police custody after shooting her abusive husband. All three are still coping with their mother’s suicide, failed or unfulfilled relationships and Grandpa’s health struggle. It’s a lot for any family to deal with. Now add an old flame (now married, with kids), a besotted very green lawyer, and flamboyant Cousin Chick who all add to the overall confusion and chaos.
On the surface the plot sounds like an evening filled with angst and sadness, but, in fact, the script is tightly written, and the laughs are refreshingly abundant. It is a pleasure to find humor in the foibles of this dysfunctional trio as they attempt, in their own ways, to cope with all that is going on. All this with a Southern twang that will leave y’all with a new way of speaking on your way out. At least for a while.
Directed by Sindy McKay, herself a familiar face on the Ojai stage, the play, on the night I attended, was quite well received. Regular Anna Kotula takes on the role of Meg, a narcissistic wanna-be performer with more dreams than ambition. Emily Vallance gives the role of Babe a youthful air of naivete. Della Newlow plays Lenny, taking on the character of a put-upon spinster. The gregarious Chick is played with abandon by Bethany D’Ambra.
Jacob Tapp as Doc and Sean Ernst as Barnette Lloyd got their feet wet in their Ojai stage debuts. Both of their roles help fill in the story gaps along the way and provide each with opportunities to become more comfortable on stage.
The pace was a bit uneven, to my ears. Dialogue is often quite rapid, which can be challenging, what with the twangs and all. Ultimately, the play leaves questions in the audience’s mind but the sisters seem to resolve their long-standing differences as they look toward the future.
The play delves into so many complex layers of each of the girls’ lives, each revelation adds yet another hint to the whys of their inner turmoil. The play is cleverly written on all levels. Come along on this last weekend and have a little fun with these Southern charmers.
Crimes of the Heart continues performances Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. through April 20.at the Ojai ArtCenter Theater, 113 S. Montgomery Street, Ojai. 805-604-8797, www.ojaiact.org.
