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 | | Crimes of the Heart. by Beth Henley ISBN-10: 9780822202509 ISBN-10: 0-8222-0250-6 ISBN-13: 9780822202509 ISBN-13: 978-0-8222-0250-9 Paperback 1998-01 Dramatists Play Service Find Lowest Price |
Editorials | ||
Product Description The reunion of the McGrath sisters in Hazlehurst, Mississippi, is joyful but troubling. Lenny is still unmarried at 30, Meg is recovering from a failed singing career. Babe is out on bail for shooting her husband, and a young lawyer tries to keep her out of jail without falling in love with her. Beth Henley blends comedy and pathos in this Chekhovian story of the sometimes frayed edges of sisterly bonds. | ||
Reviews | ||
Will keep you interested until the end Enjoyed CRIMES OF THE HEART, a play that won the 1981 Pulitzer Prize for drama. It was very well performed by L.A. Theatre Works, a company that has done several other plays that I've enjoyed over the years. This one is about three rather eccentric sisters from a small Southern town . . . scandal erupts when Babe, the youngest, shoots her husband . . . how it all ends is what keeps you interested in what's happening. Glenn Heady and Sondra Locke are particularly fine in two of the main roles . . . and that's why I usually like these productions so much; i.e., unlike typical books on tape (or CD) that feature one or two actors, every L.A. Theatre Works has several different actors for all the key parts. | ||
A Timeless Play I loved this play from the day I first saw it in the Manhattan Theatre Club before its inevitable switch to Broadway. And I am to direct it early this year. I found the film interesting - I just watched it last night - but Keaton ()who I have always found wonderful) is sadly miscast. Further there was too much casting the minds back in a sentimental fashion - a big mistake. In fact,the flashbacks did the play no great service at all, and to accompany those scenes with a treacly musical score didn't enhance things at alll. Back to the script. I would have liked some photographed scenes of the Broadway production.The page after page after page of props - many of which were to be in cupboards and drawers that never open - had a mystifying, let's give the actors the right kind of 'feel' effect on me. Actors on Broadway should be better equipped technically than having the need for such specious pieces of 'atmosphere'. As it stands, the script, despite all the useful information at the back, is hardly an actor's handbook, and most would, surreptitiously, turn off copies on larger paper in order that the play can be read more easily, with the left hand pages left blank for the actor to insert his or her notes. | ||
Touching, real, and hilarious I was lucky enough to work with Henley herself on a production of this show while I was in college, which offered a wonderful opportunity to gain some insight into Crimes of the Heart. Being a native Mississippian with two sisters myself, I was struck by how true-to-life this play is. The script captures that elusive "sense of place" that all the critics talk about when discussing the South - crazy relatives, old friends with haunted pasts, the importance of food and other types of sustenance. The plot revolves around wacky personalities, old wounds, and unplanned events, and even though the characters frequently despair, the show ends on a hopeful note. As with most plays, it's better to watch Crimes of the Heart than to read it, but I admit that I laughed out loud when I read some of the scenes. Henley won a Pulitzer for her work in Crimes of the Heart, and I think it was well-deserved. | ||
Understanding Women. CRIMES OF THE HEART tells the story of three sisters reuniting together after the youngest of the trio (Babe) shoots her husband and is on the verge of being sent to prison. The story takes place deep in the south in Hazlehurst, Mississippi. The writing in this play is superb. It captures the spirit of each of the young women splendidly. However, moving as the story is, it isn't quite poetical and thereby misses perfection. Nevertheless, CRIMES OF THE HEART is an enjoyable piece of theatre displaying the daffy complexity of women seen through the lives of three sisters. | ||
Beth Henley is the greatest! I just finished playing Lenny in a college production of this play. It was the most fun I've ever had in any role! I have two sisters myself, and Henley's depiction of that kind of relationship is incredibly real. There are some great scenes and monologues for acting practice, too--one, two, or three women, and a couple for one man and one woman. I recommend it to anyone. | ||