Slow-moving 'Crimes' falters on tight stage
On the surface, "Crimes of the Heart" seems like a fairly easy play to pull off.
A dark domestic comedy about estranged sisters who return to their rural Mississippi home to deal with a family emergency, Beth Henley's play has a certain chick-lit appeal: eccentric characters (and southern eccentrics at that) an empowering message about survival and a rather sentimental testament to the importance of family.
That coupled with its small cast, single set (an outdated kitchen in a small southern town) and mid-1970s costumes make it a reasonably economical show to produce. Which may explain why three Chicago area companies, including Naperville's Grounded Theatre, whose production opened Saturday at The Comedy Shrine, have staged the show over the last two years.
The challenge of "Crimes of the Heart" has to do with balancing the play's pathos with its quirky humor. Unfortunately, David Lightner's sluggish production fails to do so. A funny bit of physical business involving pantyhose early in the first act made for a promising start, but laughs were scarce. The serious moments fared better, with the most genuine emotional connection coming late in the second act when Meredith Rae Lyons' middle sister Meg reunites with the boyfriend, Peter Sipla's Doc Porter, she abandoned years earlier. Even so, the acting often feels tentative, and a couple of cast members make some puzzling choices.
In all fairness, the show's problems have to do with the cramped space. The tiny set makes for static staging as actors try to negotiate their way around the narrow confines of designer Emilie Clark's crowded kitchen.
The action unfolds in late October 1974 in the Macgrath family home where oldest sister and mother-hen Lenny (Karen Elyse Rosenberg) live with their grandfather who's been hospitalized following a series of strokes. As the play opens, youngest sister Babe (Anna Fasano) has been arrested for attempting to murder her big-wig husband, who she shot after he assaulted her 15-year-old lover.
Acting on the advice of disapproving cousin Chick (a nicely grating Emily Finnelly), Lenny hires Barnette Lloyd (a self-assured Tom McGrath), a glib, young attorney who has a crush on Babe and a score to settle with her husband. Returning from Hollywood to offer moral support is the rebellious Meg (Lyons), a former singer whose dreams of stardom never panned out and who is currently recovering from a nervous breakdown.
She's not the only unhinged family member. Depression resulting from disappointment and rejection runs deep in this family still wrestling with their father's abandonment decades earlier. He was the first to perpetuate a crime against the sisters' hearts. There have been others: a demanding grandfather and an abusive husband. And the women are not blameless. Meg broke the decent Doc's heart; Babe seduced a youngster; Lenny rejected a nice man because she feared he'd reject her first. And like many siblings, long-held resentments still color their relationship and cause them to lash out at each other. Instead of succumbing to despair, with help from each other, they rise to the challenge. Too bad Grounded Theatre's production couldn't do the same.
"Crimes of the Heart"
Rating: 2 stars
Location: The Comedy Shrine, 22 E. Chicago Ave., Naperville
Times: 5 p.m. Saturdays; 3 p.m. Sundays through April 19, no show March 23
Running time: About two hours, with intermission
Tickets: $20 Saturdays; $12 Sundays
Parking: Free municipal lot nearby
Box office: (630) 803-2845 or groundedtheatre.org
Rating: Adult subject matter