Show Time!

Well, it's show time. Crimes of the Heart is go for launch! Our final dress rehearsal is tonight and the shows run Friday and Saturday at 7:00pm. This is exactly the kind of show I like to work on. It has it's light moments and plenty of good humor, but it also has real emotional depth. It provides a lot for me as a director to explore and work with. Another point in it's favor is the cast size, just 6 people.
Lenny (Rachel Stowe), as the oldest sister, has the weight of the world on her shoulders. With a deadbeat dad and the death of both her mother & grandmother, she basically became the den mother to her younger sisters and was forced to sacrifice her dreams and desires. She slowly let herself become a spinster. Meg (Carly Trask), the middle sis, was probably the smartest. She got out of there and did her own thing. She's smart, but her destructive selfish streak didn't do her any favors. Then there's little Babe (Amy Coon). As the youngest, she was caught in the struggle between her older sisters which made her take on the role of peace keeper and ultimately, people pleaser. All three of take the baggage of their absent father and memories of their mother's odd suicide with them through life.

While the focus is primarily on the MaGrath sisters, the three supporting characters play pivotal roles. First we have Chick Boyle (Amanda Cox), cousin to the MaGrath sisters. Chick is caddy and bitter and serves as a reminder of what Lenny could turn into. Their relationship is good on the surface, but she harbors a deep resentment for all 3 sisters... Meg in particular. Then there's Barnette Lloyd (Ben Layman), Babe's eager young defense attorney. When Babe finally snaps and attempts to solve her unhappiness with a gun, Barnette is there to save her. His unrequited crush on Babe only makes him more determined to keep her out of prison. In Barnette, Babe sees the kind of man that could have made her happy if she hadn't been so preoccupied with making others happy. Finally we have Doc Porter (Eric Mikols). Doc and Meg were high school sweethearts whose romance ended when Meg abruptly left town without explanation. In the wake of a terrible hurricane and Meg's subsequent departure Doc is left with nothing but a limp and a broken heart. In the years since, Doc has married and tried to move on, something that a mature person would accept. Meg is not mature.

There isn't a bad role in the show. There isn't a bad actor either. Rachel, Carly & Amy as the MaGraths demonstrate a sisterly bond that can't be faked. They make even the extremes of these characters believable. Rachel pulls out Lenny's pitiful side to heartbreaking levels, all the while exuding a quiet strength underneath. Carly plays Meg as selfish and a little cruel but somehow manages to show that this is a character who is also caring and kind. Amy plays Babe with a childlike innocence making her raw, deeply-unhappy sides that much more powerful. Amanda makes good use of Chick's unlikability in a way that makes you love to hate her. Ben's green and eager portrayal of Barnette makes you really root for this lovestruck little lawyer. Eric plays Doc's conflicting emotion with subtlety and believability. You see the happy family man and you see the teenager who never got over his first love.
We've reached a point where the only way to make improvements is to put it in front of an audience. The kind of laughs and tear-jerking moments Crimes of the Heart has will really take the audience for a ride. The energy and urgency a live audience brings always takes the performance up a notch. I think crowds will really respond to this. It isn't at all what you'd expect.