Review: CRIMES OF THE HEART at Ottawa Little Theatre

Ottawa Little Theatre’s production of Beth Henley’s Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winning Crimes of the Heart is a bit of a mixed bag. Published forty-five years ago, the play has a gripping plotline with themes and lessons that are still relevant, but getting to them is a slow process.

The story takes place in the mid-seventies in the small southern town of Hazelhurst, Mississippi, and introduces us to Lenny Magrath (Sarah Aaron), who is sitting alone in her kitchen celebrating her 30th birthday. As she wishes on a candle, sans cake, we feel a twinge of pity for her. This is further cemented when we meet her cousin, Chick (Judy McCormick), a brash, bossy type, who seems to look down on everyone, including her relatives. We find out that not only did the Magrath sisters’ father abandon the family when they were kids, but their mother committed suicide, taking the family cat along with her. Chick reminds Lenny of how embarrassing it all was for her. Lenny’s sister Meg (Katie Torresan) has just returned to Hazelhurst from Hollywood where she moved years ago in search of her big musical break. Meg has come home because of a family crisis: the youngest Magrath sibling, fondly known as Babe (Olivia Lee Brown), shot her husband, Zachery, in the stomach apparently because she “didn’t like the look of him”. We are told that Zachery is a wealthy lawyer and powerful U.S. senator, and it seems that Babe’s fate is doomed. Chick, once again, bemoans how embarrassing this will be.

The play focuses on the Magrath family dynamics. Even though each sister’s personality and coping method for dealing with their childhood trauma is different, they have each isolated themselves in one way or another: Lenny, who broke off a relationship for fear of rejection, choosing instead to act as a caregiver for her grandfather who is now bedridden in hospital; Meg, who abruptly left home and her own relationship with Doc Porter (Allan MacLeod) to forge her own path forward; and Babe, who married Zachery only to please her grandfather, but ended up becoming the most isolated of all.

The first act was slow getting started; it picked up steam right before intermission, only to return to a trickle throughout the second half. The strongest performances came from Brown, who was exceptionally well cast, and Edgar Wakefield as Barnette Lloyd, Babe’s young lawyer with a score to settle. The southern accents seemed a little too forced, and they were often uneven and distracting. Babe’s fidgety motions were exaggerated to demonstrate her anxiety, but ended up feeling overdone, and could have ultimately been toned down without losing the overall effect.

As is true with most Ottawa Little Theatre productions, the set design (Geoff Gruson) was wonderfully constructed and accurate for the era. Likewise, the costumes (Ross Dumontet) were massively retro, complete with bell bottoms and kitschy outfits for the younger characters. The use of dimmed stage lighting (designed by David Magladry) to show memories was effective but could have been even more pronounced for greater impact.

Billed as a tragicomedy, the play utilizes humour as a coping strategy, most notably when Lenny and Babe deliver some bad news to Meg in a fit of laughter, bordering on hysteria. Some of its themes are still all too relevant today, where we continually see high profile individuals get away with behaviours that would not otherwise be tolerated. The play focuses on the importance of family bonds, while recognizing that sometimes it is necessary to (literally) sweep hateful family members aside. It also teaches some valuable lessons along the way by showing us that people can cope with trauma and loss in very different ways, and most importantly that, although the difficulties we face in life may shape us, they do not need to define us.

Crimes of the Heart is in performances at Ottawa Little Theatre through September 2nd. Click here for more information or to purchase tickets.

Note that this show contains adult content, including imagery of self-harm.

Headline photo credit: Maria Vartanova.

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