Health & Fitness
'Crimes of the Heart' at Phoenix Stage Company - My Review
Next weekend is the last chance to catch this play at Naugatuck's PSC.
Crimes of the Heart is a play by Beth Henley and is being produced at the Phoenix Stage Company in Naugatuck. It runs through next weekend.
The play is a tragic comedy that examines the reunion of the Magrath sisters at the family home in Mississippi. Babe has just shot her abusive husband, Meg's career as a singer in Hollywood recently ended when she had a nervous breakdown, and Lenny is caring for Old Granddaddy who raised all three when their mother hanged herself and the family cat. Babe has had an affair with a teenaged boy and wants to learn to play the saxophone. The only one who has remembered Lenny's birthday is a vile cousin named Chick who presents her with a regifted box of chocolates. Suffice it to say that there is a lot of dysfunction in this family, and past resentments that come up as they deal with the issues at hand make up the action of the play. The play is laced with some pretty funny parts to lighten things up a bit.
The Phoenix Stage Company production cast is made up of some of local theater's most talented actors. Becky Venable is new to the PSC stage but has long been involved in theater. She played the role of Lenny with heartbreaking sincerity. Tori Richnavsky was delightfully nasty in the role of Chick Boyle.
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Daniel Willey played the role of Doc Porter who has also suffered some issues of his own and has a history with Meg. Alana Kingsley was an egocentric and dramatic Meg. Kate Samburg was the sister who isn't really sorry for shooting her husband in the stomach and Chris Evans perfectly played the lawyer who is trying to defend her.
Kathy Cook (The Glass Menagerie, Steel Magnolias) directed yet another play at the PSC and continued her marvelous record of success. Lori Poulin took on another play as stage manager and helped the director and Ed Bassett with securing the large number of props and foods required by the script. Mr. Bassett did the great costumes and dressed the set with Ms. Poulin, which was probably one of the PSC's best in authenticity.
