Pittsburgh City Paper: The trials and tribulations of Southern women are the meat and potatoes -- er, fried chicken and grits -- of a fine tradition in American fiction. But the Magrath sisters of Mississippi are no aristocratic belles, faded or otherwise. They have led a rich if not privileged life. When handed lemons, they do make lemonade -- sometimes literally -- in Beth Henley's Crimes of the Heart. The gentle character study/comedy is well suited to the Theatre Factory, and vice versa, in its current production.
Sunday, November 06, 2011
Crimes of the Heart - Crimes is a confection for talented actresses playing quirky characters.
Pittsburgh City Paper: The trials and tribulations of Southern women are the meat and potatoes -- er, fried chicken and grits -- of a fine tradition in American fiction. But the Magrath sisters of Mississippi are no aristocratic belles, faded or otherwise. They have led a rich if not privileged life. When handed lemons, they do make lemonade -- sometimes literally -- in Beth Henley's Crimes of the Heart. The gentle character study/comedy is well suited to the Theatre Factory, and vice versa, in its current production.
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3 comments:
I'm a little confused with the way this article was written. I've seen the show and I'll admit, the characters are absolutely fantastic. But a big part of the play is indeed the plot, which this particular journalist completely skipped over. There's a story that brings out the admirable traits in these leading ladies which I think should be mentioned, especially if potential audience members will be reading this article.
I can't believe the article actually said "Plot? Who cares?". Even if a show is rich in character study that is no reason to discount the plot. If theatre were only meant to study people, there would be no difference between it and psychology. This article was poorly put together and honestly discourages me from seeing the show. Even underneath the title it says "'Crimes' is a confection for talented actress playing quirky character." To say that the characters are simply quirky, while claiming the show is a gentle character study is pretty contradictory. At the very least I think less of the author, but unfortunately for revenue, this article makes me think less of the show. I hope its actually decent and that whomever in attendance actually enjoys the show.
I also was a little misled by this title too, but must agree that for some reason, nowadays there is a tremendous amount of women playing the "quirky" character role. For some reason I feel that this is the case, whether film or television. It is so easy for such a role to be characterized, it is so much a part of our entertainment plots, ranging from the supporting female classic "comical" role, to that of the hysterically misguided leading lady. Nevertheless there is something to love about those characters. I would actually be more interested in going to see a show that explored a lot about the character- we focus so much on a far-fetched intriguing plot that maybe it would be enlightening to go see a show where a character's oddities and quirks are expressed in such a rounded way.
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