‘Crimes of the Heart’: Tragedy, laughs

Sometimes, among hardships and misery, we find a brighter side n and maybe even a few laughs, too.

So says Daniel Ruiz, a local director and actor who is making his directorial debut at the Thibodaux Playhouse this month.

“Crimes of the Heart” is a tragic comedy about three Mississippi sisters who have a penchant for getting into ugly predicaments. The show reunites the Magrath sisters n Meg, Babe and Lenny n at Old Granddaddy’s house in fictional Hazlehurst, Miss., after Babe shoots her abusive husband. The girls were raised by ailing Old Granddaddy after their mother hanged herself and the family cat. Playwright Beth Henley uses the sisters’ plights to give audiences a glimpse into wholesome country folks whose lives have gone wrong.

“It reflects the same values that the Thibodaux community has; very close knit, even sometimes nosy,” Ruiz chimed. “You will see that everybody has problems. Real problems … that can’t be solved. And, it is not limited to a certain socio-economic grouping.”

Henly penned “Crimes of the Heart” in 1978. She submitted the script to several regional theatres without success. Unbeknownst to her, however, a friend entered the play into the Great American Play Contest at Actors Theatre of Louisville, according to Internet Broadway Database.

The show was eventually named co-winner and was performed in February 1979 at the Louisville organization’s annual festival. Henly’s production received rave reviews, and was later awarded a Pulitzer Prize. It was eventually converted into a movie featuring Diane Keaton, Jessica Lange and Sissy Spacek.

The Thibodaux Playhouse’s production of “Crimes of the Heart” includes Yvettte Bilello as Lenny Magrath, the sometimes spastic, clumsy older sister, who is a bit of a wallflower with very strong family values.

Bilello, a stay-at-home mother of two small boys, said it’s a challenge to find the balance between herself and Lenny.

“You can morph yourself into whatever character you are playing,” she said. “You have to find the parts of yourself that can relate to the character, find the universal truth of the character. A well-written character can be identified by all.”

Michelle Susan plays the brashy, in-your-face, unforgiving Meg Magrath. The complicated Meg is a singer whose Hollywood career was short-lived when her past led to a nervous breakdown.

Susan has been out of acting for about five years but says every opportunity to act is a learning experience.

“Parts of me can identify with the character,” she said. “The whole crazy side of the character, though, I don’t identify with. But the character is fun to play.”

Laura Templet Pierce plays the youngest of the Magrath brew n Babe. It’s Babe’s unruly, impulsive “live-for-the-moment” spontaneity that reveals an illicit affair, which also ultimately leads Mrs. Magrath’s third-born to shoot her husband.

For the record, Templet Pierce, a newlywed, said she would never consider shooting her husband.

“Babe’s kind of child-like and very emotional,” Templet Pierce said. “Playing her helps me grow as an actress reaching the various dimensions of the character.”

Ruiz has high praise for his leading ladies.

“It was a huge jump for Yvette to play Lenny because she is not spastic or clumsy,” he said. “But she does have that strong family value and the ability to play the character.”

As for Susan and Templet Pierce, Ruiz said, “When they walked into the auditions, I knew that Michelle had the boldness to be Meg, and Laura had the energy to inherit Babe’s reckless behavior, as she sometimes is caught between being a child and woman.”

Others actors and actresses in the Thibodaux Playhouse production include Eric Pellegrin, Lana Lawrence and Joey Pierce, Laura Pierce’s husband.

“Crimes of the Heart” premieres at the Wetlands Acadian Cultural Theatre at Jean Lafitte National Historical Park & Preserve, 314 St. Mary St. in Thibodaux, Jan. 20-22 at 7 p.m., and Jan. 23 at 2 p.m.

Reservations must be made for specific show dates. Tickets prices are $10 for adults and $8 for students and children.

Ruiz said the tickets may be picked up in the lobby prior to the performance. A limited number of general admission tickets for individual performances are also available.

For ticket information call (985) 446-1896.

Lenny Magrath (Yvette Bilello) and Doc Porter (Joey Pierce) discuss Old Granddaddy’s condition and the future plans of middle sister Meg in Thibodaux Playhouse’s production of “Crimes of the Heart.”