Published: Friday,June 6, 2008 in The Greenville News

By Ann Hicks
Arts Writer
ahicks@greenvillenews.com

What is there not to love about Beth Henley's "Crimes of the Heart"? The bittersweet melodrama succeeded at every level at its Thursday night opening at Centre Stage.

First off, there's that juicy language that Henley, a Mississippi native, puts into the mouths of the three wonderfully weird Magrath sisters.

And the story that she carefully weaves about the lives of small-town women and men filled with yearning, frustration and hope.

It is easy to see why this play won a Pulitzer Prize. It has a lot to offer both performers and audiences.

Kerrie Seymour as Lenny, Debra Capps as Meg and Katie Martin as their little sister, Babe, take their roles to the limit.

They are backed all the way by the excellent direction of Benjamin P. Robinson as "Crimes" unfolds over a period of several days.

From the very moment of theopening scene, as Lenny lights the candle on a cookie and painfully sings happy 30th birthday to herself, we love her.We do because Seymour gives her to us flesh and blood and fully developed — shrunken ovary and all. She is our Lenny, our frumpy family backbone and caretaker.

Capps is electrifying as the narcissistic middle sister with a washed-up singing career who is nevertheless a star on her own stage.She’s a sexy pot on a hot stove bubbling over.

Martin plays 24-year-old Babe, who shoots her rich hubby in the stomach because she didn’t like his looks, plus she has a boy toy on the side. She not only nails the part but looks the part. It’s hard to imagine a better actress for this role.

The same can be said about Glenda ManWaring as the sisters’ insufferable buttinsky cousin Chick Boyle. ManWaring is a hoot doing her goggle-eyed society lady shtick and a scream as she fusses trying to get into her too-tight pantyhose.
In the periphery of these gloriously maladjusted ladies are the two shy guys who love the sisters.
Wofford Jones as Babe's young lawyer, Barnette Lloyd, effectively plumbs his role, as does Brock Koonce as married Doc Porter, still pining after Meg.
Not quite the Ya-Ya sisterhood, nevertheless, the Magrath sisters show us what family ties mean even if they are ready to snap at times.

This wonderful production is greatly assisted by Guy Perticone's lighting and sets, Carol Robbins' costuming and Lesley Preston's scenic design.

The play continues through June 21. For tickets, call 233-6733.