Audience becomes part of NW play

    The first thing audiences attending the performance of Crimes of the Heart on NW Campus may notice is where they are sitting.

   Instead of in the house of the theater, the audience will find themselves in the kitchen and living room with the MacGrath sisters on stage as the play is taking place.

   Director T.J. Walsh explained that the intimate setting, which holds only 100 audience members, was the decision of Brent Alford, director of theater for NW Campus, and Rick Reeves, technical director.

   “I think this is a good idea,” Walsh said. “When an actor is working in this setting, there is no separation between them and the audience. They are a foot away, and in some cases, that’s the stage they’re going to experience performing on in the professional world.”

   Crimes of the Heart centers on Babe, a young and slightly spacey woman who claims to have shot her husband because she “didn’t like his looks.”

   Babe’s crime brings her home to her two sisters, Lenny and Meg in Hazlehurst, Miss. Though the crime scene would be the obvious focus in the play, the heart of Beth Henley’s script comes out through the lives of the warm-hearted, however dysfunctional, women in the show.

   Lenny, played by Paula Adams, is celebrating her birthday alone when Babe, played by Shanna Riddle, comes home.

   Lenny struggles with aging and loneliness while her sister Meg, played by Leah Jeffers, juggles a dying singing career and battles a bad reputation in her hometown.

   Any Southern play would not be complete without the critical, busybody Southern belle. Susanna Brown plays Chick, a cousin to the MacGrath sisters, who pops in and out periodically to mock and critique their lives.

   Seth Martin plays Doc, Meg’s love interest and the prime reason for her reputation as “cheap Christmas trash.” Doc is married with children and in love with Meg.
Looking to Barnett, the lawyer, for some sense of normalcy would prove a failure as he falls for Babe and consents to an additional crime.
Walsh believes the show would appeal to college-age students, women specifically.
“Young women in their 20s will be able to relate to the characters as they try to figure out how life works,” he said.
“The show is very funny and touching. There are several nice moments. I think the audience will embrace it as a fun evening,” he added.
Walsh has enjoyed being a part of this production, which opens tomorrow night.
“We’ve had so much fun,” he said. “The best part of working in this show is working with and getting to know the students.”
Performance times are Thursday-Saturday at 8 p.m. with 2 p.m. matinees Saturday and Sunday. Call 817-515-7797 for reservations.