Crimes of the Heart by Beth Henley
A Critically Acclaimed Dramedy
The Plot
Warm-hearted, irreverent, zany and brilliantly imaginative, the play teems with humanity and humor as it examines the plight of three young Mississippi sisters betrayed by their passions. The Magrath sisters have gathered together to escape their troubles, grave and yet, somehow, hilarious. Director Traci Ledford shared about the play, "Henley artfully weaves the conflict of the play from the burdens of the past, alternating between pain and levity, to illustrate the strength of the Magrath sisters. What makes the Magrath sisters extraordinary is their ability to come together and champion each other’s dreams for a better life."
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The PlaywrightFrom Traci's Directors Notes:
"Crimes of the Heart won the Pulitzer Prize in 1981. The playwright, Beth Henley, was just 29 years old at the time, and the play was her first professional attempt. Though a native of Jackson, Mississippi, Henley wrote the play in Los Angeles as a last-ditch effort to earn more income; the only acting roles she had been offered there were salacious and her attempts at screenwriting were met with closed doors. On a friend’s recommendation, the play was produced by Actors Theatre of Louisville. Productions in New York quickly followed—and, shortly thereafter, the Pulitzer. The play has endured over the decades with major revivals routinely mounted on Broadway and in regional theatres across the country." 
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The Director
Crimes of the Heart is the directorial debut of Traci Ledford at Festival Theatre! As a director, Traci has helmed over sixty productions; most recently these include Fiddler on the Roof, The Christians, and Marjorie Prime. Professionally, Traci has served as Chair of the Department of Theatre Arts at East Texas Baptist University as well as as an Assistant Director at Horton by the Stream in Elka Park, New York; WaterTower Theatre in Addison, Texas; and at the Colorado Shakespeare Festival in Boulder, Colorado. She is thrilled to direct with the Festival Theatre this summer.
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The popular 1986 film adaptation was also nominated for numerous awards including Golden Globe and Academy Awards. In that time Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times called the film "that most delicate of undertakings: a comedy about serious matters. It exists somewhere between parody and melodrama, between the tragic and the goofy. There are moments when the movie doesn't seem to know where it's going, but for once that's a good thing because the uncertainty almost always ends with some kind of a delightful, weird surprise. The underlying tone ... is a deep, abiding comic affection, a love for these characters who survive in the middle of a thicket of Southern Gothic clichés and archetypes."
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Crimes of the Heart's cast includes three of the artistic staff of Festival Theatre: Jason Richards (Executive Artistic Director), Brooke Smith (Arts Education Director), and Isaac Bont (Marketing Director). Jaclyn June Johnson, former staff member including as Co-Artistic Director returns to the Festival Theatre stage as well as Ellie Larson and Faith Klick, two of the summer company's members who were both involved in The Marvelous Wonderettes and Fools this summer!
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