Dan's Papers - March 7, 2008 - review: "crimes of the heart"

Roundabout Theatre Company is presenting the film and stage star Kathleen Turner in her New York directing debut with a confident, yet flawed production of Beth Henley's Pulitzer Prize winning play Crimes of the Heart. Turner's staging bears her broad signature style, and while she has a talented ensemble doing her bidding, little about the evening feels organic. Much of it is quite funny, even touching, but the over the top approach does little to serve the playwright, turning her poignant character study into a superficial re-telling that accentuates the play's shortcomings.

Crimes of the Heart set in 1974 Hazelhurst, Mississippi is a bittersweet story about the Magrath sisters, Lenny, Meg and Babe (Jennifer Dundas, Sarah Paulson, and Lily Rabe), who have been deeply damaged by their mother's suicide by hanging years earlier. Meg, the middle sister, found their mother's lifeless body hanging side by side with the family cat. Considered to be the black sheep of the family, Meg had left home five years earlier - after Hurricane Camille - with hopes of a singing career. Lenny, the caretaker of the three, wires Meg to return home because of a family emergency, but doesn't mention that Babe has been hauled off to jail for shooting her husband. When the sisters reunite at Old Granddaddy's house, the tattered bonds of their sisterhood will be sorely tested.

Henley's poignant writing is often infused with heartbreak. But Turner's first time directorial effort misses the key ingredient, "the ties that bind." You never feel the underbelly of their family tragedy. And that is most unfortunate, because Henley has drawn finely nuanced characterizations of these southern sisters. There is a ring of authenticity that can be compelling. But Turner's one-noted approach lacks the depth to reveal the pathos rendering the evening more sentimental than moving.

Amongst the actresses, Lily Rabe and Sarah Paulson manage to steer clear of caricature. The other women take full flight into playing extreme qualities, thus diminishing the appeal of the story. The core of Crimes of the Heart is the bond of these imperfect women to survive together no matter what and to have "a good ole time" in the process. Without that center, the actors come across less like humans with real emotion, more like marionettes.

Turner's gifted cast is always entertaining, especially when overacting, but the fussy behavior takes us out of the drama instead engaging us in the unfolding action. The result is a series of stops and starts instead of a forceful build up of details and events. Turner's evening is built on sand as opposed to the truth and the portrait of the Magrath sisters' indomitable spirit is more sweet than convincing.

Downtown, the LAByrinth Theater Company, now in residence at the Public Theater, is presenting the world premiere of Brett C. Leonard's Unconditional a brutal depiction of nine New York stories charged with themes of race, sex, drugs, love, justice and betrayal. Director Mark Wing-Davey has explosively staged the violent drama for maximum effect. Under his skillful guidance, the cinematic like tale, which is told in brief shocking, overlapping scenes, begins to add up to much more than is actually on the page. Wing-Davey's powerful production unfolds on Mark Wendland's innovative shifting set, where audience members look down at the action from all sides and different heights. Unconditional closes March 9th, for tickets call 212-967-7555.

Crimes of the Heart opened on February 14, 2008 at the Laura Pels Theatre, 111 West 46th Street between Sixth and Seventh Avenues. Tickets are available by calling 212-719-1300, online at roundaboutheatre.org or at the box office.

Theater critics Barry Gordin and Patrick Christiano are members of the Drama Desk. Barry is an internationally renowned photographer and Patrick is artistic director of SilvaRoad Productions. They can be reached at bg6@verizon.net or theatrelife.com.