Sister act
Act Too Players’ rendition of ‘Crimes of the Heart’ walks line between sorrow, dark humor
written by Jennifer Reeder

Sisters Meg, left, played by Lisa Zwisler, and Lenny, played by Sara Swift, discuss the possible fate of their sister Babe in a scene from the Durango Act Too Players’ production of “Crimes of the Heart.”/Photo by Todd Newcomer

“I hate to bring this up at this late date, but you probably could have saved money if you’d all come in the same vehicle,” said the director to the audience of last Friday’s production of “Crimes of the Heart.”

Even if there were only 14 people in the audience, the Durango Act Too Players still gave memorable performances in their rendition of the 1981 Pulitzer Prize-winning play written by Beth Henley.

“Crimes of the Heart” is set in a kitchen in a small town in Mississippi and centers around three sisters as they await news of their “granddaddy,” whose health is failing in the local hospital. It’s the kind of play that tries to balance humor and pathos: The youngest sister, Babe, is out on bail for shooting her husband in the stomach; Meg is a failed singer; and the eldest, Lenny, turns 40 with all signs pointing to a future as an old maid. Their mother hanged herself – and her yellow cat – when the girls were young because their father had abandoned them; their meddling cousin Chick calls them disgraces; and their old horse Billy Bob was recently struck by lightning and killed.

Essentially, the situation is comically bad.

The actor who accomplishes the balancing act most adroitly is Lisa Zwisler, who plays saucy Meg (the failed singer). Smoking like a chimney throughout the play, Zwisler dishes out deadpan one-liners like a pro. When Babe, played by Stephanie Ramsey, says of Lenny, played by Sara Swift, “She’s so shy with men,” Zwisler responds thoughtfully, “Probably that shrunken ovary of hers.” When Meg learns that Babe had an affair with a 15-year-old black male, she responds, “I didn’t even know you were a liberal.”(Incidentally, a much more satisfying line than the one that followed: “I’m not a liberal. I’m a democratic.”)

Babe Botrelle, played by Stephanie Ramsey, discusses how she was arrested for shooting her husband./ Photo by Todd Newcomer

Babe had the aforementioned affair just before shooting her husband, and when asked if she was happy on her wedding day – when she was 18 – she answers cheerfully, “I was drunk.” Despite this, Ramsey dresses and acts like a woman too sweet to have a mischievous side that would warrant such fearless behavior. However, she does manage to pull off several humorous suicide attempts. In one instance, she asks her oblivious sister Lenny where she keeps rope, then goes upstairs. After a beat, there’s a loud crash and she emerges dragging a fallen chandelier by the rope from which she had tried to hang herself.

Lenny, the oldest of the trio, is downtrodden because she has been taking care of her grandfather during his declining health and is turning 40 with little fanfare. She even sings the happy birthday song to herself pitifully – and then again for humor’s sake. The Eeyore thing is a bit much, and Swift even whines the line “Old Granddaddy’s had himself another stroke,” rather than inserting compassion or sadness into her voice. She does, however, have a fabulous moment when she grabs a broom and chases out cousin Chick, played by Ilana Stern, who portrays a convincingly shrill, nagging relative.

Stern shares a wonderful scene with Zwisler in which Chick antagonizes Meg by attacking her character and her smoking habit. As Chick harps on Meg’s love of “cancer sticks,” Zwisler offers a smoke and says, “Wanna drag?” Meg then returns the antagonism by calling Chick “Little Chicken” and ends up clucking like a chicken over her cousin’s protests. It sounds childish, but Stern’s take on her character is so perfectly annoying that a certain reviewer felt like clucking along with Meg.

Sara Swift reacts during a telephone conversation in the first act of “Crimes of the Heart” on Saturday night at the Druango Arts Center. Swift played the role of Lenny MaGrath./Photo by Todd Newcomer.

The token men in the play – the lawyer trying to get Babe out of prison (Terry Shellnut) and Meg’s old flame Doc (Bob Thom) – keep things interesting, particularly Thom’s Doc, who drinks bourbon with Meg while reminiscing about their old crazy antics. Their roles also help move the plot along, until, despite all the fights and adversity, the sisters can enjoy a moment together that shows among all else, they are friends.

The Durango Act Too Players is a volunteer, nonprofit group (the actors have real jobs and “act too,” get it?) trying to bring theater to the community at a low cost, so if you’re looking for a night of entertainment this weekend, head over to the Durango Arts Center and cheer them on.