The Eastside Scene, January 29, 2016

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Dark humor onstage ‘Crimes of the Heart’ marks Kathryn Van Meter’s solo directorial debut By Ryan Murray

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azlehurst, Mississippi is home to blues singers, pitchers of sweet tea and the troubled Magrath sisters. The latter are reuniting at their grandfather’s house for the first time in years. But one has a dark secret the other two will have to help her deal with. This is the setting of playwright Beth Henley’s “Crimes of the Heart,” a Southern Gothic tragicomedy play staging at Village Theatre in Issaquah. The show opened Jan. 21 and runs through to Feb. 28. Under the guidance of freshman director Kathryn Van Meter, the Magrath sisters (Babe, Meg and Lenny) will pool their brainpower and knack for getting out of sticky situations to help impulsive and passionate Babe (played by Sydney Andrews) avoid life in prison. Why? Because she’s shot her husband, of course. Depressed, shy Lenny (Rhonda J. Soikowski) and boisterous, cocky Meg (Brenda Joyner) join their troubled sister, out on bail, back at their grandparents’ home where they shared many a complicated childhood summer day. “It is a dark comedy,” said Van Meter, a frequent actor and choreographer for Village. “One of the challenges of directing a play like this is finding the balance of the darkness and the humor.” Van Meter said placing ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances is what facilitates real change, and in “Crimes” we see six people placed in just such a position over the course of 24 hours. “I think it’s the way humans change in any meaningful way,” she said. The entirety of the play takes place in their grandmother’s kitchen, which allows for interesting blocking arrangements for the characters, including a window that breaks the fourth wall with the audience. Using a single set for the play was a stylistic choice

{ { Brenda Joyner, Rhonda J. Soikowski and Sydney Andrews as Meg, Lenny and Babe in “Crimes of the Heart.” Photo by

Mark Kitaoka

‘CRIMES’ CONTINUED ON PG 6

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