Featuring Karen Estrada, Laura Frye, Laura Gray, Neil Haven,
Georgina McKee & Jonathan Wainwright
The three Magrath sisters of Hazlehurst, Mississippi are
offbeat, to say the least. While the lovelorn Lenny attempts to
celebrate her thirtieth birthday in peace, the wayward Meg returns
home from a failed singing career after the seemingly innocent Babe
is arrested for shooting her husband in the stomach.
Employing characters and dialogue that are true and touching and
consistently hilarious, Henley has a remarkable talent for serving
pain as if it were a piece of cake.
Winner of the 1981 Pulitzer Prize and the New York Drama
Critics Circle Award
Co-sponsored by: Briggs & Stratton
Corporation Foundation, Inc, Mary Ann & Lloyd Gerlach, George
& Julie Mosher
| Cast |
| Chick Boyle |
Karen Estrada |
| Babe Magrath Botrelle |
Laura Frye |
| Lenny Magrath |
Laura Gray |
| Barnette Lloyd |
Neil Haven |
| Meg Magrath |
Georgina McKee |
| Doc Porter |
Jonathan Wainwright |
| Production Staff |
| Director |
Mary MacDonald Kerr |
| Scenic Designer |
Rick Rasmussen |
| Costume Designer |
Kimberly O'Callaghan |
| Lighting Designer |
Eric Appleton |
| Properties Master |
Dana Fralick |
| Sound Designer |
Cristina DeRisi |
| Stage Manager |
Judy Martel |
P=Preview
O=Opening
T=Talkback: post-show Q&A with actors and director
*=Talk Theatre: pre-show interactive discussion beginning at noon
V=ViewPoints: pre-show presentation beginning at 6:30 p.m.
Talk Theatre
Wednesday, August 24, 2011 12:00 PM
An opportunity to participate in informal pre-show discussions with MCT's Producing Artistic Director and other show-specific theatre artists.
more info
ViewPoints
Wednesday, August 17, 2011 6:30 PM
Experience in-depth, pre-show presentations led by engaging guest experts who offer insights into show-related issues and field questions from knowledge-hungry patrons.
more info
Talkbacks
Thursday, August 18, 2011 7:30 PM
Thursday, August 25, 2011 7:30 PM
After select Thursday evening performances, you can meet the artists involved in a production, ask questions about the creative process and discuss your theatergoing experience.
more info
Resources
Crimes of the Heart media release
Monday, August 1, 2011
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Media Coverage
Chamber Theatre embraces humor, hope in 'Crimes of the Heart'
Saturday, August 13, 2011
by Mike Fischer; Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
...But hard as she tries to be solemn, Lenny can't stop laughing. Neither could Milwaukee Chamber Theatre's Friday night audience, as they watched this bittersweet tale of three sisters trying to make lemonade - literally, at one point - from a lifetime's worth of awfully sour lemons...
full review
MCT presents "Crimes of the Heart:" A guilty pleasure
Saturday, August 13, 2011
by Peggy Sue Dunigan, Postscript: Performing Arts;
Milwaukee Chamber Theatre (MCT) opens their season by transforming "one very bad day" on the Cabot Stage into one thoroughly entertaining evening. This one chaotic day at the Broadway Theatre Center in the 1981 Pulitzer Prize production Crimes of the Heart presents the three McGrath sisters from Hazlehurst, Mississippi who attempt to make sense of their rural Southern dysfunction.
full review
Family a funny and tragic thing in MCT’s “Crimes of the Heart”
Saturday, August 13, 2011
by Matthew Reddin, Third Coast Digest;
...That’s not what Crimes of the Heart is like. True, the season opener for Milwaukee Chamber Theatre is filled with moments like that, but director Mary MacDonald Kerr has crafted their collective tragicomic might into a strong, solid show...
full review
News
Crimes of the Heart at Milwaukee Chamber Theatre
Monday, August 15, 2011
by Jenna Kashou, InsideMilwaukee.com;
It’s important to remember while your family may seem crazy, there is always another more dysfunctional. Take, for example, the Magrath sisters in Crimes of the Heart.
full article
“Crimes of the Heart”: Hilarious tragedy in Milwaukee Chamber Theatre’s opener
Thursday, August 11, 2011
by Tom Strini, ThirdCoastDigest.com; After spending eight years establishing herself as an actor in Chicago, Mary MacDonald Kerr married, moved to Paddock Lake, Wis., and had a couple of kids. She assumed she would continue her Chicago career, but that proved impossible. In 1995, on a whim, she auditioned for a Milwaukee Chamber Theatre show. The late Montgomery Davis, MCT’s founding artistic director, cast her. After that, Milwaukee in general and MCT in particular have been her professional home. Kerr has acted in 20 MCT productions.
full article
More Pulitzer Prize-winning productions
Monday, August 1, 2011
by Jacque Troy, Education Director/Literary Manager;
When Producing Artistic Director C. Michael Wright announced his plans for MCT to produce one Pulitzer Prize-winning play each season for five consecutive seasons, we all anticipated some truly captivating theatre. What not even Michael anticipated was just how difficult it would be to choose only five from the list of impressive contributions to our dramatic literature canon. As we’ve reached the end of his five-year plan, so gripping were the choices remaining that Michael decided we’d do two this season: CRIMES OF THE HEART by Beth Henley and DRIVING MISS DAISY by Alfred Uhry. Each had its own fascinating journey from new work to Pulitzer Prize winner to our stage.
full article