From The Tennessean 09/19/2003:

Quality acting makes 'Crimes of the Heart' a winner
By EVANS DONNELL
 
Tennessee Repertory Theatre's revival of Crimes of the Heart starts the group's 19th season with strong acting and a vivid story. It should be a crime to miss it.

Beth Henley's 1981 Pulitzer Prize-winning comedy is the story of three Southern sisters working through the wreckage of their past to find a brighter future. Henley's script is infused with a large dose of black humor and true affection for its characters.

The story opens as the three Magrath sisters are reunited in the small town of Hazlehurst, Miss., on the 40th birthday of eldest sister Lenny (Nan Gurley).

It's not a terribly happy reunion, though, since she has summoned middle sister Meg (Denice Hicks) from California — and a disastrous attempt at a singing career — following the arrest of youngest sister Babe (Amy Tribbey) for shooting her husband. And Lenny, who has sacrificed her personal aspirations to care for the sisters' elderly grandfather, is certainly not feeling like the life of the party anyway.

While Gary C. Hoff's set and other technical elements are terrific, this is a character-driven production that places its premium on quality acting. Director David Grapes has cast an ensemble that takes Henley's mixture of humor and pathos and turns it into a vivid portrait of the characters' lives.

As Lenny, Gurley adds another winning performance to her long list of successful stage appearances. Her character's paradoxical mix of stability and insecurity is on display here in believable and touching fashion. Ultimately, Gurley does the one thing all actors should do — she makes us forget that we're watching a performance.

Hicks and Tribbey also provide engaging, fully-drawn characterizations. The conflicts of each character are in sharp focus, and we take Meg and Babe to our hearts as readily as we feel for Lenny.

There's no drop-off in quality when the production's supporting players are on stage either. That's particularly true of Martha Wilkinson's performance as the Magrath sisters' bossy cousin Chick Boyle. Her delivery, timing and physicality combine to create a great deal of laughter, while her dead-on characterization of a small-town busybody will be familiar to anyone who's ever dealt with that singular species of provincial life.