American Stage to open ‘Crimes of the Heart’

Putting a BIPOC cast onstage in Crimes of the Heart –  Beth Henley’s beloved, Pulitzer Prize-winning play about a Mississippi family torn apart by mental illness, murder and more – shouldn’t be such a big deal in 2023, asserts American Stage director Elizabeth Margolius.

Some might remember the 1986 movie version, with Sissy Spacek, Diane Keaton and Jessica Lange as the Magrath Sisters, at the center of all the dysfunction.

“This play is normally cast with an all-white cast,” Margolius points out. “That’s the traditional way we see it. But it doesn’t have to be. The play isn’t about the race of the characters, necessarily, specifically. The play is about family, and about love, and about grappling with all these hard things.

“And so I was really excited about putting in a BIPOC cast. It brings up a lot of things to talk about that are different than if it was an all-white cast.”

Crimes of the Heart opens Jan. 13 at American Stage (previews on Jan. 11 and 12), with Gina Cielo, A.J. Baldwin and Rita Cole as the Magrath Sisters.

The Chicago-based Margolius began her theatrical career as an actress and musician (she’s a lifelong flautist). When she started directing, it was almost exclusively musical theater. Next, she was persuaded to direct opera.

It took a bit of coaxing, she admits, to get her to direct a straight play – she wasn’t sure she could.

But she could.

“I discovered that what I love is finding the musicality of the text, and the movement that underscores the story,” she explains. “I take different approaches to all three, but I’m always finding the rhythm of the piece, the tempo of the piece.

“I talk to actors about pianissimo, fortissimo, just like I would in an opera rehearsal. And for the most part, they understand that language whether they’re musical theater artists or not. It’s just a different way of approaching the text.”

Crimes of the Heart, despite its subject matter, is most often described as a dark comedy. Says Margolius: “I think the best quote about it is ‘It’s a comedy about serious matters.’

“There’s definitely laughs throughout the piece, for sure. But what I love about it is how Beth Henley is very much focusing in on some very, very serious things, like suicide and mental illness, family affairs and betrayals, all of these things. But she’s doing it in a way that sort of lightens the delivery of these serious themes.

“It goes very dark, this play – about as dark as you can get. I think that’s part of the brilliance of the play.”

There are racial overtones in Crimes of the Heart. In rehearsal, Margolius admits, “there have been some difficult conversations in the room. Difficult and necessary conversations. So it’s really been a fascinating process.”

There are, she says, landmines in this script that was written for a white cast. “And we had to work through them, rather than around them – I mean, there are landmines in the script no matter who says them. And it’s just a matter of figuring out, no matter who was saying it, what it means. And that’s been really a learning experience.

“For me, certainly, to ask those questions and push through them, knowing that there are some racist themes in this play. They’re right there. It’s been really good to have these conversations – and I hope it inspires conversations within our audience as well.”

Performance details and tickets are here.