Crimes of the Heart

Overflowing with humor and high spirits, "Crimes of the Heart" is a Pulitzer Prize winning play telling the story of a troubled family escaping their past to seize the future.

Winner of the 1981 Pulitzer Prize and the New York Drama Critics Circle Award, “Crimes of the Heart” is a “dramedy” about the dysfunctional Magrath family and how they come together following tragedy. Heartfelt, zany and irreverent this play teems with humanity and humor as it examines the plight of three Mississippi sisters betrayed by their passions.
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The scene is Hazlehurst, Mississippi, where the three Magrath sisters have gathered to await news of the family patriarch, their grandfather, who is living out his last hours in the local hospital.

Lenny, the oldest sister, is unmarried at thirty and facing diminishing marital prospects; Meg, the middle sister, who quickly outgrew Hazlehurst, is back after a failed singing career on the West Coast; while Babe, the youngest, is out on bail after having shot her husband in the stomach.

Their troubles, grave and yet, somehow, hilarious, are highlighted by their priggish cousin, Chick, and by the awkward young lawyer who tries to keep Babe out of jail while helpless not to fall in love with her. In the end the play is the story of how its young characters escape the past to seize the future but the telling is so true and touching and consistently hilarious that it will linger in the mind long after the curtain has descended.


Come enjoy a fabulous cast that will bring out beautiful emotions at the Fetterly Playhouse.



Directed by Chelsea Abinante

WHEN: March 29 to April 7, 2012
March 29, 30,31 at 7:30 p.m.
April 5, 6, 7 at 7:30 p.m.
Matinee: March 31 and April 7 at 1:00 p.m.

WHERE: Fetterly Playhouse
3467 Sonoma Boulevard, Suite 10
Vallejo, CA 94590

TICKETS: Brown Paper Tickets
http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/225638

WEBSITE: http://www.crimesoftheheartvallejo.blogspot.com/

EMAIL: Chelsea Abinante - Chelsea@abinante.us

VIDEO: Featuring director Chelsea Abinante: http://youtu.be/GwVXGoUcK84

The Talent . . .

Julie Saunders (Lenny Magrath)
Julie earned her Bachelors of Fine Arts in Acting from Brigham Young University in 2009. She has received multiple awards for her work as an actor and playwright, and has previously taught classes in acting as well as stage combat. After 15 years of performances throughout Utah and her home state of Oregon, Crimes of the Heart is Julie's California debut.






Rebekah Damaris Vega (Meg Magrath)
Rebekah is very excited to be playing Meg in Crimes of the Heart. Meg is a challenging role and Rebekah is very excited to grow as an actor throughout the rehearsal and performance process. Rebekah is 18, currently attending Solano Community College until she attends a 4-year college at either AMDA or Santa Fe U. of Art and Design. Some of her favorite roles are Cinderella in A Yuletide Fairytale, Mrs. Mayor in Suessical, and Cetta in Daughters. Crimes will be her second non-musical vs. 5 musicals, but she is just as excited as she does get to sing a bit in this! She would like to thank her parents for voice lessons and her early days in Solano Youth Theater where she met two of her closest friends Laura and Courtney. Her friends, family, and boyfriend have been so supportive and helped her through so much and she thanks them with all her heart!


Maria Stats (Babe Magrath)
Maria is a graduate of the Academy of Visual and Performing Arts and alumni of the California College of the Arts teaching institute. She has over 20 years of stage experience with a heavy background in musical theatre. She has performed primarily in the Bay Area with her favorite roles being Winnifred(Once Upon A Mattress), Emily(Our Town), Juliet(Romeo & Juliet),and Novia (Boda de Sangre). She was also the art/drama instructor at the Vallejo Charter School for its first three years, and only “retired” to pursue full time mommyhood. Her biggest role now is being mommy to Molly (5), Maggie (4), and Kenneth (1).


Jennifer Preciado (Chick Boyle)
Jennifer grew up in Los Altos, California doing local community theatre all throughout the South Bay Area.
She graduated from Long Beach State University with a Bachelor Degree in Speech-Communications with a Minor in Theatre Arts.
After moving to the Midwest, she pursued her Masters Degree in Counseling Psychology with a focus in Higher Education. However, her
passion for acting and singing did not come to a halt; instead she used her artistry as a way of educating college students and youth at risk. Jennifer
also has a background in Jazz dance and choreography. Currently, she works as an Academic Advisor at Golden Gate University and was last seen on stage with Vallejo Community Arts performing The Music Man.


Brett Bernstein (Doc Porter)
Brett grew up in San Diego, where he first began acting in high school productions and the neighborhood North Coast Repertory Theatre. He later graduated from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo in 2009 with a Finance degree. He now runs his own business, Natural Cravings, and works at a tech start-up in Silicon Valley. He can be reached via www.brettbernstein.com or twitter: @bhbern







Dante Charlton (Barnette Loyd)
I’ve had an awesome time doing this show! A big thank you to Chelsea and the rest of my partners in “Crime”! I was previously seen in SCT’s production of The Crucible, the Ivory Arts production of Dreamgirls, and toured Over The River And Through The Woods with the Vagabond Players. I’m also a graduate of Solano College Theatre’s Actor Training Program (Class of 2010). A special thanks to my muse, my best friend, and my fiancée Karen DuVall for dropping my name and making this performance happen!

The Cast!

We had wonderful actors attend auditions for Crimes of the Heart! We are so excited to announce our cast. Thank you to all who shared their talents with us at auditions.

The cast:

Lenny- Julie Saunders
Meg- Rebekah Damaris
Babe- Maria Stats
Chick- Jennifer Preciado
Doc- Brett Bernstein
Barnette- Dante Charlton

We have a fabulous cast and look forward to sharing their talent with the Bay Area!

Auditions

Auditions for Crimes of the Heart will be held at the Fetterly Playhouse: 3467 Sonoma Boulevard, Suite 10, Vallejo, CA 94590.


Audition dates:

Saturday, January 28 from 2:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m.
and
Monday, January 30 from 7:00 p.m.-10:00 p.m.

Callbacks date:

TBA

Please prepare one contemporary monologue no longer than 1 minute 30 seconds.

Audition appointments can be made via e-mail at chelsea@abinante.us or via phone at (858) 442-3961

All roles are available and are as follows:

Lenny Magrath, 30, the oldest sister
Chick Boyle, 29, the sisters' first cousin
Doc Porter, 30, Meg's old boyfriend
Meg Magrath, 27, the middle sister
Babe Botrelle, 24, the youngest sister
Barnette Lloyd, 26, Babe's Lawyer

This play require a southern dialect.