Index of University Press Releases

Nov. 14, 2008

DWU begins theater season with winning production, cast
Mari Olson • The Daily Republic

The three Magrath sisters — Babe Botrelle (Kerrie Roozen), Meg Magrath (Jacki Larson) and Lenny Magrath (Rebecca Zable) — shine in DWU’s latest production, “Crimes of the Heart.”

“Crimes of the Heart” is a play with all the tenderness one can expect from a family drama that revolves around a hanging, a shooting and a crotchety old man. And, not to be ignored: the boozing, lying and self-deprecating behavior.

Dakota Wesleyan’s theater department took a crack at Beth Henley’s production last weekend and came through successfully, much to the credit of two widely talented ladies, Jacki Larson and Kerrie Roozen, who played the much-disturbed younger Magrath sisters.

Comedy lightens the mood of this almost tragic family drama about three southern sisters coming together after Babe, the youngest (played by Roozen) decides one day she just doesn’t like the look of her husband and shoots him in the stomach.

Since her no-good, abusive husband happens to live through the ordeal, she now faces attempted murder charges and the possibility of permanent admittance to the asylum — which might not be a bad thing. The whole family is an assorted box of crazy.

The play is really a brilliant dance of comedy and drama, showing that life’s hardest predicaments can be lightened through laughter.

Lenny, the oldest (played by Rebecca Zabel), lacks self confidence and thinks her shrunken ovary disqualifies her for love. The play begins with Lenny sadly celebrating her 30th birthday alone. Her whole family basically takes this as a sign that she’s given up her life to spinsterhood.

Single at 30 equals spinsterhood? This play takes place in the mid 1970s, I don’t think that even in the ’70s single 30-year-olds were taking up knitting and buying Jell-O molds, but I could be wrong.

Zabel performs well as the schoolmarmy big sis; sad and dutifully accepting of her role as caretaker for their grandfather — a man you never meet but comes across as judgmental. Zabel’s unsuccessful attempt at a southern accent was my only qualm with an otherwise perfect performance.

After Lenny remakes her birthday wish several times, she’s joined by cousin Chick (Melissa Tafoya), whose annoying snobbery is sprinkled throughout the production just enough that the audience gets the idea of what poor Lenny has to deal with on a daily basis. The audience doesn’t actually get sick of seeing Chick be a jerk, though, since her appearance helps break up some scenes and also lends a hand at creating a history for the girls — who came to live with their grandparents after their mother hung herself and father skipped town. Tafoya is comical and mean and has come a long way since last year’s production of “Deathtrap,” proving that given the right part, she can shine.

The three sisters are all very different but linked by their tragic past. Lenny steps in as the responsible one, Babe as the stereotypical youngest who is a little out touch with the real world, and Meg (Larson) as the attention-seeking middle sister who was scarred for life after being the one to find their mother dead.

This is a good time to say a few more words about the two younger sisters. Larson’s performance was easily one of the show’s best, aside from outbursts that broke sound barriers, she was natural in every way — whether she was getting sauced or defending her baby sister — and added just the right amount of comedic relief. Her broken relationship with Doc Porter (played by Paul Zeller — if you saw him in “Best Little Whorehouse” then you noted his talents were wasted on such a small part) added a little intrigue to the story and Zeller did a fine job.

But let’s face it — this play is about the girls.

Babe is as sweet as the lemonade she makes, and possibly just as toxic. She is the perpetual innocent victim, the one everyone wants to save — whether it’s the teenage boy with whom she has an affair (yes, “ewww” is the operative word), or her family who stands beside her pleading her innocence (she might have had good reason, but self-admittedly aimed to kill him and missed). Everyone just accepts her behavior. Even her lawyer starts looking for a white horse.

Barnette Lloyd is a likeable young fellow just na?ve enough to fall in love with a nut job. Ross Moen did a fantastic job of playing the young starry-eyed attorney with a vendetta for Babe’s husband for reasons of his own.

Roozen (Babe) first caught my attention in “Deathtrap” as the kooky psychic Helga Ten Dorp. She’s a good character actor and obviously enjoys what she does. Her chemistry with Moen was spot-on. They were like confused grade-schoolers at their first dance. Barnette falls in love with her so much he is willing to give up his vendetta just to protect her, and Babe slowly realizes she shares some of those same warm and fuzzy feelings. Roozen was also a great source of comedy, shedding light on the dark storyline of all these damaged people.

The set was perfect with great attention to detail. I especially appreciated that the exits on the set weren’t just dark, black holes. When people went into a hallway, up a stairway or through a door there wasn’t just a black curtain. It was professional and gave the actors even more to work with.

A.J. Miller, Robert E. Winthrop III, Melissa Vatter-Miller, Charity Kear, Trisha Schleich, and theater director Daniel L. Miller came together with the actors to put on a great performance.

By the play’s end, everything comes out OK. Barnette pulls off a deal to keep Babe out of the asylum, Meg realizes she doesn’t have to be ashamed of who she is and Lenny comes full circle by telling off her cousin, asking out an ex-boyfriend and finally getting her wish — granddaddy gets sent to the ever after, setting her free.

It’s nice that even dysfunctional families can find happy endings, isn’t it?