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Arts & Entertainment

'Crimes of the Heart' a Comedy for the Soul

Pulitzer Prize-winner being revived by Women's Theater Co.

In the right hands, tragedy can be real hoot.

“Yeah, it is a tragedy. I mean, a woman shoots her husband,” said Barbara Krajkowski of “Crimes of the Heart,” which continues the season at the professional Women’s Theater Co. in Parsippany. “But it is really funny, beautifully written and very well put-together.”

So much so that Beth Henley’s Southern-fried tale won the 1981 Pulitzer Prize for drama.

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Despite the play's pedigree, revivals are infrequent. Thankfully, Krajkowski is more familiar than most with Henley’s study of three sisters—the damaged products of a dysfunctional childhood—who band together when one of them puts a bullet into her abusive husband, then are forced to put their respective troubles on the table.

Given the subject matter and the playwright’s unusual approach (Krajkowski likens it to theater of the absurd while noting that critics often refer to it as a black comedy), it’s hardly a surprise to learn that Henley initially had trouble getting “Crimes of the Heart” to the stage.

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Several regional theaters turned it down before the Actors Theatre of Lousiville produced it in 1979. A successful off-Broadway production at the Manhattan Theatre Club in 1980 led to its 1981 debut on Broadway, where it ran for more than 500 performances and won a 1982 Tony for best play.

Subsequent productions include a run on London’s West End and a 2008 revival directed by Kathleen Turner.

“I saw the original [Broadway production] twice and I’ve directed it at the Barn Theatre [in Montville],” said Krajkowski, who is directing this production, which opens Friday at the Parsippany Community Center. “It is one of my favorite plays and I’m very excited to be doing it again.”

Her cast features several faces familiar to the company’s productions. Patrons who enjoyed last year’s WTC production of “Enchanted April” will be glad to hear that Michelle Danna, who stole several scenes in that show without speaking a word of English, is back to play sister Meg, while Jacqueline Holloway, who played the whiskey-soaked sexpot in the WTC production of “Last of the Red Hot Lovers,” plays sister Lenny.

A newcomer, Elizabeth Mackintosh, plays Babe, the troubled sister who plugs her marriage partner.

“She’s a recent graduate of Montclair State University,” said Krajkowski, who teaches at William Paterson University in Wayne. “But she’s already built up a nice resume. She’s adorable.”

Completing the cast are another newcomer, Carie Ivanovski, as cousin Chick, Billy Edwards as Doc and Jason Szamreta as Barnette.

Strangely, Edwards, a regular on New Jersey regional stages (he’s played the lead at WTC in “Letting Go” and at the Bickford Theatre in Morris Township in “Catch Me if you Can”), and Szamreta, who played the handsome villa owner in “Enchanted April,” are the two Equity members in this female-dominated cast.

“The Equity men are getting harder and harder to find,” Krajkowski noted, adding that several of the ladies are Equity Member Candidates.

The experience has been everything Krajkowski hoped for, saying that visitors to the rehearsals have praised what they have seen, “which is a good sign,” and that “The girls are having a ball with this. We’re having a lot of fun.”

She hopes that the audience shares the fun. Despite strong critical notices, the company’s season-opener, “Romance/Romance,” was only a modest success at the box office, which Krajkowski attributes to a lack of title recognition.

That should not be a problem for “Crimes of the Heart,” which has proven over the years to be a critical and commercial success and comes with the additional benefit of a high-profile 1986 movie adaptation starring Diane Keaton, Jessica Lange and Sissy Spacek.

With no bad seats in the tiny Parsippany Playhouse, patrons also can count on an intimate view of the proceedings. Krajkowski adds that those seats can be reserved through the company’s increasingly popular online ticket purchase program, which can be directly accessed at www.womenstheater.org.

The Women’s Theater Co. production of “Crimes of the Heart” runs Nov. 18 to Dec. 4 at the Parsippany Community Center’s Parsippany Playhouse at 1130 Knoll Road. Tickets $20, $18 seniors. For online ticket purchase or information, visit www.womenstheater.org or call 973-316-3033.  

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