FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACTS:
Eric Brockman, Victoria Theatre Association, (937) 228-7591, ext. 3078
 Steven Box, Marketing Director  937-461-3823 x3112
 

COMIC PORTRAIT OF A DYSFUNCTIONAL SOUTHERN
FAMILY OPENS THE HUMANA LOFT SERIES 1, DEC. 2 - 19 

(Dayton, OH) – NOVEMBER 18, 2004 — Is it family that makes you nuts, or the nuts that make your family? The question rings true in Beth Henley’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Crimes of the Heart. Victoria Theatre Association and The Human Race Theatre Company will present this tale of the dysfunctional Magrath family, December 2-19, as the opening production of the 2004-2005 Humana Loft Series 1.

Each of the Magrath sisters is at a turning point in her life. Lenny has turned 30 without a romantic prospect in sight, and she is practically tied to her dying grandfather’s hospital bed. Her little sister, Babe, faces jail time for shooting her abusive husband. Meg, the middle sister, has returned home to Hazlehurst, Mississippi, leaving behind a flagging attempt at a singing career in California.

With all this, the Magrath house starts to resemble the eye of a hurricane as the world around them falls to pieces. Ultimately, they look to each other, in all their wackiness, for strength, because even an imperfect family is family enough. The Magrath sisters have emotional issues to be sure, but those issues are coupled with an enormous capacity to love and to make each other laugh.

Crimes of the Heart was playwright Beth Henley’s first full-length play. It was the co-winner of the 1979 Great American Play Contest at Actors Theatre of Louisville, Kentucky, made its New York premiere in 1980 and went on to win both the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best American Play.

Crimes of the Heart opened on Broadway in 1981, where it garnered Tony® nominations for Best Play, Best Featured Actress in a Play and Best Direction. Henley also wrote the screenplay for the acclaimed 1986 film version of Crimes of the Heart and received an Academy Award nomination for her work. Crimes of the Heart has since been produced in many leading resident theatres, on a major national tour, and in countries throughout the world.

New York Magazine said, “Crimes of the Heart bursts with energy, merriment, sagacity, and, best of all, a generosity toward people and life.” Time magazine concurred, saying Crimes of the Heart, “ … possesses sprightly humor, zany logic, folksy warmth and a tincture of poignancy.” The New York Post proclaimed, “It has heart, wit and a surprisingly zany passion … it would certainly be a crime … not to see this play.”

The Humana Loft Series 1 production of Crimes of the Heart is directed by Marsha Hanna. She has been the Artistic Director of The Human Race Theatre Company since 1990, where she has produced more than 50 shows for the company, including many regional premieres. Her credits include last spring’s The Odd Couple at the Victoria Theatre, as well as The Dazzle, Art, Three Days of Rain, Closer Than Ever, I Hate Hamlet, Three Tall Women, Fool for Love and The Elephant Man. She has served as associate faculty member at Sinclair Community College, Wittenberg University and the University of Dayton, where she just directed You Can’t Take It With You.

Crimes of the Heart stars Jennifer Joplin as Lenny, Shana Goodsell as Meg and Corinne Mohlenhoff as Babe. Joplin most recently appeared at The Loft Theatre with her father, Joneal Joplin, in Proof. A Wright State graduate, she’s performed in many Human Race productions, including Macbeth, All My Sons and Angels In America. Goodsell makes her Human Race debut with this production. A Chicago resident, she appeared in the long run of Over the River & Through the Woods at Chicago’s Mercury Theatre. Other credits include Bash (About Face Theatre), Bus Stop (Illinois Theatre Center), Prism (Bailiwick), Over the River & Through the Woods (Theatre at the Center) and Madison Repertory Theatre’s workshop of Theresa Rebeck’s The Scene. Mohlenhoff returns to The Human Race, were she was last seen as Lisabette in Anton in Show Business. She has worked for theatres in South Carolina, Wisconsin and in various Cincinnati theatres, including ETC, IF Theatre Collective, Stage First and Ovation Theatre, where she first performed the role of Babe. She is a full time member of the Cincinnati Shakespeare Festival where she last appeared as Anne in All My Sons.

The cast also includes Wendye Clarendon as Chick Boyle, Peter Fitzkee as Doc Porter and Brian McKnight as Barnette Lloyd. Clarendon makes her Ohio debut with this production. Her Chicago area credits include the Midwest premiere of Cuttings by David Rush at Stage Left Theatre, Nuts, Robin Hood, One Acts of William Inge, First Prize and Home Fries. Fitzkee has performed with The Human Race as Leslie in Seascape and is also known to Miami Valley audiences for the title role in the outdoor drama Blue Jacket. McKnight performed with The Human Race last season in The Dazzle, and he is a member of the Performance Faculty at Sinclair Community College.

Scenic Designer for this production is Darrell Anderson; Costume Designer is Mary Beth McLaughlin; Music Designer is Scott Stoney; Lighting Designer is John Rensel; Dialect Coach is Rocco dal Vera.

Crimes of the Heart is sponsored by Lifestages Samaritan Centers for Women, with additional support from WYSO Public Radio/91.3FM. Official Host for the Humana Loft Series 1 is DoubleTree Hotel.

Crimes of the Heart is on stage at The Loft Theatre December 2-19. Performance times are Tuesday through Saturday evenings at 8:00 p.m.* and Sundays at 2:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. The Human Race will hold its “While We’re on the Subject” post-show discussion following the December 12 matinee. Preston Dawes will moderate the discussion with guest speakers from the company of Crimes of the Heart.

Tickets are $29 each, with discounts available for senior citizens, students and groups. Tickets are on sale now via Ticket Center Stage, with box office locations at the Victoria Theatre and Schuster Center. To order by phone, call (937) 228-3630 or toll free (888) 228-3630. Ticket Center Stage hours are Monday-Friday, 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. and Saturday, noon - 4:00 p.m. The Loft Theatre box office opens two hours prior to each performance. Tickets are available online at www.ticketcenterstage.com.

For more information about the Humana Loft Series, visit www.victoriatheatre.com and www.humanracetheatre.org.

*The December 11 performance may be sign interpreted and/or audio described upon request with two weeks advance notice to Ticket Center Stage at 937-228-3630.

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Victoria Theatre Association is one of Dayton’s premier arts organizations, presenting a variety of life-celebrating performances. In addition to the immensely popular Fifth Third Bank Broadway Series, Victoria Theatre Association offers the Bank One Young at Heart Family Series; the Michelob Ultra Cool Films series; Star Attractions; and the Discovery series, curriculum-enhanced live theatre productions for school children. Victoria Theatre Association is proud of its alliances with the Dayton Opera Association and the Arts Center Foundation and its collaboration on the Humana Loft Series 1 with The Human Race Theatre Company. Victoria Theatre Association receives funding from a variety of diverse public, corporate, individual and private sources, including the Montgomery County Arts and Cultural District and the Ohio Arts Council. The Ohio Arts Council helped fund this program or organization with state tax dollars to encourage economic growth, educational excellence and cultural enrichment for all Ohioans.

Founded in 1986, The Human Race Theatre Company moved to the Metropolitan Arts Center in 1991, taking up residence at the 219-seat Loft Theatre. In addition to the Humana Loft Series 1, produced in collaboration with Victoria Theatre Association, The Human Race produces the Humana Loft Series 2, the Musical Theatre Workshop series, and special event programming. The Human Race, under the direction of Artistic Director Marsha Hanna and Executive Director Kevin Moore, also maintains education outreach programs for children six to 16, guest artist and artist residencies in area schools, The Muse Machine In-School Tour, Youth Summer Stock, and The Human Race Conservatory. Human Race organizational support is provided by the Ohio Arts Council, Culture Works, Montgomery County Arts and Cultural District and the Shubert Foundation.