ITOPA’s ‘Crimes of the Heart’ production examines power of sisterhood amid obstacles

(Left to right) Michelle Murphy, Lilee-Faith Scotney, and Rebecca McNall star as the Magrath sisters in Crimes of the Heart, running from April 25 to 27 and May 1 to 4 at ITOPA. (Emily Stewart photo)

Emily Stewart, Echo Correspondent

Ingersoll Theatre of the Performing Arts (ITOPA)’s spring production will highlight how sisters can get each other through difficult times.

ITOPA will bring Beth Henley’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play Crimes of the Heart to the stage between April 25, 26, and 27 and May 1 to 4. It involves three sisters, Lenny, Meg, and Babe Magrath, who come together to hear about their grandfather, the family’s patriarch, who is spending his final hours in the hospital. The three sisters run into some serious, yet somehow funny issues emphasized by their straitlaced cousin and a young lawyer trying to keep Babe out of jail while avoiding falling in love with her.

“It's more of an intimate play about relationships and the struggles of three women in the South and how they struggle as women in the time and it's a lot about the bond of sisterhood and how they overcome their struggles as women in the South,” said director Michelle Murphy, who also stars as Meg.

Murphy saw the play when she was younger and enjoyed it so much, she always wanted to direct it.

"I just really liked the characters, the complexity of the characters and the relationships between the women and the Southern accent is really fun too.”

In late February and early March, ITOPA presented In the Rest Room at Rosenblooms, which Murphy also starred in. It was a play about the sisterly bond between three friends who meet every day in the lounge of a department store’s restroom. She said that while she picked Crimes of the Heart as she always wanted to bring it to the stage, there are similarities.

“They both speak to the human condition and the need for people to have relationships, whether they'd be with family or friends, how important and integral that is to living and survival, overcoming obstacles and such.”

The evening performances start at 7:30 p.m. and the matinee performances start at 2 p.m. with doors opening at 6:45 p.m. and 1:15 p.m. To purchase tickets, go to www.itopa.ca or call 519-485-3070.