Axial Theatre Presents Pulitzer Prize Winning CRIMES OF THE HEART

From Friday, May 4, through Sunday, May 20, Axial Theatre
of Pleasantville will present its spring mainstage production, Beth Henley's Pulitzer
Prize-winning Crimes of The Heart, directed by Axial Ensemble member and
actor/director/faculty member Rachel Jones. A tale of Southern hospitality,
sisterhood and how to make lemonade when life gives you lemons, the play tells
the tale of the Magrath sisters and how they pull together when one of their own
needs saving.
The play debuted in Louisville in 1979, ran Off-Broadway before enjoying a long run
on Broadway followed by a 1986 screen adaptation that garnered several Academy
award nominations.
It tells the story of Lenny, the unmarried, oldest sister who has spent her life as the
family caregiver; Meg, the black sheep of the family, beautiful, talented and
troubled, who fled to California to pursue a singing career; and Babe, the youngest
and family favorite, who stayed in Hazelhurst, Mississippi and rose to the heights of
society through marriage. Babe is in trouble with the law and Lenny and Meg have
come to her rescue. Crimes of the Heart is finally the story of how its young
characters escape the past to seize the future.
The lead actors include Julia Boyes as Babe, who recently appeared as Ophelia in
Nu.Ance Theater’s Hamlet and performed a sold-out show at Lincoln
Center; Catherine Banks of Ossining as Lenny, an Axial actor/director/and facultymember, who formerly headed an Off-Broadway production company and will be Axial’s co-artistic director this September; and in the role of Meg, Maria Oppedisano from Harrison, who has appeared on Off-Broadway stages and in indie films.

The cast also includes Axial Ensemble members Lori Franzese of Carmel, Dan Walworth of South Salem, and Michael Boyle Jr. of Ossining.

Frank Rich of The New York Times wrote, "Miss Henley shows how comedy at its
best can heighten reality to illuminate the landscape of existence in all its mean
absurdity. But the heightening is not achieved at the price of credibility.”

Set design is by Heather Kornreich of Mount Kisco; lighting design by Shane
Cassidy; sound designer is Jim Simonson of Patterson; stage manager is Stephanie
Opper of Bronxville; technical director is Jerry Pedroza; production manager is Mary
Cate Mangum.

Crimes of the Heart performances are Friday, May 4, 11 and 18 and Saturday, May
5, 12 and 19 at 8 p.m., plus matinees each Saturday at 3 p.m. and Sundays May 6,
13 and 20 at 4 p.m. at St. John’s Episcopal Church, 8 Sunnyside Avenue,
Pleasantville 10570. Tickets are $27.50; $22.50 for students and seniors. Opening
Night (May 5 at 8 p.m.) will include hors d’oeuvres and sweet treats. Reservations
can be made by calling 1-800- 838-3006. Tickets can be purchased online at
brownpapertickets.com (search Axial).