Crimes of the Heart
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- For the film of the same name, see Crimes of the Heart (film)
Crimes of the Heart is a Pulitzer Prize-winning play by Beth Henley, the first ever to win before being produced on Broadway.
At the core of the melodramatic black comedy are the three Magrath sisters, who reunite at Old Granddaddy's home in Hazlehurst, Mississippi when the youngest shoots her husband. The trio was raised in a dysfunctional family with a penchant for ugly predicaments and each has endured her share of hardship and misery. Past resentments bubble to the surface as they're forced to deal with assorted relatives and past relationships while coping with the latest incident to disrupt their lives.
Henley completed her play in 1978 and submitted it to several regional theatres without success. Unknown to her, a friend entered it in the Great American Play Contest at the Actors Theatre of Louisville, and it was named co-winner and performed in February 1979 at the company's annual festival of New American Plays. The production was extremely well-received, and the play was selected by numerous regional theatres for their 1979-80 season.
At the end of 1980, the Manhattan Theatre Club staged the play's New York City premiere for a limited, sold-out engagement of thirty-two performances. After thirteen previews, the Broadway production, directed by Melvin Bernhardt, opened on November 4, 1981 at the John Golden Theatre, where it ran for 535 performances. The opening night cast included Mia Dillon, Mary Beth Hurt, Lizbeth MacKay, and Peter MacNicol. The play's success spawned productions in London's West End, Chicago, Washington, DC, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Dallas, and Houston, and it continues to be a popular choice for community theatre and summer stock productions. A 2001 production at off-Broadway's Second Stage Theatre was nominated for the Lucille Lortel Award for Best Revival of the season.
Henley's 1986 film adaptation of Crimes of the Heart garnered three Academy Award nominations, including Henley's for Best Adapted Screenplay.
[edit] Awards and nominations
- Tony Award for Best Play (nominee)
- Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play (Dillon and Hurt, nominees)
- Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play (nominee)
- Theatre World Award (MacKay and MacNicol, winners)
- 1981 Pulitzer Prize for Drama (winner)
- Drama Desk Award for Outstanding New Play (nominee)
- Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play (Hurt, nominee)
- Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Director of a Play (nominee)
- New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best American Play of the 1980-81 Season (winner)
