There must

be something in the air.

Beginning this

week, two local theater companies are performing plays that deal with

death in the South.

Fayette Community

Theatre will perform "Dearly Departed" starting this Friday

and House Red Theatre Company is presenting "Crimes of the Heart"

Mondays through April.

"Crimes

of the Heart" is a Pulitzer Prize-winning play written by Beth Henley

and dealing with three sisters who are reunited by tragic circumstances,

coming home to a small town in Mississippi. Though some of the subject

matter is dark (their mother committed suicide when they were children

and Babe, the youngest sister, tried to kill her husband), the play is

lifted by humor and the touching relationships between the sisters.

House Red decided

to do the play because it is a popular show, it is an accurate representation

of the Southern life-style and the characters were challenging. The cast

consists of Patrice Azzarito, Nylssa Dunbar and Michelle Fail as the Magrath

sisters and also includes Vickie Lorton, as Cousin Chick, Brad Boseman

as Barnett and Scott Gerard as Doc Porter The direction of the play was

a group effort.

The strength

of the show is the eccentric personalities of the characters, which also

was the biggest challenge for the actors. "The characters are challenging

to play because of their accents and because they are extremely physical,"

said Azzarito. Fail agrees and said that "The characters are strong

and very likable. It is easy to empathize with them."

The cast also

believes that the show is very uplifting. "If the sisters can survive

these bad days," said Azzarito, "you can survive anything."

"Crimes

Of the Heart" will be presented at Baci Italian Cuisine in Fayetteville

Monday nights throughout April. Tickets are $30 per person and include

dinner and the show; beer and wine are extra. The show begins at 7 p.m.

and includes one intermission.

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