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Maplewood Richmond Heights Students to Present Theater in the Round

The MRH High School theater department's spring play, "Crimes of the Heart," is a serious drama that will place actors within feet of the audience.

The Maplewood Richmond Heights theater department’s spring play this year will offer theater in the round, something new for MRH.

Actually, in this case, it will be theater in three quarters: The audience for the production of Crimes of the Heart will sit on the stage alongside the set. Ninety-six chairs will be placed along the sides and the front of the stage.

Theater teacher Holly Potthoff describes the play as “juicy.” The students produced Harvey in the fall, which is much lighter.

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“I have some talented young ladies,” Potthoff said, “and I thought, 'We did Harvey in the fall, and it was pretty fluff.' You know—big cast, just a comedy—everybody loves Harvey. But I knew I wanted to do something a little more challenging, something to really stretch and challenge some of my older kids. So that’s why I chose this.”

Crimes of the Heart won the 1981 Pulitzer Prize for drama and the New York Drama Critics' Circle award for best American play. The play depicts “the relationships of sisters and how you hurt each other, but then you forgive, you laugh until you cry," Potthoff said. "It’s pretty deep."

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Tess Rogers, a senior, plays one of the sisters.

“I’m pretty excited because this is the first show that we’ve done in a very long time that’s a drama," Rogers said. "We’ve done a lot lighter shows and comedies in the past, so this is the first show with some real meat on it and some real, more mature issues.”

She said she’s excited about the format in which the show will be presented. “Normally when you come out on stage, the first moment you look out there and you just see darkness because your eyes are adjusting to the bright lights," Rogers said, "so it gives you some time to work into it. But when they’re three feet away from you, it might be a bit more difficult to not get distracted.”

Out of the eight shows in which she has performed, Rogers said, this is the most perfectly cast. She began participating in theater as a freshman.

It is an intimate show, Potthoff said. Audience members will feel as if they are eavesdropping at the kitchen of the MaGrath family. It is set in Hazelhurst, MS, in 1974 and features six girls and two boys.

Rebekah Ratliff, a junior, is the stage manager for the show. The lighting and sound for the play are pretty straightforward, she said. Because of the placement of the audience, the trickiest part is aiming the lights just right.

Ratliff said the tech crew—there are eight members in all—is excited and enthusiastic about the show, and looking forward to opening night.

WHAT Crimes of the Heart, produced by the Maplewood Richmond Heights theater department WHEN 7 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday WHERE
TICKETS Students are $4 and adults are $5. They will be available at the door starting at 6:15 p.m. each night.
MORE INFO This is the theater department's spring play.
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