Theatre students at the University of Arkansas - Fort Smith will present the dramatic comedy “Crimes of the Heart” on five evenings in February.

 

It will be held at 7:30 p.m. in Breedlove Auditorium on Feb. 13-15 and Feb. 20-21, and admission is $6 or by Season of Entertainment ticket. The show is advised for ages 13 and up due to brief language, drinking and smoking.

 

Theatre Director Bob Stevenson of Fort Smith called the show “warm-hearted yet irreverent.”

 

“This Pulitzer Prize-winning play about three young Mississippi sisters teems with humanity and humor,” said Stevenson. “As they deal with family troubles, they find strength in each other and in sisterhood.”

 

Stevenson said the New York Post’s review praised the play, which is written by Beth Henley.

 

“The Post said that ‘It has heart, wit and a surprisingly zany passion … It would certainly be a crime for anyone interested in the theatre not to see this play,’” said Stevenson. “We agree.”

 

Stevenson said “Crimes of the Heart” is a play he had wanted to direct for some time, but other shows kept cutting the line in front of it and taking his focus.

 

“But last year one of our students directed a scene from this show as part of her class work, and in addition to it being some great work, it reminded me how much I wanted to do the show,” he said.

 

“It’s a show about family, about sisterhood and about the ties that bind us to a place,” he said. “It’s a ‘coming home’ story, which is a rare type of story. Most stories are about going on the journey, not about dealing with the return. So it says something to us about how we fit back into society again after we’ve changed from our adventures in life.”

 

The cast is made up of eight students, with the characters of Babe, Meg and Lenny having the major roles. The 28-member crew includes three staff members and 25 students.

 

Cast members are:

 

Fort Smith: Cassidy Black as Lenny,  Cosaundra Chapple as Cora, Hannah Lovins as Babe, Randall Marks as Willie Jay, Carmelo Sanchez as Doc, John Smith as Barnette, and Leah Wineland as Meg.

 

Mayflower: Erin Decker as Chick.

 

In addition to Stevenson as director, the crew for the show includes:

 

Charleston: Zeke Sidwell, scenic painter.

 

Clarksville: Elizabeth Sampley, props designer; Suzi Rebecca Wright, house manager; and Sasha Yedrysek, scenic painter.

 

Fort Smith: Pablo Guerra-Monje, scenic designer; Cheree Spann, technical director; Lee Hartsock, stage manager; Alexander Zacarias, costume designer; Candace Schomburg, hair/make-up designer; Cassi Colvett, make-up mentor; Christian Meurer, lighting designer; Cody Banning, publicity designer; Hannah Lovins, publicity designer; Jennifer Bradley, scenic artist mentor; Kendra Carter, scenic designer; Patricia Lopez, assistant scenic designer; Wendy Quick, assistant costume designer; John Smith, assistant lighting designer;

 

Greenwood: Jacob Lensing, master electrician.

 

Hackett: John Hall, sound designer.

 

New Orleans, La.: Carly Handy, scenic painter.

 

North Little Rock: Alex Sanders, assistant stage manager.

 

Pea Ridge: Chaz Bratton, assistant props designer.

 

Poteau, Okla.: Felicia Walker, sound operator; and Averie Warren, assistant publicity designer.

 

Rogers: Brett Alexander, scenic artist.

 

Texarkana, Texas: L.J. Luthringer, shop foreman.

 

Season of Entertainment is the annual entertainment extravaganza sponsored by UAFS. It combines national touring events with student concerts and theatrical productions to form the annual Season slate.

 

To reserve tickets, call 479-788-7300 or visit https://uafs.universitytickets.com.