This content was published: October 31, 2005. Phone numbers, email addresses, and other information may have changed.
PCC's theater schedule opens with 'Heart'
Photos and story by James Hill
PORTLAND, Ore. – The Portland Community College Theater Arts program is raising the curtain on its 2005-06 season with Beth Henley’s play, "Crimes of the Heart." 
The play is a winner of the New York Drama Critics Circle Award and the Pulitzer Prize, and has been called a modern masterpiece by reviewers. Performances will be at 7:30 p.m., starting Thursday, Nov. 10, 12, 17-19 and at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 13 in the Performing Arts Center at the Sylvania Campus, 12000 S.W. 49th Ave. The Nov. 18 show will be interpreted for the hearing impaired. "Crimes of the Heart" is set in 1974 in the little Mississippi town of Hazlehurst, five years after the devastation of Hurricane Camille. It centers on those trashy Magrath sisters, who have reunited to answer all of life’s questions like, "Who shot Babe’s husband?" "Can Lenny kill with a birthday wish?" "Has Meg finally had too many men?" "Will all of the gossip get Cousin Chick thrown out of the Ladies’ Social League?" "Why did Momma hang the cat?" and "What does it take to solve the crimes of the heart?" "Beth Henley shows us our own flaws, our prejudices, our willingness to hurt others to protect ourselves and reminds us that the only escape from those flaws, from our ‘crimes’ in her terms, comes through the power of the heart, through forgiveness, compassion and empathy," said director John Duncan. "This is a feel good play with a very sharp sense of social satire." The play is directed by faculty member John Duncan and Lauren Brenneman (Lake Oswego) will serve as stage manager. The student cast includes Michaelyn Perdue (Scappoose) as Babe, McKenna Twedt (Tigard) as Chick, Brittney Hancock (Newberg) as Lenny, Brian Culp (northeast Portland) as Doc, David Gallic (Eugene) as Barnette and Kelly Godell (southeast Portland) as Meg. Tickets are $10 for the general admission and $8 for seniors, students and PCC staff. Tickets are available for sale beginning Nov. 3 at the PCC Sylvania Bookstore. For tickets, call the box office at 503-977-4949.
About James Hill
James G. Hill, an award-winning journalist and public relations writer, is the Director of Public Relations at Portland Community College. A graduate of Portland State University, James has worked as a section editor for the Newberg Graphic... more »