Old Academy Players [3544 Indian Queen Lane, Philadelphia, PA 19129; 215-843-1109; https://oldacademyplayers.org/] is pleased to announce the audition date for its 2025 production of Crimes of the Heart by Beth Henley from September 12th, 2025 through September 28, 2025. The play is directed by Chris Wunder (Recent: The Weir, Outside Mullingar).
Auditions:
Old Academy Players welcomes new talent! Please note: Old Academy Players is a non-profit community theater. All roles are performed on a volunteer basis. If you are auditioning for a show, please complete our Audition Form [https://oldacademyplayers.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/OAP-Forms-for-web_Audition-Form.pdf] in advance of the audition.
Audition Date & Time:
Saturday May 10th, 2025 at 10:30 a.m.
Actors will be seen in the order they arrive. Upon arrival please sign-in at the desk. Sign-in will close at 12:30pm.
All roles are non-union, non-paying
Location of Auditions:
Old Academy Players
3544 Indian Queen Lane
Philadelphia PA 19129
There is free parking onsite, located behind the theater.
Audition Requirements:
Director, Chris Wunder, is seeking 4 women and 2 men for this powerful production.
· Audition in person onsite, on the listed date and time (NO VIDEO AUDITIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED)
· Prepare a 2‑minute Dramatic monologue.
o Some auditioners may be asked to do a cold reading from the script. Please note that a southern accent will be required for this play. (You may be asked to read in a southern accent)
· Bring an UP TO DATE headshot (the photo will not be returned).
· Bring your theatrical resume.
· A list of any conflicts
o Please refrain from auditioning if you are not available for all performance dates listed below.
Rehearsals: Different evenings of the week at 7:00pm. Not all roles will be called for each rehearsal.
· Full rehearsal schedule can be provided upon request.
· Brush-Up Rehearsals: Tuesday, September 16 and 23 at 7:00pm
Performance Dates:
Fridays and Saturdays, September: 12, 13, 19, 20, 26 and 27 at 8:00pm
Sundays, September: 14, 21 and 28, 2025 at 2:00pm
*Additional performances may be added
If cast, you will also be required to:
· Assist hospitality for one performance of the Summer One-Act Bonanza.
· Assist with Set & Tech Strike/Build between Summer One-Act Bonanza and Crimes of the Heart on Sunday, July 20 at 4:30pm.
· Assist with Set & Tech Strike/Build between Crimes of the Heart and It’s Only A Play on Sunday, September 28 at 5:00 pm.
Play Information:
The tragicomedy relates the story of the three Magrath sisters, Meg, Babe, and Lenny, who reunite at Old Granddaddy’s home in Hazelhurst, Mississippi, after Babe shoots her abusive husband. The sisters were raised in a dysfunctional family with a penchant for ugly predicaments. Each has endured her share of hardship and misery. Past resentments bubble to the surface as the sisters are forced to deal with assorted relatives and past relationships while coping with Babe’s latest incident. Each sister is forced to face the consequences of the “crimes of the heart” she has committed.
Roles:
All roles are non-union, non-paying
Lenore (Lenny) MaGrath
Lenore (Lenny) MaGrath, the oldest MaGrath sister. The play is set on and around her thirtieth birthday. Lenny is a thoughtful, self-conscious woman who remains concerned about her critically ill grandfather and her own impending spinsterhood. She is protective of her sisters and eventually puts Chick in her place after Chick’s vitriolic attack on the MaGrath family. By the play’s end, she is encouraged to resume a relationship with Charlie Hill, a man who replied to Lenny’s advertisement in the personal section of a periodical. Her fear that he would reject her because of her missing ovary proves to be unfounded.
Meg MaGrath
Meg MaGrath, the middle MaGrath sister, twenty-seven years of age. Meg moved to Hollywood to pursue her singing career, abandoning her lover, Doc Porter, who was injured in a hurricane accident. She returns to be close to her sisters after Babe’s shooting of her husband. Although she is the most outgoing of the three sisters, she relates to Doc that her life in Hollywood had once led to a nervous breakdown and that she has lost her singing voice. One of the consequences of her return to Hazlehurst is a rekindling of her romance with Doc; another is the return of her singing voice.
Becky (Babe) Botrelle
Becky (Babe) Botrelle, the youngest MaGrath sister, at twenty-four years of age. Babe is the reason for most of the play’s dynamics. She shot her husband, Zackery Botrelle, after he discovered that she had been having an affair with Willie Jay, a fifteen-year-old black boy who came to Babe’s house to see the dog she tended for him. Babe is the most fragile of the sisters and thus most like their mother, who scandalously hanged herself and her cat years before the action of the play. Babe’s shooting of her husband is resolved in her favor, after Zackery circulates incriminating pictures and after Willie Jay is forced to leave town. Babe later attempts suicide with a rope and with gas. She discovers, as her mother did, that suicide is a lonely act and is relieved by her failure to succeed.
Chick Boyle
Chick Boyle, the twenty-nine-year-old first cousin of the MaGrath sisters. She has yellow hair, shiny red lips, and a brassy disposition. She is ashamed of Babe’s alleged crime and voices her shame frequently and indiscriminately. Chick finally goes too far when she berates Babe as a murderer and refers to all the MaGrath sisters as “trash.” Lenny drives her out of the house with a broom and forces her to climb the mimosa tree.
Doc Porter
Doc Porter, the thirty-year-old former boyfriend of Meg. Doc comes over to inform Lenny that her twenty-year-old horse, Billy Boy, had died from being struck by lightning. Doc remains infatuated with Meg, even after his marriage to another woman and the birth of his two children. They spend their first date after Meg’s return reminiscing about the past.
Barnette Lloyd
Barnette Lloyd, Babe’s twenty-six-year-old lawyer. Barnette is a graduate of the Old Miss law school who returns to Hazlehurst to open his own firm. Meg remains dubious of Barnette’s competence when she first meets him, but Barnette has a personal vendetta against Babe’s husband, formerly a state senator from Copiah County. Barnette hopes to uncover all of Botrelle’s criminal dealings. Barnette also remains fond of Babe and hopes to save her from her abusive husband and from any criminal charges.
Contact: Director Chris Wunder ([email protected])
The Old Academy Players has provided continuous community theater entertainment since 1923 and is a non-profit community theater in the East Falls neighborhood of Philadelphia. Constructed in 1819, the Old Academy building has been the OAP home since 1932. Old Academy Players is a member of the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance. Most notable alumni include Tony Award-nominated actor Robert Prosky and Hollywood icon, Grace Kelly. Support is provided by the "Philadelphia Cultural Fund" and the "Sylvia W. and Randle M. Kauders Foundation".
