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18-The Canadian Champion, Tuesday, February 10, 2004 Fii Ue Fo r Your q v cz~ Putting it bluntly, the latest PIdyet s pr*odudiont (eteïîlIkt You know a play has successful- ly grabbed hold of its audience when a particularly amusing scene is met with a spontaneous burst of applause. When writing about plays, 1 don't like to, fawn over productions. A mix of higbtights and Iowlights is usually the way to, go for a realistic, yet not-too-barsh review. There's atways a first. Friday t had the pleasure of tak- ing ini the Milton Players Theatre Groupas lateat offering, Crimes of the Heart. To put it bluntly, it was terrific. Crimes of tbe Heart - which will continue playing at the Milton Seniors' Activity Centre, 500 Cbilds Dr., on Tbursday and Friday - smootbly blends sentimentality witb humour, and then sprinles on a dasb of suspense for added view- mng pteaaure. Comig from a group known for its over-the-top comedic endeav- ours, director Sharon Beddoes admitted from the start that Crimes of thse Heart attempts to introduce a different style of production to, its loyal audience. Crimes of the Heari centres around tbree adult sisters wbo, after being apart for some time, ce- unite in their bometown of Hazlehurst, Mississippi, to belp their youngest sister in ber time of need. Innocent little Babe Botrelle bas been accused of shooting ber husband. Altbougb she makes no atlempts to deny ber actions lu, hec sisters, tbey stand by ber in a sbow of sup- port tbat sisters in the audience will be able to understand. 1 was inspressed by tbe quality of acting displayed, especially since five of tbe six cast members are newcomers to, Milton Players. The young, fresh faces of tbe tbree sisters - played by Jessica Lee, Samantha Annse Jones and Leanne Dalgliesh - were a pleas- ure to, watch, and itas no surprise that two of tbe sisters graduated from university theatre prograins. A parsicularly engaging perform- ance was given by Samantha Annse Jones, wbo played tbe gutay, out- spoken middle sister, Meg, who bas cetucned to Hazlehurst after a leas than stellar singing career. Ms Jones bas the abilîty to speak volumes with a roll of hec eyes, and was such a natural un ber rote that I found myself watching ber even wben tise conversational focus was on tbe other characters. Joan Patch - tbe lone expeni- enced Milton Player - ptayed ber boisterous, holier-tban-tbou char- acter witb skill, and two tbumbs up go to Daniel Beddoes and Nocm Champoux for riaing to tbe chal- lenge and taking their places on stage for the fsrst time ever. St took me a while to get used to tbe characters' heavy soutbem accents, but tbey grew on me, and during intermission t realized t was tbinking witb a soutbem accent - which bas to be the true indicator of an effective accent. After tbe cast took their fmal bows, I walked away witb a feeling of contentment. The play was poignant and meaningful, but I did- n't feel tbat my emotions had been manipulated. In tbe show's program, Ms Beddoes wrote tbat sbe was dedi- cating the play to ber sisters. Wbat a beautiful gift to, receive. Tickets for Thursday and Friday's 8 p.m. sbows cost $15 and can be purcbased as Delacourt's, on Main Street, by casb or cheque or by calling (905) 875-0629. Stephanie Thiessen can be reached at sthiessen@miltoncana- dianchampion.con. 0À *uo hiN1"SDos: _____new Kitchon fon lte FiniStUl MLTON HOME HRWR BluIOlIComTR 39531E AVE. EA81 MUON T (0>878-922 FAX:- (MO) 978-4048