Terrace Little Theatre’s dinner theatre has a director known for doing dramas and not comedies or dinner theatre.
Marianne Brorup Weston is directing Criminal Hearts, a play she’s been thinking about for about a decade after being in another play by the same playwright.
Weston acted in a Jane Martin play back in the early 1990s – she played a tattooed lady – and found the writing so exceptional, she started looking at her plays but never had the chance to do one.
While producing a couple of plays that her husband Alan was directing, she enjoyed the culture, camaraderie and family created while doing it.
No one was stepping forward to direct dinner theatre this year so she figured this was the time to put the play on and at dinner theatre too, even though at one time, she said she didn’t do dinner theatre.
What drew her to the play is that it has some funny things and serious things to say about life, in a darkly comedic way.
She describes it as funny with a real black edge to it and serious underpinnings about real life.
And she’s working with experienced actors which she said has been a joy because they just know what they’re doing.
Criminal Minds tells the story of Ata, a socialite married to a lawyer, Wib Winddust, who cheats on her.
She takes revenge by sleeping with his best friend and he leaves her, taking everything with him except the bed.
She’s a “professional volunteer” and has never had a real job so she’s down to living on Dr. Pepper and pizza.
Ata sharpens pencils to calm herself down and has many pencil sharpeners and many very sharp pencils.
Bo shows up to burgle her apartment and it goes sideways when they become friends and decide to get back at Ata’s husband.
Bo’s partner, Robbie, who likes to wear cowboy boots no matter what else he’s wearing, is in on the plot too.
Amy Spencer is Ata, Cheryl Spencer is Bo, Garnett Doell is Robbie and Andy Roth is Wib.
Weston says the play involves adult themes, coarse language and really is not for the faint of heart.
Gun shots are also part of the play.
Criminal Hearts plays Fridays and Saturdays starting this Friday, Feb. 12 thru March 5. Tickets at Uniglobe Courtesy Travel.