Ferndale Rep Theatre Company will perform “Crimes of the Heart” from Oct. 8 through Oct 25. “Crimes of the Heart” has been billed as “a sharply funny play about the sometimes frayed edges of sisterly bonds. The MaGrath sisters have trouble with men. Lonely Lenny never married, failed singer/actress Meg lost count, and the youngest, Babe married an abuser - and shot him. Now the sisters reunite at Old Granddaddy’s home in Hazelhurst, Mississippi to face life’s most absurd tragedies. Alone, each woman might call it quits. Together, they’ll have the most hilarious time of their lives.

Warm-hearted, irreverent and funny, “Crimes” was the first play to receive the Pulitzer Prize before heading to Broadway. The prize, in 1981, made playwright Beth Henley of Mississippi the first female playwright to receive the award in 23 years. The same year, “Crimes” won the New York Drama Critics Circle Award for best new American play. It was also adapted as a 1986 movie starring Diane Keaton, Jessica Lange, and Sissy Spacek.

Dysfunctional is the only word to describe the MaGrath family, whose three sisters all must face individual and collective crises in the Southern comedy classic “Crimes of the Heart.”

Lenny is turning 30 and caring for dying Granddaddy; Meg is reeling from her failed singing career; and Babe, the youngest, forces a family reunion when she is bailed out of jail after shooting her husband.

”Crimes” is set in the kitchen of a venerable, early 20th-century house in small-town Mississippi, replete with family ghosts and secrets. Ferndale Theatre will place audiences in the heart of the MaGrath home on a Southern Gothic set overhung by Spanish moss.

Show times will be 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 2 p.m. on Sundays in the Ferndale Theatre at 477 Main St. Ferndale CA, 95536. There will be an actor’s benefit performance on Thursday Oct. 8 at 8 p.m.

Special events will include a Ladies’ Night, Oct 16. (All women 21 and over receive a free glass of champagne), a Guy’s Night, Oct. 23 (All guys 21 and older, receive a complimentary bottle of beer compliments of Lost Coast Brewery), a free Cast and Crew Talkback after the show on Oct. 18 in the theater.

”’Crimes’ has a special place in my heart and the cast we have assembled is doing it great justice. It is irreverently funny, has a distinctly Southern voice, is sometimes heart breaking yet surprisingly moving.” said Ginger Gene, who will direct the production. “It’s a privilege to bring this compassionate play, filled with humanity and humor to the Ferndale stage and I know it will be entertainment worth experiencing.” Gene directed “The Secret Garden” for Ferndale Rep last season and serves as the Executive/Producing Director of the theatre company.

Audience members may purchase tickets by calling 707-786-5483. General Admission is $13, students and seniors $11. The Ferndale Theatre Box Office is open from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. Wed. - Sat. and one hour before curtain on performance days.

For more information about Ferndale Rep Theatre’s 2009-10 season and special events visit www.ferndale-rep.org.