Stage-Sisters: The Leads in Crimes of the Heart Discuss Stepping Beyond Personal Experience

One of the curious perks of acting, whether amateur or professional, is getting a taste of a life that's very different from one's own. As a personal example, I've talked the talk and walked the walk of a farmhand, the King of England, a butler, a police officer and a police inspector, a few Englishmen, as many New Yorkers, only one Spaniard, a father, a grandfather — and several other people I'm not really.

Renae Perry, Courtney Pilkington, and Sydney Wehmeyer will appear at Town & Gown as the Magrath sisters in Beth Henley's Crimes of the Heart. However, in the real life, none of them has been a sister. I asked these three talented actors to answer the same three questions:

1) A little bird told that, in real life, you have only one brother and no sisters. Is this at all true?

2) Crimes of the Heart focuses on three sisters, and you play one of them. Has "stage-sisterhood" spilled over at all? I mean, has a sisterly bond or tension developed between you and the other two actors? Has the experience given you new insight into, appreciation for, or longing for sisterhood — and/or gratefulness for not having a sister?

3) What other roles, if any, have allowed you to sample the life of someone decidedly different from you in some key way? Did you take away any lessons, be they positive, negative, or neutral?

Their answers follow.

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Renae Perry (a.k.a. Lenny Magrath)

Renae Perry

1) Yes.

2) I don’t think there has been any tension, but it has definitely been a positive bonding opportunity. Sydney and Courtney are both T&G veterans, and it’s a privilege to share the stage with them. The scenes where the sisters are all getting along and laughing together have started to feel very natural and easy to lean into over time. I’m so excited to share it with our audiences!

3) In Seussical the Musical at T&G in 2014, I played a bird who was in love with an elephant, and that was certainly a bit peculiar in concept — but, they were anthropomorphic, so it wasn’t all that difficult or foreign in execution. In Once at the Gaslight Theatre in 2023, I played a flirty and romantically assertive Czech woman named Réza. I had to sing and seductively dance alone to Euro-pop on top of a bar, and that was definitely out of my comfort zone. I enjoyed having the opportunity to embody a brand of confidence I’ve never had on my own, and I think it improved my confidence overall.

Courtney Pilkington (a.k.a. Babe Botrelle, née Magrath)

Courtney Pilkington

1) Yes, the secret is out, I have an older brother. His name is Zach, and he's three years older than I am. I remember one time, after a fight with my brother, our mom sat us down and said, "You two have to get along with each other. I fought with my siblings all the time, and I don't want that for you two." After that, we never really fought except if we played board games or video games. I can sometimes be too competitive when we play together.

2) I've worked with Renae and Sydney on separate shows, but this is the first show we've done together. We could tell immediately after the first read-through that we just clicked. I'm grateful to both of them because they've made having older sisters so easy! While I enjoy playing sisters onstage, I don't know if I would have liked having a sister growing up. I enjoyed not having to fight over clothes or who gets to use the bathroom first.

3) Whenever a new season starts at Town and Gown, I usually just audition for the comedies and not the dramas. I find I'm better at comedy, but sometimes I like to challenge myself with the more serious plays. One play we performed was Little Women, and I played the role of Meg. She was an older sister and a mother, and it was interesting to navigate the change from an older sister role to a mother role. I think the lesson I learned from this role is how to accept the changes in your life, whether they are positive or negative.

Sydney Wehmeyer (a.k.a. Meg Magrath)

Sydney Wehmeyer

1) Yep! And what are the odds this is the family situation for all three of us? I think it’s fabulous; we’re creating our own unique sibling dynamics.

2) Oh, absolutely. The power of eye contact and proximity during our moments of biggest argument make us all feel like teammates — whether handling family responsibilities or facing challenges together, we function as a unit. I constantly tease my younger brother, but my affection and support are always there. With my stage sisters, I’ve learned, there’s less joking around and more relying on them for emotional support, and sometimes that brings out a need to compete for attention, achievements, or approval. Oh, and the sharing clothes thing. I didn’t realize that’s actually something sisters do! I used to say I wish I had a sister… I’m now very assured in my gratitude of being the only daughter in my father’s house!

3) I’m always keenly struck by the “Mrs.” roles I take on, such as Mrs. Van Buren in Intimate Apparel and Mrs. Van Daan in The Diary of Anne Frank. These characters are written for women twice my age, so it’s always quite the ride equating things I can draw on in my own life to “lived experiences” of middle-aged women, such as deteriorating marriage bonds and motherhood.

Meg, Babe, and Lenny Magrath

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My thanks to Renae, Courtney, and Sydney for their answers (with a special nod to Renae, the little bird who told me that none of these stage-sisters are sisters offstage).

Town & Gown's production of Crimes of the Heart runs from April 3-6 and 10-13. Thursday, Friday, and Saturday shows start at 7:30, and Sunday matinees start at 2:30.