[Crimes of the Heart] is a very insubstantial piece of work, an almost mechanical comedy which would be perfectly in place in NormanLearLand. It is also very special. In the long tradition of American commercial writing, Henley has provided a vehicle—but it is not one for a star. Instead, Crimes of the Heart is a vehicle for an ensemble.

Perhaps more than any other play (except the reprehensible Vanities), Crimes of the Heart speaks to the current state of the regional theatre movement. This is a subscriber piece: it is fast, funny, and in three traditional acts. Henley's tale of three southern sisters—one repressed, one irrepressible, one suffering from being smack in the middle—has about it a non-judgmental air which hovers between sublime acceptance and massive amorality. The most charming of the women has just shot her husband and is in danger of killing herself...