"Everyone does 'Steel Magnolias,' " said director Tom Madden, "but they avoid 'Crimes of the Heart.' "

Not so at Kean Theatre, where Beth Henley's 1981 Pulitzer Prize-winning play opens tomorrow, starring Krysia Vila-Roger as the eldest Magrath sister Lenny, Kristen Scannell as bad-girl middle sister Meg, and Michelle LeWay as youngest sister Babe.

The orphaned, small-town Mississippi sisters gather at their grandfather's home after the innocent-appearing Babe shoots her high-society husband in the stomach.

Mr. Madden conceded that the Southern humor of "Crimes of the Heart" is a bit more "left of center" than "Steel Magnolias," another comedy set in the South, and that audiences may at first be put off by the darkness of "Crimes of the Heart."

"You drop audiences into this story about family abuse, someone's been shot, their mother committed suicide -- and it's supposed to be a comedy," he said.

But, he added, odds are they will come to love the Magrath sisters and their dramatic troubles. "This play is all about great relationships. And not just the sisters. Even the secondary characters are great," he said.

Those characters include J.P. Patrick as Meg's old flame Doc Porter, Heidi Bowser-Nicholls as busybody cousin Chick, and David Dietz as Babe's lawyer, Barnette Lloyd.

Part of his confidence, Mr. Madden said, springs from the cast. Ms. LeWay, who has acted in the Pittsburgh area since she was a child, was "born to play Babe," he said.

Ms. LeWay, of Penn Hills, said she's 32, but she "still gets carded," and her youthful looks come in handy playing Babe.

"She has this innocence," she said of her character, "but she's shot her husband, and you know something else is going on there."

Ms. LeWay performed with both Mr. Dietz and Ms. Scannell in "Private Lives" at the Kean Theatre a year ago.

Ms. Scannell, of Franklin Park, is a regular at Kean and said her acquaintance with Ms. LeWay has added dimension to "Crimes of the Heart."

"It helps with the sisterly dynamic, to trust the other actors," she said, adding that being in her early 40s helped her connect with her character.

"The sisters are all supposed to be in their 20s," she said, "but the play is all about last chances, so playing them a bit older is very true to the story."

Ms. Scannell also neatly summed up the quirky appeal of the story: "It's so true that it hurts a bit to watch, but it's so funny you keep watching."

"Crimes of the Heart" -- 8 p.m. tomorrow, Saturday, April 25 and 26 at Kean Theatre, The Washington Place at St. Barnabas, 5847 Meridian Road, Richland. Tickets: $19. An optional dinner is available at 6 p.m. for an additional $18. Information: 724-444-5326 or www.keantheatre.com. Proceeds go to the St. Barnabas Free Care Fund.