Keelia Liptak of Moretown takes part in Saint Michael's College theater production of "Crimes of the Heart"

2011 Nov 1

Keelia Liptak, daughter of Alan and Ellen Liptak of Moretown, takes part as assistant scenic designer in "CRIMES OF THE HEART," the Pulitzer-winning dark comedy by Beth Henley, staged by Saint Michael's College in the McCarthy Arts Center Theater, Nov. 2 - 5. Scandal, family dynamics, attempted murder – they all come together – in "Crimes," the main-stage fall theater production of the college theater department.

Liptak, a senior theater major, graduated from Harwood Union High School before coming to Saint Michael's, which is located in Burlington, Vermont, one of the top 10 college towns in America.

Directed by SMC theater professor Peter Harrigan, with scenic and lighting design by Professor John Paul Devlin, "Crimes" written in the 1970s and set in the deep south, is a dark, but warm theater experience, continuously relevant today.

"We all come from families, and we love them, but occasionally want to kill them," Harrigan said, "and this show acts that out. We all experience disappointments, but find our way back with the support of our loved ones." The MaGrath sisters of Hazlehurst, Mississippi, always seem to be part of a scandal, Harrigan said. "Crimes of the Heart" reveals them as they negotiate men, morality and (attempted) murder in this "warm but dark comedy."

Learn What Matters at Saint Michael's College, The Edmundite Catholic liberal arts college, www.smcvt.edu . Saint Michael's provides education with a social conscience, producing graduates with the intellectual tools to lead successful, purposeful lives that will contribute to peace and justice in our world. Founded in 1904 by the Society of St. Edmund and headed by President John J. Neuhauser, Saint Michael's College is located three miles from Burlington, Vermont, one of America's top college towns. Identified by the Princeton Review as one of the nations Best 376 Colleges, and included in the 2012 Fiske Guide to Colleges, Saint Michael's has 1,900 undergraduate students and 500 graduate students. Saint Michael's students and professors have received Rhodes, Woodrow Wilson, Pickering, Guggenheim, Fulbright, and other grants. The college is one of the nation's top-100, Best Liberal Arts Colleges as listed in the 2012 U.S. News & World Report rankings.