A shrunken ovary, a dying singing career and an affair causes mayhem for the three McGrath sisters on the oldest sister’s 30th birthday.

Lenny depressingly sang “Happy Birthday” to herself at the beginning of the play because everyone but her nosy cousin forgot. Blowing out her candles had always been important to her, but Meg, her younger sister, intruded before she could finish making all of her wishes.

Surprising her sisters, Meg came home. Babe, the youngest sister, hugged her with glee, but Lenny asked why she had not made contact with them.

Meg sheepishly admitted that her singing career was not going so well, and she did not want to face their grandfather, since he had always favored her.

Lenny was the prime care provider for their grandfather, so it bothered her how much more care Meg had always received from him.

While Meg had many male friends in her life, Lenny had none because she was busy taking care of their sick grandfather.

After being confronted about breaking off a relationship she had long ago, Lenny sobbingly admitted it was not their grandfather that kept her from trying to find a man, it was having an abnormal ovary.

Meg and Babe convinced Lenny she could easily find a man even with a shrunken ovary, but Lenny was not so sure, especially since she is getting older.

Meg tried to figure out why light-hearted Babe shot her husband. Babe claimed it was because she did not like his looks, but what she honestly did not like was him.

The twirl of Meg’s finger on the rotary dial phone, calling a lawyer, caused turmoil to unwind justice.

Once Babe’s lawyer, Barnette Lloyd, a passionately overzealous character, told Meg about Babe’s abuse from her husband, Meg forced Babe to tell her why she shot her husband.

Babe confessed to Meg and Barnette that she was beaten for not paying attention to him, not cooking meals to the correct temperature and not laughing at his jokes. She became intolerant of his narcissistic attitude and found a new love with Willie Jay, a 15 year old African-American boy.

Babe had her needs met, until Zachary, Babe’s husband, came home early one day. He yelled at Willie Jay for being in his house and made him cry. Filled with hatred, Babe aimed a gun at Zachary. Missing his heart, she shot him in the stomach and then made herself some lemonade before she called the authorities to aid her husband.

Meg, red faced with anger, wanted to kill Zachary, but Barnette assured them that he would put all of his effort into winning the case, not only for Babe but because he had a personal vendetta against Zachary. Zachary ruined Barnette’s father’s life and intended to make him pay for that crime.

Heavy emotions roared through each sister throughout the play, who dealt with their own problems. In the end, they laughed together while enjoying Lenny’s surprise birthday cake.

‘Crimes of the Heart’ will play at 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 7 and 8 and again at 2 p.m. on Nov. 9 at Fisher Theater.

Tickets are $18 for adults, $16 for seniors, and $11 for students. Single tickets are on sale through the Iowa State Center Ticket Office or ticketmaster.com. Tickets are also available at the door before the performance.