An underground musical has reemerged in New York, and it brought its double-homicide.
Three years ago, Lizzie Borden: The Musical had a run off-off-Broadway that drew a lot of attention, including a largely positive review from the New York Times. Since then, it has slowly been building momentum with a couple of other productions throughout the country, under the new shortened name of Lizzie: The Musical. On September 13th, the four-person show returned to Manhattan for one night only, with two performances of a concert version of the show at ARS NOVA.
In case you’ve never heard the creepy jump rope rhyme that tells her story, Lizzie Borden was a Massachusetts woman who was acquitted in 1892 of axe-murdering her father and stepmother. Speculation persists to this day about whether she was really innocent or the identity of the real murderer, but this musical makes its position clear from the outset. She was guilty. And you’ll be rooting for her from the first scene.
Simply put, Lizzie rocks. It begins with a look at the Lizzie’s traumatizing life before the murders, and follows her through the act, trial and acquittal, with her sister, maid, and female lover acting as both actors and observers. It’s a perfect example of how a show can be great for above all else, being fun. Nowadays, calling a show “fun” is like giving it an excuse; it’s ignoring problems in quality because it is meant to be enjoyed rather than analyzed. Lizzie is fun because each element is high quality. It may not propose viable solutions to the contemporary societal issues it examines, but each character is well-developed, and it puts queer women in positions of power, a subversive act in and of itself.
Fans of the rockin’ and creatively anachronistic Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson will feel right at home at Lizzie, and although Borden was born 15 years after President Jackson’s death, it is easy to imagine these two characters, lounging around together in tight leather costumes belting out rock scores and wielding machetes to combat their respective angsts.
Lizzie will likely never be on Broadway. In order for this to happen, a number of stars would have to align, including free space in a small Broadway theater, a risk-taking producer to fall in love with the show, and most likely a famous name to step into one of the roles. The best-case realistic scenario would be an open off-Broadway run that would only be three or four shows a week. It could become a staple like Awesome 80s Prom if it finds the right way to market itself.
Keep an ear out for a cast recording, which has been vaguely promised for months. In the meantime, take a look at this video from the Cleveland production, and rock out.
