Posts Tagged ‘lizzie’

Rocking “Lizzie” Features Stellar Cast, Thrilling Production Values at SDT

Posted in St Louis Theatre, tagged , , , , , , , on October 14, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Lizzie
Music by Steven Cheslik-deMeyer and Alan Stevens Hewitt
Lyrics by Steven Cheslik-deMeyer and Tim Maner, Book by Tim Maner
Additional Music by Tim Maner, Additional Lyrics by Alan Stevens Hewitt
Based on an Original Concept by Alan Stevens Hewitt and Tim Maner
Directed by Justin Been
Stray Dog Theatre
October 10, 2026

Katherine Garrett, Nadja Kapetanovich, Lisa Hinrichs, Grace Seidel
Photo: Stray Dog Theatre

Lizzie is a musical I had seen before, in a fantastic production by another local theatre company in 2017. Now, Stray Dog Theatre is staging the punk-rock musical about Lizzie Borden, and it’s almost like I’m seeing it for the first time. The clever staging, stellar performances and particularly stunning production values and projection work, along with the marvelous onstage band, give this show a new boldness and freshness that emphasizes the emotion, relationships, and personal stories of the characters in an intense and chilling way. 

The way the show begins is particularly striking, with each character’s costume waiting for her, hanging from microphone stands on the stage. The performers enter wearing long white slips, then introduce themselves and don their costumes, becoming the characters–Lizzie Borden (Nadja Kapetanovich), her older sister Emma (Katherine Garrett), housemaid Bridget Sullivan (Lisa Hinrichs), and next-door neighbor Alice Russell (Grace Seidel). The story then unfolds recounting the events before, during, and after the infamous murders of Lizzie’s father and stepmother, with the premise that most dramatizations take–that Lizzie, who was ultimately acquitted of the murders–was actually guilty of the crimes. It takes a highly personal–and loud–approach using modern punk-rock music for its score, while delving into the relationships between Lizzie and her abusive father, her domineering stepmother, and the other onstage characters. We see her older sister Emma’s protectiveness, as well as the close bond between Lizzie and neighbor Alice, who often calls on Lizzie upstairs and alone. Bridget is there, as well, dealing with being constantly called the wrong name (Maggie, that of a previous maid) and having to witness the tensions and mistreatment in the “House of Borden”. The show makes a compelling case for its version of events, and why Lizzie would be driven toward homicide and how those closest to her would react.

In this production, the relationship between Lizzie and Emma particularly stood out, due to the fantastic performances of both Kapetanovich as the increasingly provoked and angry Lizzie, and Garrett as the protective Emma, to whom Lizzie is initially close. There are also poignant scenes between Lizzie and Seidel’s gentle, devoted Alice, whose reaction to the murders threatens to drive a wedge between them. Hinrichs also has memorable moments as tough-talking Bridget, and all four have excellent vocals and energy, performing the memorable, driving score with intensity and power. The score is mostly rock but has its quieter moments as well, such as the gentle “Will You Stay” and the hymnlike “Watchmen For the Morning”. It’s a fantastic and thrilling show with strong performances all around.

Another aspect about this production that particularly standout out are the truly thrilling production values and staging, featuring an excellent multilevel set by Rob Lippert that represents the Borden house, with windows through which the audience can see what’s going on inside, and featuring shades to cover up some events. The lighting by Tyler Duenow is brilliant in illuminating the set and casting shadows to add to the visual intensity, and Justin Been’s projections are particularly astounding. Featuring in memorable sequences like “The Soul of the White Bird”, “Somebody Will Do Something” and “Thirteen Days in Taunton”, the projections are vivid and striking. There are also excellent costumes by Corinna Redford that reflect the time and place as well as the personalities of the characters. The band, led by music director Leah Schultz, is also stellar, delivering the driving score with energy and style. 

Lizzie is not exactly a horror show, but it has horror elements and a chilling tone that works well for this time of year. It’s also a highly personal, intense look at the characters and why they could have acted the way they did. The music is memorable, and the performances are truly stunning. It’s another fantastic musical experience from Stray Dog Theatre. 

Nadja Kapetanovich (top), Grace Seidel, Lisa Hinrichs, Katherine Garrett
Photo: Stray Dog Theatre

Stray Dog Theatre is presenting Lizzie at the Tower Grove Abbey until October 24, 2026

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New Line Rocks With “Lizzie”

Posted in St Louis Theatre, tagged , , , , , , , on October 6, 2017| Leave a Comment »

Lizzie
Music by Steven Cheslik-deMeyer and Alan Stevens Hewitt
Lyrics and original concept by Steven Cheslik-deMeyer and Tim Maner
Book and Additional Music by Tim Maner
Additional Lyrics and Orchestrations by Alan Stevens Hewett
Directed by Mike Dowdy-Windsor
New Line Theatre
September 29, 2017

Anna Skidis Vargas, Kimi Short, Marcy Wiegert
Photo by Jill Ritter Lindberg
New Line Theatre

The Lizzie Borden murder case is still infamous even 125 years after the event. It’s been the frequent subject of books, documentaries, and dramatizations on stage and screen. This year, New Line Theatre is opening their new season with another look at this infamous story, with a highly personal approach and a bold new soundtrack. Lizzie is a musical that takes the story “out of time” in a sense, with it’s high-powered rock score and minimal staging at once appealing to modern audiences and adding a new dimension to the legend that has developed around the actual event.  With New Line’s excellent cast and production values, this show makes an intense impression.

This story isn’t new, but this approach certainly is, although the premise is somewhat similar to other dramatizations in presenting the idea of why Lizzie (Anna Skidis Vargas) would actually commit the murders of her father and stepmother, for which she was tried and acquitted. The show is presented in almost a concert format, with minimal staging and the characters outfitted in Sarah Porter’s colorful, stylized, modern punk-rock inspired costumes. The story is both told in-time and taken out of time by means of this format, with the result of making it a focused, highly personal drama. Lizzie is joined on stage by her older sister Emma (Marcy Wiegert), the family’s maid Bridget Sullivan (Kimi Short), and next-door neighbor Alice Russell (Larissa White), as they sing of their troubled lives in the “House of Borden”, with imperious father Andrew and highly disliked stepmother Abby. What emerges is a picture of a troubled family, and a lonely Lizzie who isn’t given a lot of options in life. The restrictive roles of women at the time are also presented as a factor, which makes the rebel-rock approach all the more effectively jarring. The show has its loud moments and quiet interludes, humanizing these characters that have been almost flattened by history and showing poignancy in the relationships between Lizzie and Emma, and also a particular attachment between Lizzie and Alice, as well as showing alienation from various characters–the sisters from their parents, and Bridget’s from the family for whom she works and who don’t even call her by the right name (calling her “Maggie” instead–the name of a previous maid).

What’s given here is a concert of relationships, finely crafted, shockingly portrayed, and effectively humanized, played with energy, grit, and magnetism by the first-rate New Line cast, led by Vargas as the alternately fragile and fierce Lizzie. She’s in great voice, as well, as are the rest of the performers here, and there are some strong musical moments from the opening “Forty Whacks” to ominous “The House of Borden” to the driving “Sweet Little Sister”, to the poignant, hymnlike “Watchmen for the Morning”, which features the particularly affecting harmonies of Vargas and Wiegert. Wiegert as the bold, protective Emma, White as the more gentle, longing Alice, and Short as the overworked, weary but strong-willed Bridget are all excellent, with strong voices and excellent chemistry. It’s a strong showing for all of them, and they sell this story for all its complex, emotional worth.

There are strong production values here, as well, from Porter’s aforementioned costumes to Rob Lippert’s starkly minimal set and stunning, concert-like lighting. There’s also a top-notch band conducted by music director Sarah Nelson. All these elements work together in achieving a consistent look, sound and vision for this unconventional presentation of a reasonably well-known story.

This is one of those shows that takes the audience by surprise in a way. You think you know what you’re getting–the Lizzie Borden story with rock music–and that is what New Line presents, but there is a lot more to it than that simple premise describes. The format here is a particular strength in that it takes subject matter that’s been talked about and presented in many different ways before and brings it to the audience in a way that at once sets it apart and makes it more accessible. This Lizzie is loud, but it’s also incisive. The story is old, but it’s also new. It’s a story that’s been told, but not in this way. It’s New Line at its bold, brash, thought-provoking best.

Larissa White, Anna Skidis Vargas
Photo by Jill Ritter Lindberg
New Line Theatre

New Line Theatre is presenting Lizzie at the Marcelle Theatre until October 21, 2017.

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