Lizzie Borden wields a wicked axe Musical “Lizzie”as an angry, supposedly murderous man, and as the electrifying voice that leads this hard-charging, concert-style rock musical. In director and choreographer Jennifer J. Hopkins’ powerful new work with Keegan, the voice of Lizzie and her anger and captivating determination reside in Caroline Graham.
Channeling Lizzy’s anger with a winking sense of humor, Graham aggressively shreds a grunge punk rock score composed by Steven Czelik DeMeyer and Alan Stevens Hewitt, with lyrics by Czelik DeMeyer and Tim Manners. Mr. Manners wrote the show’s book, which explores the known facts and testimony that shaped public perception of the infamous 1892 murder.
The producers also have permission to dive into lesser-known speculation surrounding Lizzie’s life as a budding lesbian, particularly the secrets inside the Borden family that may have led to the murders of Lizzie’s father, property owner Andrew Borden, and his second wife, Abby.
The father and stepmother do not appear on stage, remaining grim-faced portraits in frames looming over the two-story set. The story of their horrific deaths is told by the survivors, Lizzie and her sister Emma (Sydney Lyons), the family’s housekeeper Bridget (Brigid Wallace Harper), and their neighbor Alice Russell (Savannah Blackwell). They begin by taking us into “Borden’s House,” a dark melody filled with sharpened guitar sounds.
Guitarists Jefferson Hirschman and Jason Seiler are the real swing axis here, standouts in the show’s sick band, helmed by musical director Marika Countoulis. From the strutting rock of “The House of Borden” to Lizzy’s tearing ballad “This Is Not Love” to her brash, grunge-infused manifesto “Gotta Get Out of Here,” the driving music propels Graham’s powerful vocals as much as the powerful subject matter.
The musicians’ attacks on more showtune-like songs, like the first act’s “The Soul of the White Bird” and Alice’s melancholy love ballad “If You Knew,” in which she sadly confesses her feelings for Lizzie, sound hesitant. The latter figure is largely unaffected by Blackwell’s performance and more or less plateaus. nice Even if the situation seems to require more passionate emotions.
Harper invests the strong-willed servant Bridget with a charming fire that suits Bridget’s dubious role in these momentous events. Similarly, Lyons makes a strong impression as the older sister Emma, proclaiming her support and loyalty in “Sweet Little Sister” before conveniently leaving town to create a solid alibi for herself on the day of the murder.
“Sweet Little Sister,” another easy-to-sing, head-pounding rock song, nonetheless exhibits a consistent weakness in concert-style production, where characters sing their thoughts and feelings to the listener who just stands there.
In this case, Emma says she has to leave. Lizzie wants her to stay. This might feel tense if Emma’s bag wasn’t already packed and sitting there. There is no action in the scene, no vividly choreographed body language or movement, not even a pantomime of indecision or physical conflict.
They stand there, one singing and the other listening. However, the songs that fiercely express women’s anger and revolution are worth listening to. And Graham sounds like a storm brewing, running through Lizzy’s soaring solos and teaming effectively with Blackwell, Harper and Lyons on numbers like the punk-rock ripper “Why Are All These Heads Off?” and the passionate power ballad “Burn the Old Thing Up.”
In this song, they refer to burning evidence of bloody crimes. Despite her persistent reputation as a murderer, the real-life Lizzie was ultimately acquitted due to a lack of physical evidence. “I’m innocent,” she pleads in a defiant, insistent voice from her past, trying to find redemption through rock’n’roll.
Lizzie the Musical (★★★☆☆) The show will run through Nov. 30 at the Keegan Theater, 1742 Church St. NW. Tickets are $65, with discounts available for students, seniors 62 and older, and patrons under 25. Rush tickets are available at the door starting one hour before showtime. visit keegantheater.com.
Source: Metro Weekly – www.metroweekly.com
