Have you heard the playground jump rope rhyme? “Lizzie Borden took an ax, gave her mother forty whacks. When she saw what she had done, gave her father forty-one.” Charming, no?
American history records that Lizzie Borden evidently murdered her father and stepmother in August of 1892 in Fall River, Massachusetts. There was a trial. Testimonies were muddled, evidence was incomplete, and Lizzie was acquitted, much to the chagrin of many townfolk.
From this tale comes the rock musical “Lizzie” at Actor’s Express. The show, directed by Jennifer Alice Acker, runs through July 24 at Oglethorpe University’s Conant Performing Arts Center.
The music is by Steven Cheslik-Demeyer and Alan Stevens Hewitt; lyrics by Cheslik-Demeyer and Tim Maner; book by Tim Maner.
Actor’s Express Artistic Director Freddie Ashley says in his notes that Americans love a good crime story, and that “Borden’s story has continued to captivate the collective imagination of the American people.” I suppose he’s right; we certainly seem to be living in violent times.
The writer D. H. Lawrence, sad to say, may have been right when he said, “The essential American soul is hard, isolate, stoic, and a killer. It has never yet melted.” I don’t want to believe this.
There have been other “sung through” musicals: The Who’s “Tommy,” or Sondheim’s “Sweeney Todd.” But they had a coherent throughline. “Lizzie,” at least on opening night, was a cacophonous rock show often so loud that the lyrics were indecipherable.
However, I am betting that the creative people at Actor’s Express have since rectified the situation; they are too savvy not to.
And there are many talented people at work in this show, starting with the musicians. Oh, yes, this is an all-female production, and that includes the crack “Lizzie band”: Ashley Prince, conductor, keys; Be Walton, guitar; Fuji Fujimoto, bass; Deisha Oliver, cello; and Jen Hodges, drums. And these women are not invisible: They are onstage, very much a part of the show.
Jasmine Renee Ellis plays Lizzie Borden; she is a compelling presence, able to project complex, seemingly contradictory emotions and motives. And she has a singing voice which can rise in power to awe-inspiring levels.
Jessica De Maria plays Emma Borden, Lizzie’s loyal sister, with Ms. De Maria’s customary aplomb and pizazz. Megan Zhang plays Alice, Lizzie’s special friend—a friend indeed. Christina Leidel, plays Bridget, the family housekeeper; she often has a wicked twinkle in her eye; one gets the feeling she knows pretty much everything that is going on. Ms. Leidel sparkles.
All these women are fine singers; that comes as a relief in a cast of four!
There’s an outstanding creative team: Charlie Calvert, scenic designer makes excellent use of the large Conant stage, creating an ambience of darkness and foreboding; Alan Yeong’s costumes are bracing and flawless; Maranda DeBusk, lighting and media designer; Ashley Prince, music director; Bubba Carr, choreographer; Mikaeia Fraser, sound designer; Nick Battaglia, props designer/set decorator. You think props aren’t important? When is the last time you had to fill part of a stage with decapitated pigeons? “Why Are All These Heads Off?” That’s a song.
“Lizzie” has played everywhere from Denmark to San Francisco. It’s played briefly in New York. Concerning the aforementioned volume problem, the New York Times critic wryly commented that “the excessive volume is part of what makes the piece work: It frees you somehow from taking any of it too seriously.” I think he may be on to something.
For tickets and information, visit actors-express.com.