[On Stage] Riding the Light, Beats Pouring Out

Musical 'Lizzie'... Adaptation of the Patricide 'US Lizzie Borden Case'
Four Actresses' High Notes + Intense Electric Guitar Sound Overwhelm Audience

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Byung-hee] Intense electric guitar sounds, actors hitting soaring high notes without end. The stage of the musical 'Lizzie' is explosive.

'Lizzie' is a rare rock musical. Only four actresses appear on stage. These four actresses are as bold as Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) and her colleagues from the movie 'Birds of Prey,' released last February. They dominate the stage and overwhelm the audience by fearlessly belting out high notes.

Listening to the powerful rock music and numbers (musical songs) created by the six-member live band gives a feeling of adrenaline surging wildly. The numbers set to rock music leave a strong afterimage and even create the illusion that it might be a sung-through musical (a musical sung from start to finish). 'Lizzie' deals with the provocative subject of patricide, but the energy emitted by the actors turns it into a uniquely charming work.

Photo by Shonote

'Lizzie' is based on the 'Lizzie Borden murder case' that occurred in 1892 in Fall River, Massachusetts, USA. The Lizzie Borden murder case brings to mind Fyodor Dostoevsky's (1821?1881) novel 'The Brothers Karamazov.'

In Fall River, the wealthy elderly couple Andrew Borden and his second wife Abby Borden were found murdered at their home with an axe. Lizzie, Andrew's second daughter who first discovered the bodies, was identified as the prime suspect. Lizzie was 32 years old at the time. Her older sister Emma, nine years her senior, was not at home during the incident. Lizzie and Emma were daughters from Andrew's first marriage, after his first wife passed away. The two daughters resented their father’s intention to leave his inheritance to their stepmother. Various circumstances provided Lizzie with sufficient motive to commit the murder. However, no decisive evidence was found. Lizzie was acquitted in court.

The play features four characters: the protagonist Lizzie and Emma, Lizzie’s friend Alice Russell, and the Borden family’s housekeeper Bridget Sullivan.

It is interesting that the setting of the play and the actual incident location is Massachusetts. Massachusetts was the first American land where Puritans, escaping religious persecution from the Church of England, landed aboard the Mayflower. Even today, Massachusetts strongly retains the roots of Puritanism, emphasizing strict morals and discipline.

The Lizzie Borden murder case heated up the entire United States with suspicions of the unethical act of patricide. The daily newspaper The Boston Globe filled the right half of its front page and pages 6 and 7?three pages in total?with articles on the Lizzie case trial in its September 2, 1892 edition.

[Photo by Shonote]

Photo by Shownote

The play is based on the suspicions raised regarding the Lizzie Borden murder case at the time. Andrew wanted a son but had daughters instead. When his daughters were born, he especially loved the youngest, Lizzie. His obsession with Lizzie resulted in the wrongful outcome of sexual abuse. Lizzie shows psychological instability. Her rebellious feelings toward her father connect to her homosexual feelings toward her friend Alice.

Choosing rock music to express Lizzie’s rebellion against her father seems to be an effective strategy. This is even more so if the interpretation extends to the father symbolizing the Puritanical discipline of the time.

The play continues with the intense beats of rock music throughout, as if inviting all the oppressed to come and enjoy a sense of liberation. The production company Shownote stated that they carefully cast only the strongest vocalists to provide the audience with a thrilling experience that clears their ears throughout the performance. The play’s introduction, starting with the phrase "On a crazy summer day in 1892," is also impressive.

Comparing 'Lizzie' with the Massachusetts-set play 'The Crucible' by American playwright Arthur Miller (1915?2005), famous for 'Death of a Salesman,' can be a useful tool for interpreting 'Lizzie.' 'The Crucible' is based on the 'Salem witch trials,' a blemish in early American history. Coincidentally, the Salem witch trials occurred in 1692, exactly 200 years before the Lizzie Borden murder case. Salem changed its town name to Danvers in 1752. Danvers is close enough to Fall River, where the Lizzie Borden murder case occurred, to reach by car in about 1 hour and 20 minutes.

Photo by Shownote

The Salem witch trials involved villagers accusing each other of witchcraft, resulting in over 200 imprisonments and 19 executions by hanging, with a total of 25 deaths. Since it occurred 200 years before the Lizzie Borden case, Puritan ethics and discipline were much stronger then. Villagers accused neighbors with whom they had poor relations of immorality and breaking rules, labeling them witches. Many people were punished based solely on testimonies and suspicions without clear evidence. 'The Crucible' was written by Miller in 1953 to expose the madness of McCarthyism.

The scene in 'Lizzie' where Lizzie and Emma descend into madness after the parents’ murder evokes the image of the frenzied village girls in 'The Crucible.'

Perhaps because of the memory of the Salem witch trials, Lizzie, who might have been a witch who killed her father, was released due to lack of clear evidence. After being acquitted, Lizzie lived in Fall River until she died at age 66, disregarding the villagers’ hostile stares. Emma died nine days after her sister. Neither sister married.

'Lizzie' is being performed at Dream Art Center Hall 1 in Daehangno until June 21.