Lizzie, the Musical
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Chance Theater proudly presents Lizzie, The Musical 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 Steven Cheslik-deMeyer and Tim Maner Orchestrations by Alan Stevens Hewitt Directed by Jocelyn A. Brown* Music Direction by Robyn Manion* Choreographed by Hazel Clarke Scenic Direction by Kristin Campbell Lighting & Projection Design by KC Wilkerson Sound Design by Ryan Brodkin Costume Design by Rachael Lorenzetti Stage Manager Kelsey Somerville Dramaturg Jessica Johnson CAST Lizzie Borden ..............................................Monika Peña* Alice Russell ............................................... Jisel Soleil Ayon Bridget Sullivan ...........................................Nicole Gentile Emma Borden .............................................Alli Rose Schynert Setting: June 5, 1893 in Fall River, Massachusetts Running Time: 1 hour and 30 minutes, with one 15 minute intermission Executive Producer Season Producers GUY W. MARR BETTE & WYLIE AITKEN Associate Producers Associate Season Producer SUSAN BOWMAN & FREDDIE GREENFIELD LAURIE SMITS STAUDE RACHELLE MENAKER & EDDIE SCHULLER LIZZIE has been developed with the assistance of tiny mythic theatre company, HERE arts center, Took An Axe Productions (Hillary Richard & Peter McCabe), Brisa Trinchero/Corey Brunish (Make Musicals) and Van Dean/Kenny Howard (Broadway Consortium). LIZZIE was presented at the National Alliance for Musical Theatre’s Festival of New Musicals in 2010 and further developed by Village Theatre, Issaquah, Washington (Robb Hunt, Executive Producer - Steve Tomkins, Artistic Director). LIZZIE was produced by Theatre Under The Stars, October 2013. The West Coast Premiere of LIZZIE was produced by Portland Center Stage, Chris Coleman, Artistic Director. To purchase recordings and sheet music, or for more information, please visit: www.LizzieTheMusical.com * Chance Resident Artist Musical Numbers ACT I “Forty Whacks (Prologue)” - Alice, Bridget, Emma, and Lizzie “The House Of Borden” - Bridget, Lizzie, Emma, and Alice “This Is Not Love” - Lizzie “Gotta Get Out Of Here - Alice and Lizzie “If You Knew” - Alice “The Soul Of The White Bird” - Lizzie, Bridget, Emma, and Alice “Maybe Someday” - Alice “The Will” - Emma, Bridget, Lizzie, and Alice “Sweet Little Sister” - Emma, Lizzie, Bridget, and Alice “Shattercane & Velvet Grass” - Bridget, Lizzie, Emma, and Alice “The Milk” - Alice and Lizzie “Will You Stay” - Lizzie and Alice “Why Are All These Heads Off” - Bridget, Lizzie, and Alice “Mercury Rising” - Bridget, Lizzie, Emma, and Alice “Somebody Will Do Something” - Bridget, Lizzie, Emma, and Alice ACT II “The Fall Of The House Of Borden”/“The Alibi” - Bridget, Lizzie, and Alice “What The Fuck Now, Lizzie?!” - Emma and Lizzie “The Dress” - Bridget, Emma, Lizzie, and Alice “Burn The Old Thing Up” - Emma, Lizzie, Alice, and Bridget “Questions Questions” - Alice, Lizzie, Emma, and Bridget “Will You Lie” - Alice, Lizzie, Emma, and Bridget “Watchmen For The Morning” - Lizzie, Emma, and Bridget “Maybe Someday (Reprise 1)” - Lizzie, Emma, Bridget, and Alice “Thirteen Days In Taunton” - Alice, Lizzie, Emma, and Bridget “Maybe Someday (Reprise 2)” - Emma, Lizzie, Bridget, and Alice “Into Your Wildest Dreams (Epilogue)” - Lizzie, Emma, Bridget, and Alice “Forty Whacks (Curtain)” - Ensemble Musicians Keyboard Robyn Manion* Drums Jorge Zuniga Bass Jimmy Beall Guitar Jacob Gonzalez Cello Lorianne Frelly Additional Production Credits Booth Operator Kelsey Somerville Audio Engineer Jordan Jones Master Carpenter Teodora Ramos* Asst Scenic Designer Alexis Salazar Asst Costume Designer Diana Carrera Lighting Programmer Chris Plonka Load-In Crew James Markoski, Chris Powers, Marc Sanford* Scenic Painter Danthi Tran Special Thanks Frome Enterprises, The City of Anaheim, James Beall, and, of course, Jim Book. The video or audio recording of this performance by any means is strictly prohibited. * Chance Theater Resident Artist Lizzie Borden took an axe... by Director Jocelyn A. Brown and Dramaturg Jessica Johnson On August 4, 1892, the grisly murders of Abby and Andrew Borden would shake their small community of Fall River, Massachusetts and would become the inciting event of one of America’s most famous unsolved crimes. At the center of the case stood Lizzie Borden, the prime suspect put on trial for murdering her father and stepmother with a hatchet. Though ultimately acquitted due to a lack of physical evidence, Lizzie has remained an icon of American crime lore, and has been the subject of folk rhymes, books, theatre, television miniseries, and films. One can even stay in the Lizzie Borden Bed and Breakfast in the same house where the murders took place. It is a question that has intrigued the public for over a century: “Did she do it, and if so, what would possibly lead this mild- Lizzie Borden mannered Sunday school teacher to commit such a gruesome act?” Not all theories point to Lizzie committing the crime. Despite having enormous wealth from his career as an undertaker, banker, and property owner, Andrew Borden was a frugal man who kept tight control over his fortune and his daughters, Emma and Lizzie. Though able to live amply, he chose to live simply just down the hill from the wealthy neighborhoods of Fall River, his home being the only one on the block without indoor plumbing. Some believe that perhaps an enraged enemy of Borden had committed the murders in revenge for a faulty business deal, or that it could have been orchestrated by John Morse, brother to Lizzie and Emma’s mother, who was staying in the Borden guest room in the days before the murder. The overwhelming majority of theories point to Lizzie being the perpetrator due to her presence at the house at the time of the killings, conflicting details during her testimony, and her aloof demeanor during police questioning and the inquest. Some speculate that Lizzie killed her stepmother in a fit of rage due to her father’s recent gift of property to Mrs. Borden. A physician at the time even suggested temporary mania, stating, “hacking is almost a positive sign of a deed by a woman who is unconscious of what she is doing.” Others posit that what pushed Lizzie to murder her father was his recent killing of the pigeons she kept caged. Rumors have swirled about Andrew Borden and if he sexually abused either of his daughters or Bridget Sullivan, the family maid. Many have wondered about Lizzie’s sexuality and if social pressures triggered her attack, as she remained unmarried and solely in the company of women, such as neighbor Alice Sullivan and stage star Nance O’Neil. However, these rumors remain unsubstantiated. These theories and many more have been explored repeatedly in the media. Despite all discourse and dissention, one common theme persists behind most retellings of the Borden story—Lizzie’s reclamation of power under patriarchal suppression. Said author Ann Saddlemyer about a 1980 play adaptation titled Blood Relations, “The story epitomizes the strengths and originality of theatre about women imprisoned in a man-ordered universe.” Many women today still feel the reverberations of a “man-ordered universe” in their daily lives, as they try to maneuver and push back against a society structured for and revolving around men’s inclinations. LIZZIE, the rock re-telling of the infamous case, aligns with these themes of reclaiming power in a time of female suppression and extreme desperation. In this production, Lizzie is a fragmented soul that copes with her abuse and oppression by creating an imagined version of her world that is accented by expressionistic, vibrant, wild modern rock music. We join Lizzie in her fight to make sense of her reality—one that is defined only by limitations of power, money, expression, freedom, and love. Artist Biographies Monika Peña (Lizzie Borden) is a Fullerton with a BFA in Musical Theatre. Recent credits Chance Resident Artist. Previous include The Producers (One More Productions), Fatty Chance roles include the titular role (The Wayward Artist), Bernarda Alba, The Drowsy in Violet (LA Times Critic’s Choice, Chaperone, Into the Woods, and A Christmas Carol Ovation Recommended), the butt- (Cal State Fullerton). kicking, Princess Fish in Claudio Steven Cheslik-DeMeyer (Writer/ Quest (West Coast Premiere), Josephine in Big Fish, Composer) Fresh out of art school The Eight: Reindeer Monologues (Dancer), Fancy in the early 80s, Steven bought a Nancy: the Musical (Rhonda; ‘16, ‘17, & 2018), A used guitar in a junk shop on St. Chorus Line (LA Times Critic’s Choice), Dogfight Marks Place, learned three chords, (LA/ OC Premiere), Hairspray and In the Heights and taught himself to write songs (Ovation Recommended, Regional Premiere). Some by listening to Dolly Parton records. He insinuated favorite credits include Spelling Bee... (Olive), Spring himself into a couple post-punk neo-folk bands in Awakening (Ilse), Beauty & the Beast (Babette), the East Village, but soon discovered the world of ...Forum (Philia), Fiddler on the Roof (Chava), and downtown theater. Through the late 80s and early 90s, Anything Goes (Angel Virtue). he wrote and performed music in several experimental Sponsored by Rachelle Menaker & Eddie Schuller. productions with tiny mythic theatre company and Jisel Soleil Ayon (Alice Russel) is directors Kristin Marting and Tim Maner. In 1992, delighted to be making her debut with he and Jay Byrd