BWW Preview: LIZZIE at Out Of The Box Theatre Company

In a not-so-recent history, I held space as an angst-ridden so-Cal skater-punk teen, the self-described scourge of the clean-cut middle class. I inherited government paranoia from my parents, and developed a deep disdain for traditional goals when my tiny, teenage brain made the connection between "authority" and "anything and everything oppressive" in my small-town universe. I'd dismiss it as a growing pain, but that culture of rage and rebellion certainly informed my artistic potential by giving me intense examples of emotional expression. It's easy to get lost in the loud; in the riotous joy of screaming discontent through the streets. Occupy! Occupy! Occupy!

But punk rock as a musical style (and the accompanying subculture that touts its values of bold action and fearless authenticity) goes beyond this associated anti-establishment mob mentality. The punk movement originated within a philosophy that rejected the excess and bullshit of the late seventies. It physicalized the malcontent of a marginalized group who made their message heard. In an amplified battle cry, a damaged, unruly group found the courage to rise up.

Some argue that punk in its purist form has been dead since the end of the 1980s--yet the potential for mutiny will never disappear, and punk lives on in brash moments that force ugly reality into digestion. Lizzie, Out of the Box's upcoming theatrical production based on the infamous Borden axe murders, is an example of a rock musical that exemplifies the important tenets of punk. Partnering the prim, Victorian values of a family in decay with the pulsing defiance of a hard rock soundtrack empowers these characters by accompanying their rage and fears with an equally expressive musical landscape. Despite the laced-up corsets, Lizzie is the story of an unbound woman who hacks her way to freedom.

The double murder of Andrew and Mrs. Borden shocked the quiet town of Fallbrook, Massachusetts. It was sensationalist news that captivated the community. Even a century later, everyone has heard the rhyme: Lizzie Borden took an axe; gave her mother 40 whacks. When she saw what she had done, gave her father 41. Undertaker Andrew Borden and his 2nd wife were killed in their home, bludgeoned to the death with an axe. The bodies were discovered by the maid, Bridget. Lizzie was at home during the time of the murders, but after giving bizarre testimony in which she claimed to be eating pears in the barn while looking for a lead sinker for a fishing trip, was acquitted of the deed. As a side note, Lizzie spent her remaining years living lavishly off her inheritance, even taking a female lover.

The crossroad between the still unsolved mystery of the Borden murders and the use of punk rock to tell this version of the story is in the gritty details that inform character. Out of the Box's production of Lizzie (by Steven Cheslik-Demeyer, Tim Manners, and Alan Stevens Hewitt; directed by Samantha Eve) features notes of riot grrrl punk that inspires escape from repression. Lizzie (Katie Moya Watson) is cast as explosive; a character with the capacity to overcome empathy with rage. Lizzie is subjugated by the sexual abuse of her father and confused by her socially unacceptable attraction to neighbor, Alice (Sydney Wesson). The music adds to the crackling atmosphere of intention and fearlessness that turns oblivion from concept to destination.

Lizzie features a cast of four female performers, including Samantha Corbett as Bridget, the maid, and Amy Palagi as terse older sister, Emma. The musical is based in both fact and popular theories about the Borden murders. Emma is possessed by the notion that their stepmother will reap the family fortune should their father, Mr. Borden, be the first to expire. Emma has spent her life trying to protect the emotionally vulnerable Lizzie, but her paranoid, manipulative nature fosters an unhealthy relationship with her impressionable sister. Emma may not be direct party to the murders, but her influence on Lizzie is undeniable. The crime is covered up, sloppily, and Lizzie, after spending two weeks in jail, is exonerated.

Lizzie opens November 3rd at Center Stage, and runs through the 13th. This intense, funny, badass musical presents pertinent topical issues, such as societal treatment of women, homosexuality, and murder, with theatrical sensibility. Lizzie is a self-aware interpretation of a moment in history that refuses to fade to inconsequence.

Out of the Box Presents:

Lizzie

Directed by Samantha Eve

November 3-13th

http://www.outoftheboxtheatre.org

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