Six new musicals will be brought to life this weekend as part of Village Theatre’s 12th Annual Village Originals Festival of New Musicals.
Recognized nationally for it’s focus on developing new musicals, the festival serves to launch a handful of developing shows into the musical landscape. Previous successes from the festival include “Next to Normal” (previous title “Feeling Electric”) and “Million Dollar Quartet” – both of which had their start at the Festival of New Musicals and went on to win multiple Tony Awards and a Pulitzer Prize (“Next to Normal”).
Other recent musicals that got their start at the festival, and went on to Village Theatre’s Main stage season, include “Iron Curtain,” “It Shoulda Been You,” “Anne of Green Gables,” “Chasing Nicolette” and “The Gypsy King.”
This year, the festival features five new musicals in reading format, fully sung with script in hand, performed at the Francis J. Gaudette Theatre. The sixth musical, “Lizzie Borden,” – which returns to the festival after being featured as a read-only last year – will have three workshop showings open to the public at First Stage Theatre.
Created by David Cheslik-deMeyer, Tim Maner and Alan Stevens Hewitt, rock and roll musical “Lizzie Borden” has been in development, in some form or another, since the ’90s.
Following the story of the infamous axe murderer, “Lizzie Borden” plays with the idea that Borden was a “rock star” of her time, garnering fame, fortune and a loyal following for a crime of which she was acquitted. The new musical is part historical re-telling, part rock concert – and lots of fun.
Cheslik-deMeyer said the idea of creating a concert experience around the tale was something that came from his love of female rockstars like Anne and Nancy Wilson of Heart, Joan Jett and The Runaways.
“The story seemed to parallel rock and roll mythology,” Cheslik-deMeyer said.
And while Borden’s story takes the idea of “rebelling against your parents” to a whole new level, Cheslik-deMeyer felt it was a fitting way to tell the story.
“People love [Borden] in the way they love villains,” said Cheslik-deMeyer, in regard the fanfare behind the lead in the show. “This musical will have them rooting for her.”
The stripped down show focuses on the four central characters involved with the murder of Borden’s parents: Lizzie, her older sister Emma, their neighbor Alice and the Irish maid.
While the plot remains true to the Victorian time period, Cheslik-deMeyer says there is a definite rock and roll edge to the aesthetic. Speaking to the dark nature of the Borden legend, many of the songs featured in the musical use language from historical documents. But it’s not all blood and guts, as Cheslik-deMeyer ensures the musical has its fair share of comedy, too.
The production, which stars Carrie Manolakos, Billie Wildrick, Carrie Cimma and Jessica Low, also features a six piece rock band – and a catchy rock score.
For more information, and to purchase tickets to the public showings, go to http://villagetheatre.org/VO-LizzieBorden.php.
‘Lizzie Borden’
WHERE: First Stage Theatre, 120 Front Street North, Issaquah
WHEN: Aug. 10 @ 10 p.m., Aug. 11 @ 5 p.m. and Aug. 12 @ 5 p.m.
TICKETS: $25 adults; $20 students & seniors or FREE with a Village Originals Membership.
