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The Indiana Daily Student

arts

University Players to premiere ‘Lizzie: The Musical’ Thursday

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“Lizzie Borden took an axe, and gave her mother forty whacks. When she saw what she had done, she gave her father forty-one.”

Based on this popular nursery rhyme and the true history of Lizzie Borden, University Players is premiering “Lizzie: The Musical,” Nov. 4 to 6 in the Derm at 2001 E Third St. 

“It’s a really beautiful story regardless of the murders,” IU sophomore Gracie Harrison, who plays Lizzie, said. “It's an interesting, very haunting story, but I really think it's gonna be a great watch.”

This production is a fantasy retelling of the story of Lizzie Borden. Lizzie Borden is known for her arrest, trial and acquittal for the 1892 axe murders of her father and stepmother. 

This musical delves into Lizzie’s mind and speculates her motivations through song and dance. The show features Lizzie, her sister Emma, the maid Bridget and their neighbor Alice. 

Performances will be Thursday at 7:30 p.m., Friday at 7:30 p.m. and 11 p.m. and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. Masks will be required for all audience members. This production is directed by IU senior Janie Voris, stage-managed by IU junior Kate Bentley and the music is directed by IU senior Jessica Bittner. 

The “Lizzie: The Musical” cast, band and crew consists of a completely female and non-binary people. Harrison said this made sense for the production as the story features women’s stories as they are silenced and figure out how to deal with their emotions. 

“I feel like that's really something that, woman to woman, we all understand,” Harrison said. “We thought it would be really cool and interesting to do a production where it's just our inputs on the situation at the table.”

The music in “Lizzie: The Musical” is rock-inspired with some acoustic pop numbers too, Bittner said. The music is consistent in the production as the cast is always singing or music is playing in the background , Bittner said.

The original compositions  feature a six-piece band, but University Players modified it given the smaller space. The band will feature a pianist, an electric bassist, a drummer and Bittner playing violin and covering guitar riffs. Bittner said one of her favorite songs from the show is “Mercury Rising.”

“It was my favorite because I really love the harmonies,” Bittner said. “The actors are killing it. It just sounds like this big wall of femme sound and I live for it.”

The production has been rehearsing Mondays through Fridays from 7 to 10 p.m. in the Lee Norvelle Theatre and Drama Center. IU junior Sarah Cassidy, who plays Bridgette, said the hardest part when preparing for a musical production was pairing the choreography with all other aspects of the show.

Cassidy and Harrison both said the choreographers, IU sophomores Sierra Shelton and Channing Dayton, were super helpful with overcoming that obstacle.

“I'm a singer first, so dancing does not always come as easily to me,” Harrison said. “But (the choreographers) knew how to cater to our bodies and knew who they had, so that we weren’t doing triple turns, kicks and crazy things, but it still looks very cohesive as a group.”

Cassidy said people should come see this show especially if they are interested in the Bloomington theater and music scene.

“University Players is offering really high-quality productions for free,” Cassidy said. “If you want to listen to some awesome women and support women and nonbinary people in the arts, this is a great way to do it.”

Tickets are free and can currently be reserved on the University Players’ website.

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