Last year Open Eye Theatre struck gold with Lizzie: The Rock Musical; it sold out the entire extended run. Its popularity was so strong that the decision was made very early on to bring it back this year, locking in the same amazing cast. I loved the show so much last year that I went back for a second time, a luxury I can rarely afford to do with my schedule. This October is very busy, and I’m going to have to miss a week or two of shows in the middle of it, but there was no way I was going to skip this show even though I saw it twice last year. It’s that good.

Last year I declared that this one is an all-time favorite, and that holds true more than ever. It’s like a Wes Anderson movie: it gets better every time I see it. Lizzie: The Rock Musical is the high we theater junkies chase. When every element, from music and lighting to performance and design, collides at the intersection of awe and adrenaline. Like last year, I left the theater absolutely buzzing. Tonight, as I left the theater, I had the same thought I did the previous two times: I want to go again!

You may not know what to expect from a musical about the infamous Lizzie Borden, who was acquitted in 1892 of the axe murders of her father and stepmother. Open Eye Theatre’s program describes it as a “Victorian punk homage” to the notorious figure, and that fits perfectly. It’s important to understand that this is a fictionalized retelling of the true-crime story, inspired in part by the childhood rhyme:

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

The musical assumes Lizzie’s guilt, as does pretty much everyone throughout history. It suggests her father’s “affection” may have crossed unsettling boundaries. It also explores a romantic relationship between Lizzie and her friend Alice Russell, what Lord Alfred Douglas once called “the love that dare not speak its name.” Amid all the blood and thunder, it’s the softer songs between Lizzie and Alice that linger. Numbers like “Will You Stay” and the haunting “Will You Lie?,” which is a response to the former, offer moments of tenderness, grace, and humanity that add layers to the characters.

Lux Mortenson plays Lizzie in a ferocious, take-no-prisoners performance. They slay every moment and every song. Their chemistry with Stages of MN favorite Grace Hillmyer as Alice is electric: their scenes are tender, tentative, and deeply moving. Mortenson’s powerhouse energy drives the show like a drumbeat, while Hillmyer’s quiet strength and lyrical vulnerability provide the emotional melody. Abilene Olson as Lizzie’s sister Emma and Marley Ritchie as the family’s servant Bridget “Maggie” Sullivan complete the quartet with precision and presence. This cast is so perfectly aligned that future productions will inevitably pale in comparison. I’m so grateful that Open Eye was able to secure the entire cast from last year. I cannot imagine it with anyone else in the roles.

Helping elevate Lizzie to such heights is Joel Sass, who serves as both director and set designer. Open Eye Theatre consistently delivers exceptional design work, and Sass’s design is another example of its excellence. Michael Murnane’s lighting design adds a striking atmosphere, while Amanda Weis’s music direction ensures a tight, thunderous sound from the band. This is a small theater, but it’s a big sound coming through, and it’s also exceptionally clean sounding. Samantha Haddow’s costumes beautifully balance period detail with punk-rock attitude. The result is a production that’s a full sensory feast, sights, sounds, and emotion working in perfect harmony.

When Lizzie makes her final rockin’ entrance and the rock anthem swells, there is a shot of electricity that goes through the entire theater. In that moment, we are all one, sharing the kind of communal experience you rarely get, and that is unique to smaller intimate venues like Open Eye. I had the telltale Stages of MN tear sliding down my cheek. This is joy, and it wasn’t just me. You could tell by watching them that the cast was having a blast, too, and loving the audience’s reaction.

What is it about this show? From the moment they enter the stage wearing those creepy-as-hell doll masks, I’m all in! Maybe it’s the music, which definitely has a late-’70s, early-’80s vibe. There is a Jim Steinman feel to some of Steven Cheslik-DeMeyer and Alan Stevens Hewitt’s songs. It doesn’t simply rock, it fuckin’ rocks like a Bat Out of Hell!

You know how the Guthrie puts on A Christmas Carol every year, it’s a Twin Cities tradition right? Can we get Open Eye to do that with Lizzie every October? Because chances are I’m not going to have this same high until I see it again. Though, of course, I’ll keep trying. I’ll keep chasing the dragon, and I’ll be sure to let you know where you can get your fix.

Lizzie: The Rock Musical runs through November 1 at Open Eye Theatre in Minneapolis. For more information and to purchase tickets, go to https://www.openeyetheatre.org/lizzie-the-rock-musical. But don’t wait. I’d be very surprised if many, if not all, of the performances sell out again this year. There probably isn’t a better musical to see in the Twin Cities this entire month, probably the rest of the year that this!

I want to alert you faithful readers to a new Website that has just started up in the Twin Cities. It’s called 79 Seconds on Stage and it is a free and full guide to local theatre in the Twin Cities.

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