Tuneful killers: Leopold and Loeb as musical theater
Richard Loeb (Zach Woods) and Nathan Leopold (Matthew A. Schrader).
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In 1924, Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb murdered a 14-year-old boy for seemingly no reason other than to find out if they could get away with it. Since then, their senseless act has become a cultural touchstone, and the story has inspired numerous adaptations, including such movies as Rope and Funny Games. Playwright Stephen Dolginoff was equally captivated by Leopold and Loeb’s tale of woe, and decided not only to adapt it for the stage, but to set it to music. The result was Thrill Me: The Leopold And Loeb Story, which opens tonight at the Bartell Theatre in a production by Music Theatre Of Madison. Decider caught up with Dolginoff and asked him about marketing Thrill Me, misconceptions about musical theater, and why he didn’t choose to write about Jeffrey Dahmer.
Decider: How did you come to write a musical about two killers?
Stephen Dolginoff: I’d always been a fan of true-crime stories, and I thought it would be interesting to write a true-crime musical. I’d also been interested in writing a small, two-person musical about a crazy, twisted relationship. Even though I’d always thought of these as two separate ideas, I was doing research on famous criminals, came across their story, and... presto! But I did decide to focus more on the relationship, and not so much on the crime.
D: Were you trying to write the hardest-to-market play you could conceive?
SD: [Laughs.] If I had thought twice about it, I probably would have never done it. I was just so gung-ho about the idea. It was difficult at first to get it produced, though. Many theaters were initially intrigued, but later got cold feet. It finally got picked up in New York, and now it’s been done all over the world. I believe the Madison show is its 32nd production.
D: Why did you choose Leopold and Loeb, as opposed to someone like Jeffrey Dahmer or John Wayne Gacy?
SD: I think the art form of musical theater is a little artificial—people don’t sing in real life. In that respect, musical theater is somewhat removed from the present day, and that makes it easier to swallow. I also found that there were sexual and power-play aspects to their relationship, and that was intriguing. The crime happens in the plot of the play, but it’s not really the story of the show.
D: Do you worry people will think it’s a comedy when they find out it’s a musical?
SD: When you hear the term “musical theater,” it’s easy to think about comedy—that’s a valid point. But the most famous musicals are very dramatic. The most successful musical of all time is The Phantom Of The Opera, and that’s about a murder.
D: Why do you think Leopold and Loeb’s story has permeated the collective consciousness?
SD: I think it was because of who they were. They were so intelligent—they were prodigies, and graduated college when they were 18 or 19 years old. When they were on trial, they were represented by Clarence Darrow, and they could have easily been the next two Clarence Darrows. They had money and were of privilege. And that’s what was so interesting—why would they do something like this? And the answer was, for the thrill. It was just a bizarre, horrible crime, and it’s hard for people to grapple with.
D: This is a story that’s well-represented in pop culture. What do you bring to it?
SD: For one, the music. In musical theater—and especially drama—when the characters sing, you really have a chance to get inside their heads. So I think that instantly brings an extra dimension. The other thing is that I’ve essentially locked the audience in a room with Leopold and Loeb for 90 minutes. You only see the two of them, and how their horribly destructive relationship led to this act of murder. And because it’s a play, it has some surprising twists even if you feel like you already know the story.
D: Do you want the audience to feel sympathy for them?
SD: They’re definitely not demonized, but there is no sympathy whatsoever for the crime they committed. But I think the audience can identify with their relationship and the power-plays. It’s kind of a cautionary tale.
D: What can a playgoer learn?
SD: There’s a lot about the power someone can hold over another person. I think that’s something many people can relate to: Who has power in a relationship? Who loves the other the most? Who’s more aggressive? Does that power shift? And does the person in a relationship who thinks they have the power really have it? Those were the types of things I saw in their story that I wanted to explore.
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