“Thrill Me: The Leopold & Loeb Story" at the Black Box Theatre -- February 9 through 24.
Friday, February 9, through Saturday, February 24
Black Box Theatre, 1623 Fifth Avenue, Moline IL
A gripping two-man musical that, according to the New York Times, "lands like a well-placed punch, arresting and a bit breathtaking," Thrill Me: The Leopold & Loeb Story opens the 2024 season at Moline's Black Box Theatre, its February 9 through 24 run sure to demonstrate why the Hollywood Reporter raved that it "combines the extravagant emotions and ensemble couplings of verismo opera with musical sounds and styles drawn from Broadway and the bittersweet ballads of Franz Schubert and Kurt Weil."
Relationships can be murder, and Thrill Me: The Leopold & Loeb Story recounts the chilling true story of the legendary duo who committed one of the most infamous and heinous crimes of the 20th century. Focusing on their obsessive relationship and utilizing Leopold’s 1958 parole hearing as a framework, this one-act musical drama by composer and book writer Stephen Dolginoff reveals the series of events in 1924 Chicago that led about-to-be law students Leopold and Loeb to be forever remembered as “the thrill killers.” Nathan Leopold was passionate about Richard Loeb, who was passionate about crime and excitement. They consequently created a secret agreement to satisfy each other’s needs. Soon Richard convinced Nathan that they embodied Nietzsche’s idea of the “Superman” and were above society. Then he drew him into his plan to lure a young boy to his death just to prove they could get away with it. But soon their perfect crime unraveled due to a careless mistake. Or was it really so careless?
Directing Thrill Me for her venue is the Black Box's co-owner and artistic director Lora Adams, who previously helmed a 2016 production of the musical at Rock Island's Circa '21 Speakeasy, and whose recent directorial offerings have included Suddenly, Last Summer, Hello, Dolly!, and All Is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914. As he did for that latter title, area favorite Ron May serves as Adams' music director, and Adams stated of Thrill Me, "I first heard about the case from my mother. She had been the manicurist to one of their brothers. I am really happy to bring it to the Black Box because it is an intimate musical that fits perfectly into the intimacy of the theatre itself.”
Adams also acts as her show's designer, with its two-man cast composed of frequent area performers Daniel Williams (the Black Box's All Is Calm and Company) and Adam Cerny (the theatre's Veronica's Room and Silent Sky). Cerny also portrayed Loeb in Adams' 2016 presentation, and this upcoming May will mark the 100th anniversary of the thrill killers' “crime of the century.”
Thrill Me: The Leopold & Loeb Story runs at the Moline venue from February 9 through 24, with performances on Fridays and Saturdays (and Thursday, February 22) at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. Admission is $16, and more information and tickets are available by calling (563)284-2350 and visiting TheBlackBoxTheatre.com.
