Grace Hillmyer, Lux Mortenson, Abilene Olson, and Marley Ritchie Photo by Bruce Silcox

This scenario would make headlines today, for sure, but within six months, another equally horrific incident would take over the public's attention span. But the Borden murders and the trial of Lizzie Borden has never left our consciousness. In the century and a quarter since then, there has been a constant stream of plays, films, songs, teleplays, speculative fiction, and a landmark Agnes de Mille ballet, with no end in sight. In July of this year, Netflix announced that Season Four of the popular Ryan Murphy true crime anthology series, "Monster," will be based on the Lizzie Borden saga.

One of those speculative works is Lizzie, a self-proclaimed rock musical with music by Steven Cheslik-deMeyer and Alan Stevens Hewitt, lyrics by Cheslik-deMeyer and Tim Maner, and book by Maner. The show can be seen and heard, full-force, at Open Eye Theatre in a knock-out production directed by Joel Sass. I am here to tell you that the "rock musical" tag is wholly deserved. This tale is told through Maner's rock-solid narrative, and a thumping score that is a rock musical in the true sense that includes shows like Hedwig and the Angry Inch, American Idiot, and Jagged Little Pill. In other words, it stirs up the risk that any moment the roof will blow off the tiny theater. Not only is this truly a rock score, it is also a terrific musical theatre score, in that it does some of the heavy lifting to advance the narrative and character development.

The facts of the case that are known are that Lizzie and her older sister Emma were born to their father Andrew and his first wife, Sarah Hughes, who died when Lizzie was only three years old, and Emma was thirteen (a third daughter died at 22 months). Andrew had worked his way up from low beginnings and by the time he married his second wife, Abby Gray, had amassed a fair amount of wealth. Lizzie expressed the opinion that the second Mrs. Borden married her father for his money.

The family took in an Irish immigrant housemaid named Bridget Sullivan, who was 25 at the time of the murders. Lizzie was 32 and Emma 42, and neither of the Borden daughters had ever married. Lizzie and Emma's maternal uncle, John Hughes, visited just before the murders and heatedly discussed some unresolved financial matters with Andrew Borden. Lizzie expressed concerns that her father, having acquired enemies in Fall River, could fall victim to poisoning. A neighbor, Alice Russell, was a friend to Lizzie and Emma, and stayed with them the night of the murders to offer support. The next morning, Alice came upon Lizzie tearing up a dress and feeding it into the stove. Lizzie explained it was because the dress had become stained with paint.

Among the many theatrical, cinematic, and literary retellings of the story, most have one thing in common: the supposition that Lizzie Borden killed her father and stepmother. Beyond, that, there are a host of conjectures about the relationships among these figures, most including some variation of sexual relations, including incest, rape, child abuse, and lesbianism, and power struggles over the family's fortune, including the terms of Andrew Borden's will. Some toss in rivalry between the two Borden sisters, while others paint Bridget Sullivan as a blackmailer. Since no one living knows the truth, any and all speculation serves either the aim of creating a crackling good story, or relating these events to more current themes and concerns–or both.

In this show, those concerns clearly focus on the oppression of women: physical, sexual, financial, and existential. It features only four of the story's principals: Lizzie, Emma, Bridget, and Alice. We never see Andrew or Abby Borden, but we see their murder committed by an unidentifiable arm raising a hatchet in shadow imagery behind a screen–the superb lighting that makes strong use of the color red, here and elsewhere, is by Michael Murnane.

Lizzie, played with fury and soaring vocals by Lux Mortenson, begins as a deeply wounded soul who emerges as the hero of her own story, abandoning her prim 1890s attire of the first act for a steam-punk look that states, "approach with caution" (the phenomenal costumes are by Samantha Fromm Haddow). In "This Is Not Love," Mortenson sings while tugging at her bodice and clutching her inner thigh to indicate the brute force of a man imposing his will on her, expressing the agony of victimization with acute clarity. By the time her sojourn through fear, treachery, murder, and anxiety lands her in the lap of the legal system, she has learned to take control, manipulating the players in the terrifically conceived "Thirteen Days in Taunton."

Abilene Olson is wonderful as Emma Borden, wielding her authority as the older sibling, sizzling with anger at their stepmother and disappointment with their father, conniving to reverse the injustices she sorely feels. In "Sweet Little Sister," she archly manipulates the situation to have Lizzie do the dirty work for them both, then later erupts in disbelief when Lizzie takes things a step further, in "What the Fuck, Now Lizzie?!" Olson, too, shows she has a powerful set of pipes that can shake the rafters, and which she uses with sublime vocal skill, as well as a strong comic sensibility.

As Alice Russell, Grace Hillmyer gives a nuanced performance that conveys Alice's repressed desire for Lizzie ("If You Knew") and her tormented quandary in answering police investigators (Questions Questions")–to tell the truth and betray Lizzie or to lie in order to protect her beloved. Here, she is joined by the other four, who each must choose what they will say, further invoked by Lizzie's beseeching "Will You Lie?" In the midst of this heated drama, Marley Ritchie is great fun as the maid, Bridget Sullivan, who bristles every time the girls call her "Maggie" (because that was the name of their last maid) and delivering coy understatement of the events in a wonderful Irish lilt (dialect coach Patrick Bailey must be credited here) that lets us know nothing escapes her eyes and ears. All four actors have excellent voices and meld well together in varied combinations.

Sass's direction seems to have told the four actors, as well as the terrific four-piece band ("The Forty Whacks") led by music director Amanda Weis, at every turn to go for more: this story and this music can absorb everything the artists give it. Sass also designed the stage set, which shows delicious attention to details, like a white doily-lace sash to tie back a black stage drape at stage left, the use of a heavy wood timber chair as a central set piece, and placing the imprisoned Lizzie on a high stool, with big sister Emma kneeling down, forming an image of the younger Lizzy taking charge, even while incarcerated.

Abby Magalee's choreography has the quartet of performers work their way through rock and roll movements that gamely complement the songs on Open Eye's small stage. Intimacy coach Annie Enneking draws authenticity out of moments of clandestine physical connection. Dan Dukich did the sound design, which delivers not only the music and the actors' voices, but the actual words to the lyrics, something that often is lost in the rock-musical genre.

I know there are theatregoers who are not fans of rock music, and that might make Lizzie hard to enjoy. But give it a try, you might be surprised. For those who enjoy a good rock show, Lizzie delivers that, but so much more: a fascinating historical speculation that prompts consideration of gender equity, the safety afforded to LGBT relations, and the continued scourge of sexual exploitation today. Layer that with four amazing performances and terrific staging, and its no wonder that tickets for "Lizzie" have been selling well. My advice to you is, don't wait.

Lizzie runs through November 8, 2025, at Open Eye Theatre, 506 East 24th Street, Minneapolis MN. For tickets and information, please visit openeyetheatre.org.

Music: Steven Cheslik-Demeyer and Alan Stevens Hewitt; Lyrics: Steven Cheslik-Demeyer and Tim Maner; Book: Tim Maner; Additional Lyrics: Alan Stevens Hewitt; Additional Music: Tim Maner; Direction and Set Design: Joel Sass; Music Director: Amanda Weis; Costume Design: Samantha Fromm Haddow; Lighting Designer: Michael Murnane; Sound Design: Dan Dukich; Choreography: Abby Magalee; Intimacy Coach: Annie Enneking; Dialect Coach: Patrick Bailey; Stage Manager: Ches Cipriano.

Cast: Grace Hillmyer (Alice Russell), Lux Mortenson (Lizzie Borden), Abilene Olson (Emma Borden), Marley Ritchie (Bridget Sullivan - aka "Maggie").