Thrill me: The Leopold and Loeb story @ C venues

When it comes to musicals, the trend of the jukebox musical seems to have taken off, particularly in the wake of Mamma Mia, and various musicals about Queen. While smiling dancers and jazz hands all over the place seems to be the musical theatre stereotype (for a reason), it’s possible for musicals to explore serious themes as well – Spring Awakening, based on the banned German play, is a particularly dark example. Thrill Me: The Leopold and Loeb Story joins the dark side: there seem to be an increasing number of musicals about murders, and serial killers, like the one about Sweeney Todd: Demon Barber of Fleet Street, or even Jekyll and Hyde the Musical.

This particular musical follows the tale of Richard Loeb and Nathan Leopold who start their criminal career with petty crimes and escalate to the murder of a 12-year-old boy. Written in 2003 by Stephen Dolginoff, the musical is based on a true story, but speculates about the motives behind the thrill killing as well as the relationship between the two criminals. 

With a two-member cast, it’s quite possible to underestimate the quality of this particular production, yet the effort, detail and thought put into the show is obvious from the start. The intelligent acting allows the already horrifying plot to lead the audience in one direction, and then take a terrifying twist right at the end, just when the dynamic of the relationship between the two men seems to be set in stone. With solid acting and singing by Jo Parsons as Richard Loeb and Danny Colligan as Nathan Leopold, and live music accompaniment setting the scene, it’s hard to resist the deadly charm of the two main characters, even if they are killers.