America has always loved its bad boys — and bad girls. The exploits of Jesse James, Bonnie and Clyde, and Ma Barker have been woven into our heritage of folklore, films, and popular songs. Among the most infamous of the 19th century’s ne’er-do-wells was Lizzie Borden, accused of the grisly hatchet murders of her father and stepmother in Fall River, Massachusetts, in 1892. The case was bungled, and the 12-man jury was hopelessly biased — they simply couldn’t believe that a native-born, upper-middle-class white woman was capable of such a crime. After a quick deliberation, Lizzie was acquitted. Yet suspicion lingered and continues to fascinate us more than a century later.
Lizzie’s story morphed into an eerie, ubiquitous schoolyard rhyme:
Lizzie Borden took an ax
And gave her mother forty whacks.
When she saw what she had done,
She gave her father forty-one.
In 2009, she reappeared in Lizzie the Musical, based on an original concept by Alan Stevens Hewitt and Tim Maner. The Keegan Theatre’s Lizzie offers a raw, rambunctious revival of this rock-infused anthem to feminism. With its undercurrents of molestation, repression, and same-sex love set against the rigid strictures of Victorian society, Lizzie Borden proves an ideal subject for a 21st-century reckoning with girl power. It’s almost a misnomer to call this production a “musical.” With virtually no spoken dialogue, it plays more like a rock opera, propelled by a well-crafted sequence of songs underscored by pulsating rock rhythms.
Four dazzling performers bring Lizzie’s story to life, excavating the family dysfunction that may have driven her over the edge. The show opens ominously, with the familiar nursery rhyme rendered in a haunting minor key. It’s followed by “The House of Borden,” in which the quartet reveals, “There’s a lock on every door; in every room a prisoner of a long, silent war.” Clearly, the Borden household seethes with tension. Unlike the real-life jury, the musical presumes Lizzie’s guilt; its focus lies not on if she did it, but why.
Caroline Graham commands the stage as the volatile, conflicted Lizzie. Coiled with rage, she recounts her father’s abuse in “This Is Not Love.” Brigid Wallace Harper, as Bridget the maid, provides wry commentary on the dysfunctional Yankee family, venting her resentment as a looked-down-upon Irish immigrant while cleverly extorting Lizzie’s sister, Emma (Sydne Lyons), to keep her silence. Lyons’s Emma, more level-headed than her sister, bears her own emotional scars. Her close harmonies with Graham in “What the F**k, Now, Lizzie?” and “Watchmen for the Morning” highlight both their intimacy and their shared frustration as unmarried sisters whose parsimonious father may be diverting their inheritance to his second wife.
Perhaps the most poignant moment comes from next-door neighbor Alice (a luminous Savanah Blackwell), who harbors her own secret — she’s in love with Lizzie. In the aching ballad “If You Knew,” she asks, “Could I still touch you? Would you let me comfort you if you knew?” Blackwell’s voice radiates tenderness and longing, perfectly capturing the ache of forbidden love in a stifling world.
Director and choreographer Jennifer J. Hopkins leads the four women with precision and energy, supported by an onstage band of outstanding musicians conducted by keyboardist Marika Countouris. Sage Green’s lighting design pulses with eerie greens and yellows, sometimes illuminating the audience as well as the stage to draw us deeper into the psychological chaos.
Scenic designer and technical director Josh Sticklin provides a clever, versatile set — watch as massive columns shift from interior to exterior spaces, transforming into reflective surfaces that mirror the show’s shifting moods. Costume designer Logan Benson deftly evokes the rigid elegance of late-Victorian fashion before subverting it with raised hems. Without spoiling the final costume transformations, suffice it to say that they, along with the escalating ferocity of the score, compel us to confront Lizzie Borden’s enduring resonance with contemporary audiences.
This production vividly illustrates how we continually reimagine America’s folk heroes and antiheroes to create a “usable past” that speaks to the present. Bravo to the Keegan Theatre for a spirited and compelling revival of a splendid show.
Running Time: 90 minutes with one 15-minute intermission.
Lizzie the Musical plays through November 30, 2025 (Thursdays to Saturdays at 8:00 pm, Sundays at 3:00 pm, and select Mondays and Wednesdays at 8:00 pm), at the Keegan Theatre, 1742 Church Street NW, Washington, DC. Performances are Thursdays-Saturdays at 8:00 pm, Sundays at 3:00 pm, and select Mondays and Wednesdays at 8:00 pm. Tickets are $65 ($54 for seniors and students) and available online.
Cast and creative team credits and bios are here.
Lizzie the Musical
Writers: Steven Cheslik-deMeyer, Tim Maner & Alan Stevens Hewitt
Director & Choreographer: Jennifer J. Hopkins
Music Director: Marika Countouris
SEE ALSO:
Keegan Theatre announces cast and creative team for ‘Lizzie the Musical’ (news story, October 8, 2025)
