TheaterWorks Hartford, under the leadership of Artistic Director Rob Ruggiero, is thrilled to announce a one-week extension of the all-female musical LIZZIE, which will now close on October 29. Similar in spirit to the Broadway hit Six, this contemporary musical, which began previews on September 29 and opened on Oct 6, is a rock concert re-telling of a mind-bending American myth. The production will also stream on demand October 22–29. Tickets are now on sale at twhartford.org.
Written by Steven Cheslik-deMeyer, Tim Maner, and Alan Stevens Hewitt, LIZZIE uses a searing rock score to explore the historical record of Lizzie Borden, the 19th century ax murderer whose controversial acquittal continues to fascinate the public. Directed by Lainie Sakakura and with music direction by Erika R. Gamez, the cast for LIZZIE includes Courtney Bassett (The Great Comet, Titanique) as Emma Borden, Kim Onah (Broadway’s & Juliet) as Alice Russell, Nora Schell (Spamilton, Broadway’s Jagged Little Pill) as Bridget Sullivan, and Sydney Shepherd (Broadway’s First Date, Bandits on the Run) as Lizzie Borden, all of whom are making their TheaterWorks Hartford debuts.
Artistic Director Rob Ruggiero commented, “Coming from Massachusetts, the Lizzie Borden story is a familiar part of my childhood. I’ve wanted to tell some version of it on stage for years. After seeing the Broadway tour of Six recently, I immediately thought again of Lizzie, a musical project that was brought to me years ago. And I knew, this is the Lizzie story for TheaterWorks Hartford and now is the moment to tell it.”
The creative team for Lizzie includes Brian Prather (set design), Saawan Tiwari (costume design), Rob Denton (lighting design), Megan “Deets” Culley (sound design), Ashley Rae Callahan (hair, make-up design), Camilla Tassi (projection design), Paul Hardt (casting director), Rob Ruggiero (producing artistic director), Mike Lenaghan (director of production), and Tom Kosis (production stage manager).
Alongside performances of LIZZIE, TheaterWorks Hartford will present a special one-night-only concert with Bandits on the Run on October 22. This musical trio includes Adrian Enscoe, Regina Strayhorn, and Sydney Shepherd, who stars as Lizzie Borden in Lizzie. Formed upon a chance encounter while busking in the subways of New York City, the Brooklyn based outfit has gone on to receive accolades from NPR Music’s All Songs Considered, American Songwriter, NPR Weekend Edition, and the Johnny Mercer Songwriters Project.
Performances of LIZZIE will now take place through October 29, 2023, at TheaterWorks Hartford’s historic home, located at 233 Pearl Street, Hartford, CT. The running time is 90 minutes with one intermission.
The performance schedule is Tuesdays through Thursdays at 7:30pm, Fridays at 8pm, Saturdays at 2:30pm and 8pm, and Sundays at 2:30pm.
In-person tickets are priced at $25–$75. On demand streaming tickets, priced at $15, are available October 22-29. All tickets can be purchased online at www.twhartford.org or by calling 860.527.7838.
Please visit twhartford.org for more information.
About the LIZZIE Artists
Fresh out of art school in the early 80s, Steven Cheslik-deMeyer (Music and Lyrics) bought a used guitar in a junk shop on St. Marks Place, learned three chords, and taught himself to write songs by listening to Dolly Parton records. He insinuated himself into the post-punk neo-folk scene in the East Village, but soon discovered the world of downtown theater. Through the late 80s and early 90s, he wrote and performed music in several experimental productions with tiny mythic theatre company and directors Kristin Marting and Tim Maner. In 1992, he and Jay Byrd created an act called Y’all, singing original songs and telling stories in the style of old-time country vaudeville. The act sprang from the downtown theater scene but went on to play in coffeehouses, churches, retirement homes, and rock clubs across the U.S., Canada, and Europe. In ten years, Y’all recorded four CDs, published two books, appeared on MTV and Comedy Central, and went broke. Their last two years together, they lived in a camper on the road with a third partner. Steven made a documentary about that relationship and the final years of Y’all, Life in a Box, which premiered in the San Francisco International Film Festival in 2005. After the demise of Y’all, Steven returned to New York where he continues to make music and theater and musical theater. He is a 2019 Jonathan Larson Grant finalist, a MacDowell Fellow, and a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin with a degree in American Studies.
Right out of college, Tim Maner (Book, Music and Lyrics) co-founded the tiny mythic theatre company with a focus on developing the work of creator/directors and a mission to “disrupt the american living room / rearrange the furniture in the american mind”. tiny mythic’s work became a staple of the downtown alt-theatre scene of the early 90s, and just a few years later, the previously transient company transformed into the award-winning NYC arts center, HERE, called “One of the most unusual arts spaces in New York – and possibly the model for the cutting edge arts space of tomorrow” by The New York Times. His producing/presenting history at HERE included hundreds of productions brought to life by thousands of artists. He remains an active founding board member working to expand opportunities for mid-career artists. Tim has created over twenty original works as a creator/director including: The Hawthorne Project, a six-year collaboration with writer/adaptor Elizabeth Banks building a trilogy of multi-layered multi-media events adapted from Nathaniel Hawthorne’s three American novels and The Opera Project, a five-year collaboration with writer Ruth Margraff and composers Matthew Pierce and Fred Ho creating a series of original new wave operas. Outside of the work he created with his own companies, he has directed at The New York Shakespeare Festival and New Dramatists Guild, was a guest artist/teaching fellow at Harvard University and has taught at New York University/Playwrights Horizons. He’s also sung in some bands, arranged and conducted a Cowgirl Chorus, and originated roles in two Robert Wilson shows: Hamletmachine (NY/European Tour) and Salomé (La Scala, Milan). He is a graduate of NYU/ Tisch School of the Arts.
Alan Stevens Hewitt (Music and Lyrics) grew up in a musical family, the son of a Philadelphia Orchestra oboist. He cut his teeth as a teenager recording for Ruffhouse/Columbia Records at Studio 4 in Philly, and during the ’90s as member of alt-folk band The Low Road (Caroline Records), touring with Los Lobos, Barenaked Ladies, and label-mates Ben Folds Five. He moved full-time to New York City in the late ’90s to pursue his conservatory degree in Composition at Mannes College of Music/The New School, where he studied with Robert Cuckson and Carl Schachter. In the mid-aughts, with partners, he opened The Coral Room, a nightclub in the Chelsea section of Manhattan, which featured a 10,000 gallon saltwater aquarium with live “mermaid” performances and hosted cutting edge bands, performance artists, events, and DJs nightly. As an actively performing musician, his credits include Broadway’s Frozen, Come From Away, The Band’s Visit, Fun Home (also 1st Natl. Tour), Finding Neverland, Matilda, Sting’s Last Ship, Rocky, Jekyll & Hyde, Lysistrata Jones, Green Day’s American Idiot, Spring Awakening (also 1st Natl. Tour), Off-Bway’s Closer Than Ever, RENT, tours in the U.S. and abroad, and numerous recordings as a player, composer, arranger, and producer. His first score for theatre was for a production of Bertolt Brecht’s Baal that The New York Times thought was awful. He lives in the Lower Hudson Valley and enjoys motorcycles and longboarding.
LAINIE SAKAKURA (Director) is a NYC based freelance director and award winning choreographer. Recipient: 2015 Joe A. Callaway Award Outstanding Choreography and 2002 Joseph Jefferson Award Best Choreography. Broadway: FOSSE, Dance Reconstructions (1999 Tony Award Best Musical) and Broadway veteran performer of 6 original casts. Lainie has directed work in NYC at Cherry Lane, Peter Jay Sharp Theatre, Joyce Theater, Bruno Walter Auditorium, Neighborhood Playhouse, Theatre 71, Summer Stage, and solo shows for the late, great Alvin Ing. NYU Tisch NSB adjunct professor and guest teacher/artist/director in a dozen universities. Long time advocate for diversity and inclusion in the performing arts. Passion projects include: My AAPI Broadway Story: Breaking Barriers, Lincoln Center Library for the Performing Arts (Concept/Direction); Corner of Bitter and Sweet, adaptation of the NYT Bestseller Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet (Book/Direction); BCEFA Red Bucket Follies 2018 with 42 AAPI Broadway performers (Co-Conceived/Writer). Rockettes of Color Alumnae (Co-founder/Co-chair). Theatre Producers of Color (2023 Cohort). Always for my daughters, Avelina and Isabela.
ERIKA R. GAMEZ (Music Director/Keyboard 1) is a NYC-based conductor and keyboardist. Off-Broadway: The Harder They Come (The Public). National Tour: Summer: The Donna Summer Musical. Regional/Selected: Next To Normal (Greenbrier Valley Theater); Aida (STAGES St. Louis); A Christmas Carol (McCarter Theatre); On Your Feet! (John W. Engeman Theater); Little Duende (NAMT); Miss You Like Hell (Patio Playhouse); Allegory (La Jolla Playhouse WOW Festival). MM in Conducting, San Diego State University; BA in Music Education, Fresno State. Proud Local 802 AFM member. Many thanks to our incredible cast, crew, and band. All my love to my family, friends, and Andrew dearest. Cheers! erikargamez.com.
Rob Ruggiero (Producing Artistic Director) has been part of TheaterWorks Hartford artistic leadership for 29 seasons. He has directed over 65 shows, including TWH productions of The Sound Inside, American Son, The Legend of Georgia McBride, Constellations, Next to Normal, Relativity (with Richard Dreyfuss) and Christmas on the Rocks, which he also conceived. His Broadway credits include Looped (with Valerie Harper in a Tony-nominated performance) and High (with Kathleen Turner) which had its world premiere at TWH. He also conceived and directed the musical revue Make Me a Song: The Music of William Finn which moved off-Broadway and was nominated for Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards. Rob conceived and directed Ella, a musical about Ella Fitzgerald, which saw sold-out runs in 24 regional theaters and was produced as a National Tour. His work on plays and musicals has received multiple awards in Connecticut and around the United States. Rob recently directed A Grand Night for Singing at Goodspeed Musicals where over his 14-year relationship he has directed many award-winning musical productions. Internationally he directed Fiddler on the Roof in Athens, Greece.
About the Lizzie Cast
COURTNEY BASSETT (Emma Borden | she/her) is happy to be making her TWH debut! Credits include Broadway: The Great Comet. TV: Manifest, Good Morning America, The Today Show, The 71st Annual Tony Awards. Film: Bros. Courtney just finished a year-long run in the original cast of the Lucille Lortel Award winning Titanique. Other regional/Off BWay favorites: Thelma Louise Dyke Remix (NAMT), Bedbugs!!, POP! (Who Shot Andy Warhol?), “Somewhere” vocalist for NYC Ballet’s West Side Story Suite. Singer/Songwriter for indie pop band Starbird & the Phoenix. Courtney plays Starbuck in and is on the book writing team for the upcoming Kill the Whale: A Moby Dick Rock Opera. Next up: The world premiere of new musical Teeth, at Playwrights Horizons in NYC. Thank you to the fierce Lizzie team, TWHartford, and DGRW.
KIM ONAH (Alice Russell | she/her) is thrilled to be making her TWH debut! A graduate from Harvard University, Kim is an NYC-based actor, singer, and writer. Favorite credits include: & Juliet (Broadway); Beautiful (Tour Company); Aida (as Aida); Guys and Dolls (as Sarah Brown); All Shook Up (as Lorraine). So much love and thanks to her family, friends, and agents at The Collective. kimonah.com @kimona93
NORA SCHELL (Bridget Sullivan | they/them) is making their TWH debut. Nora graduated from The University of Michigan with a BFA in Musical Theatre and a minor in Gender, Race and Nation. They received Drama Desk, Drama League and Clive Barnes Award nominations for their performance and Off-Broadway debut in Spamilton. Nora made their Broadway debut in Jagged Little Pill. With their educational background, Nora continues to cultivate a career focused on the intersection of performing and social justice. Love and gratitude to Gregg Baker Management, their family and Jane.
SYDNEY SHEPHERD (Lizzie Borden | she/her) is elated to be making her TWH debut. Selected stage credits includes Broadway: First Date, Regional: August Rush (Lyla), Jasper in Deadland (Agnes). Selected TV/Film: Red Dead Redemption II, Netflix’s Ask the Storybots, and the upcoming feature The Midnight Song, a film for which she also wrote the title track. Sydney is 1/3 of the critically acclaimed indie folk-pop band Bandits on The Run. They’ve released several albums, toured internationally, and played festivals like The NPR Tiny Desk Tour, Cambridge Folk Fest, and Singapore Formula 1 Grand Prix. Sydney is also a longtime collaborator of actor/musician Christopher Sears, and originated the role of The Moon in Sears’ Moonchildren the Opera. Sydney is currently working with collaborators Adrian Enscoe, Regina Strayhorn, Christopher Sears, and Peter Hedges on a new stage musical. @sydneytorin @banditsontherun
About TheaterWorks Hartford
Celebrating its 39th season, TheaterWorks Hartford (TWH) produces high quality, contemporary theater that is relevant to our audiences, engages a diverse community, and provides insight into the human experience. TWH is committed to the power of storytelling in creating community. Founded in 1985, TWH has produced over 170 plays and presents approximately 225 performances per season. TWH also owns and manages the historic property at 233 Pearl Street, known as City Arts on Pearl. City Arts provides an affordable home and services to a diverse family of non-profit arts organizations. For updates on TheaterWorks Hartford, visit here and follow on Facebook, Instagram, or YouTube.
Funding Credits
TheaterWorks Hartford is supported by Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, Greater Hartford Arts Council, Travelers, Bank of America, CT Office of the Arts, CT Humanities, Lincoln Financial Foundation, Edward C. and Ann T. Roberts Foundation, Richard P. Garmany Fund, HSB, Raytheon Technologies, Burry Fredrik Foundation, The Shubert Foundation, Gawlicki Family Foundation, Cheryl Chase & Stuart Bear Family Foundation, Liberty Bank, Ensworth Charitable Foundation, John and Kelly Hartman Foundation,George A. and Grace L. Long Foundation, TD Bank, William and Alice Mortensen Foundation, The Elizabeth M. Landon and Harriette M. Landon Charitable Trust, The Katherine K. Mclane and Henry R. Mclane Charitable Trust, M&T Bank