Thrill Me: The Leopold & Loeb Story

Synopsis

How far would you go in the name of obsession? The Lindbergh Kidnapping... The O.J. Simpson Case... The Great Train Robbery... so many crimes have been labelled the crime of the 20th Century. Not one however engaged the world as much as the case of Leopold and Loeb - self- confessed ‘Thrill Killers’. Stephen Dolginoff’s multi-award winning musical Thrill Me - The Leopold & Loeb Story - examines the relationship between Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb - both wealthy, normal and intelligent Chicago students, about to commence training to become lawyers. The show begins at Leopold’s 1958 parole board hearing. Through a series of flashbacks we are taken on a journey of two young men, one who believed he was above the law, obsessed and fuelled by the philosophy of Nietzsche to the point he believed he was a ‘Superman’ beyond good and evil. The other - a loner - became a willing accomplice, empowering Loeb in his misdemeanours. His reward - Richard’s time, attention and conditional love! Together, they both believed they had perpetrated the perfect crime, or was one more certain than the other?

Our Review:

21 April 2011

The story of Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb, Thrill Me follows two Chicago murderers who kidnapped and killed a young boy in the 1920s. Their motivation? They believed they were 'superhuman', according to the Nietzchean philosophy taught at their university, and that they could commit the perfect crime - and get away with it. Turns out, it's not as simple as that, and the two men were caught pretty quickly, only the intervention of lawyer Clarence Darrow (famous for his work on the Scopes 'Monkey Trial') saving them from the death penalty.

With a two-hander, casting needs to be spot on, and thankfully it is, with former Jersey Boy Jye Frasca skilfully using expression and speech patterns to make his Leopold somewhat innocent and clingy in flashback, but clearly more world-weary in the present day. George Maguire, too, shows off his impressive, clear voice as the cruel, thrill-seeking Loeb. Maguire's portrayal communicates the killer's psychotic, selfish nature well, showi...

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Latest User Review

David Baxter - 26 May 2011:

The Leopold and Loeb story is familiar, not least from Rope which transposed the story from Chicago to London. The main difference with Thrill Me, other than the music obviously, is that there is no attempt to play down the love story between the two murderers and it is told from the point of view of Nathan Leopold. One of the strngths of Stephen Dolginoff's version is that, even though their crimes were repellent, you come to slightly sympathise with Leopold who appears to be a victim of Richard Loeb's Nitzchean fixation until a devastating final twist. How much of this is true and how much is conjecture is impossible to say and it is a shame that there is no postscript telling us of Leopold's fate after prison. The songs are used effectively to propel the compelling story forward, there is superb piano accompaniment from David Keefe and the show is given a tense and taut production by Guy Retallack. On the night I attended the show was being watched by his proud wife Rachel Tucker, taking a night off from Elphaba. It's worth noting that the Charing Cross Theatre is an absolutely perfect venue to showcase new musicals - 300 sears and a good-sized proscenium stage. They need to sort out a dodgy sound system (the rumble of the trains is beyond them) but here is an ideal palce to take a chance on all the new writers who we keep hearing are struggling to be produced....

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