Hello Beautiful People,
I’m sad to say that Murder Ballad is closing on July 21th.
Truthfully, it makes me sad when any show closes, and I know many of my dearest friends and colleagues feel the same way – afterall, as artists, as actors, as writers, we should be championing for all theatre to stay open as long as it possibly can, even if it doesn’t always suit our personal preferences.
But alas, I digress.
Murder Ballad is phenomenal. The voices. The concept. The actors.
Murder Ballad is phenomenal.
Oh wait, did I say that already?
Well, I’m saying it again.
It’s a piece of immersive theatre, currently calling it’s home the Union Square Theatre. John Ellison Conlee, Rebecca Naomi Jones, Caissie Levy, and Will Swenson.
Here’s the show blurb:
A love triangle gone wrong, MURDER BALLAD centers on Sara, an Upper West Sider who seems to have it all, but whose downtown past lingers enticingly and dangerously in front of her. Direct from a sold-out run at MTC’s Studio at Stage II, this sexy, explosive, new rock musical explores the complications of love, the compromises we make, and the betrayals that can ultimately undo us. MURDER BALLAD is conceived by Jonathan Larson Award winner and two-time Susan Smith Blackburn Prize finalist Julia Jordan with book and lyrics by Jordan and music and lyrics by indie rock singer/songwriter Juliana Nash. Drama Desk Award nominee Trip Cullman (Paul Weitz’s Lonely, I’m Not; Adam Bock’s A Small Fire) directs this inventive new show that critics have called “dirty fun with a fearless, sexy cast” (Time Out New York).
Here’s what you need to know:
Murder Ballad is about the dark side of love. It’s about lust. It’s about sex. It’s about betrayal. It’s about those moments when all you want is a physical connection with someone, but then you so quickly realize that it’s the stability,the support, and the loyalty that counts. That’s what becomes sexy. That’s what is real.
But, like any good love triangle story, there’s a twist.
And I for one did not see it coming.
The cast is outstanding. Absolutely, positively, outstanding. I don’t think I could pick a favorite, as I’ve never heard a Caissie Levy sing a song that didn’t give an audience goosebump, I would be hard pressed to find a crowd that wasn’t mesmerized by Will Swenson, John Ellison Conlee possess a stature and set of pipes that blew me away, and well, Rebecca Naomi Jones…there are no words. For me, she drove that show, and it was that certain j’nescois that cannot be eqlouently expresssed. She added humor and light in the moments when it was needed, she was the audiences conscience, our gateway into the pysche of the other three.
Go. See. This. Show. Before. It. Closes.
Ya got that?
Besides, they absolutely gutted the Union Square Theatre – just being in the space is an experience.
To the cast, crew, and creative team of Murder Ballad – BRAVO. Y’all rocked our socks off.
Live, Love, Learn,