On stage
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Down on the Farm at Tyngsborough with Nance O’Neil
It was a perfect weekend to journey out to Tyngsborough to get a glimpse of what was left of the charm Nance O’Neil found at her farm. The town, which is nestled between the Merrimack River and Flint Pond is a sleepy little place, filled with quiet backroads and rustic appeal, meadows and wildlife. Nothing remains of Nance’s stately manse, called various names over time but Brinley Farm or Brinley Manse when Nance was there. She took up summer residency in May, 1904 but the name of Benjamin Levy was also on the deed. Between her manager, McKee Rankin’s mismanagement of Nance’s finances and Nance’s spendthrift ways, she declared bankruptcy by May 1906 and sold the property in 1907 to the Sisters of Notre Dame. The nuns erected a school on the property of 220 acres, still there today. The mansion burned to the ground in 1977 when it was owned by the Marist Catholic Brothers. It is said that a couple small outbuildings from the farm still exist from Nance’s time. Here are some views from the property and some town buildings still around that Lizzie and Nance would recognize.
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Coming Soon 2019
Lots of Lizzie to look forward to in the early months of the new year. Available in March and ready to pre-order on Amazon now
In addition to the hoped for opening of Maplecroft in the very near future is the debut in NYC of the rock musical LIZZIE. Follow the production news on Facebook! https://www.facebook.com/LizzieMusical/
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A Weekend with Lizzie Borden Not to Be Missed
For those who cannot get enough of the Borden Case, this will be a four-star weekend featuring the annual dramatization at the house on Second Street ( tickets on sale now at the Lizzie Borden Bed & Breakfast) and a VERY special exhibit which opens on August 4th and runs through September 30th at the Fall River Historical Society. For Letterboxers, a special letterbox will be hidden in Fall River to mark the 120th anniversary of the historic crime. Atlasquest.com will have the clue, so bring your stamp and notepad, an inkpad is provided in the box. To see the clue type Fall River, MA in the locator box at the Atlasquest.com site. Got Lizzie? And how!
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Pear Essential Players One Day Only
Once a year the only dedicated amateur Bordenian thespian troupe gathers to put on their dramatization of events at the Borden house on August 4th. There will be a new Lizzie this year and a few other new faces. The amateur performers come together from all over the country only once a year on the 4th for this event. The group was founded in 1993 and the cast has increased every year with this year’s cast featuring 16 character roles. Tickets may be reserved by calling the Lizzie Borden Bed & Breakfast Museum at 508-675-7333. Major credit cards accepted. Tickets can be reserved for you in the giftshop for pick-up on the day of the event or purchased during giftshop hours. Don’t be disappointed-tickets sell out fast!
Abby Borden- Shelley Dziedzic
Andrew Borden- Don Sykes
Lizzie Borden- Carol Ann Simone
Emma Borden- Barbara Morrissey
Uncle John Morse- Joe Radza
Bridget Sullivan- Suzann Rogers
Marshal Hilliard- Ray Mitchell
Officer Phil Harrington- Mark Lomastro
Dr. Bowen- Jack Sheridan
Mrs. Phebe Bowen- Ellen Borden
Addie Churchill- JoAnne Giovino
Dr. Dolan- Michael Shogi
Miss Manning- Eliza Marks
Nellie Bly, Intrepid Globe-Spanning Reporter- Katrina Shogi
Undertaker Winward- Jerry Pacheco
Alice Russell- Kristin Pepe
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The Lizzie Borden Rag
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August 4th is Coming Soon !
The Pear Essential Players Present
A Dramatization of August 4th on Second Street Saturday, August 4, 2012
Reserved Tickets are Now On sale at
The Lizzie Borden Bed & Breakfast Museum
Turn back the clock to the morning of August 4, 1892. The bodies of Abby and Andrew Borden have been discovered cruelly murdered at their home on Second Street. The friends and neighbors have gathered around daughters Emma and Lizzie as the police and doctors collect evidence and question the inhabitants of #92. Can you help the police solve the mystery? Who could have committed such a grisly deed?
A drawing for the day’s tour visitors will be held after the last performance for a Gift Certificate for Two for a night at the Bed & Breakfast. The Drawing is at 4:15 p.m. Follow the Pear Essential Players on Facebook and at http://pearessentialproductions.org/
Abby Borden- Shelley Dziedzic
Andrew Borden- Don Sykes
Lizzie Borden- Carol Ann Simone
Emma Borden- Barbara Morrissey
Uncle John Morse- Joe Radza
Bridget Sullivan- Suzann Rogers
Marshal Hilliard- Ray Mitchell
Officer Phil Harrington- Mark Lomastro
Dr. Bowen- Jack Sheridan
Mrs. Phebe Bowen- Ellen Borden
Addie Churchill- JoAnne Giovino
Dr. Dolan- Michael Shogi
Miss Manning- Eliza Marks
Nellie Bly, Intrepid Globe-Spanning Reporter- Katrina Shogi
Undertaker Winward- Jerry Pacheco
Alice Russell- Kristin Pepe
A new Miss Lizzie is making her debut! Tickets go on sale July 15th! Call 508-675-7333 to reserve.
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Fall River Legend
Over the holiday weekend, the Boston Pops paid tribute to New England icons, including Lizzie Borden, by playing selections from the Morton Gould musical score for Agnes DeMille’s FALL RIVER LEGEND of 1948.
Miss DeMille was one of the very few allowed into the Second Street home of the McGinns as she worked on the choreography for the ballet featuring the Borden case. This Youtube sampler from the ballet suite was composed by Gould in 1947. Gould died in 1996.
( Prologue & Waltzes 03:30 – Elegy 06:25 – Church Social 10:27 – Hymnal )
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Congratulations to the Cast of 2011
The Cast for 2011
Lizzie Borden: Kathleen Troost-CramerDetective Seaver: Ben Rose
Abby Borden: Shelley Dziedzic (flat on the floor)
Andrew Borden: Nicole (under the sheet)
Bridget Sullivan Suzanne Rogers
Emma Borden: Barbara Morrissey
Addie Churchill: JoAnne Giovino
Alice Russell: Kristin Pepe
Uncle John: Joe Radza
Dr. Dolan: Michael ShogiUndertaker Winward Richard Marr-Griffin
Miss Manning from the Herald: Christina Lambertson
Internationally acclaimed world reporter, Nellie Bly- Katrina Shogi
Marshall Hilliard; Ray Mitchell
Mrs. Dr. Bowen: Ellen Borden -
Taking a Whack at Lizzie
This year the August 4th production at the Lizzie Borden Bed and Breakfast will debut a new leading lady. She is no stranger to the part. The photos here are taken from an episode filmed last summer for the Travel Channel. Kathleen Troost-Cramer, day manager at the famous B&B in Fall River, may be remembered for performances in years past as Irish maid, Bridget Sullivan. This year, having gotten in a few practice whacks with a hatchet, Kathleen is ready to take on the legendary Lizzie Borden, probably the most difficult role of the lot as expectations are so varied and anticipated by the sold-out crowd which assembles every year on the 4th to re-live the Borden tale of mystery.
Mild-mannered mother of two, and Bible scholar, this role is quite a stretch, but anyone who has been “under the hatchet”to Kathleen can testify- she means business!
Congratulations and “break-a-leg” to Kathleen as we wait to see her unique spin on the unforgettable Lizzie Borden!
First performance on August 4th at 10:30 a.m., last performance at 3:30 p.m.
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Get your Tickets Now !
As posted yesterday, Miss Lizzie is coming home for two performances August 5th and 6th at the Nagle Auditorium at B.M.C. Durfee High School in a production by the Covey Theatre Company of Syracuse, N.Y., according to the Fall River Herald News http://www.heraldnews.com/entertainment/x2108626470/Latest-Lizzie-Borden-play-to-be-staged-Aug-5-6-in-Fall-RiverFor reviews of the play and some color stills, visit this link http://www.thecoveytheatrecompany.com/production-archives.html
Tickets may be purchased online at the link and word is out that this new treatment of the case promises to satisfy the most ardent Bordenite. Snag a ticket early!
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She’s Back for August!
In addition to anticipating the upcoming release of the historical society’s Parallel Lives, August will welcome a new play about the famous case. The Herald News reports:
A new play, “Lizzie Borden Took an Axe,” depicting the well known Lizzie Borden case will be staged in Fall River for the 119th anniversary of the hatchet murders of Andrew and Abby Borden.
There will be two performances on Aug. 5 and 6 at the Nagle Auditorium at B.M.C. Durfee High School by the Covey Theatre Company of Syracuse, N.Y.
Fresh from winning two Syracuse Area Live Theatre awards for Best Original Play and Best Costumes, as well as the Gloria Peter Playwright competition from Aurora, NY, “Lizzie Borden Took an Axe” left critics enthralled and Bordenophiles raving.“Lizzie Borden Took an Axe” will be staged Friday and Saturday, Aug. 5 and 6 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased by calling 315-420-3729 or online at” www.thecoveytheatrecompany.com.
The annual costumed recreation of August 4th will take place as usual at the Lizzie Borden Bed & Breakfast on the 4th, which this year, will be a Thursday, just as it was in 1892.
Plenty of Lizzie on the way for August!
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Lambie Awards for 2011
The Best Actor Award was a tie this year- for the first time. Will Clawson and Ray Mitchell, both employees of the Lizzie Borden Bed and Breakfast Museum are also Pear Essential Players and last August 4th, on the anniversary of the murders, took up the roles of Officer Harrington and City Marshal Rufus B. Hilliard. The Second Street Irregulars (the “Muttoneaters”), award the golden statuette yearly for best performance in a Borden case-related role.
Will Clawson as the popular and well-beloved Phil Harrington (the man who described Lizzie’s wrapper in such detail and died tragically on his honeymoon the year Lizzie was acquitted)
Ray Mitchell as City Marshal Rufus Hilliard
The best actress award this year went to Kristin Pepe for her sympathetic portrayal of long-time Borden friend, and former neighbor, Alice Russell. Kristin played the role of Bridget Sullivan in 2009 and 2010 was her first time in the role of the lady who saw Lizzie burn the dress in the woodstove and who was the recipient of the exciting news divulged by Lizzie on the night before the murders that “something is going to happen, Father has an enemy. . .” Kristin was also a Lens of Sherlock recipient several years ago when she tracked down Emma Borden’s alma mater, Wheaton Female Seminary. Congratulations, all!
Kristin (center) with Barbara Morrissey (Emma, on the left) and Lorraine Gregoire (Lizzie on the right) on August 4, 2011.
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Lizzie back in the Big Apple next month
“THE WORKSHOP THEATER and ALVIN OUT PRODUCTIONS present the New York premiere of Lizzie Borden at Eight O’Clock at the WorkShop Jewel Box Theater March 24th-April 3rd. The WorkShop Theater is located at 312 West 36th Street, 4th floor. Subway: A, C, or E to Penn Station. General admission tickets to Lizzie Borden At Eight O’Clock are $18, $15 for students and seniors. Also limited number of TDF @ the $9 Off-Off-Broadway rate (2 per performance). For Information / Tickets visit: www.workshoptheater.org or call 866-811-4111. The play is directed by Kenneth Tigar.THE WORKSHOP THEATER and ALVIN OUT PRODUCTIONS’ production of Lizzie Borden at Eight O’Clock, tells the chilling first person account from Lizzie Borden herself of her father and stepmother’s gruesome murders.
Decades after her acquittal, Lizzie Borden takes the podium at her local Historical Society to once and for all clear her name, or will she? With a tour de force performance by Ellen Barry (Terrence McNally‘s A Perfect Ganesh) as Lizzie Borden, Lizzie relives the compelling events that lead to the headline murders of the century. The bloody dress, the food poisoning, the broken hatchet in the basement, the mysterious bloodless-ness of the crime scenes— all clues pointed towards Lizzie for the murders. But Lizzie has an alternate explanation, and, at long last, she’s ready to tell the whole spine-tingling story. Originally produced and developed and performed at the Historic North Hall in Huntington, MA, this is Lizzie Borden At Eight O’Clock’s New York City debut.
**NOTE*** Lizzie Borden At Eight O’Clock deals with graphic material that may be unsuitable for younger audiences.”
For more about cast and crew http://offoffbroadway.broadwayworld.com/article/Workshop_Theatre_and_Alvin_Out_Productions_Present_LIZZIE_BORDEN_AT_EIGHT_OCLOCK_32443_20110209
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Lizzie Borden is Halloween’s New Pin-Up Girl
As Halloween draws nearer every year, there seem to be more and more “Lizzie sightings”. Whether in haunted corn mazes, horror theme attractions, Halloween costumes or a proliferation of Lizzie Borden-based plays- the little gal with the hatchet is everywhere from August right through to All Saints Day!
The Discovery Channel has set the Ghost Lab show of the investigation of the Borden house for Oct 25th, with a preview on the 19th. The Travel Channel repeated its look at America’s Most Terrifying Places again this past weekend, Nance O’Neil is coming to a close this weekend in Manhattan and coming soon- a new play, Lizzie Borden Took An Axe, by Garrett Heater will be the debut production of a brand new theatre group.
http://blog.syracuse.com/entertainment/2010/10/new_theater_company_stages_ori.html
Stay tuned for all-new Lizzie & Family productions coming this Fall on the Discovery channel, a landmark book on Fall River and Lizzie coming from the Fall River Historical Society, and the Borden case documentary shot by Ric Rebelo this past spring will be airing Saturday, October 30th at 7pm on Rhode Island PBS– the day before Halloween. And Sunday night, the 31st, is ALWAYS a special night at #92 Second Street and is sold out a year in advance!
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Nance at The Players Club
With Nance O’Neil off-Broadway until October 9th, playgoers may like to know that the famous Players Club has a full-length portrait of Nance as Lady Macbeth in the diningroom. See link below to the Player’s Club and a link to a mixed review of Nance as Lady Macbeth here below as a pdf file: -
West Coast loves Lizzie
Lizzie Borden has jumped the bounds of just New England lore. West Coasters love Lizzie too! The popular play, Blood Relations is on tap for December in Olympia, Washington. http://www.olytheater.com/index.htm Not only transcontinental, Miss Borden and that hatchet are on the way to becoming transglobal, thanks to the Internet and the Travel Channel!
Blood Relations by Sharon Pollock
Directed by Tim Samland
December, 2010
Venue: The Midnight Sun“In 1892 Lizzie Borden was tried for the double murder of her father and stepmother. She was acquitted but the crime was never solved. 10 years later, at tea with an actress, Lizzie suggests a game in which the actress will portray Miss Lizzie and Lizzie will take the role of Bridget, the family’s maid.” -
Lizzie Borden Rides Again
Chances are you have not heard of the Garst Museum in Greenville, Ohio unless you are a fan of Greenville- born world traveller and TV star Lowell Thomas whose adventures enthralled millions on radio and later television. Or perhaps sharpshooter Annie Oakley, about whom the Garst has produced a world-class exhibit about her life.
As part of their autumn lecture series, another famous lady will be featured as subject of a one-woman show as Christy Igo takes on Lizzie Borden- no sharp-shooting pistol, but a hatchet just as deadly.
(photo of Ms. Igo from http://www.lizzieborden.info/_wsn/page2.html)
“Sunday, October 10, 2010 at 2:00 p.m., Christy Igo’s program “Lizzie Borden: A Life” is coming to the Garst. It is full of laughter, mystery, and horror as she brings Lizzie Borden to life to tell HER STORY of the murder of her beloved father and step mother. This crime is one of the bloodiest, most notorious and mysterious crimes of the 19th century!
In 1892 Lizzie Borden was found NOT guilty by a jury of her peers. Most of the towns folk of Falls River, Massachusetts DISAGREED. The trial received worldwide media attention. Lizzie became a celebrity. The gruesome details played out in the daily newspapers.Did she or didn’t she? Modern law students still argue the case. You be the judge.
Christy Igo trained at Ohio University’s Professional Actor Training Program as well as at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City. She has worked professionally all over the North Eastern United States. She has worked in film, commercials and documentaries. She formed HerStory productions in 1999 to produce and perform original one woman shows about inspirational women from history.The Garst Lecture Series are free to the public, thanks to a grant from the HOPE Foundation and the Harry D. Stephens Memorial Trust. This lecture may be more suitable for mature audiences. For more information please call 937-548-5250 or online at www.garstmuseum.org.” -
Lizzie Borden The Rock Musical
This just in from Andy Propst via Theatermania.com for all those wondering about Lizzie Borden, the rock musical which is included as part of new theatre projects during the National Alliance for Musical Theatre’s Festival of New Musicals in Manhattan this fall.The annual Festival of New Musicals will held in New York City on Thursday, October 21 and Friday, October 22, 2010 for a select audience of NAMT members, producers and other musical theatre industry professionals
“Steven Cheslik-DeMeyer, Alan Stevens Hewitt and Tim Maner’s musical about murderess Lizzie Borden will feature Carrie Cimma in the title role, along with Jenny Fellner, Marie France Arcilla and Beth Malone. The piece will be staged by Victoria Bussert, with music direction by Matt Hinkley.” The production website is at http://lizziebordentheshow.com/index.php/axe/about/ for more.
For a sampling of some of the musical selections http://lizziebordentheshow.com/index.php/axe/media/
“A rock roadshow retelling of the bloody legend of America’s first and favorite axe-wielding double-murderess and Victorian hometown girl
by Steven Cheslik-DeMeyer, Tim Maner, and Alan Stevens Hewitt.”Most recently the show ran for six weeks in fall 2009 at the Living Theatre in New York as a full-length original rock musical, produced by Took An Axe Productions.
