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Murder trials became a sort of theater in the 1990s with the advent of Court TV and sensationalized cases like the Menendez Brothers and O.J. Simpson. That theater will, to a certain degree, unfold at The Funhouse at Mr. Smalls when the audience plays judge and jury to a series of women on trial for murder.
RealTime Arts presents ANGELMAKERS: Songs for Female Serial Killers, a musical production described in a press release as exploring “the moments and motives of female serial killers throughout history,” from the 1500s to the present.
The show, which takes place from Thu., Oct. 24-Thu., Oct. 31, features various local female-identifying talent, including musical theater performers Julianne Avolio, Drew Leigh Williams, and Jacquea Mae, Vietnamese pop star and activist Mai Khôi, Pittsburgh rocker Liz Berlin, and others.
Molly Rice and Rusty Thelin conceived the show together, drawing inspiration from the 2007 book Female Serial Killers: How and Why Women Become Monsters by Peter Vronsky. At the time, Thelin says he was in the process of writing a play about a female serial killer.
“I read the book as research and then I couldn’t finish the project.” Thelin, who co-founded and now serves as executive director for RealTime, tells Pittsbrugh City Paper, adding, “I had this real strong feeling of, I can’t write this character.”
Shelving the script, Thelin gave the book to fellow RealTime founder, Rice, thinking she would find it interesting. After reading the book, Rice tells City Paper she was mainly struck by the fact that every subject had a chapter dedicated to telling her story.
ANGELMAKERS unfolds as a concert with each song dedicated to a different woman, similar to the book’s chapters. The songs range widely in content and style, with rock, post-punk, ’80s pop, and country.
“I really don’t know why it seemed like it ought to be a concert,” Rice, who serves as RealTime’s artistic director, chuckles. “You can bear a lot with music. By doing that, you know, if we can keep people in a place where they can hear some of the more humanistic parts of these women’s lives through music, is there a way that we can open up the definition of humanity to include everybody, including the people that do the worst things?”
The first ANGELMAKERS debuted in 2017 at Aftershock Theatre, a performance space based in a former Slovenian social hall. Since then, it has been staged in Pittsburgh and New York City.
Past versions of the show included songs that covered Elizabeth Báthory, a 16th-century Hungarian noblewoman notorious for allegedly killing young women and bathing in their blood; Jane Toppan, a nurse in 19th-century Massachusetts who confessed to over 30 murders; and Aileen Wuornos, a sex worker who was executed in 2002 for fatally shooting seven of her male clients.
A new song will appear in the 2024 show, written by Rice with Mari Frazé-Frazénko, a humanitarian parolee from Ukraine. Entitled “Disappear,” it’s described as being dedicated “to the [women] in wartime.” In addition, Mai Khôi will perform an original piece with clarinetist Lenni Green.
From its humble beginnings, the unconventional show has evolved into a live performance that seeks to captivate audiences as an “exploration of both rage and empathy.”
Rice and Thelin emphasize that the production is not about glorifying violence but instead examining the circumstances and societal influences that contribute to these women’s actions. “We hope this piece will evoke responses of discomfort, fascination, distance, and compassion responses that, in a larger sense, we all need to learn to negotiate if we hope to understand those who are fundamentally different from us,” Rice says.
Founded in 2015, RealTime Arts has a history of producing innovative theater. Each performance is collaborative, bringing together musicians and actors from diverse backgrounds to create a powerful, cohesive experience.
Rice, who wrote all of the songs, included bits of court testimony and quotes from interviews in the lyrics. “They really do illuminate all of the challenges that I think women go through to this day. That contributed to the horrible things they did, not to excuse them at all,” Rice continues.
Rice and Thelin envision making ANGELMAKERS a touring production that continues to evolve with each performance. They express excitement about the potential for new collaborations and guest artists who would offer fresh perspectives and expand the show’s reach. The ultimate goal is to create a dynamic and ever-changing experience that resonates with global audiences.
ANGELMAKERS offers a thought-provoking exploration of the human condition, challenging the audience to consider the complexities of empathy and morality. In a statement, Rice and Thelin explain, “Our culture is fascinated with true crime, but women aren’t usually at the center of the story unless they’re victims of male killers. ANGELMAKERS asks: how do murderous obsessions exist differently in women than in men, and does our fascination with violence change when it’s a woman who’s committing it? What iniquities influence the making of these ‘monsters’? And how different are they from ourselves?”
RealTime Arts presents ANGELMAKERS: Songs for Female Serial Killers. Showtimes vary. Thu., Oct. 24-Thu., Oct. 31. The Funhouse at Mr. Smalls. 400 Lincoln Ave., Millvale. $25-45. mrsmalls.com
This article appears in Oct 16-22, 2024.
