Sunday Feature: Larry Westlake on Thrill Me

Boys will be Boys

Director Larry Westlake reflects on Leopold and Loeb and Thrill Me

by Christopher
Douglas

The award-winning musical Thrill Me: The Leopold and Loeb Story by Stephen Dolginoff,  creator of the show’s book, music and lyrics, has been staged in New York, Australia, Vancouver and dozens of regional theatres throughout the United States. Internationally, the show has been staged in translations ranging from Korean and Greek to Japanese and German. For three weeks in July, Capricorn 9 Productions presents the Toronto premiere directed by Larry Westlake.

CHARPO: First, tell us about the show.

WESTLAKE: Thrill Me is the story of two twisted teenagers who murder little Bobby Franks in Chicago. It is an infamous true story from 1924 about a pair of young men who are remembered as the thrill killers. Believing they embodied Nietzsche’s idea of the Superman and were above society, the about-to-be law students lure a boy to his death simply to prove they can get away with it. They would be defended by no less than Clarence Darrow, who convinced them to plead guilty in order to avoid the death penalty.

Review: (Vancouver) Thrill Me

Roped

by David C. Jones
@iamdavidcjones

You walk down an unfamiliar alley and enter through a slightly ajar door at the back of a building. Inside is a warehouse with a large wooden staircase that goes up one wall. A series of mismatched seats are in three groups surrounding the playing area. The lights dim and a pianist at upright piano starts to pound out a grand overture in eerie minor keys. A single hanging light turns on and a handsome young actor steps into it.

Thrill Me is a twisted little love story about two lovers who plotted and murdered a young boy. Weary of petty B & E and arson, Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb committed what was dubbed in its time, the crime of the century. Defended by the great lawyer Clarence Darrow they did not hang for their heinous "thrill kill" but instead were sentenced to "Life plus 99 years".