How do you stage the life and trial of Lizzie Borden, accused and acquitted of killing her father and stepmother with an axe in Fall River, Massachusetts, in 1892? Actor-musicians interweaving folk songs, murder ballads, blues and bluegrass is one idea. Framing the story as a sort of true crime podcast is another. So is making it a macabre comedy. How about the cast stepping in and out of performance as if in rehearsal? What about getting the audience involved?
Out of the Forest Theatre’s production adopts all these approaches, muddying the water for an already complicated story. Writer Sasha Wilson stars alongside Lawrence Boothman and David Leopold in Vicky Moran’s production, which rattles along at such a pace that even if you know the bare bones of the case it can be hard to keep up.
