"Thrill Me" Gets New England Premiere at Stoneham Theatre

"Thrill Me: The Leopold and Loeb Story"

Book, Music and Lyrics by Stephen Dolginoff; Directed by Caitlin Lowans; Music Director, Judy Hayward; Lighting Designer, Matt Guminski; Scenic Design Consultant, Jenna McFarland

Cast in order of appearance:

Nathan Leopold, Jonathan Reid Gealt

Richard Loeb, Jonathan Colby

Performances: Now through January 28

Box Office: 781-279-2200 or www.StonehamTheatre.org

Just how far will two troubled boys go to keep feelings of love alive? That is the question that the Stoneham Theatre's production of Stephen Dolginoff's chamber musical "Thrill Me" attempts to answer as it explores the co-dependent and ill-fated relationship between notorious 1920s child murderers Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb.

Prior to their infamy over bludgeoning and suffocating to death 14-year-old Bobby Franks while on his way home from school, Leopold and Loeb must have appeared to be their generation's most likely to succeed. They were handsome, well-mannered, privileged, and exceptionally smart (they each graduated from high school at 15 and from college at 19). Leopold was apparently boyish and unassuming while Loeb was charismatic and confident.

What "Thrill Me" depicts, however, is the obsessive narcissism that lies beneath the conventional exterior of each bent teen. Leopold will do anything to win Loeb's sexual favors. Loeb uses this knowledge to coerce Leopold into assisting him in committing increasingly more dangerous and violent crimes. Their mutually parasitic needs for affection, affirmation and thrills draw them into a destructively symbiotic relationship that leads them down a path that neither would have walked alone.

Dolginoff's clever book and lyrics and moody score simultaneously propel the action, narrate the tale, and reveal the dynamics between two extremely bright but coldly warped boys driven into each other's arms by isolation and neglect. Songs like "Nothing Like a Fire" and "The Plan" use unexpected humor to expose Loeb's dark soul and lust for power, while "A Written Contract" and "Life Plus 99 Years" suggest that Leopold is not as innocent or easily manipulated as he seems. The most chilling number is "Roadster" in which Loeb lures young Franks into his car with pedophile-like charm. The question posed in the opening number "Why?" may not be answered fully in "Thrill Me," but "Roadster" brings us closer to understanding the thrill that Loeb gets from carrying out his heinous acts.

Jonathan Reid Gealt as Leopold and Jonathan Colby as Loeb, undergraduate students at Boston Conservatory and Emerson College, respectively, give smartly restrained performances that hit every emotional note perfectly. They are completely believable as lovers and murderers. It is through their intelligent and penetrating performances that the twisted machinations of two very complex – and perplexing – characters become clear.

Gealt's sweet tenor voice and submissive demeanor contrast quite effectively against his alter ego, the coolly brilliant and calculating schemer who emerges periodically. His sexual obsession with Loeb is both compelling and convincing, and his final ironic line in which he exposes his true nature elicits an audible gasp from the audience as the lights go black.

Colby sings with an edgier baritone that gives Loeb a more dominant and evocative persona. He is as adept at taking sadistic pleasure in controlling Leopold as he is at exposing his fears of losing him. Colby's scene in which he seduces his young victim toward his ultimate execution is riveting. His eyes glisten and his mouth whets as he fixes on his prey.

"Thrill Me" is the first presentation in the Stoneham Theatre's Emerging Stages series for 2005. Hopefully other repertory companies across the country will follow their lead and give this powerful and provocative musical a wider audience.

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