"The Life and Legend of Lizzie Borden" at The Center for Visual and Performing Arts

Leslie Goddard returns to the TATC stage after her hit one-woman plays based on the lives of Julia Child (2023), Amelia Earhart (2024) and Titanic survivor Violet Jessop (2025). This time the stage curtain rises as Leslie portrays Lizzie Borden, who was tried and acquitted for the brutal hatchet murders of her father and stepmother at the turn of the century. Borden, characterized as a curious sort, despised her stepmother and publicly complained of her mortician father’s frugality, despite his considerable wealth. Chicago Tribune Media Columnist Philip Potempa has a cameo role playing Judge Justin Dewey, the presiding justice at her court proceedings. During her 1892 trial, the testimony of the family’s maid, Borden’s friend and her own contradictory statements created suspicion and led to her indictment. The play is 90-minutes including one 15-minute intermission.